Uvula (band)
Uvula Увула | |
|---|---|
_%2540_Stereoleto%252C_St_Petersburg%252C_Russia%252C_11.06.2018_-_49257808878.jpg) Uvula performing at Stereoleto in St. Petersburg (2018) | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | St. Petersburg, Russia |
| Genres | Indie-rock, dreampop, shoegaze, surf rock |
| Years active | 2015-2022, 2025-present |
| Labels | None, (previously) Homework |
| Spinoffs |
|
| Spinoff of | Fleece flower |
| Members |
|
| Past members | Aleksandr Tovarishchev (keyboard) |
| Website | https://uvula.bandcamp.com/ |
Uvula (Russian: Увула) is a Russian indie-rock band from St. Petersburg, founded in 2015 by frontman Aleksey "Lek" Avgustovsky and guitarist Aleksandr Smirnov. According to Avgustovsky, in 2023, they were put on a performing blacklist in Russia and were prohibited from playing concerts at large venues.[1] The group announced its disbandment in November 2022. [26][1] However, it resumed its activity in 2025.
Background
The name of the band was chosen by Avgustovsky; it comes from a cyrillicization of the (Latin-derived) English word uvula. In an interview with The Flow, Avgustovsky recalled hearing the word while in a class at university.[2]
Because Uvula is a loan word in Russian, there is some confusion about its pronunciation.[2] Though the band members place stress on the second vowel (i.e. Russian: Уву́ла, romanized: Uvúla), they have also said that they are open to their fans pronouncing it however they like.[2]
History
2015-2016: Creative beginnings and Nikak
In an interview, frontman Aleksey Avgustovsky said that he and lead guitarist Aleksandr Smirnov were living in tents in the south of Russia (near Anapa) when they decided to form a band in 2015.[3][4] The other members, with the exception of Aleksandr, left the project after a year.
Uvula got their start playing in the St. Petersburg bar Ionoteka (Russian: Ионотека),[5] known for its connection to the Russian underground music scene.[5] The clubs states on its VK page that it is, "The same place where Buerak, Elektroforez, Ploho, RSAC, Ubiytsy, Kazuskoma, Sonic Death, Shortparis, Shchenki and other heroes of the domestic scene began."
The group released its first LP, Nikak (Russian: Никак, lit. 'No way'), on 4 April 2016. Released on the label Colanade Magic Bros, the record is notable for its shoegaze style.
In September 2016, Uvula performed at the Russian indie-music festival Homecultism alongside groups Padla Bear Outfit, Sonic Death, and others. During this performance, the band played songs from Nikak along with several early versions of songs that would end up on its second album Ya dumal u menya poluchit'sya (Russian: Я думал у меня получиться, lit. 'I thought I would succeed'). A compilation featuring the songs, “pulpy” and “natural behavior,” titled Homecultism Vol. 1 was released in 2016 by the label POW! POP KIDS.[6] The songs “pulpy” and “natural behavior” would later be re-worked to become the songs “We” (Russian: Мы, romanized: My) and “Intro” respectively.
2016-2019: Ya dumal u menya poluchit'sya and rising popularity
As the band gained a small following on the Russian social network VK, Avgustovsky became more serious about continuing the project.[4] According to the group, following the release of Ya dumal u menya poluchit'sya in 2017 Uvula began to attract more fans and received various opportunities to play at larger venues. Though they began to make money through merch sales and concerts, the travel and housing costs affected the members. In 2019, Avgustovsky sold his car in order to produce more merch.[3]
2019-2020: Nam ostayotsya lish' zhdat', Nothing supernatural, and the COVID-19 pandemic
On April 1, 2019, Uvula released their third LP Nam ostayotsya lish' zhdat' (Russian: Нам остается лишь ждать, lit. 'We can only wait'). To present the album, the band held a concert in Moscow at the Aglomerat on April 30, 2019, supported by Avtosport (Russian: Автоспорт, lit. 'Autosport').[7]
On 21 June 2019, Uvula played a concert at Nike Box in Gorky Park, Moscow.[8] On 4 July 2019, they released the full recording of the concert on YouTube.[9]
In 2020, Uvula joined Homework (Russian: Домашняя Работа, romanized: Domashnyaya Rabota), a label created by members of the group Pasosh: Kirill Gorodniy, Petar Martich and Grigoriy Drach.[10]
On 5 March 2020, Uvula released their first EP, Nothing Supernatural (Russian: Ничего сверхъестественного, romanized: Nichevo sverkh"estestvennovo).
