Zdob si Zdub
Encyclopedia
Zdob şi Zdub is a Moldova
n band, based in Chişinău
, whose work for the last several years has combined elements of hip-hop
(especially sampling
), hardcore punk
and comical lyrics
with traditional Romanian folk music. The name is onomatopoeic for the sound of a drum beat. In English the name is sometimes rendered "Zdob shi Zdub," and this is how their work is catalogued at iTunes
and elsewhere. The band represented Moldova
in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005
in Kiev
, Ukraine
, on May 21, 2005, finishing 6th. It also represented Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
in Düsseldorf
, Germany
, on May 14, 2011, finishing 12th.
. They played at "10 Years After Chernobyl
" Action in Chişinău and warmed up for Rage Against the Machine
at the Learn to Swim II Festival in 1996. The recording of that festival includes their "В доме моем" ("V dome moiom", "In My House") in Russian and "Hardcore Moldovenesc" in Romanian
.
Around 1998, their sound began to change, embracing traditional Romanian music and with lyrics entirely in Romanian
.
On August 14, 1999, Zdob şi Zdub played as part of the Russian MTV-Party, held on Red Square
in Moscow
, along with Russian bands "Gorky Park" and "IFK" and U.S.
band Red Hot Chili Peppers
.
The band has toured extensively, mostly in Russia
, Ukraine
, Moldova
and Romania
, but also in Germany
(1998) and the Netherlands
(2000), and more recently in Serbia
, Hungary
, and Italy
.
On January 31, 2001, in Moscow, "Zdob şi Zdub" performed with musician and film director Emir Kusturica
and his "No Smoking Orchestra
".
The video of their song "Bună Dimineaţa!" ("Good Morning"), a tongue-in-cheek evocation of the agro-romanticism of the Stalinist-era Soviet Union
and its satellites was awarded Romanian video clip of the year (2001) at the "Televest" Festival in Timişoara
, Romania. The following year they won the equivalent MTV
Romania Video Music Award for "Ţiganii şi OZN" ("The Gypsies and the UFO").
In 2003, the band's song "Everybody in the Case Mare" was featured over the opening and closing credits of the short film "Călătorie la oraş" ("A Trip to the City") by Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu
.
On February 26, 2005, the band won a national pre-selection contest to claim the right to represent Moldova in its first ever appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest
, with their song "Boonika Bate Toba" ("Grandmamma is beating da drum-a").
On May 19 they performed fourth in the running order of the semi-final and came up sixth in the grand final on May 21.
On September 30, 2007 the band appeared on Michael Palin's New Europe
shown on BBC 1 in the UK.
Also in 2007, a mashup
music video billed as "Black Eyed Peace [sic] ft Zdob şi Zdub—Don't Mess with Inima Mea" began appearing on the Internet
, mixing the song "Don't Phunk with My Heart
" by The Black Eyed Peas
with elements from the song "DJ Vasile" by Zdob şi Zdub.
, with their song "Boonika Bate Toba" ("Grandmamma is beating da drum-a").
On May 19 they performed fourth in the running order of the semi-final and ended up in 2nd place with 207 points. Qualifying for the grand final on May 21, they drew starting position 7. After voting, they claimed 6th place with 148 points.
In February 2011, the band once again won the right to represent Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
held in Dusseldorf. The song they performed was "So lucky". The band performed in the second semi final on May 12, in position 7. After voting they achieved 10th place with 54 points, qualifying them for the grand final on May 14. They performed in the 15th position in the grand final and ended up in 12th place with 97 points at the end of voting.
Former members:
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
n band, based in Chişinău
Chisinau
Chișinău is the capital and largest municipality of Moldova. It is also its main industrial and commercial centre and is located in the middle of the country, on the river Bîc...
