Red Wave – book premiere | Mieroszewski Centre

“This is the story of a girl from Los Angeles, without whom the underground music scene of 1980s Leningrad – vibrant yet completely isolated from the world before the changes – would never have gained global recognition.”
— Konstanty Usenko, author of the introduction to the Polish edition

In the 1980s, Joanna Stingray — a young artist from Los Angeles, raised in the world of pop culture and luxury — found herself in a place where music was an act of courage and a concert could end with a police raid. Fascinated by Leningrad’s underground, she befriended musicians who created in defiance of censorship and repression: Boris Grebenshchikov, Viktor Tsoi, Yuri Kasparyan, Sergey Kuryokhin, and Konstantin Kinchev.

In the Soviet Union, she discovered not only rock’n’roll but also the very essence of rebellion. Together with her sister, she began smuggling tapes, VHS recordings, and photographs to the U.S., leading in 1986 to the release of the groundbreaking album “Red Wave: 4 Underground Bands from the Soviet Union” — a record that carried forbidden music across the Iron Curtain and opened the door to freedom for Soviet artists.

The book “Red Wave,” written with her daughter Madison Stingray, is a remarkable autobiographical account of those events — a story of courage, friendship, love, and art that transcended borders and ideologies. It is also the story of a woman who transformed from an outsider into a bridge between two worlds — between Los Angeles and Leningrad, between freedom and the system.

During the Warsaw premiere, Joanna Stingray talked about her artistic journey, the risks she took, and why she believes music can change the world.

Conversation was moderated by:

• Rafał Księżyk – journalist and author of books on the history of rock
• Konstanty Usenko – musician, author, and expert on Eastern counterculture