Center (or Tsentr, Russian: Центр) is a Russian-speaking band, which can be described as eclectic and experimental. The styles of their music are very different, starting with
new wave and
Russian rock
Rock music became known in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and quickly broke free from its Western roots. According to many music critics, its "golden age" years were the 1980s (especially the era of perestroika), when the Soviet underground roc ...
in the early years, crossing over to
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 r ...
.
Center was founded by
Vasily Shumov
Vasily Gerardovich Shumov (russian: Василий Герардович Шумов; born 23 March 1960) is a Russian-American artist, musician, multimedia and experimental artist, short film director and record producer. He is probably best known ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Russia in the late 1970s. The first band name was "777". In the early 1980s Center became popular in the Soviet music underground. The band released over 25 albums, created music for films and TV, appeared on TV shows, and performed in Europe and America.
[Official site - a brief story of Center in English](_blank)
Center is documented in numerous publications and books.
In the 1990s, the band leader
Shumov moved from
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Russia to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, United States where he continued his music and art work.
An album "Plastikozamenitel'" ("Plastic substitute") from 2000 is the first release of Center that features the new concept of so-called Centroborators. Centroborators are the artists from various locations, who contribute to the albums of Center, transferring their digital recordings to
Vasily Shumov
Vasily Gerardovich Shumov (russian: Василий Герардович Шумов; born 23 March 1960) is a Russian-American artist, musician, multimedia and experimental artist, short film director and record producer. He is probably best known ...
's studio using internet. Several albums after "Plastikozamenitel" were created using the Centroborators concept.
Official site - a "Centroborators" page
(in russian)
Since the mid-2000s, the band recommenced activities in Russia.
References
External links
Centromania.com - official site (in Russian, with an English section)
Musical groups from Moscow
Russian rock music groups
Russian new wave musical groups
Russian electronic music groups
Soviet rock music groups
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