Stalin-era Hawaiian-styled surf songs, mixed by a Russian DJ are taking over the airways in Eastern Europe, with also thousands of copies flying off the store shelves as well.

Gulag Tunes, created by Mikhail Antipov, is a collection of Stalin-era prison songs mixed with Hawaiian surf music, with the cover album showing Stalin draped in a Hawaiian-style garland of skulls.

Antipov says of his surprise success: "We call this classic rebellious prison music 'blatniye pesni' and I have added luau-style percussion and keyboards.

"It is so popular because the topic is very rich, and no one has ever done this before."

According to Ananova.com, songs include a take on the classic Vaninsky Port which refers to a network of Stalin-era prison camps.