On 25 March 2020, the music festival Bol' (Russian: Боль, lit. 'Pain') held an online concert entitled "Karantin eto bol'" (Russian: Карантин – это боль, lit. 'Quarantine is pain') in which they collected funds for bands who had shows cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] This included Uvula. Avgustovsky said in an interview with Sobaka that the band donated the money from this concert to the Sozidanie Foundation to help doctors in Russia.[12]
Later, in March 2020, the group performed their song “Elektricheskiy Tok” (Russian: Электрический ток, lit. 'Electric current') on the Russian talk show Evening Urgant (Russian: Вечерний Ургант).[13]
In April 2020, Uvula contributed a song titled Pobeg to the compilation album Ne vykhodya iz doma for the Institute of Music Initiatives (IMI). The album highlighted several local musicians who were affected by the pandemic, including Bicycles for Afghanistan, Intourist, and Soyuz among many others.[14]
In April 2021, IMI hosted Aleksey Avgustovsky on a YouTube livestream entitled How to write good songs without in-depth songwriting knowledge (Russian: Как писать хорошие песни без углубленных знаний сонграйтинга). In the video, Avgustovsky shares tips from his experience with Uvula and songwriting in general.[15]
2021-2022: Severe Weather and disbandment
Leaving the label Homework
In 2021, the label Homework ceased operations after allegations of domestic violence were raised against Petar Martich, one of the founders of the group Pasosh.[16] Aleksey Avgustovsky spoke out about these accusations and announced Uvula would be leaving the label.[17] Avgustovsky stated on Uvula's telegram channel,[18]
This morning, the band gathered to discuss everything preventing us from publishing the usual tour notes. Our band has decided to leave the label Homework, due to the accusations made against one of its founders. For us, a label is a community of people united by common ideas. We worked for creativity's sake, but unfortunately, now it has become something completely different, something not close to us.
We expected that the response would be dictated by the values that the label had previously promoted. We stood for honesty in our actions, equality, the LGBT+ community, for normal society and different Russia. We saw something else that annoyed us as musicians and people. Namely, backlash in the form of accusations. We support Anya Zosimova and worry about her.
Severe Weather
On 1 October 2021, the group released their most recent LP to date, Severe Weather (Russian: Устойчивая непогода, romanized: Ustoychivaya nepogoda, lit. 'Persistent bad weather'). Avgustovsky said in an interview that this was the first album the group had recorded on a tape recorder, with previous albums being mixed but not recorded in analog.[5]
Leaving VK
In June 2022, the band released a statement on its group on Russian social network VK stating that they were no longer comfortable posting their music on the site.[19] They also announced that they were removing their music from both VK Music and Yandex Music. The post made clear that the band did not want to use services from companies that “cooperate with the state,” and they also discouraged their followers from using services like VK.
On 30 November 2022, the group ceased operations after being placed on a list of “opinion leaders” by the Russian Federal communications, technology, and mass media agency Roskomnadzor.[20] Following this, the group says, they were no longer able to perform at large venues within the Russian Federation.[21]
On 15 December 2022, the group released a collection of Avgustovsky's demos to raise money for “humanitarian aid.”[22]
Breakup
In 2023 every member of the group was placed on a list of “opinion leaders” in Russia by the state censorship agency Roskomnadzor following a crackdown on "foreign agents" in Russia which included many artists and opposition journalists.[20][1] Aleksey has hinted numerous times at a blacklist which forced the group to stop performing at large concert venues.[23][24] Aleksey and other members of the group fled to Yerevan, Armenia where they performed a concert and lived for some time.
2023–present: Post-breakup
On 12 October 2023, the group released a set of merchandise ahead of their final EP.[25]
On 1 January 2025, the group released the single "Tut i tam" (Russian: тут и там, romanized: Here and There) with the promise of new releases to come soon.[26][27] Then, on 26 February 2025, the group released the single "Kafe" (Russian: Кафе, romanized: Cafe), telling fans on their Telegram channel that the "banquet" of new music would continue on 5 March. On that day, the group released the EP dancing with myself.[28] Unlike previous releases, this EP was written and performed by Avgustovsky without the participation of the other band members.
On 8 October 2025 the group announced a China and Central Asia tour on their Instagram.[29]
Musical style and influences
Uvula's style is characterized by an indie rock sound that blends elements of jazz, synthwave, and post-punk. The art and culture website Colta.ru described the style as "atmospheric and romantic dream pop, immersed in a cozy '80s-style guitar twang..."[30] One festival organizer described them as the “Russian version of The Smiths.”[31] Uvula has often been described as a dreampop or surf rock band, sometimes even compared to Midwest emo, though the band itself rejects these comparisons.[32] Furthermore, Avgustovsky stated in an interview that he thinks the band being termed post-punk is “rather rash.”[2]
The band's earlier works (before 2020) have been described as "...extremely relaxed, as if melting in the pre-dawn mist..."[30]
Commenting on Uvula's album Severe Weather, Avgustovsky noted:[33]
We have become "heavier", it seems. The guitars have more pronounced tones, the bass is boosted in many places, and we may indeed have moved closer to alternative rock without intending to. This is hardly a bad thing, since, as a rule, our genre is defined for us, and the more assumptions there are, the more interesting the associations we evoke in the listener.