, whose work for the last several years has combined elements of hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
(especially sampling
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
), hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
and comical lyrics
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
with traditional Romanian folk music. The name is onomatopoeic for the sound of a drum beat. In English the name is sometimes rendered "Zdob shi Zdub," and this is how their work is catalogued at iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and elsewhere. The band represented Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005
Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,...
in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, on May 21, 2005, finishing 6th. It also represented Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
Moldova participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany and selected their entry through a televised national final, O melodie pentru Europa , organised by Moldovan broadcaster TeleRadio-Moldova...
in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, on May 14, 2011, finishing 12th.
Band history
The band was formed in 1994 and has gone through various line-ups. The group's initial sound was rather hardcore, and the lyrics were mostly in RussianRussian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. They played at "10 Years After Chernobyl
Chernobyl
Chernobyl or Chornobyl is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. The city had been the administrative centre of the Chernobyl Raion since 1932....
" Action in Chişinău and warmed up for Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
at the Learn to Swim II Festival in 1996. The recording of that festival includes their "В доме моем" ("V dome moiom", "In My House") in Russian and "Hardcore Moldovenesc" in Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
.
Around 1998, their sound began to change, embracing traditional Romanian music and with lyrics entirely in Romanian
Romanian language
Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
.
On August 14, 1999, Zdob şi Zdub played as part of the Russian MTV-Party, held on Red Square
Red Square
Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, along with Russian bands "Gorky Park" and "IFK" and U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
band Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
.
The band has toured extensively, mostly in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, but also in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(1998) and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
(2000), and more recently in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
On January 31, 2001, in Moscow, "Zdob şi Zdub" performed with musician and film director Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica
Emir Nemanja Kusturica , is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films...
and his "No Smoking Orchestra
Zabranjeno pušenje
Zabranjeno Pušenje is a Yugoslavian garage rock band from Sarajevo, closely associated with the New primitivism cultural movement and the radio and television satire show Top Lista Nadrealista...
".
The video of their song "Bună Dimineaţa!" ("Good Morning"), a tongue-in-cheek evocation of the agro-romanticism of the Stalinist-era Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and its satellites was awarded Romanian video clip of the year (2001) at the "Televest" Festival in Timişoara
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
, Romania. The following year they won the equivalent MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
Romania Video Music Award for "Ţiganii şi OZN" ("The Gypsies and the UFO").
In 2003, the band's song "Everybody in the Case Mare" was featured over the opening and closing credits of the short film "Călătorie la oraş" ("A Trip to the City") by Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu
Corneliu Porumboiu
Corneliu Porumboiu is a Romanian film director and screenwriter. His 2006 feature 12:08 East of Bucharest won him the Camera d'Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival...
.
On February 26, 2005, the band won a national pre-selection contest to claim the right to represent Moldova in its first ever appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
, with their song "Boonika Bate Toba" ("Grandmamma is beating da drum-a").
On May 19 they performed fourth in the running order of the semi-final and came up sixth in the grand final on May 21.
On September 30, 2007 the band appeared on Michael Palin's New Europe
Michael Palin's New Europe
Michael Palin's New Europe is a travel documentary presented by Michael Palin and first aired in the UK on the BBC in 2007 and in the US on the Travel Channel on Monday January 28, 2008. Palin visits 20 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The filming was done in 2006 and early 2007 using HD ...
shown on BBC 1 in the UK.
Also in 2007, a mashup
Mashup (video)
A video mashup is the combination of multiple sources of video—which usually have no relation with each other—into a derivative work, often lampooning its component sources or another text. Many mashup videos are humorous movie trailer parodies, a later genre of mashups gaining much popularity...
music video billed as "Black Eyed Peace [sic] ft Zdob şi Zdub—Don't Mess with Inima Mea" began appearing on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, mixing the song "Don't Phunk with My Heart
Don't Phunk with My Heart
"Don't Phunk with My Heart", titled "Don't Mess with My Heart" on some radio edits, is a song by The Black Eyed Peas from their fourth album Monkey Business. It was released as the lead single from the album on May 10, 2005....
" by The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
with elements from the song "DJ Vasile" by Zdob şi Zdub.
