Gems of the Soviet Space Age #1

now a real treat for lounge-lovers and
those with an interest in Space-Age Pop:
some genuine Soviet electronic exotica!



Here’s the first volume of a compilation of the work of Russian composer, arranger and orchestra leader Vyacheslav Mescherin. This brilliant combination of conventional and electronic instrumentation is what I’d describe as quirky, nerdy and a perhaps just a little off-centre.
If you like your cocktails with a vodka base and prefer exploring the cosmos to mere astronomy, slip on some larger glasses and get set for take off! And with titles like "On the Kolkhoz Poultry Farm" and "Dancing Dwarves" how could you stray off course?

from the CD booklet, the only passage in English:
"One way to call it is "Russian Exotica" or "Soviet Incredibly Strange Music". Vyacheslav Mescherin's "Ensemble of Electro-Musicai Instruments" has been the USSR'S space-age answer to Esquivel, Martin Denny, Joe Meek and other sonic travellers and explorers.
Throughout the thirty plus years long career, this small orchestra has left an enormous heritage of more than a thousand recorded tracks. A lot of them sound very mainstream, some are obviously cloned from Western donors, but many are truly unique thanks to both obscure Soviet-made instruments and some
unlikely sources of musical inspiration (from Siberian folklore to Communist propaganda songs).
Not surprisingly, the work of Mescherin was considered totally kitschy and outdated by rock and modem pop audiences, and has been completely forgotten up until very recently. Now, re-discovered by the new generation of electronica lovers, Vyacheslav Mescherin's weird music once again serves for fun, dance and—this time—sampling!"
—Artemy Troitsky
— author of "Back In the USSR ": The True Story of Rock In Russia"
and "Tusovka: Whatever Happened to the Soviet Underground Culture".

Tracklist:
01 По дороге в школу - On the Way to School - 1967
02 Юмореска - Sketch - 1974
03 Танцуем шейк - Dancing Shake - 1964
04 На даче - At the Summer Cottage- 1967
05 Царевна-лягушка - Froggy The Princess- 1969
06 Как заяц лису перехитрил - How a Hare Cheated a Fox - 1969
07 Куба, моя Куба - Cuba My Cuba - 1973
08 Последний год в школе - The Last Year in School - 1964
09 Эль Бимбо - El Bimbo - 1979
10 Танец эфиопского шута - Ethiopian Joker’s Dance - 1968
11 Танец пингвинов - Penguin Dance - 1967
12 На колхозной птицеферме - On the Kolkhoz Poultry Farm - 1961
13 На пляже - On the Beach - 1969
14 Танцующие гномы - Dancing Dwarves - 1973
15 На берегу лазурного залива - On the Azure Gulf Coast - 1973
16 Когда на улице мороз - When It’s Frosty in the Street - 1968
17 Лягушки - Frogs - 1980
18 Ночная мелодия - Night Melody - 1969
19 Галоп №2 - Gallop - 1970
20 Фантазии на перуанские темы - Fantasies on Peru Themes - 1962
21 Музыкальный ящик - Music Box - 1969
22 Воздушная кукуруза - Popcorn - 1979

Yes the track titles and tags are all in Russian.
There is plenty more to come in the Soviet Easy Listening genre — keep those attic crystal sets tuned — the Party will approve!
easy CCCP [192kbps]