LLC "Publishing House" Intellectual Property. Do they send song lyrics? It happened that you changed the program during the concert

Today, 07/12/2013, to Valery Kipelov, rock musician, former soloist group "Aria", author most popular song“I’m Free” and the founder of his own group “Kipelov” turns 55 years old. Now he continues to work hard: gives concerts, performs at various festivals and is preparing to record a new album. Trud asked the hero of the day about his plans in music and in life.

– How is work on the new album going?

– It’s hard to guess; it took us quite a long time to write the previous album. Nowadays there are generally problems with releasing large albums, so we may take a different path and write maxi-singles, that is, albums with a maximum of three songs. And thus we will speed up this process.

– What songs will be included in the album?

– We have a ballad left over from the time we wrote the album “Life in Contrary.” Musical material Already recorded, but no text. Rita (Margarita Pushkina, the author of many songs “Aria” and “Kipelova” - “Trud”) and I are very scrupulous about writing lyrics, and that’s why that song never made it into the album. But I think it will be released on one of the maxi-singles. But the final lineup has not yet been determined. We are now moving to a new base - and there we will resolve all issues.

– Do you work with any foreign musicians? In general, the Kipelov group is counting on a Western audience?

– There are proposals, quite a lot, but we are not counting on a Western audience. Many of our colleagues, including the Aria group, often travel abroad - to Germany, the USA, Finland... But these proposals are based on singing for our former compatriots, this does not suit me. And in order to conquer the Western market, you have to sing in English, and someone else has to do your promotion. But why do we need Western audiences? We are an absolutely Russian team that works for our audience. We are in demand here, we are loved here. And so, in October, for example, we will go to Israel. But this trip is more of a vacation combined with a tour.

– You give the impression of a very calm person.

“Perhaps calmness is a sign of experience.” I want to be an example for my children, for my granddaughters, who, by the way, are already quite old ladies - one is 12, the other is four. After big festivals, when you give great amount energy, the best way to recover is to play sports. I vowed to myself to do exercises every day for one and a half to two hours. While I’m following it, maybe if I’m dying, I’ll give myself some relief. Nature gives peace: a dacha, a forest, a lake...

– I know that you are interested in football. Do you often go to matches?

– Unfortunately, I don’t get to watch it often. At one time, the Spartak fan club gave me a season ticket, but I never managed to get out. True, in Lately The domestic championship interests me less and less. There are good football players, but when I watch Western championships, I understand the huge difference between our league and theirs, although I am a huge patriot. What dedication! But here there are so few bright matches, as if the players don’t even want to play. And those who want to go abroad.

– How do you feel about the fact that now many “metal” bands find themselves in the “non-format” category and, in order to get out of it, begin to perform at pop festivals and participate in various television shows?

– I personally don’t go to TV shows - it’s not my thing. Everything there is artificial, you always get the feeling that the guests are not saying something. Sitting there, puffing out your cheeks - why? Just waste time. I remember that I was once invited to a program where they discussed the influence of alcohol and found out who was to blame - the state or the person himself. It was interesting, I had something to say, but my line was eventually cut out. After that, I realized that I would not attend such programs.

As for pop festivals, I don’t perform at them either, and we’re not invited. There was a story when we were invited to the Muz-TV award, back in 2004, when it was just in its infancy, and the guys had not yet decided on the format. We wanted to perform live, but they didn’t let us.

The fact that metal has become unformatted, yes, it’s a shame. Such groups are not played on the radio, except that Nashe Radio sometimes plays something. Although we stand apart there too. But this is probably a tradition: “Aria”, I – we are regular participants in “Invasion”. But this doesn’t bother me: pop stars have a whole staff of PR people, image makers, we don’t use this, we have other methods. From heart to heart, as they say. We look our viewers straight in the eyes.

– Now some of your colleagues are going into politics: Spider, for example, became a candidate for mayor of Moscow. Do you have no political ambitions?

- No I do not want to. Each person must mind his own business. I am deeply convinced that our country does not need shocks. I have a lot of complaints against the Kremlin, but I understand that a huge country has huge problems, the solution of which requires large team and a lot of experience, and why people who don’t understand anything about it should get involved in this, I don’t know. I don't want to get involved in politics. When you are in politics, you are not independent, but I really value my freedom and the fact that there are no bosses over me.

On the eve of the New Year, Valery Kipelov answered questions from fans. The corresponding video recording was published on the official Youtube channel of the Kipelov group.

Valery spoke about the team's plans for anniversary year, answered a question about cooperation with Mararita Pushkina, spoke about his relationship with the musicians of the group “Aria”. Kipelov also shared his impressions of communicating with Daniil Pluzhnikov, winner of the “Voice. Children,” who superbly performed the song “I’m Free.”

The full interview with Valery Kipelov can be viewed online on our portal. The musician's monologue lasts just over twenty minutes.

Let us note that next year will be an anniversary year for the Kipelov group. The team will celebrate its 15th anniversary creative activity. TO significant date musicians will release a new one studio album, work on which has already been completed. In addition, all Kipelov concerts in 2017 will be dedicated to the anniversary.

The new album of the group will be the third number work of the group. The previous record is called “Living in Contrary”, it was released in 2011. The group's latest release is the single "Unconquered". Its release took place in the fall of 2015. The single was published in digital form, and also released on CD and vinyl records.

