Vanyamba is the creative pseudonym of St. Petersburg musician Andrey Sharoyko.
He began his musical studies by recording industrial-style demos back in 1994. At that time, he signed his creations as Rabid Vanyamba.
However, the advent of the computer forced him to put aside the electric guitar and begin experimenting with techno music.
Recalling this time, Vanyamba claims that electronic music styles managed to go out of fashion before new albums were released.
Everything was changed by the advent of trip-hop and trance. Vanyamba remained creatively indifferent to trip-hop, but trance music became his favorite for a long time.
Vanyamba tried to write trance for some time, but very soon realized that this music has its own incomprehensible laws that turn even the most unconventional ideas into a dance beat. He always wanted to write music at the intersection of genres, and it turned out that the result was what was later called progressive electronica.
Having recorded his first album [Pictures From The Other Side] in June 2002, Rabid Vanyamba realized that the listener would hardly find rabid expression of industrial music in his music, and he became simply Vanyamba.
Although the musician still loves the first album, in those distant days he considered such music too commercial, and this album did not bring him commercial success.
Vanyamba realized that he was writing independent music, but if you don’t write music for profit, then why write it at all - the St. Petersburg musician spent several years searching for the answer to this question.
And so, in October 2009, Vanyamba presented the public with his second album [The Age Of Cyber Fairytales], which combines both elements of early Vanyamba and some experiments of the new Vanyamba. Everything changed with the advent of the bass guitar. This magical instrument allowed Vanyamba to change the principle of recording new tracks. Vanyamba realized that it is possible not to write music in its classical sense at all, and it will still be music, because it is played on musical instruments.
This is how the album [Imitation Genuine] was born, which in April 2024 opened a new milestone in Vanyamba's work. Since then, Vanyamba has recorded several new albums, the style of which can be described as free electronica.
With the new music, Vanyamba also achieved his first commercial success. His music was noticed and even listened to with caution.
As the musician himself notes, his own music has finally begun to surprise him.
