MUSIC

“ESSR” in the “Groove of ESSR II” stands for Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. Yet for Estonia, there was nothing really “republic” about the situation of being occupied by Soviet Russia. So escaping the oppression through music is a running theme for the Groove of ESSR compilation. Funk Embassy Recs returns with the second volume of tracks that hide meaning between lines or offer solace on the dancefloor. It’s an ongoing journey to uncover these jewels and meet their makers. Majority of these pieces will be released for the first time. During the production of this album, two of the most influential figures in Estonian funk and soul passed on: Marju “Maryn” Kuut (1946-2022) and Tõnu Aare (1953-2021). In music lies strength and truth. We dedicate this album to them. May they live on forever through music, alongside all of the artists represented here.

Compiled from ultra-rare dead stock pressed at a Soviet-era vinyl plant in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, this first-of-its-kind fully licensed album features a supreme selection of Uzbek disco, Tajik electronic folk, Uyghur guitar licks, Crimean Tatar jazz, Korean brass, and genre-defying styles from Soviet Central Asia. Drop the needle, and you're not just hearing rare Soviet dance music. You're journeying along the Silk Roads, revisiting raucous USSR disco nights, and immersing in grooves that inspired Soviet youth to envision a different future, ultimately unraveling the Iron Curtain from within. Слушать громко! __________ Ostinato Records is proud to announce Synthesizing the Silk Roads: Uzbek Disco, Tajik Folktronica, Uyghur Rock & Crimean Tatar Jazz from 1980s Soviet Central Asia, an unprecedented new anthology of revolutionary, rarely heard dance music from the former USSR. Synthesizing the Silk Roads is the soundtrack of a little-known revolution where Soviet DJs’ demand for homegrown music inadvertently reshaped world history. It spotlights Central Asian crossroads that bridged east and west, making more than a modest contribution to global culture. Drop the needle, and you’re not just hearing rare Soviet dance music. You’re journeying along the Silk Roads, revisiting raucous USSR disco nights, and immersing in grooves that inspired Soviet youth to envision a different future, ultimately unraveling the Iron Curtain from within. In the summer of 1941, as the Nazis invaded the USSR, Stalin ordered a mass evacuation. Sixteen million people were put on trains bound eastward to Soviet Central Asia, especially Tashkent, Uzbekistan’s picturesque capital. Among those onboard were gramophone engineers who later established the Tashkent Gramplastinok plant in 1945. This factory became central to Soviet record production, part of a network of plants churning out 200 million records by the 1970s. Rare dead stock of 1980s vinyl from this plant, shut down in 1991, forms the backbone of our groundbreaking 15-track compilation, complemented by live TV recordings and curated in collaboration with Uzbek label Maqom Soul. Fully licensed directly from the artists or their families and meticulously remastered, these songs – all recorded in Tashkent – unveil a diverse tapestry of sounds from Soviet Uzbekistan and its neighbors. More than a sanctuary, Tashkent was a crucible of sound. Nestled between Europe and Asia, its legacy as a key hub along the ancient Silk Roads gave it a cosmopolitan flair for centuries. As a mainstay of Soviet recording, it welcomed artists from across the Asian expanse of the USSR. Uzbek disco divos, Tajik women artists, Uyghur bands from Kazakhstan via Xinjiang in western China, Tatar musicians from the Crimean peninsula, and even a Korean orchestra found their voice in this vibrant scene. After Stalin’s death in 1953, the Soviet music scene opened up. Jazz clubs blossomed, rock venues infatuated with Deep Purple emerged, and by the late 1970s, 20,000 disco clubs sprouted across the USSR. Despite mandatory one-hour ideological lectures before DJs began their sets, these clubs, fueled by synthesizer dance music, became catalysts for new worldviews. Disco clubs were cash cows and the rise of “disco mafias” marked some of the first instances of private commerce in the Soviet Union. These underground networks capitalized on the lucrative disco club scene, trading in western clothing, vinyl records, and alcohol. This burgeoning capitalism played its own role in reshaping youth perspectives and contributing to the USSR’s eventual collapse. Tashkent’s musicians often had access to a wider array of technology than their Moscow counterparts. Thanks to Uzbekistan’s Bukharan Jewish community, leading importers of state-of-the-art music tech from the US and Japan, artists on this compilation were crafting sounds on Moog and Korg synthesizers, creating the signature sonic palette that emerged from the region. While artists like Natalia Nurumkhamedova believed Uzbekistan under the Soviet Union ushered “the heyday of art and culture,” artistic expression came at a price. Some featured artists faced KGB beatings, gulag imprisonment, or forced psychiatric treatment. Yet their resilience shines through, typified by Original Band’s disco hits recorded after their leader’s release from prison. The iron curtain of Soviet secrecy has long obscured fascinating cultural narratives. Synthesizing the Silk Roads lifts that veil at last, revealing an unexpected and still extraordinary musical revolution.

12 tracks of pure soviet disco fever. Alright, put on your dancing shoes and get ready for a weird trip to the dance floor, to a time when the Soviet Union - still alive and under the flag of the hammer and sickle - managed to produce some wonderfully odd and hypnotic disco hits, mutant funk smashers and electro hip breakers. Coming from all over the huge landscape that the USSR was, the artists on this killer compilation showcase a variety of visions on the subject of shaking the ass that will surprise even the most cynical connoisseur of the genre. TRACKLIST SIDE A A1. Mirdza Zivere - Vienmer but (Latvia, 1979) A2. Оригинал - Сен Қайдан Биласан (Uzbekistan, 1981) A3. Anzhelina Petrosova / Анжелина Петросова - Танцующий Остров (Uzbekistan, 1987) A4. Pervouralsk / Первоуральск - Наташка (Russia, 1990) A5. Güljan Hümmedowa / Гүльджан Хүммедова - Ак Пагта / Белый Хлопок (Turkmenistan, 1984) A6. Roza Rymbaeva / Роза Рымбаева - Жездеке (Ka¬zakhstan, 1988) lika - Noktirne (Latvia, 1981) SIDE B B1. Махфират Ҳамрақулова & Гульшан - Резаборон (Tajikistan, 1989) B2. Janina Miščiukaitė - Amžinas šokis (Lithuania, 1980) B3. Verasy - Polet (Belarus, 1985) B4. Formula Dreyka / Формула Дрейка - Репка (Russia, 1990) B5. Eolika - Noktirne (Latvia, 1981) B6. Raduga / Радуга - Рассветает (Bashkortos¬tan, 1979)