Help me find Russian folk music.

May 13, 2010 9:03 PM

Help me find more of a very particular type of Russian folk music.

So I'm browsing Russian music on YouTube and come across this song. It's pretty much standard Russian dance-pop, but the vocals at around 0:30 on, specifically the inflection in her voice, reminds me of the sort of Russian folk music I remember from growing up.

Can anyone get more examples? Preferably fast tempo, female vocals but sans the techno?

posted by griphus to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

Not sure if this is the kind of thing you're looking for. But you could take a listen to Porushka Paranya by Bering Strait
posted by Iggley at 11:13 PM on May 13, 2010

Besh O Drom might do it. They're Hungarian, but have a female vocalist and definitely that fast eastern European acoustic folk thing.
posted by multivalent at 3:24 AM on May 14, 2010

Zolotoe Koltso fits the bill -- upbeat and Russian (is that an oxymoron? ;)) with a female lead singer. The linked song is "Korobeiniki," a.k.a. "The Tetris Song."

Some other songs you might be thinking of are "Svetit Mesyats" (click on the oval button that says MP3) or "Kalinka." The best I could find for these were choir recordings, though.
posted by danceswithlight at 8:53 PM on May 14, 2010

Maybe you'd like Arbat , a Russian gypsy/folk ensemble active in the 1990s. They tend to feature both male and female harmony vocals more than a solo vocalist, but definitely no techno. Their albums are available on emusic.
posted by amestoy at 2:11 AM on May 15, 2010