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Aquarium Аквариум | |
|---|---|
 Aquarium inTel Aviv, 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Soviet Union |
| Genres | Folk rock,art rock,psychedelic folk,new wave,reggae,experimental rock,psychedelic rock,indie rock |
| Years active | 1972–1991, 1992–present |
| Labels | AnTrop,Melodiya, Solyd, Soyuz |
| Website | bg-aquarium |
Aquarium orAkvarium (Russian:Аквариум; often stylized asÅквариум) is a Russian rock group formed inLeningrad in 1972. The band is considered one of the founders ofRussian rock.[1][2] Aquarium has had many line-up changes over its history, and lead singer and founderBoris Grebenshchikov is the only remaining original member. Former band members includeAnatoly Gunitsky, Mikhail Feinstein, Andrei "Dyusha" Romanov,Vsevolod Gakkel, andSergey Kuryokhin.
Aquarium was formed in 1972 by two friends:Boris Grebenshchikov, then a student ofapplied mathematics atLeningrad State University, andAnatoly (George) Gunitsky, a playwright and absurdist poet.[3] The founding members were Grebenshchikov, George (drums), Alexander Tsatsanidi (bass), Vadim Vasilyev (keyboards), Valery Obogrelov (sound).
The popular story behind the name "Aquarium" is that it was inspired by the Budapest street Leningrad pub "The Aquarium" and suggested by one of the band members. However, Grebenshchikov has given differing stories in interviews, suggesting alternately that it came through band word association sessions or was inspired by a glass aquarium-like building.
In late 1973, guitarist Edmund Shkliarsky (later the leader ofPiknik) was briefly a member of the band. Bass player Michael Feinstein-Vasiliev (Fan), the first professional musician in Aquarium, joined in 1973. The next year keyboardist Andrew "Dyusha" Romanov joined the band, and, inspired by rock-flautistsRichard Meier andIan Anderson, retrained as aflautist.
Their first performance took place in March 1973 at their rehearsal base, a small country venue,[4] while others place it at the Leningrad restaurant "Hold" at Central Park of Culture and Recreation, for which they were paid 50 rubles in cash.[5]
In the 1970s and early 1980s,rock and roll was strictly regulated in the Soviet Union, and only a few artists managed to be approved and signed by the government record labelMelodiya. Aquarium's usual concert venues were private apartments and they faced many years of fierce competition to land a spot on the label. These "apartment concerts" (квартирники) were a unique Soviet phenomenon created by underground musicians. They were usually acoustic, as noise could cause the neighbors to call theMilitsiya, but the limited space fostered an atmosphere of intimacy between the group and its audience, who listened with bated breath, perhaps with someone recording the concert on a simpletape recorder. This was similar to the concept of the Russianbards.
In 1973, Aquarium performed their first live concert, but did not follow it up with regular concerts.
While on vacation in January–February 1974, Grebenshchikov and George recorded their debut albumThe Temptation of St. Aquarium/Iskushenie Svyatogo Akvariuma (Russian:Искушение святого Аквариума). The band recorded the album withhome recording equipment, with variable sound quality results.The Temptation of St. Aquarium was long thought lost, but in 1997 the record was found and released in 2001 on CD in the bookPrehistoric Aquarium. All masters of this record appear to have been lost. Their second album was calledParables of Count Diffusor and was written by Grebenshchikov, George Fan and Dyusha Romanov, probably in the spring of 1975. They followed this up in 1976 with their third album,S Toy Storony Zerkalnogo Stekla, orFrom the Other Side of a Mirror Glass (Russian:С той стороны зеркального стекла), named using a line from anArseny Tarkovsky poem.
In 1974 the group became heavily involved in amateur theatre, playing pieces of absurdity on the steps of the Engineers' Castle. However, when the theater was headed by professional director Eric Goroshevsky, Grebenshchikov became disillusioned with the idea of a fusion of rock, poetry and theatre, and shifted Aquarium's focus to concentrate on musical activities (though they only made a complete break from the theatre group in 1977). George left the band, but kept in touch with its members. The following year, cellist Vsevolod (Seva) Gakkel joined the band .
