"Ghosts" in Moscow

Black jeans, dark sunglasses, single -color T -shirts and light sports bags. British rockers The British rockers that are not distinguished against the background of an ordinary crowd Ghosts has been studying Moscow streets in the morning. To their surprise, on the advertising poster of one of the stops, they notice a man in exactly the same T -shirt as one of the group members - Alex Sharman. The second shocking news: one of the most successful singers in Russia is looking at them - Grigory Leps. After another five minutes, they already listen to his imperishable hit about “I will leave to live in London” in their smartphones, they are surprised at the funny coincidence and the fact that the popular artist in Russia allows himself to look like a British tourist in the morning after a booze.

For the British The Ghosts Acquaintance with Russia went through a very non -standard scenario. First, the musicians performed in Vladivostok at the V - Rox 2014 festival, where they were invited by friend Ilya Lagutenko . And then ten months later they returned to finally see the Russian capital. Three weeks before arrival, the vocalist of the group Alex Stanling read about Moscow and decided to outline the places that are required to visit. The list was headed by Patriarchal ponds. On the eve of the trip, Starling accidentally bought Bulgakov’s book “Master and Margarita” in one of London’s bookstores. Of course, in English. Of course, with strange illustrations, more suitable for the Japanese comic book. And, of course, initially not suspecting the origin of the author. However, upon closer examination, the pond turned out to be a small puddle. And on the main alley, monuments illustrating Krylov’s fables are more striking. And only, barely noticeable in the branches of trees, a warning sign "Do not talk with strangers!" He made a proper impression on foreigners. The novel “Master and Margarita” is difficult to a foreign reader. By the time of his arrival in Moscow, Alex did not reach the chapters with the main character: “I have already mastered a quarter of the book. And this is not so similar to what I read before. All so strange, exciting, mystical. But I do not intend to give up, I will continue to read on the plane when I fly home. ”

The group The Ghosts in Britain confidently gaining positions among new groups. Their debut album " The End " , which saw the light in 2012, was well accepted by the critics of The Guardian and NME . The musicians themselves slowly work on the second plate and simultaneously prepare for the performance at the largest British festival of Glastonbury this weekend. True, this fact does not cause such a violent delight as the Russians.

“I already spoke at Glastonbury twice,” Alex Staling modestly says. - As part of other groups. With the Swimming Pool team and ... I no longer remember the name of the second team. The last time 19,000 people gathered before us. The atmosphere was as if it were a small town went to the main square. In the distance, every tent was visible, every light that burned in it. An amazing picture! But for The Ghosts this will be the first time. Glastonbury is a good event. But, to be honest, I don't really like English festivals. They are all similar. If you are a British group, then you play at one festival, next week - on the other, after another week - in the third. The same groups, atmosphere, people. This all becomes not so exciting! Glastonbury is, of course, a level. But, whenever I came there, I will not be surprised, I will not discover anything new for myself. ”

On Glastonbury The Ghosts act on several scenes at once, including acoustic. As special guests of the New York Folk-singer Bobby Long. “Bobby and I have known each other for a long time. He is from London. And is the big fan Ghosts . Six years ago, he moved to New York. But we remained in touch. And now he called us to speak in front of his set! " - says Alex.

In Moscow, the British were also not just. On June 20 and 21, they planned performances in the recently opened on the Tver Mumiy Troll Bar at the invitation of the same Ilya Lagutenko. Two years ago, the leader of the Mumiy Troll group wrote a message to Alex and called for his speech in Liverpool. “And the next morning we had a joint breakfast. And he told us about his V-ROX festival. He is such a pleasant person and talented artist. We could not refuse him to participate in his project. Then it resulted in an even more interesting collaboration. On one of his new songs “Where are you girls?” I played a little on the keyboards. He sent me several files with this song. And I recorded my party. I hope he has already introduced this single in Russia. ”

The capital for the British opened almost from scratch. They did not specifically read much about Moscow so as not to spoil the impression. “Of course, I saw before this photo of the Kremlin. But I did not look a single picture from Red Square. And I didn’t even understand at first where we are standing, ”Alex explains. Pedestrian ancient Nikolskaya Street, Historical Museum, Red Square, Basilian Cathedral - All this is the Ghosts saw the first time. “Is this some kind of special tribune for parades? They make a speech from her?! " - suggests Alex Starling at the sight of the Lenin Mausoleum. Big Stone Bridge, Church Pussy Riot , Swamp Square and Luzhkov Bridge with its heavy iron trees hung with multi -ton castles - all this does not raise any questions among the British. They are on duty records on their smartphones. Until the statue of Peter the Great performed by Tsereteli appears before them. “Why is it so big? Is this a beautifully packed strategic supply of iron in Russia? " - suggests the drummer of the Tobias group.

