Greetings and welcome to the premier broadcast of Radio WWC.
Our featured artists tonight are Virus! - the first Russian group to catch my attention due to the infectious nature of their music, which I’m guessing accounts for their name. As Virus! was my first encounter with the post-Soviet music scene, I thought it appropriate that they also be the first featured group on Radio WWC.
Virus! was formed in Dec.1998 by Yuriy Stupnik and Andrey Gudas, with singer songwriter Olga Laki added shortly after. All three attended Zelenograd High School near Moscow which is where they met and started the group. Virus! reminds me of the music we listened to in the 80’s. They capture that retro-sound beautifully, and Olga’s vocals are a perfect complement, adding sparkle and clarity to the mix.
After a dozen CDs and tours in Europe and the USA, Virus! wound things up in 2005 although I believe they continued to play live gigs. Olga later appears in Th3 CATS, her solo project, where she joined forces with a dubstep crew.
If you’re learning Russian, you might want to try singing along. Olga has a very clear expressive voice which makes it easy to hear what she’s saying. Singing along is one of the tricks I use to learn new languages. It works!
Well, my favorite Russian band remains Otava Yo, with NeuroMonakh Feofan in 2nd place. But VIRUS is a pleasure to listen to, and certainly very danceable.
I appreciate your suggestion about learning the language by singing along, but I learn best, initially, by seeing things written down. Is there a source for the lyrics of Olga's songs that you could point me toward?
I'll check it out. Many thanks!