The Tapeaters

Much have happened since we first posted The Tapeaters on this blog. First off: they’ve been signed to OMG! Records in the U.S. Second: they’ve been remixed by Lifelike, Xinobi and Ghost of Venice. How about that? And to top it all off, they seem like really nice guys, that’s always a big plus in my book.

It’s almost a week since the release of their massive Satellite EP, and I can say without blinking that it is amazing. Their ability to mix good old fashioned electro with a dash of pop is what shows their true colors. They have this aura over them that they’ve done this forever and know precisely how to cook up a potion of attractive music. The vocals brings this already perfect dancefloor-filler to a unifying clash that blends perfectly. It’s like they were born to do this kind of music, which makes them a major fan-bearer of electro in Russia and perhaps even the whole scene.

So for the love of music, fan it, tweet it, space it and last, but not least, buy it. - Jan Lindstrom (Danger! Danger!)

I've said it million times and I'll say it again - "Russia is the new Sweden".

Say hello to The Tapeaters - aka Vadim and Dmitry who look a bit like Warhol and Kleerup together - hot. They are so reminscent of 80's New Order that I can't quite comprehend why they haven't got much blog love before. Electro purists are gonna love them and pop freaks who like to dance will certainly be giving up big love for The Tapeaters.

This Russian group has put out two EPs thus for for singles "Watch Your Step" and "Keep On Dancing" but it's their song "Kids" on the "Watch Your Step" EP that really made them stand out in my eyes.

I caught up with The Tapeaters to find out how they describe their music and this is what they had to say:

"We really like the sound of the early 80's, this period of electrofunk and disco, when synthesizers took over the minds of musicians. That's the music we always wanted to do. We simply take you back to early 90's, cassette tapes, ghettoblasters, raves, the spirit of freedom, well, you know ..."

Hey I totally get it and I'm sure a few EQ readers will as well...

Enjoy the sounds of The Tapeaters on MySpace. They are waiting for you to discover them... - Electroqueer

One week ago The Tapeaters released their debut album "Visions" on American label OMG! Recordings. The Tapeaters from Russia are a duo consisting of Vadim Pukhov and Dimitri Kozlow, and they began as Tapeaters last year. They have released an EP and a couple of singles earlier during the year but now it's time for the full-length album.

"Visions" is an album that moves around in the lands of electro-pop. With clear influences from the 80s and early 90s new wave The Tapeaters superbly manage to bring something fresh into the scene of this synthy disco. You, who are familiar with the countrymen of Tesla Boy will be really happy to get to know The Tapeaters, they play in the same league. Vadim got this soft voice that sometimes reminds of Dave Gahan of Depeche Mode's more tranquil tracks but also of something by OMD.

"Satellite" is the strong first single from "Visions" that shows what The Tapeaters are all about. Nice funky bassline along with dreamy synth chords. "Satellite" was released with remixes by great names like Lifelike, Xinobi and Ghosts Of Venice, says it all I think.

My favourite track so far is the italo flavoured "Reprise", which got me hooked after my first session. It's short but it's catchy. "Won't You Help Me Doc" is also flavoured by italo and some really nice synths.

And if you are longing for something A-haish, then you got the perfect track especially made for early Sunday's lazy rave; "Sunday Morning (DJs Rave)" is the track for you.


Apart from above mentioned tracks the rest of the album is really good. A solid debut album from The Tapeaters that will keep you playing this record far into 2011. Go and get your own copy of "Visions" exclusively in high quality on Beatport and don't forget to write something nice on The Tapeaters fanpage. Nostrovia! - Jonas Hellstrom (Tracasseur)

FFM first reported on The Tapeaters towards the end of 2009, when we sketched an initial background in order to introduce these two musicians from the city of Nizhnii Novgorod. Given that the band has now released a debut album (in fact yesterday), it seems only appropriate to offer that same context once more, at least briefly. In a word, it's particularly useful to document the band's passion for old songs, since their new compositions are spun from an equally antique fabric.
The Tapeaters are an outfit with very specific tastes; they take most - if not all - their inspiration from synth-pop of the 1980s. More specifically, they namecheck The Eurythmics, Howard Jones, Tears For Fears, Yazoo, Michael Jackson, A-ha, and - in the grander scheme of things - Stevie Wonder. Despite this relatively deep sense of historical perspective, the band is actually very young, having formed only at the start of 2009. Then - as now - it consisted of Vadim Pukhov (on vocals, synths, and guitar) together with Dmitrii Kozlov (on synths and talkbox).
Having followed this pair through a growing series of singles, EPs, and remixes, we're now able - as mentioned - to announce that a debut album is available: "Visions." It comes with a very short announcement from the band themselves.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! We are happy to announce that our debut CD has just been released earlier today! We're very proud of our 'Visions'. They turned out just the way we wanted! We'd like to thank all of you for your love and support! If our music makes you a little bit happier then we've definitely got a success on our hands!"
Phrased differently, the album is designed as an "insight" or vision of something otherwise hidden from view. That elusive quality is hedonism, pure and simple. It's what the band's label terms a "neon state, from a time when music was made purely for fun."
The songs allow listeners to enter a 'neon' state, from a time when music was made purely for fun
These references to synth-pop, new wave, and neon lights still emphasize the band's debt to the 1980s. The new CD builds upon those foundations, doing so in ways that evoke a US tradition more than anything British, no matter the bands namechecked above. In fact, "Visions" begins with the sounds of an urban street, replete with the wail of a NY police siren.
We're a long way from England.

Pukhov's and Kozlov's frequent references to that 80's heritage, however, are not made from a standpoint of uncritical adoration. What, then, do they take from this period and why?
It's fair to say that the term "new wave" evolved thanks to a couple of key differences from its punk predecessors: it ushered in a less rebellious, even provincial type of songwriter and, at the same, aimed for more lyrical complexity. Awkward romance and introspection began to replace discord and destruction. In making that shift, keyboards were also a popular alternative to guitars. Standing behind a large synthesizer made onstage "antics" less likely. These same traits are evident in Nizhnii Novgorod.
The Tapeaters' transatlantic interpretation of new wave, three decades later, goes hand in hand with another (seemingly contradictory) term that emerges in their promotional texts: "modern disco." Once again, a past fashion does double-duty in a modern setting. What, though, is the connection of this term to the portrait thus far?
One might conceivably argue that if new wave was a response to the grandeur of '70s SOR and the strident social agenda of punk, then disco emerged as an alternative to rock music in any form! The heavily male orientation of the rock canon was transformed into a dancefloor-friendly format of equal appeal to both sexes.
Facial hair was no longer a prerequisite to fun.

It's not uncommon in journalistic quarters to hear disco defined in terms of a yearning for "collective ecstasy." This is the general ambiance that the Tapeaters' discography has always striven to conjure. Put differently, the songs of Pukhov and Kozlov epitomize the movement of fading "rockism" towards an open dancefloor, whilst politely observing the lyrical simplicity of disco.
Although these new songs are - from the opening seconds! - placed clearly within an urban locus, there's no sense of big-city rebellion. As one of their tracks has it: "Oh, my eyes are open wide. I'm amused by the city lights." - David MacFadyen (Far From Moscow)