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A Soviet Disco & Modern Soul Excursion, 1977​-​1985

from The Soviet Mixes (A Work In Progress) by DJ Scientist

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Originally released 2016:
Here’s a little presentation of Soviet disco music coupled with a bunch of late ‘70s / early ‘80s soul tracks. I hope you enjoy the selection which features some classics alongsside a few rarer and lesser known tunes.

While most of the tracks have been released on the Soviet state label Melodiya, two highlights in the mix actually are tracks from the Estonian radio archives: “Stopp, Seisku Aeg” by Velly Jonas (recorded in 1983) and the stunning cover version of Kraftwerk’s “The Model” by Tornaado (recorded in 1979). Both where discovered and first released on vinyl by the great Frotee label from Estonia.

Velly Jonas’ track is an absolutely brilliant remake of “I See Red” by Frida and can be found here:
www.discogs.com/de/Velly-Joonas-Stopp-Seisku-Aeg/release/7280700

Disco music is a lot about loudly pressed 12" singles suitable for disc jockey use. Unfortunately, the Soviet Union never really proceeded in making 12" pressings, nor where there dj-friendly 7" singles running on 45 rpm. The Soviet 7" format usually featured two tracks per side with a total run time of 6-8 minutes which resulted in low volume and quite noise pressings.

The brilliant EP release by the lesser known pop group Rudaga is no exception to this. The great mid-tempo disco funk track “Veselaya nayezdnitsa” shared the one side of the 7" with another tune. What these tracks could have sounded like on a loud pressing with proper mastering remains to imagination.

Raduga - Veselaya nayezdnitsa
www.discogs.com/master/774710

Ukranian band Vodograi has been one the funkiest Soviet bands. A similarly pressed crackling 7" EP is amongst their most collectable pieces:

Vodograi - Zakoldovannyy kruh
www.discogs.com/master/691269

A “Souvenir” LP from Kazahstan blesses us with a charming low fi ‘80s pop song by a totally unknown band called Saiyar which doesn’t seem to have any other recorded output. Definitely a nice obscurity to have in the collection:

Various ‎– Kazan souvenir
www.discogs.com/release/8189656

My mix ends with an edit/remix I made of the Tatyana Kochergina’s classic “Igray, Skripka, Igray”. I hope you enjoy!

Last but not least, the artwork for the mix was adapted from a cover of the Soviet Discoclub LP series by an unknown designer.

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from The Soviet Mixes (A Work In Progress), released October 6, 2023

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