Listen to Primary School

At the age of 18, the Austrian-born Ripoff Raskolnikov set out to travel the world as a street musician. Initially, he was inspired by European folk music but later the songwriting attitude, which is rooted in American folklore, defining the music of Bob Dylan or even Tom Waits, gradually became more and more dominant in his songwriting work. Alike the legends mentioned above, Ripoff’s music retains full commitment and unwavering integrity towards exploring, and coming to terms with emotions such as love, passion, desire, loss, pain, the quest of beauty, hunger for life, or the fear of death. Driven by such forces, Raskolnikov unleashes songs of powerful poetic and musical expression which, more often than not, defy stylistic categorization. His suggestive play and special stage appearance were first seen by Hungarian audience in November 1987, and have since become an integral part of Hungarian music life. His songs cover the full spectrum of human emotions, Ripoff talks in a unique tone about love, passion, loss, the difficulties of everyday life, but also about striving for beauty and living life to the fullest. He regularly releases studio materials: his recent albums Small Worlds and Odds and Ends have received serious acclaim. Today, the Ripoff Raskolnikov Band is one of the best blues-americana productions in Central Europe - its members are all veterans of the genre.