28.09.2006

On September 26, a big solo concert group "Kipelov". Fans of heavy music from Zelenograd, Moscow and the Moscow region energetically and noisily supported their favorites; the hall of the Palace of Culture, unaccustomed to rock and roll prowess, shook, but survived. Before the concert, Valery Kipelov gave an interview to our correspondent Alexey Koblov.

— How did the Kipelov group start?
- We can say that we have different starting points. If we count from the first concert, then the first concert of the Kipelov group took place on October 11, 2002 in St. Petersburg, at the Sports Palace, at the Small Arena. And we started rehearsing somewhere in July, my birthday is July 12th. I believe that the beginning is still October. The first concert, from now on you can count it. (Author’s note: the official website www.kipelov.ru indicates September 11, 2002).

- It turns out that you have been working for about four years?
- Yes, four years.

- During this time, your line-up changed, but only one “numbered” record was released?
- Yes, it was just a year ago. In October the album “Rivers of Time” appeared. Simply due to the fact that the musicians were changing, on whom, of course, the emphasis was placed, these are Mavrin and Terentyev, I can say that, in principle, the material was prepared for a long time, and they had a hand in this album, participation, we and Terentyev at one time made arrangements for such a song as “Breath of Darkness” with Mavrin - his song “Prophet” was included in this album. So their participation was there too. But it happened, fate separated us.

- Do you still play songs from the “Aria” repertoire at concerts?
- Yes, we are playing. Basically, those that either belong to me by authorship, or are neutral, do not belong to the current composition of “Aria”, for example, “Will and Reason”. “Get up, overcome fear” is a song by Bolshakov with lyrics by Elin. In general, there are songs that both they and we still perform.

- Did you have any conflicts about this?
- Well, there were some specific conflicts. We play these songs at concerts, and when a year after the formation of the Kipelov group our live album was released, problems arose regarding the authorship. Since the poet Alexander Elin transferred the rights to the song “Will and Reason” and all the others that he owned and which he wrote for the group “Aria” to Igor Matvienko’s Production Center, this is where problems arose. We had our own payment scheme, and all this happened a little because of money. Somehow this problem was resolved.

- Do you keep in touch with any of the Aria musicians?
- (Sighs deeply). No. From current composition- No.

- What about those who played before?
- Yes, and with Granovsky, although we don’t see each other so often, with Andrei Bolshakov - in to a greater extent, we meet more often. He also helped us in supporting the concert that took place in Moscow, in Luzhniki, in May, helped us with information, posted information about the group in his publications, and, in general, provided moral support, even took a direct part in the show. He, along with Yuri Sokolov, helped us with the show; we really wanted it all to be done with dignity. Therefore, his role is big.

- You are called one of best votes on Russian rock scene. I know what you sang in Soviet time in vocal and instrumental ensembles. Did this help you in any way?
- Yes, for five years I sang in VIA “Leisya, Song!” From 1980 to 1985.

- Don't you like to remember this?
- No, why, I always talk about this, I don’t hide it. Many people somehow veil their participation in VIA, they think that it was pop music, popular music. I absolutely never hid this, any information about myself, because for me it was a huge experience. I am grateful to this group; in five years I can’t even count the number of concerts we played. Back then there were no soundtracks, everyone played live.

- So, perhaps you performed in Zelenograd with “Leisya, Song”?
- One hundred percent.

- Probably on dance floors?
- No, we never played on dance floors. They played in this Palace of Culture in the early eighties. I am grateful that we met Kolya Rastorguev then. For five years he and I lived together in the same hotel room and worked together.

- Are you talking to him now?
- We communicate constantly, we are friends.

- Probably, the casting of the stage at that time was tougher than now?
- I wouldn't say it's tougher. Money didn't matter then. There were some quite famous bands: “Jolly Guys”, “Singing Hearts”, many, many vocal and instrumental ensembles. They all belonged to some kind of philharmonic society. And money, in principle, did not solve anything there. We came to the ready-made group “Leisya, Pesnya”, it was quite famous, promoted, they had released a lot of hits by that time. It all went downhill a little, because the eighties were the beginning of the heyday of rock music, and several other groups appeared. But we worked successfully, in five years I don’t remember that we had concerts that weren’t sold out. We worked three or even five concerts a day; we had a record of seven concerts in one day. We played about fifty to sixty concerts a month. Now, of course, these are some outrageous numbers, no one believes in it. And it was a huge experience that you can’t get anywhere. Therefore, young groups may simply envy us. In fact, with the current state of affairs, such a number of concerts, such experience is difficult to acquire.

- Do you still work a lot like the Kipelov group?
- We work a lot, we tour a lot. Now, on average, there are eight to ten concerts a month, it varies, but that’s the average.

- Do you perform abroad?
- In fact, we are not really drawn there. We went out and go out, but rather we consider it as some kind of vacation. We go to Israel almost every year.

- That is, the main trips- this is Russia and the former republics Soviet Union?
- Yes, sure. There are no serious enough offers to go somewhere on a big tour abroad. As a rule, all groups make noise about it, but they work in clubs, and for their former compatriots, in Germany, in the Baltic countries, in Sweden, in Finland. I know a lot of our groups go out, but I don't know, we like it here better. Besides, we don't sing in English. Our conditions here are completely different, so we feel quite normal, we sing in an understandable language, for our own people. I don't see any point in going there.

