Messer Chups

Russian-born artist and musician Oleg Gitarkin assembles the low-brow sound of Messer Chups by layering sampled fragments from trash horror films, cartoons, and assorted other origins through audio-collage techniques. Surf-rock drumming, big-band touches, and cinematic dialogue reveal Gitarkin’s Western leanings, yet the project also weaves in vintage Soviet synthesizers and animation excerpts tied to his childhood. Formed in 1998 after the dissolution of the German-Russian psychobilly group Messer für Frau Müller, Messer Chups adheres to rockabilly, horror punk, lounge, and surf rock.

Following the split of Messer für Frau Müller, guitarist-bassist-keyboardist Oleg Gitarkin remained active and recruited Oleg Kostrow of Phantom to revive the earlier band. The collaboration proved short-lived, however, as Gitarkin resided in Hamburg while Kostrow lived in Moscow. Kostrow subsequently issued solo material under his own name, while Gitarkin, remaining devoted to the concept, launched the offshoot Messer Chups—its title combining the German word for knife with the Chupa Chups lollipop brand.

Taking full creative control, Gitarkin drove Messer Chups into an ever-expanding vortex of film dialogue, surf riffs, archival recordings, and Soviet-era synthesizers. German promoter and musician Annette Schneider joined in 1998, adding synthesizer to the duo. After Gitarkin moved to St. Petersburg, he incorporated vocal samples of Schneider for the cassette Chudovishe i Chudovishe (“Monster and Monster”), issued in 1999. Schneider departed after the recording, yet local producer Oleg Tarassov, impressed by the results, reissued the material on his Solnze Records label. Augmented with fresh tracks, reworked older pieces, and contributions from keyboardist Igor Vdovin (formerly of Leningrad) and additional musicians, the project emerged in 2000 as the album Miss Libido, again drawing heavily on Soviet animation in the manner of earlier Messer für Frau Müller work. The follow-up, 2000’s Bride of Atom, intensified the group’s signature chaos with vocal outbursts, horror-movie snippets, and surf-rock fragments. 2001’s Vamp Babes arrived as an overt homage to B-movies, complete with titles such as “Mobile Coffin” and “Cannibal Twist.”

Theremin virtuoso Lydia Kavina joined in 2002, propelling the band toward further sonic improbability. As the grand-niece of inventor Leon Theremin, Kavina brought an instrument central to the very horror soundtracks Gitarkin admired. Its ethereal tones enriched the 2002 release Black Black Magic. A fifth album, The Best of Messer Chups: Cocktail Draculina, combined new compositions with refreshed earlier material. Beyond the studio, Messer Chups began extensive touring across Russia, Western Europe, and the United States, with live presentations incorporating frantic montages of films by directors including Ed Wood and Russ Meyer.

The 2005 album Crazy Price introduced harp to the ensemble’s spectral lineup. That same year saw the release of Hyena Safari, followed by Zombie Shopping in 2007. During the interim, Messer für Frau Müller resurfaced on Russian and German stages and returned to the recording studio. By 2008 the Messer Chups lineup consisted of Gitarkin (guitar, samples, video), Zombie Girl (bass), and Oleg Peskov (drums).