Eko & Vinda Folio: An iconic Georgian post-punk duo — from rebellion to reflection

Known initially for political and social commentary, their music has gradually evolved into a sensual, dreamy post-punk with addictive dance rhythms.

Eko & Vinda Folio is a Georgian post-punk duo formed in 2012 by Erekle Deisadze and Temo Ezugbaia.

Deisadze (Eko) was already a controversial public figure, having sparked widespread outrage in 2010 with his book Saidumlo Siroba, a play on the Georgian term for the Last Supper that can be read instead as ‘Holy Crap’. The novella — which targets the Georgian Orthodox Church, nationalism, and patriotism — features a number of incendiary statements, such as, ‘I welcome my little sister’s masturbation’ and ‘We must start the revenge from our parents’, which did not fare well with Georgia’s conservative circles and religious groups, but did propel Deisadze into the limelight.

Another vivid example of his early provocative artistry took place in 2016, after the formation of Eko & Vinda Folio. That year, Deisadze was detained for projecting Argentinian director Gaspar Noé’s erotic art-house drama Love onto Georgia’s Chancellery building.

In turn, Temo Ezugbaia (Vinda Folio), an IDP from Abkhazia, was known for playing in Kung Fu Junkie, a popular electro-pop band known for their avant-garde style. The band described themselves as a ‘pop-electronic circus of happy-sad Chinese robots, urban Shaolin monks, red lipsticks, and smart drugs’. Their track ‘Go Boyz’ particularly stands out, having become something of a queer anthem thanks to its openly celebratory approach to queer sexuality, a rarity in Georgian music. ‘Flowerz in My Brain’ was another song, which brought the band notoriety in Georgia throughout the 2010s, resonating well beyond the underground music scene.

In 2012, Eko & Vinda Folio released their debut single, ‘System Must be Destroyed’, a politically charged anthem reflecting widespread frustration in Georgia — particularly in regards to state power and the Georgian Orthodox Church. The song’s strength lies in its provocative lyrics, which blends anti-establishment rage with a call for rebellion in a highly poetic manner:

You’ll find God among suburban drunks / Because churches are full of the well-fed /  They've  blessed so many motorcades, try to cast them all in fire / I see a dead cop in a dream / Power to asphalt workers!

That same year, amid the mass protests against former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s government following revelations of abuse in Georgian prisons, Deisadze joined forces with Kung Fu Junkie and several other Georgian artists to record ‘System Must Be Destroyed 2.0.’ The updated track was performed live during the demonstrations.

However, the duo’s true breakthrough came with ‘Rac Mamas Unda’ (‘Whatever Dad Wants’). Built around a hypnotic, mantra-like repetition of the phrase ‘dad wants,’ the song delivers a searing critique of patriarchal control and generational conformity:

‘You spend Monday as dad wants / You marry whoever dad wants / You swear at who dad wants. /  You love your mom the way your dad wants / You need a saviour, and dad also wants. / You pray the way your dad wants / You don’t listen to me, because dad does not want. / You are like your dad / Your scumbag dad / Your fucked-out dad / Your coward dad.

The track quickly went viral, both praised for its raw honesty and condemned for its incendiary tone. In true Deisadze fashion, the backlash only added to its impact. The accompanying music video, claustrophobic and intentionally suffocating, became instantly iconic, cementing the song’s place in modern Georgian counterculture.

The group’s rising popularity in Georgia caught the attention of the renowned French indie label Talitres, which released their single ‘Shen Anateb’ in 2016. Shortly afterward, Eko & Vindia Folio began working on their debut album for the label.

Since then, their rebellious, anti-establishment edge has softened into a dreamy and introspective sound. Themes of love, therapy, attraction, and vulnerability replaced bold, provocative socio-political statements, shifting toward emotional depth and personal reflection.

In 2023, the duo released Tavshekaveba (Restraint), which leans into a harsher, more abrasive classic post-punk sound. According to the artists, the album delves into the idea of restraint as a form of personal transformation and liberation. The album incorporates new instruments and explores the sonic possibilities of the Georgian language.

While Ezugbaia has largely stayed out of the spotlight, maintaining a low public profile, Deisadze has continued to be outspoken offstage. His social media presence and public appearances — marked by a mix of irony and cynicism — have increasingly targeted establishment figures across the West.  His tendency to speak about Western cultural fault lines have led to accusations of being aligned with Georgian government’s anti-Western rhetoric, effectively resulting in the band being sidelined from major events in Tbilisi. However, such claims appear to stem more from the highly polarised nature of Georgian public discourse than from any consistent political stance on Deisadze’s part.

Yet for all the turbulence, Eko & Vinda Folio’s music endures as a rare and compelling contribution to the country’s slim post-punk scene.

Eko & Vindia are set to perform in Berlin on 24 May 2025 as part of the Gantiadi Festival.

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