Zdob și Zdub
Folk punk band from Chișinău, three times at the Eurovision Song Contest
1994
Photo: Florian Stoeger, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Photo: RFMONLINE.DE, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Zdob și Zdub is a rock band from Chișinău that blends punk and hardcore with Moldovan folk music. The name imitates the sound of a drum. The band gave Moldova its Eurovision debut in 2005 and finished sixth at the first attempt.
Link with MoldovaZdob și Zdub was formed in Chișinău in 1994 and has represented Moldova three times at the Eurovision Song Contest, including the country's debut in 2005.
The group was founded in 1994 by singer and multi-instrumentalist Roman Iagupov, who also writes the lyrics, bassist and composer Mihai Gîncu and drummer Anatol Pugaci. The first record, Hardcore Moldovenesc (1996), says a lot about where they started: punk and hardcore. Over time folk melodies, flute and traditional instruments took on a bigger role, giving the band a sound it sums up itself in album titles such as Agroromantica and Ethnomecanica. After Tabăra noastră (1999) came Agroromantica (2001), 450 de oi (2003), Ethnomecanica (2006), Basta Mafia! (2012), 20 de veri (2015) and Bestiarium (2019), among others.
The link with Moldova
At the Eurovision Song Contest Zdob și Zdub is a familiar name. In 2005, Moldova's first time taking part, the band performed Boonika bate toba (Grandma beats the drum). It came second in the semi-final and sixth in the final, with 148 points. In 2011 came So Lucky, which earned twelfth place with 97 points.
In 2022 the band returned, this time together with the brothers of Frații Advahov, with Trenulețul (The little train). The song finished seventh in Turin, with 253 points. That made three times that Zdob și Zdub reached the final through a semi-final.
The band has a long track record on stages and at festivals going back to the 1990s.
Key facts
- 1994: formed in Chișinău
- 1996: debut album Hardcore Moldovenesc
- 2005: sixth at the Eurovision Song Contest with Boonika bate toba
- 2011: twelfth with So Lucky
- 2022: seventh with Trenulețul, together with Frații Advahov
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