Crispy Newspaper - Ой Дуораан LP
write-up from World Gone Mad:
This is SAKHA not Russia!
There's so much I have to say about this release, this is embodies the very essence and reason I started W.G.M. Records; to release records of bands that are fucking amazing but not getting the attention they deserve because they aren't from a trendy, hyped or known scene, and CRISPY NEWSPAPER hit all those marks. Anyone who can see the parallels between that statement and TAM89 Records, good for you, TAM89 was one of my biggest inspirations to start a record label. I will forever be indebted to Luk Haas for his support for my activities at a young age and for his tireless work tracking down amazing punk from all over the world
CN are from Yakutsk, Siberia, in the heart of eastern Russia, the city that has the most northern scene in Asia and is also the coldest big city in the world with temperatures dropping around -40 degrees C/F in the winter. Not only that, Yakutsk has the most extreme temperature difference between winter and summer in the world, it also regularly gets above 90 degrees F in the summer.
Yakutsk is located in the Sakha Republic (don't call it Yakutia), the largest subdivision of a country in the world, but one of the most sparsely populated, with a little less than 1 million inhabitants, of which a third live in Yakutsk. The Sakha, a Siberian Turkic language speaking people, are the majority in the Republic and this is reflected in CN singing in Sakha and not Russian. Their political lyrics speak volumes of what life is like in Sakha and how it's distinct from the rest of Russia.
Ok enough of the fun facts and geography lessons, onto the music. When bandcamp first covered the Yakutsk scene, and I first got exposed to CN, I was completely floored. They have such a classic HC/Punk sound but is so unique to them. Their dynamics and song writing is spot on and on top of everything they are varied in delivery. From what I've seen of live footage, they and the audience in Yakutsk are all so authentic and fun, no posturing, just genuine PUNK!
After reading up on them in bandcamp, uniteasia, and even the LA Times, I thought surely someone had put in an offer to press some vinyl for them, they're one of the best punk bands in the world and getting this press coverage after all. One day I decided to contact the Youth of North people to see if CN had an offer and if not, if they'd want me to release their songs on vinyl. I'm so happy they're trusting me to do it!
-Aaron / W.G.M.