TABLE OF CONTENTS
— Concept
— Main Body 1. Wooden Whales 2. BALLS 3. The Red Banner Division Named After My Grandmother
— Conclusion
Concept
Indie music of recent Russian decades is a unique cultural phenomenon in which musical instruments cease to be merely means of producing sound; they become full-fledged voices that complement, express, and articulate the emotions, ideas, and identity of an entire generation.
Each indie band constructs its own world, and the instruments serve as conduits between the musicians' inner world and the listener.
From synthesizers to acoustics, from duos to full orchestras—the choice of instruments becomes the group’s sonic manifesto.
Wooden Whales. Concert Photos.
Contemporary Russian indie music presents a complex landscape where diverse genres and movements intersect. In this study, I examine three groups that represent different strata of the indie scene:
— Wooden Whales, who play dream pop and shoegaze with synth-pop elements. — SHARY, who style themselves as the only «emo-cabaret-pop-punk» group in the world. — My Grandmother’s Red Flag Division, which creates experimental rock with baroque-pop elements, utilizing up to twelve instruments simultaneously.
These ensembles demonstrate radically different approaches to instrumentation: ranging from intimate use of synthesizers and guitars to a full orchestra featuring violins, flutes, and saxophones.
Each chapter focuses on how the choice of musical instruments relates to the band’s musical aesthetic, how the visual aspect of the instruments contributes to creating a cohesive artistic image, and how the instruments express the identity of the Russian indie scene.
Wooden Whales. Concert Photos.
I chose this topic because I am interested in these three groups and their music.
Wooden Whales appeal through emotional sincerity and the ability to create atmosphere using synthesizers and guitar, SHARY brings energy and genre eclecticism, and My Grandmother’s Red Banner Division offers bold experimentation and orchestral scope.
Additionally, I believe it is important to note that the Russian indie scene is not monolithic.
It comprises a diverse array of voices, each finding its unique instrumental expression. These three groups, existing on the stage simultaneously, prove this.
My Grandmother’s Red Banner Division. Concert photograph.
My hypothesis is that the selection and design of musical instruments in Russian indie music are directly linked to the band’s genre identity and emotional message.
My Grandmother’s Red Banner Division. Photo from a concert.
The more experimental and complex musical language a group chooses, the more diverse and visually rich their instrument palette becomes. Conversely, more intimate, chamber-like sounds are accompanied by a minimalist approach to instrument selection.
The Red Banner Division named after my grandmother. Photo from a concert.
I primarily relied on the following types of sources:
— Interviews with musicians — These were the main sources of information regarding the groups’ approach to instrument selection and sound design.
— Official band pages on social media, which feature photos from concerts, rehearsals, and studio sessions, allowing for a visual analysis of the instruments and how they are used.
— Video materials — Concert performances, music videos, and studio sessions on YouTube, which allowed for an analysis of the visual presentation of the instruments on stage.
Wooden Whales
The band Wooden Whales operates within the aesthetics of dream-pop and shoegaze, where dense guitar textures, reverberation, and controlled dynamics play a key role.
I contacted the band to learn about the technical setups used by drummer Alexey Manakhov and bassist Sergey Kiselyov.
Wooden Whales. Concert Photos.
Alexei Manakhov uses a compact configuration: a 22» kick drum, a 12» mounted tom, a 16» floor tom, a snare drum, a hi-hat, a ride, two crashes, and a Yamaha FP9500C pedal. This setup ensures precise dynamic control without excessive resonance—ideal for mixing dense tracks. This is especially relevant for the recent albums by Wooden Whales.
Drummer setup. Photographs from Alexey Manakhov’s personal archive.
The drum materials change depending on the recording tasks. The album «Everything I Want to Say» was recorded on a Yamaha Stage Custom kit made of birch.
Birch shells feature a focused attack (the initial sound upon impact), an immediately clean tone due to rapid overtone decay, and controlled sound dampening.
The exception is the track «Kitten, ” which was recorded on a studio kit featuring a Ludwig bass drum and a Sonor 16 Prime floor tom.
Drummer setup. Photographs from Alexey Manakhov’s private archive.
For the album «I Didn’t Finish, ” the Rogers Big R XP8 was primarily used, and specifically for the track „Five-Story Building, ” the Ludwig Classic Maple Exotic was utilized.
Maple bodies add low-frequency warmth, a smooth attack, and more pronounced resonance, which broadens the frequency range of the drums during live performances.
Drummer’s setup. Photographs from Alexey Manakhov’s personal archive.