Eurovision
On February 26, 2005, the band won a national pre-selection contest to claim the right to represent Moldova in its first ever appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest 2005Eurovision Song Contest 2005
The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 was the 50th Eurovision Song Contest, which was held at the Palace of Sports, Kiev, Ukraine. The winner was Greece's My Number One, written by Christos Dantis and Natalia Germanou and performed by Swedish-born Greek singer Elena Paparizou, who scored 230 points,...
, with their song "Boonika Bate Toba" ("Grandmamma is beating da drum-a").
On May 19 they performed fourth in the running order of the semi-final and ended up in 2nd place with 207 points. Qualifying for the grand final on May 21, they drew starting position 7. After voting, they claimed 6th place with 148 points.
In February 2011, the band once again won the right to represent Moldova in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
Eurovision Song Contest 2011
The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th annual Eurovision Song Contest and was won by Eldar & Nigar performing "Running Scared" for Azerbaijan. The event took place in the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, Germany, following Germany's win in the previous year...
held in Dusseldorf. The song they performed was "So lucky". The band performed in the second semi final on May 12, in position 7. After voting they achieved 10th place with 54 points, qualifying them for the grand final on May 14. They performed in the 15th position in the grand final and ended up in 12th place with 97 points at the end of voting.
Line-up
The following listing is by no means a comprehensive list of who has ever played in Zdob şi Zdub. Early line-ups were very fluid, and many Moldovan musicians have been known to "sit in" for recording sessions or for individual concerts.- Roman Iagupov (born 13 September 1973) – vocals, flute, ocarina, yorgaphone ("iorgafon"), and other ethnic instruments. Original member.
- Mihai Gîncu (born 5 March 1975) – usually bass guitar; drums 2003-2004. Original member.
- Sveatoslav Starus – guitar, in the band 1997-2004, returned in 2010.
- Andrei Cebotari – drums, 2000–2003, returned in 2010.
- Victor Dandeş (born 3 April 1972) – trombone, accordion, ethnic instruments. In the band since 2001.
- Valeriu Mazîlu (born 12 September 1978) – trumpet, bagpipe. In the band since 2001.
Former members:
- Anatol Pugaci (also spelled "Pugach", born 6 October 1973) – drums, sometimes bass. Original member, left 1999 and returned 2004, left 2010.
- Igor Buzurniuc – guitar, in 2005 for Eurovision Song Contest 2005, then 2008–2010.
- Sergiu Vatavu – guitar (ex-"Noroc" "Cuibul" "Dirijabli"), 2006–2008.
- Dumitru Cuharenco – vocals, 1994–1995.
- Vitali Coceaniuc – drums, 1998–2000.
- Sergiu Cobzac – guitar, 1994–1996.
- Sergiu Pusnina – guitar, 1996–1997.
- Victor Cosparmac – guitar, 2002–2004.
- Vadim Bogdan – guitar, 2005–2006.
- Pezza Butnaru – drums, 2004.
- Alexandru Gincu – vocals, guitar, 1990–1994.
- Valeriu Pugaci – flute, 1990–1994.
- Vadim Eremeev – bass, 2003–2004.
- Eugen Didic – trumpet, 1999-2000.
- Ion Stavila – trumpet, 2000.
Discography
- 1996 – Hardcore Moldovenesc (Moldovan Hardcore)
- 1999 – Tabăra Noastră (Our camp)
- 1999 – Zdubii bateţi tare (Zdub Guys Beat It Hard)
- 2000 – Remixes
- 2001 – Agroromantica
- 2002 – Рок Энциклопедия (Rock Encyclopedia)
- 2003 – 450 De Oi (450 Sheep)
- 2006 – Ethnomecanica
- 2010 – Белое Вино/Красное вино (White Wine/Red Wine)
External links and references
- Zdob şi Zdub official page, including a history of the band. In English, Romanian, and Russian.
- Facebook page
- Youtube Channel
- LiveJournal, only in Russian