Born in Zukhovsky, Russia in 1985, music was a part of Evgeny’s life from an early age. He distinctly remembers noticing the music in various films and cartoons from the age of 4, including and especially The Three Musketeers. At the age of six, each morning as he was preparing for school there was Russian rockabilly and surf music on the television. Noticing his fascination, Evgeny’s parents bought him a cassette with similar music.

Some years later, as Western pop music began being broadcast on Russian TV, Evgeny was glued to the screen watching performances by Prodigy, Chemical Brothers and Nirvana. These performances inspired something in him, and with his parents’ help he purchased his first guitar from a neighbour.

When he reached 16 years old, after being introduced to punk and surf rock music, he began playing the guitar seriously. Two years later, Evgeny switched to drums and joined indie noise bands in his hometown and nearby Moscow. A highlight from this period was a tour with Damo Suzuki, formerly of the popular German Krautrock band Can.

Grinko later discovered the piano and taught himself to play, marking a turning point in his career as a pianist and composer. In 2010, just three years later, he composed “Valse” and uploaded it on Facebook. Feedback was positive and the subsequently created video went viral, creating a phenomenon that began organically in Turkey and has since spread worldwide, paving the way for Evgeny Grinko, a former noise rock musician, to enter the field of contemporary classical music.

Since then he has released four albums (Ice for Aureliano Buendia (2013), Tiny Mouse Tales (2018), Naive Album (2019), Orange Marmalade (2021)), 6 EP’s (Winter Sunshine (2011), Sail On The Roof (2013), Silent Like Water (2015), Outtakes (2018), Lullabies (2020), Outtakes II (2024)). Evgeny’s development as a self-taught pianist is evident in albums such as ‘Ice For Aureliano Buendia’ and ‘Orange Marmalade’. He has performed in some of the most prestigious venues in the world including Gorky Park in Moscow, Ministry Hall in Tehran, Harbiye Open Air and Zorlu Center in Istanbul, Passionskirche in Berlin, and Heydar Aliyev Palace in Baku.

Today, with over 400 million streams on Spotify, 200 million YouTube views, and over 2.4 million monthly listeners, Evgeny’s music continues to grow in global popularity. In 2023 alone, nearly 7 million people listened to Evgeny’s music for the first time. A growing community surrounds Grinko’s music, with over 401,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel and over 438,000 followers on Instagram.

Humor, sadness and longing figure equally in Evgeny’s compositions, which incorporate cinematic elements that belie their sparse instrumentation. Colours float in and out of the music, occasionally combining to reveal a spontaneous rainbow of sound.

In 2022, he was compelled to leave his homeland. Due to his opposition to the invasion of Ukraine, he was arrested during protests and spent some time in prison. He realised he was no longer safe in Russia. His journey has since brought him to Istanbul and subsequently to Berlin, his new adopted home.

After his move Evgeny Grinko gave his triumphant German debut concert in Berlin on 27 June to a sold-out and impatient Passionskirche crowd and released his EP Outtakes II on 21 June, including a love letter to his Turkish fans in the form of Turkish folk song “Uzun Ince.”

Evgeny’s next album, Winter Moonlight, is set for release in February 2025. First single and video “Melting” is out October 4.