Blast
indie / rock / alternative
Formed in 1996, Blast were an English-singing Russian band led by firebrand frontman, Nash Tavkhelidze (now playing as Nash Albert), Gia Iashvili (now Sky Diving Penguins - see also Circus Mircus, Z for Zulu), Alexander (Khlap) Yarchevskiy & Sergei.
Through the summer of 1996, Blasty became an extremely popular cult band on the live Moscow music scene. Blast attracted all sorts of people to their gigs; students, rich guys, Mafia, etc.
Blast gigs were riotous, with Nash energetically clambering over chairs and tables to deliver their alt sounds to an exuberant your crowd. Often in small, underground venues.
In 1997, Mancunian indie label, Apollo G Records, signed BLAST. Work then began on their debut LP, 'Pigs Can Fly’, which was produced Mark (Tolle) Tollerton - Stone Roses' Second Coming.
Over the following years, Blast toured the UK, Europe, and South Africa, and shared the same international stages with the likes of Blur, Razorlight, Franz Ferdinand, Supergrass, Suede and Beady Eye.
Kerrang described Blast's sounds like this "sounds for all the world like the Rolling Stones getting the shit pummelled out of them down some sleazy back alley off Red Square."
If you like your rock ‘n’ roll raw and dirty (AltRock meets BritPop), then Blast are for your ears only.