Youth of the North

2017-updated periodically

Thousands of miles away from Moscow, the feral sound of Yakutian punk is born amid freezing darkness. Here, in Russia’s largest and coldest region, where temperatures in winter can drop to -60 degrees Celsius, rockers write completely independent music.

The history of the Yunost Severa (Youth of the North) began in 2009 with the desire of several friends to create music. They don’t position itself as a label in the usual sense, more like a group of pals united by the same passion. No more than 30 people make up the scene and often shift positions in more than a dozen bands.

Concerts that bring together all the creative young people of Yakutsk, successful performances outside the republic, a deep background filled with its own lore, recognizable visual markers — over a decade and a half of its existence, Yunost Severa has become something more than a local crowd of guys with guitars.