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Difference between revisions of "Roentgenizdat (USSR)"
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'''''Original Text: James Taylor, PhD Candidate''''' | '''''Original Text: James Taylor, PhD Candidate''''' | ||
''Roentgenizdat'' (also known as ‘music on ribs’ or ‘music on bones’) was the unofficial practice of cheaply reproducing and disseminating discarded and reprogrammed x-ray photographs as music records in the Soviet Union. The term ''roentgenizdat'' is etymologically composed of two words – roentgen (the Russian word for x-ray, named after Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, the German physicist who discovered electromagnetic radiation in wavelengths), and ''izdat'' (from Russian meaning to ''publish''). ''Roentgenizdat'' was the first self-made mechanism for reproducing music recordings in the Soviet era, a time of prohibition of musical styles and material shortage. The practice thus became the metaphorical ersatz-bread, satisfying the post-war musical hunger of the masses. | [[File:Roentgenizdat.jpg|400px|thumb|right|Roentgenizdat or "Rock on bones" Gramophone records.]]''Roentgenizdat'' (also known as ‘music on ribs’ or ‘music on bones’) was the unofficial practice of cheaply reproducing and disseminating discarded and reprogrammed x-ray photographs as music records in the Soviet Union. The term ''roentgenizdat'' is etymologically composed of two words – roentgen (the Russian word for x-ray, named after Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, the German physicist who discovered electromagnetic radiation in wavelengths), and ''izdat'' (from Russian meaning to ''publish''). ''Roentgenizdat'' was the first self-made mechanism for reproducing music recordings in the Soviet era, a time of prohibition of musical styles and material shortage. The practice thus became the metaphorical ersatz-bread, satisfying the post-war musical hunger of the masses. | ||
''Roentgenizdat'' originated in Leningrad in 1946, in a studio situated at house no. 75 on Nevskii Prospect, named Audio Message (''Zvukovoe pis’mo''). Its founder, Stanislav Filon, used a redesigned German Telefunken music re-writer to replicate music recordings from the original vinyl to cheaply reinvented, imitation x-ray material. The price of one x-ray copy was between 5 to 15 roubles; however, individual orders would be more expensive <ref>Bogdanova, Katerina, ‘Boogie-Woogie ‘On Bones’ – Is It So Strange? From The Life of Audiophiles in 1940-50s’ (2009), Accessed Online: http://shkolazhizni.ru/archive/0/n-27775/ (21/02/2013).</ref>. The studio would typically remain open throughout the night, recording unofficial performances onto x-ray material where opaque x-ray images of skulls and ribs were still clearly visible. The process became so successful that another underground studio, named Golden Dog (''Zolotaia sobaka''), was established the following year. Boris Pavlinov, one of the founders of Golden Dog, recalled that the most popular recordings were of jazz music from the West and songs in the style of the tango, foxtrot and romances – all non-sanctioned styles within the Soviet Union <ref>Kitaev, Aleksandr, ‘Shadow X-ray Recording’ (St.Petersburg: unpublished version, 2009). | ''Roentgenizdat'' originated in Leningrad in 1946, in a studio situated at house no. 75 on Nevskii Prospect, named Audio Message (''Zvukovoe pis’mo''). Its founder, Stanislav Filon, used a redesigned German Telefunken music re-writer to replicate music recordings from the original vinyl to cheaply reinvented, imitation x-ray material. The price of one x-ray copy was between 5 to 15 roubles; however, individual orders would be more expensive <ref>Bogdanova, Katerina, ‘Boogie-Woogie ‘On Bones’ – Is It So Strange? From The Life of Audiophiles in 1940-50s’ (2009), Accessed Online: http://shkolazhizni.ru/archive/0/n-27775/ (21/02/2013).</ref>. The studio would typically remain open throughout the night, recording unofficial performances onto x-ray material where opaque x-ray images of skulls and ribs were still clearly visible. The process became so successful that another underground studio, named Golden Dog (''Zolotaia sobaka''), was established the following year. Boris Pavlinov, one of the founders of Golden Dog, recalled that the most popular recordings were of jazz music from the West and songs in the style of the tango, foxtrot and romances – all non-sanctioned styles within the Soviet Union <ref>Kitaev, Aleksandr, ‘Shadow X-ray Recording’ (St.Petersburg: unpublished version, 2009). | ||