Kino

Soviet Rock Band, Kino

Kino, is a Soviet rock band that was created in 1981. During this time, Kino became widely known in Russia and in the West. They are credited with inspiring later rock bands in Russia as Kino was one of the first Russian rock bands. They're also considered to be the second most influential Russian rock band ever and their songs have achieved great status in Russia. Kino was so popular that there was a sort of “Kinomania” that began as well and people who loved the band were dubbed “Kinophiles”.

The current members of Kino are Yuri Kasparyan, Igor Tikhomirov, and Alexander Titov.

The past members consist of Victor Tsoi, Gerogy Guryanov, Aleksei Rybin, and Oleg Valinsky. 

Victor Tsoi 

The leader of Kino was a man named Victor Tsoi. The son of a Russian mother and a Koryo-saram (ethnic Koreans that lived in Russia) father, he created most of the music and lyrics for Kino. Tsoi is widely known for his simple yet poetic lyrics in his songs which resonated with thousands of people. He is very well known for combining philosophy in his songs, something that garnered his band attention as well. His lyrics are not overly political but they do have recurring themes of freedom that aligned with Gorbachev’s liberal policies. Furthermore, Tsoi is one of the most important figures in Russian Rock and is still considered incredibly influential.

Unfortunately, Tsoi died in a car crash in 1990 which shocked thousands. Many people clicked with Tsoi because even though he was critically acclaimed and was incredibly famous, he still remained down to earth and humble. His death caused national outrage with people even reportedly killing themselves out of grief. Although Tsoi had passed away, his influence still remains heavily ingrained in Russian rock music. After his death, the band broke up before reuniting recently.

Music

I’ve listened to a lot of their songs before and while I don’t really understand what they’re singing about, since I don’t understand Russian and there’s really no English translation, I enjoy their singing and the instruments they use. When I’m stressed, sometimes I listen to Kino because it helps me calm down as most of the songs I listen to are more peaceful than loud.

I still enjoy listening to Kino even though I don’t understand Russian because music really doesn’t have any barriers. I find Kino and their history fascinating and I was pretty surprised when I found out Victor Tsoi is half Korean as well.

Although I’m sure that the most readers will be in the same situation as me (not understanding Russian), I think Kino’s songs are great and it’s something everybody should try listening to at least once.