The Moscow-based Sounds of Sputnik play a combined array of post-rock and shoegaze with a slight kickback to noise rock. While this sound is inspired by the sounds of such bands as My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, Sonic Youth, Happy Mondays, and Slowdive, the musical output of this particular project today actually seems to be closer to the style of Mogwai, Air Formation, Hammock, Airiel, Jesu, Highspire, and The Twilight Sad.
Sounds of Sputnik is the solo project of Roman Kalitkin, previously of the infamous Rostov (southern Russia) post-punk shoegaze band Sputnik-Vostok. Nowadays, Roman has been collaborating with various musicians on individual songs; these are mainly members of his previous group Sputnik-Vostok, which Roma founded – working mainly with Sergei Cherevkov and Oleg Mazherovsky, who he hooked up with to form Sputnik-Vostik during their mandatory army service in Czechoslovakia (during Soviet times).
While first influenced to pick up an instrument upon hearing The Beatles, back at a time when most musical offerings were controlled by state authorities, Roma joined a band while in high school and had planned to pursue orchestral endeavors until he was summoned for his mandatory army service.
Sputnik-Vostok’s music was greatly influenced by The Cure, The Smiths and Joy Division... In his own words: “in the late 80s, we were performing at many festivals as Sputnik-Vostok and we virtually looked like "white crows", riding on a new wave craze against the background of overly hard rock music”. However, the group soon amassed a large number of fans, eventually establishing “Indie Club 100%" and further creating a shoegaze/dreampop blend of music more closely resembling My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, Ride, Sonic Youth, Happy Mondays, and Slowdive. They recorded several albums in that time – in both English and Russian, known mainly to a narrow stratum within Russia’s indie culture of that era.
There were some “in-between years” in terms of Roma’s musical endeavors – when Sputnik-Vostok relocated to Moscow in 1997 and then divided into two separate bands under manager/writer Ivan Trofimov: “Berlin-Bombay” (in which Roman participated) and “Zapreshennie Barabanshiki”, a band that became so famous within Russia that it is virtually a household name today.
Roman has worked with Canadian-Ukrainian indie rock dreampop duo Ummagma, first with band member Shauna in the pre-Ummagma years and later as co-author of Ummagma’s song “Live and Let Die” (from their debut album “Antigravity”). After honing his playing and recording skills and through various collaborations, Roman has refined his sound to one that is not only unique for Russia, but for the world. He has released seven videos in support of his own music and two versions of the video for Ummagma’s “Live and Let Die”. This video was listed in the top-10 videos for 2012 by Twenty-goto-Ten (now Outersounds Underground). Sounds of Sputnik’s "The Mission" is currently #29 in The Scottish New Music Chart for February.
Sounds of Sputnik is currently in the studio recording and collaborating with Ummagma on material for their forthcoming joint EP, which should be released in late summer of 2013. You can expect the first single from that towards mid-summer.
supported by 5 fans who also own “Sounds of Sputnik - Blizzard”
This is the most amazing post-rock discovery I've had in a long time. How have I not heard of this band previously? I have been listening to this and their other album for days straight after first listen. Amazing, deep, powerful. Words don't do justice. Listen and lose yourself in this. zeuslyone
A heavy blend of post-rock and shoegaze from Argentina's Ox en Mayo Alto rides big emotional crests and contemplative valleys. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 27, 2021
