Zdob și Zdub

File:Eurovision05-moldova01.jpg

Zdob şi Zdub at the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest

Zdob şi Zdub are a Moldovan musical group, based in Chişinău, whose work for the last several years combines elements of hip-hop (especially sampling) and hardcore punk with traditional Romanian music and Roma music. The name is onomatopoeic for the sound of a drum beat. The band represented Moldova in the 2005 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing 6th.

Band history

The band was formed in 1994. Various line-ups, initial sound rather hardcore and lyrics mostly in Russian, played at "10 Years After Chernobyl" Action in Chişinău, 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/Moldovan 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 US 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 the legendary 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").

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.

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 prominent Moldovan musicians have been known to "sit in" for recording sessions or for individual concerts.

• Roman Yagupov (born 13 September 1973) - vocals, flute, ocarina, iorgafon ("yorgaphone"), and other ethnic instruments. Original member.
• Mihai Gîncu (born 5 March 1975) - usually bass guitar; drums 2003-2004. Original member.
• Anatol Pugaci (also spelled "Pugach", born 6 October 1973) - drums, sometimes bass. Original member, left 1999 and returned 2004
• Andrei Cebotari - drums, 1999-2002
• Victor Dandeş (born 3 April 1972)- trombone, accordion, ethnic instruments
• Valeriu Mazilu (born 12 September 1978) - trumpet
• Sergiu Vatavu - guitar (ex-"Noroc" "Cuibul" "Dirijabli")

Discography

• "Hardcore Moldovenesc" (Moldovan Hardcore)
• "Tabăra Noastră" (Our camp)
• "Zdubii bateţi tare"
• "Remix"
• "Agroromantica"
• "450 De Oi" (450 Sheep)
• "Ethnomecanica"

External links and references

• Zdob şi Zdub official page, including a history of the band. In English, Romanian, and Russian.
• Video Interview with Zdob Si Zdub