Vasiliy Shumov – Porridge
From Василий Шумов ‎– Время Три
Released on Melodiya, 1991, USSR

We’ve always been deeply interested in records whose stories somehow overlaped with History, and though we think that it is the case of most of the records ever released – in one way or an other – some of them connect with the course of history in a much more striking way than others.

Recorded in 1990, Time Three was only released in 1991 on the famous Soviet state label Melodiya – that is to say a few months before the dissolution of the Soviet Union – and it was Vasiliy Shumov‘s second solo album. Though his name doesn’t necessarily ring a bell today, Vasiliy Shumov‘s was one of the most important members of the underground rock scene in Moskow in the 1980’s. With his band Центр (Center), he was partly responsible for the rock revival in the Soviet Union, organizing parties in Korolyov while the popularity of the band was growin, after they released a very successful first album in 1989 (another key year in the late Cold War-era…).

The music on Time Three differs from the music on Center‘s debut album and Shumov‘s first album by drifting from New Wave towards more experimental fields. Porridge blends elements from Kraftwerk-ian electronic music with dubby elements reminding of some Adrien Sherwood-produced post-punk/dub acts. The song is profuse in weird details, reaching for something completely different than the artist’s more traditional new wave compositions while Shumov‘s absolutely nagging voice sets the mood for a very nonchalant dance.