Boris Borisovich Grebenshchikov (russian: link=no, Борис Борисович Гребенщиков; born ) is a prominent member of the generation which is widely considered to be the "founding fathers" of
Russian rock music. He is the founder and lead singer of the band
Aquarium
An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...
which has been active from 1972 until today. Grebenshchikov is frequently referred to as BG (russian: link=no, БГ; pronounced "Beh-Geh"), after his initials. On 5 October 2022, he appeared on
BBC Hardtalk talking about his opposition to the Russian intervention in Ukraine, his self-imposed exile to London, and his involvement with
Dave Stewart to produce an antiwa
recordto support the people of Ukraine.
Early years (1953–1979)
Grebenshchikov was born on 27 November 1953, in Leningrad, now
St. Petersburg.
In 1972, he founded the band Aquarium with his childhood friend
Anatoly "George" Gonitsky as a postmodern theatrical endeavor that included poetry and music.
Grebenshchikov was accepted into
Leningrad State University
Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...
. Due to his musical activities, he started missing exams and failing classes. Grebenshchikov eventually received a graduate degree in
applied mathematics
Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...
. Inspiration from
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
and
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
transformed Aquarium into a
low-fi electric blues
Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the late 1930 ...
band that moonlighted in
acoustic reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
.
The
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
" Hymn of the Bolshevik Party"
, headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow
, general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last)
, founded =
, banned =
, founder = Vladimir Lenin
, newspape ...
regime routinely suppressed experiments in non-standardized self-expression as a matter of policy, so decent recording facilities were out of reach. The several two-track recordings hacked out over those years, such as ''Temptation of St. Aquarium'' (''Iskushenie Svyatogo Akvariuma''), ''Count Diffusor's Fables'' (''Pritchi grafa Diffuzora''), ''Menuet for a Farmer'' (''Menuet zemledel'tzu''), and a motley crew of "singles" were of unprofessional quality but showcased showed his interest in Oriental thought and mysticism that eventually became his trademarks.
In 1976, Grebenshchikov also recorded of his first solo album ''S toy storony zerkal'nogo stekla'' (''Beyond the Mirror Glass'') and a double album with
Mike Naomenko titled ''All are Brothers'' (''Vse Brat'ya - sestry)''.
Classical years (1980–1988)
In 1980,
Artemy Troitsky
Artemy Kivovich Troitsky (; , born 16 June 1955 in Yaroslavl) is a Russian journalist, music critic, concert promoter, radio host, and academic who has lectured on music journalism at Moscow State University.
"He is an anarchist, pacifist and one ...
, the first public Russian rock critic, invited Aquarium to perform at the
Tbilisi Rock Festival.
The festival was a state-sanctioned attempt to control the Russian rock music movement. A covert KGB-bound report caused Grebenshchikov to lose his day job and membership in
Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
.
As western rock music was still officially banned at the time, Aquarium acquired more underground listeners.
The first Aquarium music available in the West was in 1986 when a double album entitled
''RED WAVE, 4 UNDERGROUND BANDS FROM THE USSR'' appeared in record stores in the U.S. Besides Aquarium,
Kino
Kino may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasters
* KINO, a radio station in Arizona, U.S.
* Kino FM (98.0 FM – Moscow), a Russian music radio station
* KinoTV, now Ruutu+ Leffat ja Sarjat, a Finnish TV channel
Fictional entiti ...
, Strange Games, and
Alisa were recorded on a four-track machine, smuggled out of the country, and released by a small record label from
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
. During this time, bands in the USSR were either officially sanctioned or were not allowed to play in public or record in professional recording studios.
By the time Aquarium disbanded amid internal discord in 1991, they had 11 official records under their belt.
Going West (1988–1990)
Perestroika
''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
had ushered in a new era of opportunity for rock musicians. In 1989, Grebenshchikov released ''
Radio Silence'', produced by
Dave Stewart of
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British Pop music, pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (musician and producer), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio alb ...
fame.
''Radio Silence'' featured covers of
Alexander Vertinsky
Alexander Nikolayevich Vertinsky (russian: Александр Николаевич Вертинский, — May 21, 1957) was a Russian and Soviet artist, poet, singer, composer, cabaret artist and actor who exerted seminal influence on the Ru ...
's "China" amid songs by Grebenshchikov, including a song written to Sir
Thomas Malory
Sir Thomas Malory was an English writer, the author of ''Le Morte d'Arthur'', the classic English-language chronicle of the Arthurian legend, compiled and in most cases translated from French sources. The most popular version of ''Le Morte d'Ar ...
