Bone Music: The Story Behind Russia's Black Market For X-Ray Vinyls

The Soviet ban on Western culture did little to suppress the market for it. The popularity of foreign music among the younger generation ensured vinyl was always in demand. Unavailable on the USSR’s closed economic market, it was the ideal situation for resourceful opportunists to make a bit of cash.

Emerging out of the post-WWI communist state were the Stilyagi, a youth movement devoted to Western culture and Russia’s first true hipsters. Sharp dressers in quiffs and brogues, the Stilyagi exuded a slick Western style as they danced ‘unrecommended’ boogies such as the jitterbug and lindy-hop. Hooked on the morsels of foreign culture returning soldiers and government officials brought back with them when they returned home from war, their love of jazz and rockabilly swelled to the point obsession.

Music was equally important to the Stilyagi as their threads and hair were, and both were in demand, despite the Cold War era ban on Western culture. Initially, these hipsters swapped what few gems they had in exchange for clothes, music, magazines, or any cultural object the few foreigners inside the Iron Curtain had. Soon a busy trade started between Stilyagi as they swapped clothes and records between each other.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcFNLkiBmup/?taken-by=bonemusicfilm

Songs were pressed onto scans of chests, lungs and broken bones by a special machine to create ‘bone music’ or ‘records on ribs’ as the bootlegs were called. And then, they were sold for cheap. The quality was never really that high, they had a finite lifespan, but it fixed a gap in the market and the price was right.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bb6ERdXh0zw/?taken-by=bonemusicfilm

The first songs to be made into bone music were the jazz and doo-wop favourites of the Stilyagi. However, as the movement evolved and more Western bands made it through the Iron Curtain, American rock ‘n’ roll and even the Beatles were pressed into records on ribs.

Known as fartsovshcik, these entrepreneurial youngsters were a key influence on the USSR’s infamous black market, which lasted as long as the Union did. By the end of the 1950s, this habit of trading and swapping Western music had grown into something even more financially rewarding for those involved and on which practically anything was available for a price.

Subkultura, Stories of Youth and Resistance in Russia 1815-2017, by Artemy Troitsky, co-published by The New Social and HOME.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.