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| <<Mumiy Troll >> El mas popular grupo de musica pop by Marina Shakina Article courtesy of http://www.kirill.hypermert.net/n24/text/a9.htm translation by webmaster Tania |
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| After the fall of communism in the former USSR, at the beginning of the 90's, the music in this country registered a true boom, covering a large variety of styles. Some of them are Russian versions of international genres like, disco or rap. Some artists limit themselves to imitating famous western groups like, let's say, the "Spice Girls" or " Take That". Naturally the quality of these imitations often leaves a great deal to be desired. Nevertheless, in this context they do get attention and accentuate their national identity. Worthy examples are for instance "Liube" who just celebrated its 10th anniversary and whose creativity is nourished from romances and urban folklore. Or the very talented but gloomy group "Agatha Christie" from Ekatharinburg in the Ural. |
| Translation of a Spanish article |
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| Another prominent phenomenon of the Russian music scene, though very distinct, is the youth's favourite "Mumiy Troll". The names of the groups mentionned do not really mean anything or carry any reference. The musicicians simply invented them for their nice "sound". "Mumiy Troll" earned its fame some years ago. Their success was rather unexpected and can mainly be linked to the unusual artistical ways of the lead singer, Ilya Lagoutenko. He is really astonishing his public with his eccentric manners, pickiness and the tone of his voice, which is somewhat in between a male and a female one. Also his appearance is very impressing: a large radiant smile, blue eyes and his facial expression: misshievous and ingenuous at the same time. But difficult enough, they did not owe their success only to good looks. In Russia they definitely don't lack nice boys with nice manners. Mumiy Troll's looks are accompanied by complicated almost encoded song texts. Lyrics that invite the audience to reflect. It would be right to state that Russian music is characterised for songs that aren't overloaded with sentiment, when not simply foolish. Another thing are Ilya Lagoutenko's songs, who's lyrics can be considered pure poetry. And on the Russian music scene, good poetry always had a great deal of esteem. The past two centuries, many songs and romances were composed using the verses of famous poets. In modern Russian music this tradition is continued by the singers and composers. The band "Mumiy Troll" was formed about 10 years ago in Vladivostok, an important port in the far east of Russia. Ilya Lagoutenko (30 years) studied at the University of Vladivostok and graduated with a degree in Oriental studies. It impresses both journalists and admirers a great deal that he knows Chinese. Even before they became famous, Ilya and his friends - musicians resided various years in London, after which they returned to conquer the Russian public. Up until today, "Mumiy Troll" records all its disks in Great Britain. Since their first success, the band has produced various disks and clips,, which the critics and public received with interest and from time to time with great enthusiasm. Staying silent during an entire year had little effect because when "Mumiy Troll" finally presented a new record in Moscow, the presentation provoked A GREAT DEAL OF turmoil. The audience does expect real revelations of this band. Without any doubt, much of the success of "Mumiy Troll" is owed to the image and the talent of Ilya Lagoutenko. Talking to journalists, he behaves with goodwill, without even the smallest symptoms of conceit, always smiling and he isn't alien to a sense of humour. Although it is wellknown that the singer is already married for a long time, has a son and calls himself "father, husbnand and family lover", he doesn't stop being an enigma for the journalists and fans. In his last clip he appears in such a tender image that caused some to start judging his sexual orientation. But it doesn't matter at all...because it is sure that his fans cannot be disturbed by any rumours. The 13 songs of the last album sure left many music critics speecheless. In general these critics tended to think that they were too multi-coloured and eclectic and that the album has an exceeding amount of "hard" songs. Ilya replied to this that the disk also rotates in Japan, where precisely the "hard" songs harvested major success. Perhaps, like some critics reserve, one simply has to become accustomed to the new disk. "The album collects our ideas better then the previous ones" , affirms Ilya Lagoutenko, "It's a good job that at leasts fills me with pride". |
| Please note this is just a free translation and my Spanish isn't perfect. If you discover any mistakes that can cause major confusion, do not hesitate to report! Many thanks, Tania |