's ''Death of King Arthur''.
Annie Lennox
Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...
,
Billy MacKenzie
William MacArthur Mackenzie (27 March 1957 – 22 January 1997) was a Scottish singer and songwriter, known for his distinctive high tenor voice. He was the co-founder and lead vocalist of post-punk and new wave band the Associates. He also h ...
, and
Chrissie Hynde
Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...
helped out, as did several of Grebenshchikov's bandmates from Aquarium. The single "Radio Silence" was his biggest hit outside of Russia, reaching number 7 on the
''Billboard'' Hot Modern Rock Chart in the United States in August 1989.
He issued another English-language album, ''Radio London'', in 1996, which consisted of demos made in 1990 and 1991.
Returning East (1991–1996)
Grebenshchikov returned to Russia and came out with a ''Russian album'' (''Russkiy al'bom''), backed by the eponymous BG Band, in 1992.
The Aquarium album ''Favorite songs of Ramses the 4th'' (''Lyubimye pesni Ramzesa IV'') was mostly filler, and ''Archive vol 4'' was all outtakes. The band's next three albums are effectively Grebenshchikov's solo albums published under the band's brand. ''Navigator'', ''Snow lion'' (''Snezhniy lev''), and ''Hyperborea'' have a stylized Russian feel.
Back to basics (1997–2019)
His 1997 album ''Lilith'' is still mostly Russian in lyrical theme but is recorded by way of a chance meeting with his idol
Dylan's former backing group,
The Band.
His 1999 album ''Psi'' features an interpretation through a post-modernistic lens with use of keyboard samplers. His 2002 album ''Sister Chaos'' (''Sestra Haos''), 2003 album ''Fisherman's songs'' (''Pesni rybaka''), and 2005 album ''ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM'' had Armenian, Indian, and African influences respectively, particularly from
Jivan Gasparyan
Djivan Gasparyan (var. Jivan Gasparyan; hy, Ջիվան Գասպարյան, ; October 12, 1928 – July 6, 2021) was an Armenian musician and composer. He played the duduk, a double reed woodwind instrument related to the orchestral oboe. Gaspary ...
.
In 2014 he released ''Salt'', "one of the best albums of Grebenshchikov’s long career, an astonishing, visceral piece of work that more than lives up to its moniker: earthy, vital, biting, life-enhancing".
Radio "Aerostat"
Since 2005, Grebenshchikov has had a weekly
radio program
A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode.
Radio netwo ...
on Russian radio station
Radio Rossii titled ''Aerostat'' (Russian: ''Аэростат'').
It is presented as "author's program of Boris Grebenshchikov" and he is the creator and speaker. ''Aerostrat'' is about
alternatives in music and the music not played on today's radio despite its artistic value and originality. Grebenshchikov states that it is mostly independent music which would "otherwise would not be played at all." Songs played on ''Aerostat'' vary from 1960s and 1970s rock (e.g.,
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
) to
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
,
new wave,
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...
,
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to ...
,
punk,
world music,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
,
classical, and
avant-garde
The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...
.
As of April 2019, more than 700 shows have been created and broadcast, each approximately 46 minutes long. The track lists and the scripts of all programs are available at official site of Aquarium and Grebenshchikov.
Religion and mysticism
Grebenshchikov is known as a student of religion and mysticism. He has translated several Hinduist and Buddhist books for publication in Russian, travelled the Orient widely, and is friends with various spiritual celebrities.
He also translated several Buddhist and Hinduist texts to Russian, including as follows:
*
Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche (son of
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche) ''Bardo Guidebook'' – "source material for the ''Tibetan Book of Living & Dying'' also known as ''Tibetan Book of the Dead''
Bardo Thodol
The ''Bardo Thodol'' (, "Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State"), commonly known in the West as ''The Tibetan Book of the Dead'', is a terma text from a larger corpus of teachings, the ''Profound Dharma of Self-Liberation ...
", in 1995.
*
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche ''Repeating Words of the Buddha'' – "the essential points of spiritual practice, inseparable from everyday life", in 1997.
*
Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche ''Rainbow Painting'' – "addressing the topics of practices of accumulating and purifying to facilitate unification of view and conduct", in 1999.
* Shibendu Lahiri ''
Kriya yoga
''Kriyā'' (Sanskrit: क्रिया, 'action, deed, effort') is a "completed action", technique or practice within a yoga discipline meant to achieve a specific result.
