Diverse tastes came to me as I trawled the underground Moscow club scene, listening to local Russian bands experiment with a diverse blend of styles, as well as subversive performance artists such as Vladimir Visotskii (sort of a Russian version of Serge Gainsbourg), whose political activities were as inspirational as his music. I loved European and American bands such as Depeche Mode, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, and even Italian pop music, which was gaining enormous popularity in Russia.