- Valery, what do you like in cinema, in music, recently and in general?
- I still prefer domestic films. With great pleasure I review old films, I love them very much, with our great artists: Evstigneev, Leonov, Kuravlev. Nowadays there are seemingly good films appearing, but all of this is either an imitation of Hollywood, or the emphasis is on “action”, on filming, on computer graphics. I watched “The Master and Margarita”, I have certain complaints about that film. Although the person who took on this, Bortko, here is his film “ Dog's heart"I liked it better. I believe that in it he completely and completely reflected everything. With “The Master and Margarita” the issue is controversial, since it is so difficult to reflect such a work in cinema.

As for music, to be honest, I have such a depressing impression. If I listen to some groups - yes, everyone has learned to play great, everyone records great, I mean foreign teams, not ours, not domestic ones. This is a big problem for all of us. I have not heard a single group that would be recorded at the level of those Western teams, even comparing with Sweden, with Finland, and not with the first echelon. Everyone plays great, everyone has great arrangements, but in a way that “gets it right”, by and large... It seems like there is some kind of stagnation.

Interesting bands are emerging, I really like Muse, although it is completely different from what we do. I'm waiting for Ozzy Osbourne's new album. They promised it by the end of the year, I wonder what the old man will do, because he doesn’t make albums very often. And if he does, he does it for real. I can say that from last concerts I really liked “Judas Priest”, I have long dreamed of going and seeing them live. Moreover, this is one of the teams that both Aria and now we have always focused on. These were Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne - perhaps these three bands, we always tried to work in the same style, make arrangements, we learned a lot from them. I really liked Bruce Dickinson's latest album, more than Iron Maiden, let's say. I like him better solo work. And so that “ah!”, as it used to be, the album comes out, everyone is waiting for it - now, unfortunately, this does not happen. One, two, three songs maximum, then - everything is not very interesting. I can also say about the latest album “Iron Maiden”, everything that has already happened a million times, everything is repeated. Nothing new. Yes, everything is well sung and played, the people are professional, what can I say. But the music has already become uninteresting.

Therefore, I look into the future with anxiety, since we now have to sit down to record an album, or rather, work on it, it’s too early to record. I would like it to musically it was no worse than at least the album we made a year ago. I would really like this, I just heard it, came out new album group "Aria" - well, they also have their problems, like all of us. Unfortunately, we have achieved something, but we cannot achieve something, even in terms of sound recording. But we’ll try to record it there, abroad, because, unfortunately, we can’t do a normal recording here.

- Thank you. Good luck to you.
- Thank you. Happily.

Photo report from the concert of the Kipelov group, photo by Oleg Belikov.

We would like to thank the administration of the Palace of Culture and the director of the Kipelov group, Rina Li, for their assistance in organizing the interview.

“There were rumors that people were being recruited into cults at our concerts.” Valery Kipelov about criticism, football and “rotten patriotism”

A good reason to feel old: the classic line-up of the Aria group ceased to exist 16 years ago, and a year later the Kipelov group appeared. Today the musicians will play at the Sports Palace anniversary concert, and the day before Valery Kipelov spoke with Onliner.by about bans on performances in Belarus, “outrageous patriotism,” criticism of the latest album and emotional relationship with football.

“I’m surprised at people’s illiteracy”

- How are you doing?

Yes, good. Everything is very good.

- How did you get there?

We arrived by train from Smolensk. We drove for about five hours - we sat, drank tea, and talked.

- Don’t such travel tire you?

No, absolutely. There are long ones, when you travel by bus for five or six hours, then yes. And so you lie on the train, talk with friends, drink tea. Great!

You came to Minsk to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Kipelov group. This is a reason for fans of the good old “Aria” to feel old.

It's hard for me to say. No, this is just an excuse to meet again. It turned out that our anniversary coincided with the release of a new album, and we decided to make a mix program: we will play quite a lot of songs from the new release and, perhaps, greatest hits for the 15 years that were made in the Kipelov group. I don’t feel old, although I will be 60 years old this year. Fans come to us - both children and grandmothers. In fact, this makes me very happy: we have such completely different age groups at performances. This is amazing.

- In general, three albums in 15 years is somehow not enough.

I understand, yes. I often quote Vladimir Ilyich Lenin: “Less is better.” I think that we have quite decent work. I know that many criticize our last album, make some complaints about the sound. I love myself objective criticism, but when it’s all unfounded... I don’t really agree about the sound: some people like it, some don’t. Different approaches.

You once noted that for Russian people, meaning and melody are important in music. The complaints about “Stars and Crosses” concern, among other things, the lack of bright, memorable melodies.

- Yes, comparable to the hits of “Aria”.

I disagree. For example, if we take at least the same song “Kosovo Pole”... Does “Aria” have such hits? Is it on this scale? Yes, there were wonderful songs, I don’t deny that. “Playing with Fire”... There is a slightly different ideology, but there was definitely no such song as “Kosovo Field”. That's for sure. It’s hard for me to say about the brightness of the melodies. I want to be a critic of “Aryan” albums - those of recent times. Well, there are no such hits! In general, the trend is this: you take any modern group, playing in a similar style, and every year it loses its brightness. Take Ozzy Osbourne: a well-recorded album, great music. But best record, in my opinion, was 1995's Ozzmosis. Now there are wonderful songs, but for some reason they don’t resonate with the ear.

