12.01.2021.
Probably the most unusual record hides the story of the human spirit
In Russia after World War II, Stalin banned the possession of any Western music. All records allowed in the country had to be by Russian composers. But there were a lot of people hungry for Western popular music - everything from jazz and blues to rock and roll. Vinyl smuggling was dangerous, and obtaining materials to make copies of those records that somehow entered the country was expensive and very risky.
An ingenious solution to this problem began to appear in the form of "Bone Music", or sometimes called "Bone and Ribs" music, or simply Ribs.
A young 19-year-old sound engineer, Ruslan Bogoslovski from Leningrad, changed the rules of the game by making a device for copying Western albums so that he could then distribute them throughout Russia. The problem was that he could not find the material to copy to, vinyl was hard to come by like all petroleum products after the war. Then one day he came across a pile of discarded X-rays. It was successful. At the time, Russian law required that all X-rays be destroyed after one year of storage because they were flammable, so he dug up trash cans and paid cleaners for X-rays, and over 20 years he manually made about 1,000,000 copies on X-rays. There was everything from classics to Beach Boys. He eventually spent five years in prison in Siberia for this rebellion.
For over 20 years, "Bone Music" was the only way Russian music lovers could get to Western music, which they played at "music parties and coffee parties" in their homes, away from the ears and eyes of the KGB.
The picture shows a vinyl copy of the Indian song "Avaara" by Raja Kapor, made on a chest X-ray. It was probably built around 1951. Each plate was handmade and unique.
Bone Music. A confirmation of the courage to undermine authority, rebellion and love of music. The spirit of rock and roll.
Very interesting story. I've never heard of this. Very resourceful.