Tune into me

Guest DJ for Sounds of Europe maybe?



See 2.03- he'd fit right in,we're always murdering Dima Koldun songs in the studio :) Though we've never left the microphone on whilst doing it,unlike silly Dima.

I'm loving this song Nastroysa Na Menya,what with this and Chelsi's Tochka Vozrata- maybe the dry spell in Russian pop is over...

I wonder if we could get the management of our radio station to get us some glitzy headphones? Old ones with half the sponge hanging out just aren't as glamorous.

Top 50- 36: Every day on earth...*

Dima Koldun- Kazhdiy Den Na Zemlye

Dima K hasn't been as brilliant this year as he has been in the last few years.Maybe it's because he's all busy with this rock opera thing he's doing.But a few months ago,Kazdhiy Den Na Zemlye was my song of the moment.Nowhere near the greatness of Ya Dlya Tebya or Nikagda or V Ritme Tansa (where that lovely lovely picture comes from),but it's OK.As middle of the road music goes.

*Quite literally the only (half) line I know

Every minute my love for you gets stronger

So not only is Dima K involved in this rock opera thing,he's still got time to churn out brilliant Russkiy-pop.This is Poezd na Yug (Train to the South) and it's great.As always he's talking about good and evil etc etc,but that it doesn't matter because he's on his train going to see someone he loves.Awww.Why don't you get a train to the west and come and see me Dimka?I'd make you happy :) Deutsche Bahn has offers on trips to and from Belarus too,so I read today.Don't do it tomorrow though,I'll be on one to the north.Think it's about time I checked out Flensburg and the rude bakery staff :)



Edit: How fabulous is that intro exactly?I love it!

Everything but lies can survive

Whereas Chelsi have taken their time to release the very substandard Mladshaya Sestryonka,there's no stopping the hit machine that is Dima Koldun these days.I think I mentioned Surrender and Plohaya Novosti,but there's quite a few others I haven't got round to listening to properly yet.My favourite one of the moment though is Kazhdiy Den Na Zemlye (Every day on Earth).The lyrics are a bit wishy-washy (see post title for a probably badly translated example),but it's a really good tune that reminds me of a kind of cross between Land of Make Believe (in places anyway) and something I can't quite remember the name of right now.Anyway,here's Mr K at the Belarussian national finals of Junior Eurovision looking resplendent in a washed-out denim ensemble.Thankfully it stops just before he starts singing Surrender- I'm really not liking that one very much.

Have you ever wondered...

What Reality of Dreams sounds like in Russian?Of course you have.Well wonder no more.(It's quite good).

This is not my dream

I've missed out on so much with my lack of youtube.It seems Dima's done lots of new songs without me knowing about it!This is my favourite one so far- called Plohaya Novosti (Bad News).As usual,the lyrics aren't the happiest ones in the world,but the song is great.More towards the Get Up Get Down end of the spectrum than the Tsaryevna end.

The world will be yours

Oh my God,it's a new Dima Koldun song!!!

OK,it's not that new.I have heard it before,I just forgot about it before I could post it.I know,I've been neglecting Mr K in favour of Aleksei Vorobyov these days.It's called Surrender,and it's...alright I suppose.Not as good as Nikagda or Reality of Dreams though.And I see he's gone down the Borodin-hair route.Cut it Dima!



This video was put on youtube by the German Koldun Fan Club apparantly.Only a week to go then I can go and hunt them down and join!

From one birthday to another...

Yes,it's the turn of the lovely Dima K,who's 23 today.I think this calls for a bit of Zhizn' v Ritme Tansa...


S nyom razhdeniya Dima!

(Old) news from Belarus

As I wrote a few weeks ago,Dima Koldun is due to release his first album on June 11th.I've found out some more about it,although as is often the case with my Russian news,I'm not sure how accurate the sources are.

Anyway,apparantly the album will be called Ya Ne Volshyebnik (I'm not a magician?) Would make sense I suppose.And the tracklist is as follows...



1- Ya Dlya Tebya
2- Nikagda
3- Reality of Dreams
4- Tsaryevna
5- Devushka Moei Mechti
6- Ya Ne Umru Bez Tvoi Ljubvi
7- Angel Mechti
8- Ya Budu Zhdat
9- Vals Boston (I believe this is the one)
10- Zhizn' v Ritme Tantsa (I assume it's a longer version of this one)
11- Vechniy Agon
12- Ty Uletish
13- Day Mne Silu (Zoloto Remix)
14- Work Your Magic (Deep Zone Remix) Yay!

Well that looks like a bloody good album even if I say so myself.Surprised there's no Na Volne though,that would have fit in very well.There's a good mixture of stuff on there though- super upbeat stuff like Ya Dlya Tebya and V Ritme Tansa,along with a bit of folky stuff,huge ballads and kick-arse remixes.Can't wait!