They begin to compare the songs “Prophet” and “Icy Rain”. The riff there is somewhat similar, but the song is generally about something else, the melody is different, and people manage to compare these two compositions, which have nothing to do with each other. This surprises me. That is, people are illiterate. And some comrades begin to find fault with the texts. Even in “Kosovo Pole”... There, one comrade talks about “let us bloom with flowers.” But of course! Flowers are blooming, but how could it be otherwise? “Bloom” is an Old Church Slavonic word, and Yesenin used it: “May you be blessed forever that you have come to flourish and die.” I am sometimes surprised at the ignorance of people who take it upon themselves to judge, especially fashion bloggers. I love normal criticism: we ourselves know what worked and what didn’t work on this album. But I think that this is not a step back, it is about the same step as the previous album. And the fact that there are few of them, I think, is not so scary. We have spread it out so much that we can play two or three completely different programs.

- Margarita Pushkina said this in one of her interviews: “Valera is stingy with his own creativity.” What do you think she meant?

It's hard for me to say. I once told her, and she even took offense at me: “You have to carry yourself very carefully so as not to spill.” And Margarita Anatolyevna takes on everything at once. I still try to bring one thing to the end. I don't throw myself away, I don't like any joint projects, and if I understand that the song is not mine, then I won’t sing it. Pushkina sometimes offers her own lyrics, but we don’t have many cases where songs are written using ready-made lyrics. “Kosovo Polje” is one of the few. Her lines do not always coincide with our capabilities. She writes poetry, and these are not necessarily lyrics for songs. I also have a lot of complaints about the same “Occitanie” (rock opera by Margarita Pushkina and Sergei Skripnikov. - Note Onliner.by), but I’m not talking about it. Thank God she likes it, she bathes in it.

Margarita is interested in the Templars, Carcassons, but this is of little interest to me - I am concerned about the motives of life modern man, his experiences. If some parallel were drawn with the present day, it would be interesting. It's not really mine. Moreover, teams like “Epidemic” are carried away by these sagas, but reality is closer to me. That’s why Pushkina and I sometimes don’t understand each other very well. Although what we did, I think it turned out great.

“Shevchuk deserved to become president of Nashestvo more than Shnurov”

I'm not very pleased with you good news. There is strict censorship in Belarus concert activities. Let's remember those times when "Aria" was not allowed into our country. I understand it was because of the song “Antichrist”?

Not certainly in that way. It was actually a rather difficult period then: in my opinion, we are talking about 1998. The ideologists took the list and looked at the names of the songs: they actually included “Antichrist”, “In the Service of the Forces of Evil.” There were many, many such songs. It is clear that they look at the title and do not delve into the content, so this scared them a little. This stage passed quite quickly. Although yes, they called about the song “Antichrist”: there were rumors that allegedly someone was recruiting people into satanic sects at our concerts. It was funny. I even said: “Perhaps we should invite an Orthodox priest to sprinkle the stage? What Satanists, are you crazy? But no matter how many times we came to Belarus, there were never any complaints against us.

- But you stopped singing the song “Antichrist”.

I refused it not because it was someone’s ban. I just realized that this is not my song. When I sang from own name“My name is Antichrist, my sign is the number 666”... Only then did it dawn on me what I was doing. It is clear that this is heavy metal, a tribute to fashion, mysticism. But when you take on something like this... And then life practice confirmed this, although the “Aryans” deny it. We had an accident with the group Rage, the stage was on fire in Gorbushka, the conductor was in orchestra pit fell. Where to go? The same Pushkina asked this way and that. I told her: “Rita, I’ve given up on this once and for all.” I don’t want to play with this: this is a very serious matter. In addition, this song contradicts my religious beliefs: I am an Orthodox person and have disowned all this.

- Now business card group "Kipelov" - song "I'm Free". Did you understand its potential in 1997?

Of course not. We recorded it, the album came out - some people liked it, others not so much. Technically speaking, I didn’t like this recording at all. The material was good, but not all the songs. Sergei Mavrin and I did this project, but the approach was not particularly serious. They forgot about the song “I’m Free”: it was not performed in “Aria”, Mavrin himself never played it. And after some time, when the Kipelov group had already appeared, some kind of material was needed, because the group was more focused on touring. We decided to re-record the song and make the arrangement a little heavier. Since 2003, it began a second life: we gave it to the radio and did not expect such an effect at all. She sold out, there was some kind of bonus. Thanks to this song we had such a lift.

- As I understand it, she still feeds you well.

Yes. By the way, we looked at the version Belarusian group Pawa and I really liked it. I suggested playing “I’m Free” together at this concert: it would be interesting if they sang in Belarusian, and I sang in Russian. But the guys couldn’t: they were busy, working. Said: “We would really like to, but we can’t.” I hope that we will do something else together.

- There was a story with the song “I’m Free” connected with Sergei Shnurov.

It was a banal story. They just brought some kind of document - supposedly so that the song from the movie "Boomer" would be performed on the radio. There were no problems, I signed some document - nothing more.

