Putting the Empire into Music – Investigating the VIA Phenomenon
Posted: August 5th, 2019 | Filed under: Calls for Papers | Comments Off on Putting the Empire into Music – Investigating the VIA Phenomenon23rd–24th April 2020
Wissenschaftsforum Potsdam
Deadline: 30.10.2019
https://www.hsozkult.de/event/id/termine-40871?title=putting-the-empire-into-music-investigating-the-via-phenomenon&recno=19&q=&sort=&fq=&total=848
All across the Soviet Union, from Belarus to Central Asia, from Moscow to Georgia, the VIA phenomenon (Vokal’no–instrumental’nyi ansambl’) played a central role in Soviet popular music and culture. The label VIA applied to acts which were quite distinct from other musical genres and subcultures (bards, punk, rock and jazz) and was invented by the Soviet authorities in the early 1960s in order to counter the growing influence of Western pop music in the empire. From this date onwards until the end of the Soviet Union, a number of well-known popular musicians entered the scene and made a lasting impression on the Soviet and post-Soviet collective memory. Bands like Ariėl’, Pesniary, Gunesh, Vesëlye rebiata, Orėra, Siabry, Zemliane and Golubye Gitary blended different musical styles and genres like pop, beat, rock, jazz, synth-pop, progressive rock and electronic music; with catchy melodies, a good dose of experimentalism and a solid technique, and managed to gain popularity while maintaining high production and recording standards.