Otava Yo

Otava Yo (Russian: Отава Ё, ота́ва meaning "aftergrass"[1]) is a Russian folk rock band from Saint Petersburg, formed in 2003.[2]

Otava Yo
OriginSaint Petersburg, Russia
GenresFolk rock, world music
Years active2003–present
Labels
MembersMembers
Websiteotava-yo.sbp.ru

The band has performed in 30 countries,[3] including Mexico, France, Estonia, China, Portugal, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Belgium, Norway, India, the United States, the UK, Italy, Denmark, Iran and Japan.[4]

History

Alexey Belkin, Alexey Skosyrev, Dmitriy Shikhardin, and Peter Sergeev worked together as buskers on the streets of St. Petersburg for about three years. The positive feedback from the listeners inspired them to officially form a band in 2003. Of the initial members, only Shikhardin had formal musical education; the rest were self-taught.[1] Initially the band was called Reelroadъ and they played The Pogues-styled Celtic punk, but later changed their name to Otava Yo and turned to Russian traditional music.[5]

In 2005 they released their first studio album, “Pod Aptekoj”,[6] named after their favourite street performance spot near a homeopathic pharmacy on Nevsky Prospect.[5]

Four years later, in 2009, Otava Yo released their second studio album, "Zhyli-byli", continuing into a musical direction they called "Russian beat".[6]

The band released their next album, "Rozhdestvo", in 2011. Containing traditional Christmas songs, it marked a deviation from their characteristic musical direction, that they ultimately returned to in their 2013 album "Chto za pesni".[6]

The band's breakthrough came with the video for the song “Sumetskaya”, featuring Russian fist fighters.[5] In 2015, “Sumetskaya” reached the No. 1 position on World Music Network’s February Video Chart, and had been viewed more than 12 million times on YouTube[4] - a number that reached 14 million in 2018, setting the record as the most-watched music video by a Russian folk band.[3]

In October 2018, Otava Yo announced their next album "Lyubish li ty?" had entered the mixing and mastering stage.[7] On September 30, 2018 the band released a video for a song from the upcoming album, "Kak na gorke, na gore" (Once Upon a Time on a High Hill), filmed at the Podporozhsky District in June.[8]

On 26 February 2022, Otava Yo announced that it would suspend its concerts in Russia and its upcoming tour in Germany, in response to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.[9] The announcement stated, "[W]e all are unwilling participants of these tragic events... [U]nder these circumstances we cannot pretend that nothing is happening and continue playing our cheerful music." The group offered to refund tickets.

In April 2022, Otava Yo announced that they would return to concerts, including new dates for the concerts previously cancelled in March 2022 and dates for new concerts in other Russian cities.[10]

During their live-streamed Fall, 2022 concert on 6 November, they announced a forthcoming new album and suggested it would be released by an as-yet unannounced major label, with worldwide distribution.

Members

Current Members

  • Alexey Belkin (Алексей Белкин) – vocals, bagpipes, gusli, zhaleika
  • Dmitriy Shikhardin (Дмитрий Шихардин) – vocals, fiddle
  • Petr Sergeev (Пётр Сергеев) – bass drum, darabouka
  • Alexey Skossyrev (Алексей Скосырев) – vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Vasiliy Telegin (Василий Телегин) – bass guitar (ca. 2019–present)[11][12]
  • Yulia Usova (Юлия Усова) – vocals, violin (2011–present)
  • Lina Kolesnik (Лина Колесник) – vocals, violin (2019–present; originally substituting for Yulia Usova on maternity leave)[13]
  • Denis Nikiforov (Денис Никифоров) – drums (ca. 2019–present)[11]

Past Members

  • Svetlana Kondesyuk (Светлана Кондесюк) - bagpipe, flute (2003-2009)
  • Natalya Vysokikh (Наталья Высоких) – violin (2005–2010)[14]
  • Timur Sigidin (Тимур Сигидин) – bass guitar (2009–ca. 2019)[15]

Discography
Title Translation in English Album details[16]
Под аптекой
(Pod aptekoj)		 By the Pharmacy
  • Released: 2006
  • Label: None
  • Format: CD
Жили-были
(Zhyli-byli)		 Once Upon a Time
  • Released: 2009
  • Label: None
  • Format: CD
Рождество
(Rozhdestvo)		 Christmas
  • Released: 2011
  • Label: None
  • Format: CD
Что за песни
(Chto za pesni)		 What Songs
  • Released: 2013
  • Label: None
  • Format: CD
Лучшие песни 2006—2015
(Luchshie pesni 2006—2015)		 Best Songs 2006–2015
  • Released: 2015
  • Label: None
  • Format: CD/DVD
Дайте маленькое времечко весёлому побыть!
(Dayte malenkoe vremechko vesyolomu pobyt!)		 Give just a little time to be merry!
  • Released: 2015
  • Label: None
  • Format: CD/DVD
Любишь ли ты?
(Lyubish li ty?)		 Do You Love?
  • Released: 2018
  • Label: None
  • Format: CD

Videography

Awards and nominations
Year Song Award Category Result
2017 Oh, Dusya, my Marusya NYC Indie Film Award[17] Best Music Video Won
Maykop International Film Festival Best Music Video Won
Russian World Music Awards[18] Best Music Video Won
2018 BELIFF London International Film Festival[19] Best Music Video Won
Once Upon a Time on a High Hill Los Angeles Film Awards[20] Best Music Video Won
2019 California Music Video Awards[21] Best Foreign Language Video Won
2021 Timonya Santorini Film Festival[22] Best Music Video Won

References
  1. Peleckis, Mindaugas (January 31, 2019). "OTAVA YO: True Russian folk music, not just another balalaika orchestra (interview)". Radikaliai. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  2. "Otava Yo". Womex. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  3. Vinogradov, Sergey (May 26, 2018). "Otava Yo: Svirels and gusli win the world". Russkiy Mir Foundation. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  4. "Otava Yo RUS". Suklegos. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  5. Mukhin, Zakhar (May 22, 2017). ""Otava Yo": There is no musical confrontation between St. Petersburg and Moscow" (in Russian). Kulturomania. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  6. "Otava Yo". Earthbeat. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  7. "Otava Yo tells about the new album "Lyubish li ty?"" (in Russian). Kulturomania. August 3, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  8. "Otava Yo released a new videoclip for "Kak na gorke, na gore"" (in Russian). Musecube. October 5, 2018. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
  9. "News / Otava Yo". otava-yo.spb.ru. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  10. "Друзья! Сегодня православная церковь празднует.. | Отава Ё | VK". vk.com. Retrieved 2022-04-18.
  11. "Corvus Corax & Otava Yo, Zelyonka, Зелёнка". Зелёнка / Zelyonka / Отава Ё / Otava Yo. April 12, 2019.
  12. "About us". Otava Yo. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  13. "Отава Ё - Всероссийский утренник (Otava Yo - concert for children)". Otava Yo. May 10, 2020.
  14. ""Голоса". Наталья Высоких и "Домашний оркестр"". www.nepsite.ru. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
  15. "About us". Otava Yo. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  16. "Audio". Otava Yo. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  17. "Winners - June 2017". NYC Indie Film Awards. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  18. Antipova, Daryana (December 5, 2017). "Winners of The 2nd Annual Russian World Music Awards Announced". World Music Central. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  19. "The BELIFFestival Winners". BELIFF London International Film Festival. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  20. "LAFA WINNERS October 2018". Los Angeles Film Awards. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  21. "2nd Annual California MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS Winners Announced". TasteTV. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  22. "Best Music Video | 2021". santorini. Retrieved 2022-04-06.
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