New composers: "Hawk, I am a seagull!"

The headliner of the thirtieth issue of the program " Music at Free " is the Russian Soviet Lenening-Petersburg group "New Composers" , or, as they were called in English at one time, the New Composers. Rock Critician Artemy Troitsky draws attention to the re-release of old works of the electronic genre, against the backdrop of a new patriotism in today's Russia, sounding quite quite sounding. relevant. A quarter of a century ago, irony over the spirit of Soviet space discoveries seemed an innocent joke, now it is almost a political crime.

This project is completely forgotten today, and forgotten completely undeservedly. The New Composers group was founded in the mid-1980s, Valery Alakhov and Igor Verichev remained its main two participants throughout history. Both are electronic workers, both DJs, both masters of the club genre. Alahov - soft, cheerful, sociable; Verichev - closed and mysterious. At different stages, the group "New Composers" joined different talented performers, among them not anyone, but Georgy Guryanov , Drum Drummark, Yuri Kasparyan , guitarist of the Kino group, and Andrei Chrisanov , who played from time to time in the cinema group. I suspect that even very knowledgeable fans of Kino do not suspect, in the work of what other team their idols participated. These are the very first records of "new composers", which dates back to 1987 and not so long ago reached an album-collar called Start. The play "Dr. Mabuze".

A constant trick-or rather, maybe a feature of the New Composers group-was the use of samples from Soviet popular science films, from some radio programs, sometimes from feature films. These samples were superimposed on computer arrangements and such a vigorous motor fateful or club rhythm. The next track from the START album is called "minute readiness." In general, the "new composers" were obsessed with the cosmic theme - almost half of their compositions are dedicated to the "caravans of missiles" and "dusty paths of distant planets."

I want to remind you that on these records you hear not only electronic miracles performed by Valery Alakhov and Igor Verichev, but also live instruments, which are played by the almost full composition of the famous “Kino” group, only there is no Tsoi. Another entry from the Start album is called this is vasily, Speak Up! -“This is Vasily, say!”, Used by the team “New Composers” to represent their old-new work.

A little later, another album of archival records of "new composers" came out, which we will also meet now. It is called the "satellite" and contains notes made in the first half of the 1990s, and in Europe. At the junction of the decades, Alakhov and Verichev left their permanent base in the Leningrad Planetarium on Petrogradka and, at the invitation of Western colleagues-electron workers, moved to the studio of Great Britain and Holland. I will present you the composition of The Sputnik of Life , which is recorded in England, in the city of Liverpool. She entered the British dance charts in October 1990. In general, this is generally the first Russian entry in the British charts almost for the entire time of their existence, long before the scandalous duo of the Tattoo.

Unfortunately, Alakhov and Verichev failed to repeat the British success. From England, they returned to Russia, where, in particular, they took an active part in conducting the first St. Petersburg and Moscow rave-wrethers-including the legendary Gagarin Party in the Cosmos pavilion at VDNH. The new European records of the duet, 1993-1994, were made in Holland, some of them are in collaboration with famous world -wishes of electronic music, in particular Phil Niblok . Unfortunately, hits from them did not work out, with the exception of a play called Tanzevat! , but in the end I will not introduce you to her, but the other glorious little thing - "Hawk, I am a seagull!".

Alakhov and Verichev promise that several more collections of "new composers" will soon be released. I'm looking forward to!

Playlist of the program "Music at Free" (release 30):

1. Marianne FaithFull (UK). Mother Wolf, LP No Exit

2. Curse Ov Dialect (Australia). Wisdom Transformation, LP Twisted Strangers

3. Tomš Kočko & Orchestr (Czech Republic). Jarovit, LP Velesu

4. New Composers (Russia). Dr.Mabuze, LP Start

5. New Composers (Russia). "Minute readiness", LP Start

6. New Composers (Russia). This is vasily, Speak up!, Lp Start

7. New Composers (Russia) .The Sputnik of Life, LP "Satellite"

8. New Composers (Russia). "Hawk, I am a seagull!", LP "Sputnik"

9. Alafia (Brazil). Peregrino, LP Corpura

10. Eat Your Guru (Switzerland). Sushi Sing, Lp Eat Your Guru

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  Artemy Troitsky

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

  Musicatliberty@gmail.com