- Most of all you were interested in whether there was any obscene language there.

Yes, this was the main condition. I listened and said: "Yes, not a bad song, for God's sake". And he signed the documents. Then it turned out that it was a soundtrack to a film.

- How do you generally feel about Shnurov’s work?

I saw him once, it was on “Invasion”. Great show, very professionally done. But he and I are in some respects antipodes.

- Last year you participated in the presidential elections of “Invasion” and lost to the same Shnurov. Wasn't it offensive?

No, absolutely. In general, it’s funny, of course: the president, “Invasion”... But they decided to play with this toy. I then said: “If possible, give my votes to Shevchuk. Let our fans not be offended, but really..." Yura was 60 years old, he deserves it. Although we differ greatly Political Views, but purely humanly and comradely, I think that Shevchuk deserved much more to be president.

- “Invasion” is criticized every year: there are questions about the lineup, and about the infrastructure, and about political motives...

Regarding the fact that there is some kind of military equipment, - I don’t see any militarism in this. I came there and told about my military service. I look: little boys are climbing on these cannons. There is nothing terrible there, there is no militarization. There is military equipment, sometimes pilots appear and fly there. We communicated with them, this aerobatic team“Russian Knights” are great guys. It turned out that one of their favorite songs is “Breath of Darkness”, I was very surprised by this. There is some kind of political background... I have never seen this: they came, played for fun, met our fans from all over the country. My niece often comes to “Invasion”. The only thing is enough high prices for everything, even for water.

“Any surgical intervention somehow affects the condition of the voice”

- During your first tour in Germany you were called Cossacks with guitars. Wasn't it offensive?

They were definitely not called Cossacks. Maybe someone else came up with this? No, we were called the Soviet Iron Maiden.

- Did this comparison bother you?

No, absolutely. If we were called American " Tender May", that would hurt. And if in some way we were similar to Iron Maiden, such a wonderful band... And then, I myself knew that some of the comrades in the group were very keen on the work of Iron Maiden, and in general, this band influenced us. Yes, many analogies can be found, but it was done with talent. Although I liked other teams more: Ozzy Osbourne, Judas Priest. Some of the comrades in Aria even wore costumes that looked like Adrian Smith.

- In 2012, you underwent surgery on your ligaments. How serious was it?

It wasn't painful, but it was unpleasant. Then I had to for a long time be silent. For the first time in 30 years, we had a concert cancelled: we did not perform in Vitebsk. And the first concert after the operation took place in Minsk at the Sports Palace, although I was advised to remain silent for six months. But you know: man proposes, but God disposes. In Minsk, of course, I was not in very good shape after such an unpleasant operation. Now some people think that it has become better, but I don’t think so: any surgical intervention somehow affects the voice and condition.

- There is an opinion among fans: after surgery on the ligaments, Kipelov was not the same.

I don't know. But any operation does not pass without a trace - this is one of the reasons why we have reduced our touring activities so much. You need to somehow take care of yourself and not force your voice whenever possible. And regarding “Aria,” I simply began to sing in a slightly different manner.

You love public transport. This somehow does not fit with the image of the man who sang the songs “King of the Road”, “Hero of the Asphalt” and “ Careless Angel».

And there are actors who play drunkards. Vitsin, for example. A wonderful comedian, generally a non-drinker, did yoga, and always played some kind of moonshiners and drunkards. It's just a role, nothing more. When you get used to the image that you have to convey, you become a biker, a driver, and a pilot. This is a person's ability to transform.

-Have you ever driven before?

I sat down, but it didn’t last long. When I went to the dacha and had a lot of time. Something even worked out. And then suddenly I’m 60 years old, and I don’t really want to be a teapot at that age. In Moscow, it’s easier for me to travel to the rehearsal by metro: I arrive at the venue in 40 minutes. If I had traveled by car, it would have been an hour and a half to two hours. And so I am closer to the people, I know how they live, I can feel their breath in the subway.

- You said that you understand football, probably even better than music.

Partly yes.

- What have you heard about Belarusian football?

I know that Viktor Goncharenko used to coach BATE. The last Belarusian player I heard about was Gleb, he played for Arsenal. Under the Soviet Union, Dynamo Minsk was a great team. Then there was somehow more information about Belarusian football. But now I only hear about BATE when the team plays on the international stage. This is weird. The countries seem to be close in spirit, but there is very little information about each other - this really surprises me. As for sports, I know more about biathlon - Domracheva is there.

- What do you think about Goncharenko? Would you like him to train not “horses”, but “meat” ones?

No, I wouldn't. I think everything that happens is for the better. He is a good coach, but Spartak also has a good one. I don’t think that Spartak is a leader. They play well, but these sudden ups and downs... And then, how they lost to Athletic... They could have actually played better.

Previously there was Spartak or the same Dynamo Minsk, but now players migrate from club to club and do not feel the spirit of the game. This was all somehow leveled out. Probably, I am a person with old views on these matters, but I think that the spirit has been lost. All these legionnaires, it seems to me, do not feel this. There are no leaders like Tikhonov and Titov used to be in Spartak.

“I sing Russian folk songs with my son after the bath.”

- Your son said that you play in the style of “outrageous patriotism.”

Ha ha ha!

- What do you think he meant?

It was he who conveyed the words to me, this was not his opinion. I don't agree with this. We don't make music to please anyone. This is our personal opinion, my view of things. If I sing about the Kosovo field, I do it with knowledge of the matter, with suffering. If we write some songs about besieged Leningrad, then not for anyone to say that this is a hymn to Putin’s homeland. This is our personal view of things. As for the war, both my grandfathers died, so there is no need to agitate me. We sing about what really concerns us, and not for opportunistic reasons. How fashionable is this now? Clamps... No, it's all nonsense.

Take our latest album. There is a wonderful song “Born to Fly”. We met a biker boy. He was badly injured in the accident, and his mother brought him in a stroller to our concert. He really wanted to take a photo. I don’t know what happened, but he got up and walked away. And at first I wanted to write the song “Born to Fly” about this guy, but then the idea was transformed. We sing texts that are close to us.

- It’s easy for you to find now mutual language with own children?

Certainly. Moreover, my son is even more radical in some things than I am.

- For example?

I’m interested in folk art, but he goes even further: he’s interested in authenticity. He is a cellist, graduated from the conservatory, but mastered the harmonica and balalaika. When we meet at the dacha, we are happy to sing Russian after the bath folk songs. I probably influenced him somehow at one time. But in some things he is more radical, and I have to stop him: explain that he needs to be kinder, more objective. He has straight white and black, and I don’t always like it.

- Your children have a classic musical education. Can they be called wealthy people?

I would not say. But at least they are self-sufficient. I have never spoiled them, but I offer my help. For example, my son needed to buy good tool- It is clear that it would be difficult to do this yourself. I often help my daughter: I have two wonderful granddaughters, I am interested in their lives. They are not spoiled and are happy with every little thing I can bring, even some cheap silver earrings. I really like it, and I see the same attitude towards myself: I recently got sick, and my granddaughters brought me honey and jam. I'm very a good relationship with a family. Just like with the audience on stage. The people feel everything: if you treat them with respect, then this comes to you doubly. It's the same with children.

- Can you imagine that in Belarus a Philharmonic soloist receives $150 full-time?

Hmm... Quite. I can imagine it. I once worked for $50 as a night watchman, it was not so long ago, by the way.

- This was during the heyday of Aria. How did this happen?

Somehow I survived. I understand that the time is different now, the money is also completely different. I understand that we probably have something similar, although money in Russia is better. I don't even know how to comment on this. It must be difficult to live on that kind of money. But people consciously make their choice. He doesn't become a businessman. You must understand that this is a very difficult path. During the same “Aryan” period, we did not know how to support families during perestroika. All savings were gone, and it was generally unclear how to feed two children. Somehow we got out. The most important thing is that families were not destroyed and we even tried to record something. This is where a person is tested to see how devoted he is to his profession.

- If you went back in time, would you still make your choice in favor of heavy music?

Yes, sure. I would also try my hand at classical music. But I don’t know how long it would last for me there, because it’s an even more serious approach to business than here. Although even here you must constantly be in shape and confirm your skills. Every concert is a test. Just like with albums: they could be churned out every year, regardless of the music, arrangements, or lyrics. But we don’t do this: we want the material to be of sufficient quality.

“I GREW UP WITH FOLK MUSIC... FOLK MUSIC IS THE BASIS OF EVERYTHING. THIS IS SOCKEN WITH MOTHER'S MILK..."

Interview with Valery Kipelov

Musician Valery Kipelov and the group of the same name are extremely interesting for study by copyright specialists and intellectual property lawyers. “Aria” gained popularity in the 80s, and to this day the “Aryans,” like the Kipelov group, remain stadium groups. Nevertheless, domestic rock groups with a similar path to success are completely different from them: they are all built around the person of the author-performer, be it Shevchuk and DDT, Kinchev and “Alice”, Grebenshchikov, and even the late Viktor Tsoi. “Aria”, as now in the “Kipelov” group, has a completely different path: they have always been a conglomerate creative personalities– musicians, poets and, of course, Vocalist with capital letters. This is why the legal construction of relations within and around the flagship band of the domestic metal scene is so interesting.

- Valery, hello! It will soon be 15 years since you left the Aria group. Now that you lead a group named after yourself, problems with the name of the group cannot arise under any circumstances. And then, in 2002, did you have the opportunity to keep the name “Aria” for yourself? Were there any agreements regulating the possibility of your leaving the group? According to numerous rumors that were circulating at that time both in the press and in the crowd, “Aria” should have gone to you, while the group of Dubinin and Kholstinin could have been called, for example, “Chimera”. Is the name “Kipelov” protected in any way now?

– Yes, the name “Kipelov” and the logo are now protected. And at that time I was far from legal subtleties, it was hard to throw away the thought that I would no longer work in this team. We relied on gentlemen's agreements with our colleagues and, as far as I knew, the name "Aria" was registered under a separate LLC, and there were five members and a director. But at the time of the breakup and departure of the three members of the Aria group, no one claimed the name Aria, and we understood that Aria was something more than three participants. Yes and most of The songs were written by the remaining two members of the band. But, in truth, “Aria” is those five musicians of the group. Each of us contributed...

Yes, at that time they re-registered the name “Aria” to themselves. We, in turn, also did not worry for long and began to work. Well, time has put everything in its place.

– The first prerequisites for parting with “Aria” began to appear in the mid-90s, if you believe the history of the group. You left already in 1994, and Alexey Bulgakov began recording the album “Night is Shorter than Day”. Again, according to rumors, not last role In your return to “Aria”, Alexander Morozov (Moroz Records) played, who threatened to break contracts with the group. Did the legal side of the issue really matter then?

– We had a certain conflict after a trip to Germany in 1994, mainly between me and V. Kholstinin. I had no intention of leaving anywhere; he apparently didn’t like my independent steps. At that time there was a difficult financial situation, and I worked in clubs with the “Master” group. It was a temporary project; the Master group at that time did not have a vocalist. I fulfilled all my obligations with Aria, and then we even decided to work on a new album. But then A. Bulgakov was invited. Alexey was the leader of the Legion group, and building new relationships turned out to be difficult - apparently, they simply reached a dead end quite quickly.

I don’t know whether there really was such an agreement with Morozov, V. Kholstinin told me about this, saying that the company did not want to release an album with another vocalist. Thus, our relationship entered a new phase and lasted until 2002, which I was generally happy about.

I heard some compositions with vocals by A. Bulgakov, and I liked some of them, I heard the song “Night is Shorter than Day...” itself.

I can only say that at that time I had no intention of leaving anywhere. This was a completely different situation from the one that arose in 2002.

– How much did contractual obligations influence the fate of artists in general during the initial path of your metal career (1985–95)? Is it true that Melodiya sold millions of copies of your records without paying a penny to the “Aryans”? How was your relationship with the producer of “Aria” V.Ya. built at that time? Weckstein?

– Vekshtein was artistic director, we worked at Mosconcert and received our fixed rate. Since 1988, the situation has changed, the rates were canceled, and we worked on our commercial concerts. Payment for the concert was discussed with Weckstein and these issues have already been resolved with him.

This was a period when there were no special contracts, signatures, and we didn’t even talk about copyright ones. We didn't really care whose song it was - legal side The question arose a little later, when we started signing contracts for the release of CDs. And, of course, at that time we were not fully prepared for legal relations; at first, some problems arose.

As for “Melody,” it was a kind of breakthrough when a metal team’s disc was released on vinyl. Later the next album was released... For us it was a definite victory - the release of an album by a metal band both on vinyl and on Melodiya.

Of course, we didn’t receive much money then, but that didn’t bother us much. The release of the album on vinyl already spoke about the status of the group.

– Let's go back to the mid-90s. With guitarist Sergei Mavrin, who left Aria in 1995, you recorded solo album « Time of Troubles", on which the main hit of all times "I'm free" was performed for the first time. Tell us the story behind this album. Why weren’t these songs included in the “Aria” repertoire? Who didn't see their potential? Were there any legal restrictions for you to release a solo record while you were the current vocalist of Aria?

– The song “I’m Free” wasn’t that unnoticed... It probably stood out on the album, at least for me, but we didn’t think that this song would become a hit and so on.

I didn’t force this song to be performed in the “Aria” group, we almost didn’t even talk about it, especially since “Aria” has many of its own songs, more lyrical... Based on the results collaboration Sergei and I just wanted to do something independent, the result of this work was an album released in 1997. We are happy with some things, not with others, probably, some things are funny to listen to now from the perspective of the years... I think that was when the first stone was laid, which laid the foundation for the Kipelov group.

– In your groups, both in Aria and in Kipelov, everyone writes songs except the drummer. How is it determined whose compositions the group accepts for work and which are postponed for later?

– Everything is decided collectively, no matter who brings anything, we try to work together. The only thing I can say is that what happens here is different from some Western teams, when out of 80 songs submitted for the album, only 10 are chosen. We bring as many songs as are needed for the album.

We decide everything ourselves, the main thing is that it is consistent with the style of the group. As for the drummer, yes, he doesn't write songs, but he has a lot of other advantages, and we are completely fine with that. Of course, if he composed, it would be great, but, nevertheless, he participates in creative process, offers something...

– From your pen in “Aria” mainly ballads came out, but your solo work presented you as an excellent composer of battle tracks. Why was there such a feature in “Aria”? Was it a request from the audience or the inability of other band members to write a ballad?

– It’s hard to say... it probably depends on the periods in life. In “Aria”, mainly Granovsky, Bolshakov, Kholstinin, Dubinin wrote, I sometimes wrote, but before “Aria” I did not compose songs at all, say, while working in “Leisya, song!” After some time, as they say, life forced me, and I already tried my hand at writing not only ballads, but also “action films”. I guess I was gaining experience...

– The authors of the song “Take My Heart” are all the participants in “Aria”, except the drummer. And this is not the only case. How is the authorship of the songs determined in “Kipelov”, in “Aria” of those years when all the musicians invested in the creation of the track? After all, the guitarist can come up with the opening riff, solo, etc., but the vocal melody and harmony are invented by you. Are there any agreements between the co-authors to further determine income? Does this income vary based on each co-writer's contribution to the song?