Kriya or Kriya Yoga may also refer to:
* Kriya Yoga school
The K ...
'' – "authentic teachings and techniques of Kriya Yoga", in 2003.
* ''The Katha Upanishad'',
Upanishad
The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...
belonging to the
Yajur Veda, in 2005.
Production
Grebenshchikov's lyrics are often eclectic.
Over the years of his career, he has written more than 500 songs, most of which were recorded and/or performed publicly. Additionally, Grebenshchikov has recorded cover albums on material from
Alexander Vertinsky
Alexander Nikolayevich Vertinsky (russian: Александр Николаевич Вертинский, — May 21, 1957) was a Russian and Soviet artist, poet, singer, composer, cabaret artist and actor who exerted seminal influence on the Ru ...
(1994's ''Songs of A.Vertinsky'' (''Pesni A.Vertinskogo'')) and
Bulat Okudzhava
Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava (russian: link=no, Булат Шалвович Окуджава; ka, ბულატ ოკუჯავა; hy, Բուլատ Օկուջավա; May 9, 1924 – June 12, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian poet, writer, musici ...
(1999's ''Songs of B.Okudzhava'' (''Pesni B.Okudzhavy''))), two albums of mantra music with
Gabrielle Roth
Gabrielle Roth (February 4, 1941 – October 22, 2012) was an American dancer and musician in the world music and trance dance genres, with a special interest in shamanism. She created the 5Rhythms approach to movement in the late 1970s; th ...
and the Mirrors, (1998's ''Refuge'' and 2002's ''Bardo''), and an album of electronica versions of Aquarium songs from late 1970s – early 1980s with the Russian duo Deadushki.
Albums
Russian
* ''Russian Album'' (1991)
* ''Songs by
Alexander Vertinsky
Alexander Nikolayevich Vertinsky (russian: Александр Николаевич Вертинский, — May 21, 1957) was a Russian and Soviet artist, poet, singer, composer, cabaret artist and actor who exerted seminal influence on the Ru ...
'' (1994)
* ''Chubchik'' (1996)
* ''Lilith'' (1997) with
The Band
* ''Refuge'' (1998) with
Gabrielle Roth
Gabrielle Roth (February 4, 1941 – October 22, 2012) was an American dancer and musician in the world music and trance dance genres, with a special interest in shamanism. She created the 5Rhythms approach to movement in the late 1970s; th ...
* ''Songs by
Bulat Okudzhava
Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava (russian: link=no, Булат Шалвович Окуджава; ka, ბულატ ოკუჯავა; hy, Բուլատ Օկուջավա; May 9, 1924 – June 12, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian poet, writer, musici ...
'' (1999)
* ''Bardo'' (2002) with
Gabrielle Roth
Gabrielle Roth (February 4, 1941 – October 22, 2012) was an American dancer and musician in the world music and trance dance genres, with a special interest in shamanism. She created the 5Rhythms approach to movement in the late 1970s; th ...
* ''Salt'' (2014)
* ''Vremya N'' (2018)
* ''The Sign of Fire'' (2020)
English
Singles
References
Bibliography
* ''Гаккель В.'
Аквариум как способ ухода за теннисным кортом – М.: Сентябрь, 2000.
* ''Гребенщиков Б. Б.'
* ''Гребенщиков Б. Б.''
ttp://www.planetaquarium.com/library/kratkii_ot246.html Краткий отчёт о 16-ти годах звукозаписи.– 1997.
* ''Рыбин А., Кушнир А., Гребенщиков Б., Соловьёв-Спасский В.'' Аквариум. Сны о чём-то большем... – М.: Нота-Р, 2003.
* ''Троицкий А.'
Рок в Союзе: 60-е, 70-е, 80-е…– М.: Искусство, 1991. – 203 с – .
External links
Tomi Huttunen: Russian rock: Boris Grebenschikov, Intertextualist* This article borrows from the
, which seems to be public domain.
Boris Grebenshikov Concert �� Site for Grebenshikov's concerts at the Royal Albert Hall.
*
ttp://www.dharmafish.org The Bodhisattvas of Babylon, an English-language fan site*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grebenshchikov, Boris
1953 births
20th-century Russian male singers
20th-century Russian singers
21st-century Russian male singers
21st-century Russian singers
Living people
Aquarium (band) members
Kino (band) members
Musicians from Saint Petersburg
Singers from Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg State University alumni
Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class
Russian rock singers
Soviet male singers
Russian activists against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine