Vasily Shumov: on Royan

The hedliner of the second issue of the program "Music at Free" is the leader of the Moscow Center Moscow Group Vasily Shumov, one of the founders of domestic electronic rock, sometimes turning in his work to the topic of social deformities (they are also beauty) of Russian life. About how decades have been changing the life of the Ensky quarter,-Rock Critic Artemy Troitsky tells from Freedom studio:

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The hero of the substantial (in every sense of the substantial) part of today's program is Muscovite Vasily Shumov . Yes, Vasya Shum, the leader of the first Moscow group of the new wave, the Center group, which has existed since 1981. Vasily Shumov, a very winding, must say, had a career, and the romantic “center”, who became famous among the USSR musical fashionistas with songs “Strange Lady”, “Turgenev Women” and “Bagric Heart”, was not his only creative hobby. In 1986, Shumov released his first solo album-in content, rather, socio-anthropological.

Then Vasily Shumov was married to a Frenchwoman-I don’t remember, unfortunately, what was her name-and this French wife brought the latest electronic devices from the iron curtain, namely a multi-channel Fostex tape recorder and a musical computer (it was a huge rarity) Yamaha . Vasily began to experiment with this very technique, as a result of which he turned out to be an album "My District". Vasily lived then on Gagarin Square, in such a large brick house, where the ABC Taste store is now located and a bunch of others; There he recorded an experimental electronic urban album. Strange, in some places the absurd sketches of the Moscow life of the mid-80s. The title song from him, despite its obvious simpleness, has become quite popular.

Reception from five to seven.
Reduce the volume of TVs.
Two meters along the ring road.
Tear off the break.
My area is Orekhovo-Borisovo.
My Khimki-Rokhino district.
Closed for lunch.
How to get to the house?
Do not enter without a call.
Sign in receipt.
My area is Veshnyaki, Vladykino.
My area of Biryulo-West.
I sell, change, buy.
And tram, trolley, bus.
GUM, TSUM, BOM.
Soft sign, and a short, hard sign.
My area of Maryina Roshcha,
My district is a warm camp.
Quietly, there is an operation.
And the subscription is open.
Present the documents.
Do not clap the door.
My district Square Gagarin,
My district is Kurchatov Square.
My area of Enskaya street,
My area of the Ensky quarter.

Soon after, Vasily divorced his French wife, got a new American wife and went to a permanent place of residence in the city of Los Angeles. In America, Vasily lived for quite some time, almost 20 years, worked as a hockey coach, studied at an art college and recorded there, by the way, quite a lot of all kinds of music, and not only his own: he recorded one album with Peter Mamonov, “Russians sing”, another album with Zhanna Aguzarova, Nineteen Ninety's . It is interesting that, constantly living in sunny California, Shumov continued to closely observe political and social ups and downs in Russia, and even commented on them in songs - for example, in the composition "Criminal Rush".

Shumov created a whole artistic movement called "Content", designed to unite musicians and poets who are indifferent to a socio-political theme

In the end, Shumov missed Rush so much that he nevertheless returned back to Moscow, to his then Izmailovo district. In Russia, Vasily resumed the activity of the Center and, which many did not expect at all from the musical repatriate, became a political activist. Shumov performed his new songs on the anger of the day, in particular, the “Buldozer State” at rallies of the opposition. He created a whole artistic movement called "Content", designed to unite musicians and poets who are not indifferent to a socio-political theme. I am personally very grateful to Vasya for the fact that during the period of my trial in 2011 it was he who initiated a large rock concert in my support and release of the album "Content for Trinity".

Soon, Vasily was combined with the Russian wife - the first, by the way, in his long matrimonial practice - the galleryrist Vera Pogodina , and moved to the very center of Moscow, to Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street. And in the newly ended year 2016, he recorded the continuation of the album "My District"-it is called, which is quite logical, "My district after 30 years."

My area is a thousand and one construction.
Rubber apartments, on the roar of briskly.
My area is fifty shades of migrants
Between the "Alma-Ata" and "Volokolamsk".
Pay on time for housing and communal services.
Perform the command to appear at the mass gathering.
My area, the streets are narrowing.
Favorite leaders do not stew from their greatness.
My area, improvement in the style of Kuntsevo.
Between Pyatnitsky and Kozhukhovskaya.
Pay on time for housing and communal services.
Perform the command to appear at the mass gathering.
My area is overpopulated to the eyeballs.
Millions of registered and nothing protected.
My area was cooked by New Moscow.
Tanks and missiles rehearse on Tver.
Pay on time for housing and communal services.
Perform the command to appear at the mass gathering.
Perform.

Vasily Shumov. Composition "TV Crimea"

On the envelope of the album "My District after 30 years" there is a funny selection of realities in the style of "It was-old", that is, what changed in Moscow life and everyday life over the past 30 years: it was samizdat, it became-a blog; There was a registration, it became - registration; There were fans, steel - followers; There was - the police, became - the police, there were - the Leninist mountains, became the Vorobyovs of the mountains and so on. As in all the works of Schumov in recent years, in the “My District in 30 years” there are a lot of topical things, a lot of things that are a direct, direct, momentary commentary on current events. Which, unfortunately, is not at all typical of the current tired Russian rock. There are songs about Soviet propaganda, more precisely, the new Russian propaganda, and about endless Moscow construction sites, and about migrants-gas, and the elections. There is even one nostalgic song about the Moscow rock laboratory and perestroika of the 80s. I chose a track called "Salary Day at Anonymous and Bots." As it is easy to guess, we are talking about the so-called Internet trolls that Vasily Shumov may also have got it.

Here is the response of the musician, the leader of the legendary Moscow group "Center" Vasily Shumov on the unpaid activity of the paid slaves of the Posoputinsky Internet. Let's hope that if and when Vasya records the next album from the series "through ... years", the changes in our area will be more tangible!

Playlist of the program "Music at Free" (Issue 2):

1. Giuliano Gabriele (Italy). Madre, LP Madre, The Hypnotic Dance Time

2. SUSANNE SUNDFOR (Norway). Accelerate LP, "Ten Love Songs"

3. Orchestra Mendoza (USA/Mexico). Caramelos, LP Vamos a Guarachar!

4. Orchestra Mendoza (USA/Mexico). Misterio, LP Vamos a Guarachar!

5. Cocorosie (USA). Forget Me Not, Lp Heartache City

6. Vasily Shumov (USSR/RF). My district, lp my district

7. Vasily Shumov (Russia). My district after 30 years, lp my district after 30 years

8. Vasily Shumov (Russia). Salary Day for Anonyms and Bots, LP My District after 30 years

9. Marlene Dietrich. Ich Bin Die Fesche Lola, Lp The Best of Marlene Dietrich

10. Songhoy Blues (Mali). Subour, LP Music in Exile

11. Roisin Murphy (Ireland/UK). Pretty Gardens, LP Take Her Up to Monto!

12. The Last Shadow Puppets (UK). Aviation, LP EVERYTHING YOU'VE COME to Expect

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  Artemy Troitsky

  Musical critic, author and leading podcast and radio program "Music at" Freedom ".

  Musicatliberty@gmail.com