New Music From Otava Yo
Otava Yo
Do You Love?
(Arc Music)
Music is the universal language. Folk music is the universal language, with a heavy accent. For the Russian folk-group Otava Yo, folk music is a vehicle for connecting with a rich cultural heritage that was all but lost.
In the words of founding member Alexey Belkin, “…there was no folklore in my life. It was USSR and communists did everything they could to steal folklore from Russian population and to replace it with fake academic folklore. But in spite of this, all you need is just to wish to listen to them. Most of the songs we sing we just know. But some of them we found in ethnographic recordings or books.”
Founded in 2003, the group, a diverse collection of musicians, writers, artists, and actors, began recording and touring in 2006, amassing a small but fiercely loyal international following. With the release of 2019’s Do You Love? (released globally in late 2019) the band may be on the verge of becoming a (nearly) household name.
The album’s lead single, “Oh, Dusya My Marusya” went viral on social media platforms late last year, accompanied by a video that won Best Music Video at the NYC Indie Film Awards, Maykop International Film Festival, Russian World Music Awards, and London International Film Festival. The song itself is the perfect standard bearer for both the album and the band.
A traditional Russian love song, the theme is familiar enough to anyone who has ever been a teenager. Two overwrought young lovers have a minor spat leading to grand pronouncements of “never again,” which just as quickly revert to even grander pronouncements of eternal, unflappable love.
Charmingly familiar and relatable, the youthful trope is driven by music which, conversely, may be altogether unfamiliar unless you happen to be a fan of the modalities and instrumentation of Eastern Europe.
Beautifully arranged, the tune combines the ubiquitous electric guitar, and bass with traditional Russian instruments, some of which are so hard to come by they must be commissioned on a one-by-one basis with instrument makers.
The modern instruments are unobtrusive, lightly underscoring the traditional acoustic ones, including Russian bagpipes, zhaleika (a wind instrument), and gusli, a sort of Russian zither. The result is a livelier and more robust sound than might be expected from a purely traditional group, without diluting the distinct flavor of the music.
The vocals, alternating between male and female choral arrangements, are hauntingly beautiful and even the sound of the Russian language itself is a kind of instrument. Subtitles and translations are available, but I strongly recommend you listen to the music unencumbered for the first few times. You may be surprised by how well the song conveys its feeling without having to explain it directly.
The award winning video is a must-see collection of sweeping rural vistas counterpointed with visual humor that, frankly, makes Otava Yo one of the most likable gang of musicians anywhere. Their passion for performance and love for their native culture is abundant and infectious and if a viewing or two of the song and video doesn’t move you, you likely aren’t going to be a fan of Otava Yo, or music in general for that matter.
My bet is that you’ll come away a fan, and global response to the album so far suggests Otava Yo, after seventeen years of hard work and dedication, is set to become a genuine international phenomenon.