The news we've been waiting for for ages

By 'we',I of course mean me and Keira,although I'm sure there are some other people who will be quite excited about the fact that Dima K is finally releasing an album.June 11th apparantly (isn't that his birthday?).Shame we'll have to wait 6 years before it appears second hand on Amazon though...Oh,and some other exciting news too,Dima has also said that he wouldn't mind doing Eurovision again.Yes!Come back and sing for the UK with me and Keira,it'd be amazing...Anyway,here he is singing Nikagda at the final of Miss Belarus,complete with some very annoying echoey sound effects.

At last...

The video to Tsaryevna is done!Which is just as well,we were getting a bit bored with Dima K what with all the Jonatan/Ruslan/Euroband frenzy.It's a bit of an odd video I must say,but I like it.Even if the girl Dima's after does look a bit like him.Still,if you looked like Dima,you would fancy yourself really.

More Dima...

But this time,Dima K.I've finally found the video he seems to have been shooting for ages.Turns out it was for Ya Dlya Tebya,and he looks absolutely divine as usual :)

Life will give us time to love again

I'm still sulking about Zuma not winning Siste Sjanse last night.So to stop me thinking about the injustice,and also to give me something to do in the 20 minutes I have before I have to run off to German,I thought I'd share a few songs I've been listening to quite a lot lately that are not Always Always.

This is Dima Bilan looking rather nice and singing Ne Skuchay, Bedniy Angel, from the Vremya Reka album.Quite old then,but I've only just come across it really.It's not as good as Yunskiy Dozhd,which is another old one that I've just come across,but there doesn't seem to be any videos of that one anywhere.


And this is Dima Koldun,not looking at his best it must be said- whoever chose that outfit has seriously questionable taste in fashion...Anyway,the song is a cover of Sofia Rotaru's Ty Uletish (You'll fly away).It's wonderful,it does sound a bit old fashioned,and the chorus may well get stuck in your head...But it's still fabulous.

Your name is in my every breath

Exciting times,this video (added to youtube yesterday),is of Dima K's new song Tsaryevna.Although it's not the video that I was talking about the other day.Whether or not that video and this song are meant to go together,I still don't know,but anyway,have a look :) It's a really nice song,sounds like he's been taking tips from Prohor and his ethno-pop- very different to Dima's normal stuff.



I'll (probably) be back later with news and things about Eurolaul which has been happening this evening.

Exciting news from Russia

Well,it's exciting,but not necessarily news.As much as I try to keep up to date with Russian pop-world,I do fail quite a lot :) Anyway,this moody yet lovely picture of Dima K is from a new video shoot he's been doing.It's all quite mysterious,there doesn't seem to be any indication around of what this song is,or when it will be out...Still,I'm sure it'll be a pleasant surprise :) I've also read that there's going to be an album released soon.Which is about time.He's done some really good songs since Fabrika Zvezd,so it'll be nice to hear a proper album at last.
Oh,and I also found this video of him doing a song I've never heard of called Dom Khrustalniy (House of Glass) on some programme or other.I like it,it reminds me of a big Italian ballad for some reason.And he's looking gorgeous.But then again,when has he ever not looked gorgeous?And by the way,I'm sure I've seen Dima Bilan wearing that belt...


In other Fabrika based news,there's a new song on Prohor Shalyapin's website.It's called Ya Luchiy and it's really good.Probably about as typical pop as Prohor's going to get.It means 'I'm the best.' Yes Prohor,you are,I think you're fabulous.And you should come over to the next Russian Winter Festival :)

Eurofest...

Is on Monday,which will be the perfect thing to sit and watch after the big anticlimax that Sunday is going to be...Here at Europop Mansions Surrey Branch,we're backing Litesound 100% after realising that although Ruslan's song is eurotastic,Do You Believe is an anthem that must be loved and shared with the rest of Europe :)
Just to get in the Belarussian spirit of things,here's Litesound's 2006 Eurofest attempt- My Faith.It's good,I like it.Although this video is of shocking quality.


Of course,Litesound weren't the only great entrants that year.Everyone's favourite Belarussian,Dima Koldun (must have been just before Fabrika Zvezd) was in it too,singing Maybe,the English version of Bit' Mozhet,the duet with his brother that I assume was recorded later,possibly even after Fabrika.Again,the video's a bit rubbish,but the sound is fine.It's a really good performance,I can't believe Belarus actually sent Polina to Athens instead...

It's Dima time!

It's been far too long (yep,at least a week or so) since I posted anything to do with Dima Koldun.So I just found this camp and fabulous performance of V Ritme Tantsa (nope,I've never heard of it either),and thought I should share :)

2007 Countdown Part 3

4: Måns Zelmerlöw- Brother Oh Brother

Although there’s a few dodgy lines in this song… “I thought she was the one, until I realised that she was gone…” “I thought you knew… well now I do,” I can overlook them :) This is such a tune. And it sounds really good on Keira’s fabulous new ipod hi-fi thing.

