| Otava Yo | |
| Origin: | Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Genre: | Folk rock, world music |
| Years Active: | 2003–present |
| Associated Acts: | Reelroadъ |
| Website: | otava-yo.sbp.ru |
| Current Members: | Members |
Otava Yo (Russian: Отава Ё, ота́ва meaning "aftergrass"[1]) is a Russian folk rock band from Saint Petersburg, formed in 2003.[2]
The band has performed in 30 countries,[3] including Mexico, France, Estonia, China, Portugal, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, The Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Belgium, Norway, India, the United States, the UK, Italy, Denmark, Iran and Japan.[4]
Alexey Belkin, Alexey Skosyrev, Dmitriy Shikhardin, and Peter Sergeev worked together as buskers on the streets of St. Petersburg for about three years. The positive feedback from the listeners inspired them to officially form a band in 2003. Of the initial members, only Shikhardin had formal musical education; the rest were self-taught.[1] Initially the band was called Reelroadъ and they played The Pogues-styled Celtic punk, but later changed their name to Otava Yo and turned to Russian traditional music.[5]
In 2005 they released their first studio album, “Pod Aptekoj”,[6] named after their favourite street performance spot near a homeopathic pharmacy on Nevsky Prospect.[5]
Four years later, in 2009, Otava Yo released their second studio album, "Zhyli-byli", continuing into a musical direction they called "Russian beat".
The band released their next album, "Rozhdestvo", in 2011. Containing traditional Christmas songs, it marked a deviation from their characteristic musical direction, that they ultimately returned to in their 2013 album "Chto za pesni".
The band's breakthrough came with the video for the song “Sumetskaya”, featuring Russian fist fighters. In 2015, “Sumetskaya” reached the No. 1 position on World Music Network’s February Video Chart, and had been viewed more than 12 million times on YouTube - a number that reached 14 million in 2018, setting the record as the most-watched music video by a Russian folk band.
In October 2018, Otava Yo announced their next album "Lyubish li ty?" had entered the mixing and mastering stage.[7] On September 30, 2018 the band released a video for a song from the upcoming album, "Kak na gorke, na gore" (Once Upon a Time on a High Hill), filmed at the Podporozhsky District in June.[8]
On 26 February 2022, Otava Yo announced that it would suspend its concerts in Russia and its upcoming tour in Germany, in response to the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.[9] The announcement stated, "[W]e all are unwilling participants of these tragic events... [U]nder these circumstances we cannot pretend that nothing is happening and continue playing our cheerful music." The group offered to refund tickets.
In April 2022, Otava Yo announced that they would return to concerts, including new dates for the concerts previously cancelled in March 2022 and dates for new concerts in other Russian cities.[10]
During their live-streamed Fall, 2022 concert on 6 November, they announced a forthcoming new album and suggested it would be released by an as-yet unannounced major label, with worldwide distribution.
Current Members
Past Members
| 2006 | Под аптекой | By the Pharmacy | None | CD | |
| 2009 | Жили-были | Once Upon a Time | None | CD | |
| 2011 | Рождество | Christmas | None | CD | |
| 2013 | Что за песни | What Songs | None | CD | |
| 2015 | Лучшие песни 2006 - 2015 | Best Songs 2006 - 2015 | Navigator Records | CD, DVD | |
| 2015 | Дайте маленькое времечко весёлому побыть! | Give just a little time to be merry! | None | CD, DVD | |
| 2018 | Любишь ли ты? | Do You Love? | Navigator Records | CD | |
| 2024 | Правильно и внятно | Loud and Clear | Navigator Records, Arc Music | CD, LP | |
| Italicized text denotes a future album release | |||||
| Year | Song | Award | Category | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Oh, Dusya, my Marusya | NYC Indie Film Award[18] | Best Music Video | ||
| Maykop International Film Festival | Best Music Video | ||||
| Russian World Music Awards[19] | Best Music Video | ||||
| 2018 | BELIFF London International Film Festival[20] | Best Music Video | |||
| Once Upon a Time on a High Hill | Los Angeles Film Awards[21] | Best Music Video | |||
| 2019 | California Music Video Awards[22] | Best Foreign Language Video | |||
| 2021 | Timonya | Santorini Film Festival[23] | Best Music Video |