OLeg kostrow
moscow
True music is always revolutionary; it unites people, excites them, and urges them onwards
Настоящая музыка всегда революционна, она сплачивает людей, тревожит их, зовет вперед
Dmitry Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Тhe instrumental music of Moscow composer Oleg Kostrow (as he prefers to spell his surname) is instantly recognizable. His cartoonish wit and whimsy capture the often bizarre, sometimes dangerous joy of childhood when risk is an alien concept. Similar, perhaps to Merrie Melodies or Loony Tunes in the United States, Kostrow draws upon the headiness of a slightly later time period: Russia in the 1960s. The country had entered a brief, disorienting time of childish hope––in the best and brightest sense of the word––after Stalin’s demise. The joy of domesticity in 1950s America was mirrored by the bliss of relative normalcy in 1960s Russia.
Kostrow wears those influences on his sleeve when asked whether his ‘easy-listening’ might possibly define this fondness for innocence: “Easy-listening means retro-music of the 1960s. We record everything on modern music and use [digital] samples. As a result, I’d be happy with a slightly different term. In fact I came up with one myself: post easy-listening.”
His work has enjoyed critical success among both youthful audiences––especially in the theater––and modern advertisers, harking back to some imagined, yet glorious childhood. Kids, societal discontents, modern-day dreamers, and ironic hipsters: all find pleasure and profit in Kostrow’s endlessly charming discography.