3: Chelsi- Krilya/Ya Shagayu Pa Moskve/Careless Whisper/Ya Ne Umru Bez Tvoi Liubvi

OK OK, I know I’ve just listed 4 songs there, but I couldn’t possibly choose between them, they’re all so good. Chelsi have undoubtedly been my greatest musical discovery this year, they’ve taken me and Keira back to the good old days of British pop. Well, obviously they sing in Russian and we don’t always know what they’re singing about, but they’re just like a 90s boyband really (except they wear suits which just makes them even better). Of course it helps that Arseniy Borodin is one of the hottest men on the planet, but their music is nothing short of fabulous. Krilya has the added bonus of a…nice video, Ya Shagayu Pa Moskve is wonderful (not their song, I know, but it’s still a great version, I even got to play it in one of my Russian lessons a few months ago), Careless Whisper is, again, another super cover, even if they do miss out a word in the chorus which sounds a bit strange. Ya Ne Umru Bez Tvoi Liubvi is in fact a cover of a Dima Koldun song so I’ve been told, and although I said before I prefer Dima’s version, I think I’ve changed my mind. I love the intro, I love the guitar solo in the middle, I love the way when it gets quieter towards the end that you think it’s finished, and I love the way Roman shouts Ya Ne Umru Bez Liubvi in the last chorus…yeah, it’s an alright song :)

2: Dima Koldun- Work Your Magic

Say what you like about Filip Kirkorov (and me and Keira often do), he made a bloody good job of this song. Oh how we tried to promote it to everyone we knew in the run up to Eurovision. Well OK, it was about 3 months actually. No one seemed to take any notice though. It’s a travesty Belarus got no points from the UK, says something about the rubbish musical taste of the British public though I suppose… Yes Molitva was a good song, but let’s face it, it was just a generic Balkan ballad really, whereas Work Your Magic was a bit different to your normal Eurovision fare. It’s completely dramatic and over the top, but catchy and brilliant at the same time. And not only has it given me the title of my blog, but also provided us with Loving Potion, a world class cocktail knocked up one evening in the bright yellow holiday camp in Guildford. Oh yes, and the small matter of it being sung by the sexiest Belarussian in the world simply adds to its appeal. Actually no, it’s sung by the sexiest man in the world full stop (Dima was recently unanimously voted the hottest man on the planet. By me and Keira).

A fabulous musical year: Revisited

It seems a good time to write about some of the highlights of the year, as generally seems to be the fashion at this time. So for the next few days, Work Your Magic is probably going to be somewhat of a listmania :)
I thought I’d start with a bit of a countdown of my favourite songs of 2007. I’ve put a lot of thought into it, because although I’ve heard so many good songs this year, a lot of them are actually old (well, older than a year anyway). That’s why many of my absolute favourites (like Krugovarot, Vroce and Samaya Liubimaya) are not mentioned. Anyway, I’ve managed to come up with 10, well sort of anyway. You’ll see.

10: Dima Koldun- Ya Dlya Tebya

Dima can do no wrong. I don’t think there’s a song he’s done that I don’t like. He’s done some great stuff since Eurovision, Na Volne is cool, Nikagda is lovely if not a bit on the sad side, Reality of Dreams is also wonderful… however, I think this is my favourite one of the lot, if only because I love the guitar intro, and can’t help singing along to the first few (high and squeaky) bits :)


9: Tone Damli Aaberge- Fever

I’d heard of Tone before the VG Lista concert in Oslo this summer but hadn’t taken much notice. I discovered that I actually really like her voice though, and this is a really good song, bit different to your average pop song I think. I must say, I still haven’t listened to anything else of hers (apart from the couple of performances on Idol Gir Tilbake), but I will do. Eventually.


8: Dima Bilan- Number One Fan

“They call me Dima Bilan, Dima Bilan, D-D-Dima Bilan”. Hardly Ola Salo or Teitur class lyrics, but I’ve got used to them now. When I first heard Number One Fan, my first reaction was something like- “oh Dima, what have you done?” But for some reason I kept listening to it and now it’s ended up one of my favourite songs of the year. Why? I don’t really know. But it is funky and catchy, and although to be honest, I don’t think all his working with Timbaland and English language stuff is going to get him very far (unfortunately. If any Russian’s going to make an impact in Britain or America, it’ll be Sergei Lazarev), I still think it’s good that he’s trying. Can’t wait to see him next month in London either :)

I won't die without your love

In this awful quality video,Dima appears to be singing a song which is quite clearly Chelsi's new one.Who stole it from who I wonder?Either way,Mr K's looking hot as ever,and from what I've heard,I must say he sings it better than Chelsi.Controversial I know.