The Museon Park surprises the Londoners with its lack of rules for bike paths, on which you can find parents with strollers, two -year -old children on scooters and pedestrians who stopped in this place in order to gain a message. As well as the complete absence of vegetarian food. After half -hour searches, the sound engineer of the group - Philip - decided to give up and order Giros for himself in one of the street tents. “I am a Greek by origin. In my opinion, to try the Greek meat dish in Russia is a worthy reason to violate a ten-year vegetarian experience, ”Philip finds an excuse.

An unexpected gift for the British was the sculptures, densely inhabiting Museon, and giant orders with the symbols of the USSR. However, seeing the busts of Stalin, Lenin, Pushkin, the musicians set out to find ... Rachmaninov. In their view, this is the main Russian star. Rakhmaninov was not in the Museum.

A separate item in the list of The Ghosts stood the Moscow metro. As it turned out, the musicians regularly use the subway only in their native London and in Germany. However, they heard about the beauty of Moscow stations. After a half -hour excursion, the group of the group Alex Stanling issued a verdict: “Your metro is more like a museum. Very wide, tall, light. With many sculptures and mosaic. This is amazing! "

But most foreigners were impressed by the "children's world". They went there in order to get to the observation deck. Suddenly, the growth dolls of the characters of the cartoons began to run behind them: Masha and the bear, the serpent Gorynych, the hut on chicken legs and a huge transformer completely knocked out of the general picture of the world. The British could not even imagine a better attraction than the main hall of the Moscow Children's Department Store. Being in a puppy delight of what he saw, the Ghosts finally climbed to the observation deck of the building ... And a minute later they collided on a small patch of the roof with the mother of Ilya Lagutenko. Elena Borisovna showed the capital to her friends. The meeting turned out to be a pure coincidence, but now the Londoners fully understand the meaning of the saying “Moscow - Big Village”!

On both concert days, by the beginning of their own performance at MT Bar, the musicians came so crowded with emotions that they sought to discuss them with almost every guest. As a result, the British had a complete impression that there are no people hospitable people on the planet than Russians. “Moscow is a very hospitable city. I want to make a film about this for my friends in Britain. You know, every time I was going to go to Russia, I met sympathetic eyes and remarks in the spirit of “Be careful! They don’t really like foreigners there!” I want to show them that everything is just the opposite, ”Alex Staning shared his plans.

The audience at MT Bar during concert days was divided into two parts: Fans of The Ghosts and random passers-by who went to skip a glass or two and try marine delicacies. But such a layout does not bother British musicians. “I really love bars. I like it when the audience can come off from what she eats and talks about. And pay attention to the new music for them, ”Alex explained. - I like to play in a wide variety of places. I do not need only large stadium platforms. In London, everything is very small. We have one of the most popular places - “garage”. And there are very cool groups. And “Mumiy Troll” played there. So, this place is much smaller than “MT bar”. ”

Phrases "Do not be afraid to come closer!" And “Today is a party in the forefront”, perfectly uttered in Russian, Alex Staning and his team opened their clock set. After such an invitation, the crowded MT Bar could not but reciprocate. And soon all the guests of the club strove in the front ranks of the dance floor.

On the wake of the success of The Ghosts promised that when their second full -fledged album will finally be born, they will certainly call with touring in Moscow. The material for the plate is already ready, but the British are too demanding on themselves to release it the first time: “We have already recorded the first version. But we are unhappy with her. It seems to us that all this can sound even more interesting. Therefore, we will return to the studio with the producer we need and rewrite everything. ”

The Ghosts do not seek to overshadow in Britain the Kasabian and Muse group. London rockers, like their friends, the Mumiy Troll group, is some new type of musicians who are not so much striving for increasing the size of their fan club, but thirsty for new impressions, sites and experiments. “I have never dreamed of creating the coolest group in the world! - argues Alex Starling. - I was more interested in not stopping writing songs. It is equally important to me what I do for my group, and what I do for third -party performers, with whom I work as an author. I would like The Ghosts to release many albums. But this will tell time. Previously, the label steamed the musical tastes of people. They said what group we should listen to. On the Internet you can listen to what you like. Therefore, you do not need to get hung up on one group. And so I don’t even know: is it necessary to strive to be popular to the musician now? ”