Bone music, Soviet outlaws and X-ray rock ‘n’ roll ft. Stephen Coates

2024-06-13

A record etched onto an x-ray of a (probably, now) dead Soviet citizen’s head. That is the uniquely cursed object Stephen Coates came across in a Russian flea market in 2014. Weird, eerie, and almost polyphonic in quality, these DIY records captivated him and sparked a mission to find the bootleggers who had risked up to *five years* in a gulag for their love of music. How did they turn x-rays into subversive ‘rib music’? And what can a flimsy bit of plastic show us about subcultural life in the USSR?...

A record etched onto an x-ray of a (probably, now) dead Soviet citizen’s head. That is the uniquely cursed object Stephen Coates came across in a Russian flea market in 2014.

Weird, eerie, and almost polyphonic in quality, these DIY records captivated him and sparked a mission to find the bootleggers who had risked up to *five years* in a gulag for their love of music. How did they turn x-rays into subversive ‘rib music’? And what can a flimsy bit of plastic show us about subcultural life in the USSR?

Stephen Coates hosts the fantastic Bureau of Lost Culture podcast and his band, The Real Tuesday Weld, are well worth a listen. He also curates various events including London Month of the Dead and Salon for the City. Kasia and Dan have signed up to their mailing lists - you should too!

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Theme music and production: Mr Beatnick

Artwork: Archie Bashford

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