Discography
LPs
| Title | Year released | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nikak | 2016 | |
| Ya dumal u menya poluchitsya | 2017 | |
| Nam ostayotsya lish' zhdat' | 2019 | |
| Snova vozrashchayus' domoy | 2020 |
|
| Severe Weather | 2021 |
EPs
| Title | Year released | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nichego sverkh"estestvennogo | 2020 | |
| Dancing with myself | 2025 |
Singles
| Title | Year released | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Syorf | 2017 | |
| Den' 20!8 [34] | 2017 | |
| Without U (ft. SALUKI) | 2017 | |
| With U (ft. SALUKI) | 2018 | |
| Ty i tvoya ten' | 2018 | |
| Dom (ft. cherry candy) | 2018 | |
| Lyublyu (ft. 044 ROSE) | 2018 | |
| Novyy tvoy (ft. istochnik) | 2019 | |
| Ver' mne | 2019 | |
| Mnogo oshibok (ft. tima ishchet svet) | 2019 | |
| Dnyom s ognyom (ft. foresteppe) | 2019 | |
| Pobeg | 2020 | |
| Snova vozvrashchayus' domoy (ft. Pasosh) | 2020 | Released on the label Homework |
| Ne vidimsya | 2020 | Released on the label Homework |
| Syorf (live) | 2020 | |
| Fukc 2020 | 2020 | Released on the label Homework |
| Uvidel drugoy | 2021 | |
| Wake me up when 2021 ends | 2022 | |
| Tut i tam (here and there) | 2025 | |
| Kafe (Cafe) | 2025 |
Demos
| Title | Year released |
|---|---|
| Vneshnie vody[35] | 2016 |
| Lek demos 16-22 pt.1[36] | 2022 |
Featuring Uvula
| Title | Artist | Year released |
|---|---|---|
| No Way (ft. Uvula & Ars Was Taken) | Kindy King & SALUKI | 2018 |
| Molody Demo (ft. Uvula) | 044 ROSE | 2019 |
| TRANSGRESSION (ft. Uvula) | Marble Bust | 2019 |
| Vnov' i vnov' (ft. Uvula) | BEJENEC | 2021 |
| V otele "Priboy" (ft. Uvula) | Trud | 2021 |
Band members
- Aleksey "Lek" Avgustovsky — guitar, lead vocals
- Aleksandr Smirnov — guitar
- Denis Shilovsky — drums
- Artemy Shilo — bass
- Shilo frequently uses the Hohner B2A, a headless bass guitar introduced in the 1980s.
- Roma Kuzankin — keyboard
Other projects
Circle K
Circle K (stylized: circle k) was a joint video production project between Aleksey Avgustovsky and Alyona Koleso.[10] Together they recorded the music video for “ты и твоя тень.” That video now has more than one million views on YouTube (as of December 2023).[37] They have also created music videos for musicians such as Sexhater and Tima ischet svet.[38]
Releases
| Title | Artist | Type of work | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kak ne boyat'cya | Sexhater | Music video | 2020 |
| Sobaka | Tima ischet svet | Music video (unofficial) | 2020 |
| fukc 2020 | Uvula | Music video | 2020 |
| Title | Artist | Type of work | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ty i tvoya ten' | Uvula | Music video | 2018 |
Fleece Flower
Fleece Flower (stylized: fleece flower) is a project created by Aleksey Avgustovsky, producing EDM and Dance-inspired music with Avgustovsky's signature vocals. However, most of these songs have been removed from streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify. Recordings still exist on Bandcamp, YouTube, and SoundCloud.
Releases
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| Chto ty vidish' | 2017 |
| 1999–2000 | 2019 |
| Title | Year |
|---|---|
| Neznakomiy drug | 2018 |
| Izganannik | 2019 |
Lek
Lek (stylized: lek) is a solo project created by Aleksey Avgustovsky. In 2022 he released his first LP entitled 1000 i 1 razbitoe serdtse.[39]
External links
- Uvula's YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@user-tb7cs2ro9l
- Uvula's Instagram profile: https://www.instagram.com/uvula1000000/
- Uvula's VKontakte Page [ru]: https://vk.com/uvulauvula
- Uvula's Telegram channel [ru]: https://t.me/uvulasucks
- Uvula's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/uvulauvula
- Early performance at Ionoteka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ORwOr7LRyE
- Performance at Nike Box in Gorky Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCl-cDcYLrU
- Circle K YouTube Catalogue: https://www.youtube.com/@circlek7568
References
- 1 2 3 "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2024-01-18.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - 1 2 3 4 "Увула — "добрая грусть" от питерской группы". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- 1 2 ""Продаю свою машину, чтобы сделать мерч": интервью с лидером "Увулы" об инди и бедности". Афиша (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- 1 2 ""Увула»: «Хочется иметь шанс удалить "ВКонтакте" и нигде не появляться"". The Village (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-04-16.