Aquarium began to regularly perform live in 1976. Their first concert was on February 25, 1976, jointly with Grebenshchikov, Gakkel and Dyusha Romanov. On March 10 Aquarium was a surprise guest at the Tallinn Festival of Popular Music, where they played a set of four acoustic songs and won the prize for the most interesting and varied program.
In 1977 Romanov and bassoon player Alexander "Fagot" Alexandrov ("fagot" ["фагот"] meaning bassoon in Russian) were drafted in the military for two years. With the loss of these members, Grebenshchikov recorded a highly successful solo albumAll Brothers are Sisters (Vse brat'ya - sestry). Aquarium also became popular to the point that Grebenshchikov was recognised in the street.In 1979 the band met with two important figures of Soviet rock, criticArtemy Troitsky and next year start to work withAndrei Tropillo as a manager in whose studio Aquarium recorded its first 'historic' albums.
Aquarium burst into the consciousness of the Soviet rock scene by competing at the1980 Tbilisi Rock Festival. The band caused a scandal with their performance, which was considered bizarre and shocking. During the set, Grebenshchikov lay down on the stage and made provocative movements while playing the guitar, causing all the jury members to demonstratively leave the hall. Aquarium was accused of promoting homosexuality (the guitar actions), incest (Grebenshchikov changed words while singing the song "Marina", though this may have been through poor technique) and indecency, and banned from the festival. The incident became known in Leningrad, and as a result Grebenshchikov lost his job and was expelled from theKomsomol (Young Communist's League, expected of working Russians). However, while they did not receive any prizes, the band's performance made them become a symbol of the Soviet alternative culture.
Until 1987, Aquarium recorded all of their albums in live concerts and in a self-assembled underground studio (several members had engineering education) disguised as a "Young Technicians Club". A notable exception was the albumRadio Africa (1983), which was secretly recorded using a government-owned mobile studio, after bribing a technician.
The advent ofGlasnost in the second half of the 1980s brought many underground Russian rock musicians to public recognition and Aquarium became one of the most popular acts. They were allowed to play in large concert halls, appeared on state-owned television and recorded soundtracks for several films, most notablyAssa.[6] In 1987 they recorded their first album for the state-ownedMelodiya record label. With official backing and legalized distribution the album was a huge hit in the Soviet Union, selling well over a million copies within a few months. Grebenshchikov subsequently recorded two albums in English and toured with several different backing bands. In 1992, after the break-up of the Soviet Union, he released music under the name The BG-Band,The Russian Album, a collection of melancholic folk songs influenced by his travels all over Russia and demonstrating a return to his Russian roots.
Grebenshchikov kept touring and shortly returned to calling his band "Aquarium", although the lineup bore little resemblance to the original band. In 1996, Aquarium co-headlined (along withDDT) theVladiROCKstok music festival in Vladivostok; at one memorable point, Grebenshchikov famously invited thousands of fans to stream out of their grandstand seats and into the area near the performance stage.
The band continued to release more albums and tour extensively over the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and places with Russian-speaking immigrant communities inGermany,Israel and theUnited States. In 2007, Aquarium performed for the first time at theRoyal Albert Hall inLondon. In 2008 the "Aquarium International" project (with participation of over 20 musicians worldwide) was created.
Their 2008 albumLoshad' Belaya (White Horse) was released in a similar fashion toRadiohead's 2007In Rainbows: it was offered for free download in mp3 format with the downloader opting to pay the amount they saw fit.[7]
Although often criticized for departure from their original style and constant line-up changes, which made the later incarnations of Aquarium essentially a Grebenshchikov solo project, the group still enjoyed considerable success in Russia with regular radio airplay of their old and new songs, popular albums, and frequent tours.
Aquarium's lineup in 2017 consisted of Boris Grebenshchikov, Andrey Surotdinov (violin), Alexey Zubarev (guitars),Alexander Titov (bass), Liam Bradley (drums) andBrian Finnegan (flute).
