Mify
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Mify (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Мифы», lit. 'The Myths') are a rock band formed in Leningrad in 1966.
History
1966-1967: The Red Roosters
The history of the group began in September 1966, when Sergey Danilov and Gennadiy Barikhnovskiy were both eighth-graders at School No. 216 in the Kirovsky District of Leningrad. In the midst of Beatlemania and the popularity of rock and roll, they decided to start their own group. In one of their early performances as a duet, they played music from the film Lyudi nad oblakami (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Люди над облаками», lit. 'People above the clouds') at a school event. Soon after, Dmitry Zadvornov, then a freshman, joined the group as a vocalist.
Soon after, Vyacheslav Legzdin replaced Bezdudnov on bass and the group changed their name to Mify (‹See Tfd›Russian: Мифы, lit. 'The Myths'). The band's first performance under the new name took place on November 7, 1967.[1]
1967-1974: Early years of Mify
Before the members graduated from school, the group performed at their own school, School No. 501, and at the Seltso sovkhoz. Drummer Valeriy Sorokin was replaced by Sergey Petrov, who had previously played in a group at School No. 501. Zadvornov left the group and Barikhnovsky took over the vocals.
At the end of 1967, Mify took the second place in a district-wide competition of school ensembles. They went on a city-wide tour and came fourth in that competition. A portion of their performance was played in a radio program dedicated to the competition. The members of Gorizont (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Горизонт», lit. 'Horizon'), the group that won the competition, advised the members of Mify to join the choir at the Pioneers Palace. Danilov, Barikhnovsky and Legzdin followed this advice and learned to sing vocal harmonies.[2]
In the summer of 1969, Yuri Ilchenko joined the group. The first performance in the updated line-up (Danilov, Barikhnovskiy, Ilchenko, and Petrov) took place in October, in the club of the village of Pargolovo. Mify played at dance parties in Pargolovo and Toksovo, performing the English-language pop-rock standards that were popular at that time. Their repertoire included songs from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and others.[3] The group's few original songs at the time included "Ya padayu, padayu" (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Я падаю, падаю», lit. 'I Fall, Fall'), several instrumental compositions, and a couple of English-language sketches.[citation needed]
In early 1970, guitarist and singer Yuri Bushev joined the group. In the same year, Yuri Ilchenko was drafted into the army, and the group was left without a main vocalist. Mify dissolved and the former band members joined VIA acts.[3]
After serving the requisite two years in the army, Ilchenko returned and Mify reformed with new members in 1972. From this point on, the group performed original songs in Russian while remaining a non-professional act.[3] In 1973, Danilov and Barikhnovsky attempted to write and stage their own rock opera, Vremya (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Время», lit. 'Time'), about the generation gap.[3] The opera remained unfinished, but some of the songs from it entered the group's repertoire.[1]
At the end of 1973, Sergey Petrov left for the army and Viktor Gukov replaced him as drummer. The group's first success came in January 1974, when Mify shared first place with Evgeny Myasnikov's group Zemlyane — Atlas (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Земляне — Атлас») in a contest of amateur bands in Leningrad, and Sergey Danilov was named the best guitarist. At a contest for amateur bands in Moscow in the same year, Mify performed on equal terms with such groups as Mashina Vremeni and Tsvety, which were already popular at that time. In this competition, Barikhnovskiy was recognized as the best bass player and Ilchenko was recognized as the best vocalist.[1]
1974-1975: Lyudi Levenshteina
During 1974 the group went through several drummers: Victor Gukov, Andrey “Kuznechik” Alekseev, and Victor Dombrovsky. In the summer of that year, Mify fell apart again as Ilchenko left the group. The members began to perform separately again: Ilchenko worked at the Philharmonic, and Danilov and Barikhnovsky played at dances at the White Hall in Pushkin, in a group led by Vsevolod Levenshtein.
In March 1975, Mify were invited to participate in several concerts in Tallinn. Danilov and Barikhnovsky hastily assembled a touring line-up, with Aleksandr Ivanov from Letuchiy Gollandets (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Летучий голландец», lit. 'Flying Dutchman') on drums and Oleg "Alik" Azarov from Rossianye (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Россияне») on keyboards. The Estonian concerts were considered a great success, and the group took first place in the competition. Following their success in the Tallinn Festival, the group recorded their hit “Madison Street” (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Мэдисон-стрит») for Estonian television. The clip was broadcast in the Baltic states.[4]
It was decided to extend the existence Mify for another season, with yet another line-up change. At this point, the group was composed of Barikhnovskiy (bass, vocals), Danilov (guitar, some vocals), Ilchenko (guitar, vocals), Mikhail "Michael" Kordyukov (drums), Vsevolod Levenshtein (saxophone), and Yuri Stepanov (grand piano, vocals).