– Historically, since the time of “Aria”, we somehow developed that the authorship belongs to the one who composed the melody and harmony... And as for the riff or arrangement, this is also very important and sometimes it does its job... But here It happened like this for us. Basically, we do everything else together, although it happens in different ways, but nevertheless, this is how it is for us.

– Due to the large number of authors of the material you perform (both music and lyrics), have there ever been any difficulties with the live performance of certain songs? At one time they said that live albums It was not possible to include some songs written by A. Bolshakov (“Get up, overcome fear”, “Will and reason”).

There is, for example, the song “Careless Angel”, the music for which was written by the group Golden Earing, which also had problems during its release...

– “Kipelov” is famous for its performance folk songs, both in heavy processing and with folk ensembles. Where does the passion for this kind of music come from? Should the audience expect new tracks in this vein?

– I grew up listening to folk music, I always had a gramophone playing at home and the sounds of Chaliapin, S. Lemeshev, Ruslanova were playing. It was absorbed with mother's milk, my family sings, songs sounded always and everywhere. And I stood on a stool and sang Russian folk songs for the guests. There is always something to learn from people. folk music– this is the basis of everything. And by the way, “Kosovo Pole” is our new song, because many thought that it was some kind of folk song. It's not bad, and love for folk art will stay with me until the end of my days.

– In addition to folk songs, within the Kipelov group you can also hear cover versions of Western rock hits. You had experience working in the Back to the Future club project in the 90s, where they also performed covers. And “Aria” acquired in 1999 new life and stadiums of new fans with a cover of “Careless Angel.” How do you generally feel about the performance of songs by other artists? Is there any legal work being done in this direction? Is the choice of certain covers determined by the possibility of “clearing” the rights to the original track for work?

– Well, the song “Careless Angel” has already been mentioned; it was inherited from us and is performed by “Aria”, and “Kipelov”, and S. Mavrin and, possibly, S. Terentyev. As for covers, we perform them extremely rarely, rather as an exception, either due to “green concerts” or some other special occasion.

At one time there was a project “Back to the Future”, covers were performed, no problems with authorship arose...

– Your successor in “Aria,” Arthur Berkut, was involved in litigation due to his solo performance of “Aryan” songs, essentially covers. Have you encountered similar incidents?

- No, no one has sued me on this topic, if questions arise, then we have such an unspoken agreement, and we try not to perform songs that do not belong to us. There are cases when a song belongs to two authors: one is a member of the “Aria” group, the other is a member of the “Kipelov” group, but our case has never reached the courts.

– Valery Kipelov is known as a serious artist who does not participate in projects that are not close to him. At the same time, you cannot be called a recluse: duets with Galanin, Tarja Turunen, participation in Margarita Pushkina’s project “Dynasty of Initiates.” How do you involve lawyers when participating in these projects? Agreements with co-performers, quality control and promotion of phonograms?

– This is also an exception - all these joint performances, as for, for example, Tarja, we did not sign any special agreements, but I am glad that we sang together.

As for Sergei, this was done out of friendship, as a gesture of goodwill, no money or contracts. Money and obligations are not always involved in this process.

With the group "PicNik" I also performed these songs voluntarily, according to at will and without the involvement of lawyers.

– On what basis is your cooperation with FC Spartak based? We have all heard the anthem of multiple Russian champions performed by you, but there were previous experiments in this direction. Will we still hear from the stage “Let’s raise our red and white flag into the sky!”? Tell us the story behind these tracks.

– Evgeniy Khavtan called me, and this was a “test of the pen” regarding the Spartak anthem. He said that there was an idea to record an anthem for FC Spartak.. He showed me a demo, which, in my opinion, was sung by the group “Cockroaches”, and it was sung well, cheerfully, I don’t know why it didn’t pass... and I agreed try your hand. I had never done anything like this before, and it was interesting.

I'm not surprised it didn't become a staple anthem. I don’t know the fate of this anthem, and I don’t even have a recording...

Later, Viktor Drobysh called and came up with the same proposal, saying that he had composed an anthem, a little different, as FC Spartak had asked, more melodious and melodious. No contracts and special conditions neither was there. FC.Spartak. was my favorite club, and I gladly agreed...

– Now “Kipelov” is working on new material. One of the new songs, “Kosovo Field,” has already blown up the Internet. How do you feel about the fact that fans get to know your work through recordings from true-fans-only phones? Are you pursuing the distribution of such pirated recordings? For example, at concerts of a number popular rock bands There is a ban on photography and video shooting in the hall.

- In fact, we have come to terms with this, since it is stupid to run after fans and ban them, now everyone has several phones, cameras - it’s just like banning the wind, it blows and blows. And when recordings appear, sometimes it may not be very pleasant, but on the other hand it mobilizes you - any inaccuracy of yours is obvious, all this makes you think about what and how you are doing on stage.

- Continuing the conversation about future plans group "Kipelov", tell me, the new album will be released on material media or did internet piracy kill CDs?

– It’s hard to guess whether this will be a full-length album or whether we’ll limit ourselves to releasing a single. The story with the CD is somehow closer to me, because... I'm not particularly friendly with the Internet. There were even thoughts of abandoning the release of the album altogether, and people would listen to new songs only at concerts. Moreover, one performance may differ from another, it may be sung with different moods… this is interesting. But I think we will understand the situation in the near future.

Interviewed by Timofey Shcherbakov