- 1 2 3 Ovchinnikov, Nikolay (2021-10-01). ""Устойчивая непогода" "Увулы" — идеальный альбом момента. Как так вышло?". АфишаDaily. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
- ↑ "HOMECULTISM Vol.1, by POW! POP KIDS". POW! POP KIDS. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ↑ "Увула. Презентация альбома в Москве в Aglomerat (Moscow), 30 Апр 2019". Last.fm (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- ↑ "Nike Box MSK : Увула, vika pestrova". pt-br.facebook.com (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- ↑ увула – nike box live (2019), retrieved 2023-05-23
- 1 2 "Deep Cuts → Интервью: Увула". deepcuts.ru. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
- ↑ "«Карантин — это «Боль»: стрим-марафон в поддержку музыкантов". Афиша (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-10.
- ↑ "Как дрим-поп-группа "Увула" отказалась от легких денег и больших лейблов, за год став явлением андеграундной сцены". Собака.ru (in Russian). 2020-06-22. Retrieved 2023-06-05.
- ↑ «Увула» — «Электрический ток». Вечерний Ургант. Фрагмент выпуска от 31.03.2020 (in Russian), retrieved 2023-04-16
- ↑ "♫ Не выходя из дома ♫ • Институт музыкальных инициатив (ИМИ)". Институт музыкальных инициатив (ИМИ) (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-05-23.
- ↑ Как писать хорошие песни без углубленных знаний сонграйтинга // Алексей Августовский (Увула), retrieved 2023-05-23
- ↑ "Лейбл "Домашняя работа" закрылся. Через месяц после обвинений его сооснователя в насилии". Афиша (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-04-14.
- ↑ "Артисты лейбла "Домашняя работа" — о ситуации с Петаром Мартичем ♫ ИМИ.Журнал". Институт музыкальных инициатив (ИМИ) (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-04-14.
- ↑ "uvulasucks". Telegram. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
- ↑ "в первый день лета спустя почти полгода стоит.. | увула | VK". vk.com. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
- 1 2 "The All-Seeing State Eye". istories.media. Retrieved 2023-04-13.
- ↑ "привет. спустя семь лет группа увула прекращает.. | увула | VK". vk.com. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ↑ "ничего сверхъестественного on Instagram: "lek demos 16-22 pt.1 только в конце 21-го года у меня появились собственные ламповая голова и кабинет, а до этого я писал все в карту. звук этих демок соответствующий. плюс я никогда не пытался сделать их качественными, в этом никогда не было смысла, тк это был макет для будущих собранных вместе с группой треков я буду публиковать сюда все что лежит в папке на компе. могут быть сторонние проекты, неизданные треки и просто фан только на бэндкемпе и саундклауде. будет несколько частей demo recordings. money from sales will go to humanitarian aid"". Instagram. Retrieved 2023-04-20.
- ↑ "Instagram".
- ↑ "VK.com | VK". m.vk.com. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
- ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Archived from the original on 2023-10-12. Retrieved 2023-10-12.
- ↑ Увула (Uvula) – тут и там (here and there), retrieved 2025-01-02
- ↑ "uvulasucks". Telegram. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
- ↑ "dancing with myself by Увула (Uvula)". Genius. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
- ↑ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2025-11-29.
- 1 2 "Что слушать в апреле | Colta.ru". www.colta.ru. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
- ↑ "Увула "Ты и твоя тень"". The-Flow.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ↑ On Air TALK – круглый стол #4 | обсуждаем лайвы: увула, Нонконформистка, источник и др., retrieved 2023-05-23
- ↑ ""Увула": "Мы заслужили свое место среди знаковых гитарных групп" | Colta.ru". www.colta.ru. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
- ↑ увула - день 20!8, retrieved 2023-10-26
- ↑ "some d e m o (n) s for home cult". 2023-10-26. Archived from the original on 2023-10-26. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
- ↑ "lek demos 16-22 pt.1 | увула". 2023-10-26. Archived from the original on 2023-10-26. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
- ↑ увула - ты и твоя тень, retrieved 2023-04-16
- ↑ "circle k - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
- ↑ "1000 i 1 razbitoe serdtse. Премьера сольного альбома Лека — солиста группы «Увула»". The Blueprint (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-04-14.