Levenshtein participated in the group not only as a musician, but also by conducting the group’s affairs, organizing concerts, and performing other production duties. Before joining Mify, Levenshtein had led the VIA Dobry Molodtsy (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Добры Молодцы») for two years. Mify existed for some time under the unofficial name Lyudi Levenshteina (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Люди Левенштейна», lit. 'People of Levenshtein'). However, the group only performed under this name once: at a jazz concert organized by jazz expert Grigory Frank, the sound engineer of Leningrad television, in the spring of 1975. For this occasion, Levenshtein invited a couple of familiar professional jazz players to play along with the group. At rare underground concerts, the group performed under its real name. In November 1975, having left Mify, Levenshtein also left the Soviet Union.[5]
1975-1979: Yuri Ilchenko, Mashina Vremeni, and Voskreseniye
Yuri Ilchenko returned to the group in the autumn of 1975. Mify adopted a jazz-rock sound, introducing a brass section with Oleg Kuvaitsev and Albert Rachkin on saxophone, Yuri Gantsev on trumpet, and Viktor Musorov and Valery Zavarin on trombone.[1]
In the spring of 1976, Mify participated the competition for amateur ensembles “Spring Key” in the Gaza Palace of Culture and subsequently toured Moscow, without much success.[1][6] At around the same time, Mify gave a concert at the Krupskaya Palace of Culture in Leningrad. This concert also marked the debut of the Moscow group Mashina Vremeni on the Leningrad stage, and Mify's set left a strong impression on Andrei Makarevich, the leader of Mashina Vremeni.[7]
A couple of months later, Mashina Vremeni again visited Leningrad.[6] After one concert, Ilchenko decided to join Mashina Vremeni and go back to Moscow with them.[7][8] For eight months, Ilchenko lived in Andrei Makarevich’s apartment and performed with Mashina Vremeni.[7][9] Several of Mify's compositions entered Mashina Vremeni's repertoire. In particular, the song “Shock” was later published on the disc Eto bylo tak davno (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Это было так давно», lit. 'It was so long ago').[2]
During this time, Danilov played with the jazz-rock band Dve Radugi (‹See Tfd›Russian: Две радуги, lit. 'Two Rainbows') and Petrov played with Yuri Morozov.[1]
In early 1977, Ilchenko returned to Leningrad with the rest of Mashina Vremeni. Ilchenko attempted to organize a new supergroup called Voskreseniye (‹See Tfd›Russian: Воскресение, lit. 'Resurrection') with members of Mify. However, this group did not last long and disbanded after giving several concerts.[10] In the same year, Danilov went to prison on charges of possession and use of drugs, and Mify again dissolved.[citation needed]
Over the next few years, Ilchenko participated in a variety of projects. In 1977, Ilchenko took part in the creation of the Soviet Union's first underground rock magazine Roksi (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Рокси»), acting as an editor and journalist.[6] When Mashina Vremeni broke up in the following spring, its members Evgeny Margulis and Sergey Kavagoe decided to call Ilchenko again. Ilchenko saw this as a chance to resurrect his group Voskreseniye, but due to illness, he was not able to take part in the project. The former members of Mashina Vremeni thus formed the Moscow group Voskreseniye.[10] In 1978 Ilchenko recorded an acoustic album Dozhd (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Дождь», lit. 'Rain'), which was included in Roksi's unofficial hit parade. At the end of 1979, Ilchenko joined the official pop ensemble Zemlyane (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Земляне», lit. 'Earthlings'), replacing Igor Romanov. Ilchenko remained in Zemlyane for a year before moving on to Integral (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Интеграл»).[6]
1980-present: Debut album and later tours
In 1979, Andrei Tropillo had started his underground recording studio AnTrop and decided to begin full-fledged studio recordings of Leningrad rock bands. Tropillo conducted his first studio experiments with Mify's keyboard player, Yuri Stepanov, and Olga Pershina.[4][11] In 1980, Danilov was released from prison and Mify was revived.[12]
On March 7, 1981, Mify performed at the opening ceremony of the Leningrad Rock Club, alongside Rossianye and Picnic.[13] In the same year, they performed at a festival in the Nevsky Palace of Culture and completed the recording of their debut album Doroga domoi (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Дорога домой», lit. 'The road home') on AnTrop.[12]
In 1983, Mify and Aquarium tied for second place at the first Leningrad rock festival, with Manufaktura taking first place.[14] Mify also received a prize for the anti-war song "Otvetny udar" (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Ответный удар», lit. 'Counter strike').[1]
The group continued to perform, with changed line-ups and occasional hiatuses, over the next few decades.[1] As of 2019, Mify were still active.[15]
Band members
Current line-up:[12]
- Gennadiy Barikhnovskiy — vocals, guitar
- Aleksandr Sokolov — guitar, vocals
- Sergey Pugachyov — bass
- Dmitriy Kalinin — keyboards
- Vladimir Manuylov — saxophone
- Viktor Morozov — drums
At different times, many famous musicians have played with the group.
