Russian Girlfriend came into being in 2001, brainchild of the band’s eccentric frontman, Matt Hanley. The driving force behind many of the songs, Matt’s penchant for the somewhat extraordinary has been a key factor in the band’s musical journey. Taking inspiration from such diverse topics as murder by telephone wire to closet Hindu drag artists, the band have challenged themselves to relate the danger and desperation of the subject matter through their music. While the influences take in Muse, Suede, The Longpigs, Radiohead etc, the style is all their own Russian Girlfriend have truly created something fresh and distinctive “truly original” and “in defiance of today’s stereotypes”. The sound blends dark romance and passion with a high energy and evokes images of ‘another time, another place’, somewhere distant and foreign yet strangely welcoming. The classical, flowing style of Jools’ guitar weaves effortlessly in and out of Matt’s harsher, more gutteral guitar sound, while bassist Rob and drummer Dave fly around the rhythm section pinning the elements together. The vocal style is as unique as it is enthralling piercing, passionate and at the same time haunting. Never is a note off key. The resulting songs are hard to forget. Russian Girlfriend have been gigging solidly throughout 2003 and their performance at the Leamington Peace festival in Warwickshire was filmed as part of a documentary charting the festival’s 30 year history. The band also featured at their home city of Coventry’s Godiva Festival, on the bill with Shed 7 and Biffy Clyro. The festival magazine described them as “Very original”. In August 2003 they were given a tremendous boost when their song “Butterfly Order” (CD track 4) was selected to receive intensive airplay on digital station Storm Radio, as part of their “Rock Revolution” promotion of unsigned bands.. The station’s Ben Glover said of Russian Girlfriend, “They could be huge. In fact, I hope they will be!”, while Craig Pilling commented, “They will rock your face right off”. Russian Girlfriend are upping their game in 2004 and reaching out with their unique brand to more and more audiences throughout the UK. The response to their sound is enthusiastic and excited, so you can expect to hear about them soon. Listen to the CD and enjoy. We hope you’ll want to become part of the Russian Girlfriend story. Russian Girlfriend are: Matt Hanley (Lead Vocals/Guitar) Jools Street (Guitars) Rob Roach (Bass) Dave Emery (Drums)