I realized I’ve never mentioned one of my favorite bands, Zdob și Zdub, in my blog. By the way, when I watched Alexander Tobolsky’s show Longplay on bands that started out in a completely different style than the one they’re known for now, Zdob și Zdub immediately came to mind. Their first album and what they’ve become since are worlds apart (though you can see hints of their current style even in the first album).
But let’s get back to the band. In practically every one of their albums, there’s at least one song that I end up playing on repeat dozens of times. In their latest album, that song for me is Sanziene. I honestly don’t care what the original lyrics mean in Moldovan; I always listen to songs as a whole, where the vocals are just another instrument. And here, the energy and the voices completely blow my mind. Zdob și Zdub often collaborates with other artists, and this song is performed together with another Moldovan singer, Irina Rimes. Highly, highly recommended:
As is often the case with Zdob și Zdub, this song also has an official Russian-language version titled Na Ivana Kupalu (On Ivan Kupala Night). In this version, they perform as a “duet” again, but this time with a different singer—Masha Makarova, who many might recognize as the lead vocalist of the band Masha i Medvedi. The change in singer gives the song a slightly different feel; it sounds distinct (and it’s not just about the language). I personally prefer the Moldovan version a little more, but the Russian one is great as well:
