"The most advanced things in science, technology and the arts are kept secret until the market is ready for the changes they would bring into the world." This is from the press release for "Sputnik," the first compact disc of The New Composers, who obviously believe they know why it is taking so long for their music to be widely appreciated in Russia.
Well-known in St. Petersburg's underground artistic circles, The New Composers -- two young experimental musicians, Valery Alakhov and Igor Verichev -- believe that Russia is finally ready for "Sputnik," which was released this month.
Alakhov and Verichev were the first composers of electronic music in the Soviet Union to produce mixes and reworkings of existing music. They achieved a totally new sound that cannot be confused with any other in the world of electronic music. They created the sound of The New Composers.
"Our music is intellectual electronic music," says Alakhov. "You can't call it techno music. You can say house music, but only because we created our music in the very beginning in our houses. We started in 1984, at the time when Soviet electronics were only just starting to develop. So we couldn't get any electronic musical equipment or computers."
Instead of high-quality electronic equipment, The New Composers used two reel-to-reel tape recorders to create their advanced music in 1984.
At that time they were among the first Russian DJ's, playing their music only in St. Petersburg's underground artistic circles, and were so successful that a key figure in the modern art scene, Timur Novikov, became their patron. But even Novikov's involvement could not help The New Composers find an audience beyond the small group of young bohemians. Though they were often invited to play at famous Russian Raves, the audiences there usually consisted of those already familiar with them.
Their first single release, "Sputnik," appeared in England in 1990, on the Amazon label. "It's the ambition of every musician to be recorded by the most professional company," Alakhov says. "There is a paradox here. Our music is easily recognizable in the ocean of electronic music because of the lack of modern equipment during the early stage of our career. Nowadays talented young musicians despair because there is not enough modern electronic equipment in the country. But if you are talented and have a strong desire to create, you can make music with anything. Brian Eno came here in 1987 and told us a story of how one of his favorite musical pieces was played in the kitchen with pens and glasses. But at the same time, to enter the international musical market you have to be up-to-date and record your music at professional recording studios."
"Sputnik," available through the Melodiya chain of music stores, is devoted to the world's pioneering cosmonauts and includes 10 tracks.
"The first cosmonauts paid with their lives for their exit into the cosmos, when their bodies were carried out into space for the first time in human history at a speed of 11 kilometers a second," says Alakhov. The key figure he's thinking of is the world's first man in space, Yury Gagarin. The New Composers use Gagarin's voice from an old recording, "I am saying to you, my dear friends, do svidaniya," as the vocal line in one of their songs. The New Composers see an element of mysticism in this, since Gagarin said these words to a group of young cosmonauts six months before his death in an aircraft crash.
Another track, "The Seagull," is devoted to the first woman to enter space, Valentina Tereshkova. During the Brezhnev era, Tereshkova was chairwoman of the Union of Soviet Women. When she was asked to sing something for the people, she often sang "Sing Us a Song, O Merry Wind," from an old Soviet film, "The 15-Year-Old Captain," according to The New Composers, who use Tereshkova's voice in their music.
The initial musical material is changed in the creations of The New Composers to such an extent that it becomes impossible to recognize the original. The famous Russian song "The Evening Bells" can be identified only thanks to the repetition of its well-known lyrics.
Among those invited by The New Composers to record the words of their songs are the Russian-English Princess Katya Golitsyn and the brilliant Yakut singer Kola Beldy ("White Island"). Beldy was brought up among the boundless uninhabited snow deserts of Yakutia, and his songs tell of his thoughts and feelings in such surroundings. The music of The New Composers carries his voice straight to the cosmos; with The New Composers, his voice reaches out into the atmosphere.
"We are trying to find a sound that has not been heard before, to go further in the cognition of the world," says Alakhov. "The invention of the organ was as significant as the flight to the moon. From sound in the atmosphere we try to create a harmonic melody."
A fascination with science fiction and space and a delight in discoveries in technology were fashionable in Russia in the 1960s and 1970s. Now most modern musicians embrace the cult of pleasure, sex and sentimental love. But The New Composers are still drawn to science fiction, space, and new technology. In the 1980s they even organized a "Club for Lovers of Science Fiction," which brought together cosmonauts, writers, scientists and UFOlogists.
"Some things in science fiction become reality, in time," says Verichev, echoing his belief that some things in music, like the creations of The New Composers, also take time.
Well-known in St. Petersburg's underground artistic circles, The New Composers -- two young experimental musicians, Valery Alakhov and Igor Verichev -- believe that Russia is finally ready for "Sputnik," which was released this month.
Alakhov and Verichev were the first composers of electronic music in the Soviet Union to produce mixes and reworkings of existing music. They achieved a totally new sound that cannot be confused with any other in the world of electronic music. They created the sound of The New Composers.
"Our music is intellectual electronic music," says Alakhov. "You can't call it techno music. You can say house music, but only because we created our music in the very beginning in our houses. We started in 1984, at the time when Soviet electronics were only just starting to develop. So we couldn't get any electronic musical equipment or computers."
Instead of high-quality electronic equipment, The New Composers used two reel-to-reel tape recorders to create their advanced music in 1984.
At that time they were among the first Russian DJ's, playing their music only in St. Petersburg's underground artistic circles, and were so successful that a key figure in the modern art scene, Timur Novikov, became their patron. But even Novikov's involvement could not help The New Composers find an audience beyond the small group of young bohemians. Though they were often invited to play at famous Russian Raves, the audiences there usually consisted of those already familiar with them.
Their first single release, "Sputnik," appeared in England in 1990, on the Amazon label. "It's the ambition of every musician to be recorded by the most professional company," Alakhov says. "There is a paradox here. Our music is easily recognizable in the ocean of electronic music because of the lack of modern equipment during the early stage of our career. Nowadays talented young musicians despair because there is not enough modern electronic equipment in the country. But if you are talented and have a strong desire to create, you can make music with anything. Brian Eno came here in 1987 and told us a story of how one of his favorite musical pieces was played in the kitchen with pens and glasses. But at the same time, to enter the international musical market you have to be up-to-date and record your music at professional recording studios."
"Sputnik," available through the Melodiya chain of music stores, is devoted to the world's pioneering cosmonauts and includes 10 tracks.
"The first cosmonauts paid with their lives for their exit into the cosmos, when their bodies were carried out into space for the first time in human history at a speed of 11 kilometers a second," says Alakhov. The key figure he's thinking of is the world's first man in space, Yury Gagarin. The New Composers use Gagarin's voice from an old recording, "I am saying to you, my dear friends, do svidaniya," as the vocal line in one of their songs. The New Composers see an element of mysticism in this, since Gagarin said these words to a group of young cosmonauts six months before his death in an aircraft crash.
Another track, "The Seagull," is devoted to the first woman to enter space, Valentina Tereshkova. During the Brezhnev era, Tereshkova was chairwoman of the Union of Soviet Women. When she was asked to sing something for the people, she often sang "Sing Us a Song, O Merry Wind," from an old Soviet film, "The 15-Year-Old Captain," according to The New Composers, who use Tereshkova's voice in their music.
The initial musical material is changed in the creations of The New Composers to such an extent that it becomes impossible to recognize the original. The famous Russian song "The Evening Bells" can be identified only thanks to the repetition of its well-known lyrics.
Among those invited by The New Composers to record the words of their songs are the Russian-English Princess Katya Golitsyn and the brilliant Yakut singer Kola Beldy ("White Island"). Beldy was brought up among the boundless uninhabited snow deserts of Yakutia, and his songs tell of his thoughts and feelings in such surroundings. The music of The New Composers carries his voice straight to the cosmos; with The New Composers, his voice reaches out into the atmosphere.
"We are trying to find a sound that has not been heard before, to go further in the cognition of the world," says Alakhov. "The invention of the organ was as significant as the flight to the moon. From sound in the atmosphere we try to create a harmonic melody."
A fascination with science fiction and space and a delight in discoveries in technology were fashionable in Russia in the 1960s and 1970s. Now most modern musicians embrace the cult of pleasure, sex and sentimental love. But The New Composers are still drawn to science fiction, space, and new technology. In the 1980s they even organized a "Club for Lovers of Science Fiction," which brought together cosmonauts, writers, scientists and UFOlogists.
"Some things in science fiction become reality, in time," says Verichev, echoing his belief that some things in music, like the creations of The New Composers, also take time.
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