List of the noteworthy former members:
- Vsevolod (Seva) Levenshtein (Dobry molodtsy (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Добры молодцы»), Icarus) — saxophone
- Mikhail "Michael" Kordyukov (Aquarium, Trilistnik (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Трилистник»)) — drums
- Mikkhail Vladimirov (Azart (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Азарт»), Chizh & Co)— guitar
- Roman Kaporin (Deti (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Дети», lit. 'Children'))— saxophone
- Oleg "Alik" Azarov (Rossianye (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Россияне», lit. 'The Russians')) — grand piano
- Aleksandr Novikov (Lotus (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Лотос»)) — guitar
- Dmitry Makoviz (Lotus (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Лотос»))— keyboards
- Dmitry Filippov (Lotus (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Лотос»))— drums
- Vladimir Gadenov (VIA Sinyaya Ptitsa (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Синяя Птица», lit. 'Blue Bird'), Cherry Wine) — bass
Discography
There are no recordings of Mify from the 1970s, when Yuri Ilchenko led the group.[16]
Tape releases
- 1980 - Proschai, chyornaya subbota (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Прощай, чёрная суббота») (solo album by Yuri Stepanov with the participation of members of Mify)
- 1981 - Doroga domoi (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Дорога домой», lit. 'The road home')
- 1987 - Mifologiya (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Мифология», lit. 'Mythology')
- 1989 - Bey, kolokol! (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Бей, колокол!»)
Official releases
- 1988 - Madison Street (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Мэдисон-стрит») (Melodiya)
- 1990 - Bey, kolokol!!! (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Бей, колокол!!!») (Melodiya)
- 1992 - Vniz golovoy (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Вниз головой») (Cobweb Records)
- 1994 - Mifologiya (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Мифология», lit. 'Mythology') (NP-Records)
- 2010 - Chto budet potom... (‹See Tfd›Russian: «Что будет потом...») (Bomba-Piter)
References
- ^ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Burlaka, Andrei. "МИФЫ". ROCK-N-ROLL.RU (in русский). Retrieved 2020-06-12.
- ^ 2.0 2.1 Барихновский, Геннадий. "ФИРМЕННЫЙ СТИЛЬ «МИФОВ». ЧАСТЬ 1". specialradio.ru (in русский). Retrieved 2020-07-21.
- ^ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Steinholt, Yngvar Bordewich (2005). Rock in the reservation : songs from Leningrad Rock Club 1981-86. Mass Media Music Scholars' Press. ISBN 978-0-9701684-3-6.
- ^ 4.0 4.1 Kushnir, A. (1999). 100 magnitoalʹbomov sovetskogo roka : 1977-1991 : 15 let podpolʹnoĭ zvukozapisi. Moskva: LEAN. ISBN 5-85929-061-6. OCLC 43795218.
- ^ "Люди Левенштейна биография". www.muzdb.info (in русский). Retrieved 2020-07-02.
- ^ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Burlaka, Andrei. "Юрий ИЛЬЧЕНКО". www.rock-n-roll.ru (in русский). Retrieved 2020-07-21.
- ^ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Makarevich, Andrei. "Всё очень просто..." www.mashina-vremeni.com (in русский). Retrieved 2020-06-19.
- ^ Vasin, Kolya (1977). "Наша музыка: Время МАШИНЫ". Roksi (in русский). 1.
- ^ Ilchenko, Yuri (1977). "Интервью с ЮРИЕМ ИЛЬЧЕНКО". Roksi (in русский). 2.
- ^ 10.0 10.1 Burlaka, Andrei. "ВОСКРЕСЕНИЕ". www.rock-n-roll.ru. Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ^ Markovich, Vladimir (2005-10-15). "И вновь продолжается бой. Андрей Тропилло – крёстный отец ленинградской музыкальной Новой Волны. Часть 1. МАШИНА ВРЕМЕНИ - признание в любви". specialradio.ru (in русский). Retrieved 2020-08-06.
- ^ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Barikhnovskiy, Gennadiy (2018-09-10). "ФИРМЕННЫЙ СТИЛЬ «МИФОВ». ЧАСТЬ 2". Специальное радио (in русский). Retrieved 2020-06-14.
- ^ Ryback, Timothy W. (1990). Rock around the bloc : a history of rock music in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 213. ISBN 0-19-505633-7. OCLC 19623657.
- ^ Troitsky, Artemy (1988). Back in the USSR : the true story of rock in Russia. The Archive of Contemporary Music. Boston: Faber and Faber. p. 80.
- ^ "26 Февраля Геннадий Барихновский И Группа Мифы Aurora. Новости - Радио ШОК". www.radioshock.ru (in русский). Retrieved 2020-06-14.
- ^ Troitsky, Artemy (1988). Back in the USSR : the true story of rock in Russia. The Archive of Contemporary Music. Boston: Faber and Faber. p. 153.