Kolibri

About

Kolibri came out of Leningrad in 1988 as a cabaret side project and ended up as one of Russia's more peculiar pop groups. Founder Natasha Pivovarova, who also played in Sergey Kuryokhin's Populyarnaya Mekhanika, rounded up a handful of girls from the Leningrad Rock Club with zero stage experience and had them perform covers as a kind of musical theatre. Their first show caused a furore, and they were soon writing their own songs: baroque pop with post punk, chanson and layered vocal harmonies, delivered in matching black ballet outfits and coloured gloves. Six studio albums followed, praised by critics in Russia and Europe but never big sellers. Find Ten Differences, produced by Andrei Muratov, is often called their best, and Yellow Leaf of Autumn from Little Tragedies became a radio hit. After Pivovarova left in 1998 to start her own project, the band regrouped with new members and kept going, even teaming up with Tequilajazzz and the Volkovtrio along the way.