Aquarium were strongly influenced by Western rock music, particularly byThe Beatles,Bob Dylan,David Bowie,T. Rex, andprogressive rock acts likeJethro Tull,King Crimson andRoxy Music as well as bynew wave andreggae artists. This was reflected in the band's often complex compositions and wide-ranging lyric themes, even including references toCeltic andIndian cultures.
| Date | Title | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albums (archival) from the 1970s | |||
| 1973 | Iskushenie Svyatogo Akvariuma | Temptation of St.Aquarium | |
| Menuet Zemledeltsu | Farmer's Minuet | ||
| 1974 | Pritchi Grafa Diffuzora | Parables of Count Diffusor | |
| 1976 | S Toy Storony Zerkalnogo Stekla | From The Other Side of Mirror Glass | |
| 1978 | Vse Bratya – Syostry | All Brothers are Sisters | |
| Studio albums | |||
| 1981 | Sinii Albom | The Blue Album | |
| Treugolnik | Triangle | ||
| Elektrichestvo | Electricity: History of Aquarium, Vol. 2 | ||
| 1982 | Akustika | Acoustics: History of Aquarium, Vol. 1 | |
| Tabu | Taboo | ||
| 1983 | Radio Africa | ||
| 1984 | Ikhtiologia | Ichthyology | |
| Den’ Serebra | The Day of Silver | ||
| 1986 | Deti Dekabrya | December's Children | |
| 1986 | Desyat’ Strel | Ten Arrows | |
| 1987 | Ravnodenstvie | Equinox | |
| 1987 | Feodalizm | Feudalism | |
| 1992 | Russkii Albom | Russian Album | Released asBG-Band |
| 1993 | Lyubimie Pesni Ramzesa IV | Favorite Songs of Rameses the IV | |
| 1994 | Kostroma Mon Amour | Kostroma my Love | |
| Peski Peterburga | Sands of Petersburg | ||
| 1995 | Navigator | Navigator | |
| 1996 | Snezhnii Lev | Snow Lion | |
| 1997 | Hyperborea | Hyperborea | |
| Lilit | Lilith (US:Black Moon ) | Released asBG andThe Band | |
| 1999 | Psi (Ψ) | ||
| 2002 | Sestra Haos | Sister Chaos | |
| 2003 | Pesni Rybaka | Fisherman's Songs | |
| 2005 | Zoom Zoom Zoom | ||
| 2006 | Bespechny Russkiy Brodyaga | Careless Russian Rover | |
| 2008 | Loshad' Belaya | White Horse | |
| 2009 | Pushkinskaya 10 | Poushkine Street, 10 | |
| 2011 | Arkhangelsk | Archangelsk | |
| 2013 | Aquarium Plus | Aquarium Plus | |
| 2020 | Tor | Thor | |
| 2023 | Dom Vseh Svyatyh | Home of All Hallows | |
| Live albums | |||
| 1982 | Arox & Shtyor | ||
| Desyat Let | Ten Years | ||
| Electroshock | Electric Shock | ||
| 1993 | Pis'ma Kapitana Voronina | Letters of Captain Voronine | |
| Vizit v Moskvu | Visit to Moscow | ||
| 1994 | Akvarium na Taganke | Aquarium at Taganka | |
| 1995 | Tsentr Tsiklona | Center of the Cyclone | |
| 1996 | Sezon dlya Zmey | Snake Season | |
| Dvadtsat Let Spustya | Twenty Years Later | ||
| 1997 | Akvarium-25, Istoriya | Aquarium-25. The History | |
| 1998 | Molitva i Post | Prayer and Fasting | |
| 2008 | The Royal Albert Hall | ||
| Songs performed by Aquarium Incognito | |||
| 1994 | Anna Karenina Quartet. “Zadushevnye pesni” | Soul Songs | |
| 1997 | Russian-Abyssinian Orchestra “Bardo” | ||
| 2000 | Terrarium. "Pyatiugolnii Grekh" | Terrarium. "Pentangular Sin" | |
| 2015 | Terrarium. "3=8" | ||
| Compilations | |||
| 1986 | Red Wave | ||
| 2003 | Russian Songwriter: A Collection from Boris Grebenshikov | US release | |
| 2020 | Aquarium in Dub | Remix album feat.Lee "Scratch" Perry | |
| 2021 | Dan' | Tribute album to various Russian artists | |
In 1991, Dyusha Romanov appeared as on-screen narrator inLeningrad Television'sKhraniteli, a two-part version ofJ. R. R. Tolkien'sThe Fellowship of the Ring. He also composed the film score, which Aquarium played.[10]
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