Crematorium rock band. The lead singer of the rock band “Crematorium” Armen Grigoryan told Izhevsk residents who the song “Ugly Elsa” is about

"Crematorium" - Soviet-Russian rock band, created in 1983 (Moscow) by poet and vocalist Armen Grigoryan, as well as his classmate and friend Viktor Troegubov. . Genre: rock, rock and roll. art rock, folk rock, hard rock.

At first, the group performs in a narrow circle of acquaintances. But after the release of their album “The Illusory World” (1985), they gained popularity at the national level. The team began touring other cities. However, a serious rift occurred within the group between the two leaders, which contributed to Troegubov’s departure from the group. Later he created the Smoke project.

In 1988, the album “Coma” was released, thanks to which the video for the song began to be played on central television. " Crematorium"increases the number of concerts. But after another conflict within the group, several musicians left, which contributed to the renewal of the composition, which to this day exists practically unchanged.

In 1993, Troegubov returned to the Crematorium, but not for long. During this time, the group recorded the next studio album, “Double Album,” - the most successful, according to many critics.

In 1994, the film “Tatsu” was shot, in which she took part group « Crematorium" But the film was never released due to a weak storyline. But later, the musicians released a number of video clips, thanks to the video footage taken from the film.

Troegubov finally leaves the team after another quarrel. Later, he sued Grigoryan several times, but to no avail. And yet he settles scores with him with the book he wrote, “Life in the Crematorium and Beyond.”
Despite the negative aftertaste, the band's musicians continued their creative path: with short breaks, new albums were released, and concerts were also held in Israel, Germany, and the USA (1999).

After the release of the album “Mythology” (2000), the group’s creativity experienced a long-term crisis. Over the next six years, not a single album was released.
In 2006, after much work and searching for something new, Grigoryan released his debut album, entitled “Chinese Tank”.
And in 2008, “Crematorium” recorded its fourteenth studio album – “Amsterdam”, the song of the same name more than once reached the top of the Nashe radio chart.

Group "Crematorium" had a significant influence on the development of rock music in Russia. Grigoryan's poetry has many facets. In his songs, the real and otherworldly worlds are present and intertwined. The theme of life after death particularly fascinates Armen, which gives the songs special energy and depth of meaning. In addition to the solo guitar, the arrangements often feature a violin, which gives the music of “Crematorium” a special color.

Boris Grebenshchikov said best about the group’s work: “Crematorium” is, rather, not music, but a way of life that has gone too far.”

01

There are several versions of the origin of the group's name. They say, for example, that one of the musicians somehow randomly dialed a phone number and heard on the receiver: “The crematorium is listening.” The most realistic version is this: the musicians, without bothering, named the group after one of the songs of the first album. Initially, the group was supposed to bear the name “Catharsis”, but this name had to be abandoned, since the popular Polish rock musician Czeslaw Niemen had an album of the same name.

02

In 1994, director Vyacheslav Lagunov made the film “Tatsu”, in which the participants of “Crematorium” played as actors. But the movie turned out so weak that it was not rented. However, the efforts were not in vain: the group used materials from the film for their videos. And the actor who played the main character became the new violinist of “Crematorium”.

03

In 2003, while touring Europe, the organizers of a concert in Hamburg canceled a performance, citing the band's name and the Nazi law. It is noteworthy that even before this, the musicians performed in Berlin without any problems, and even earlier they repeatedly went to Israel with concerts.

04

In 1993, it was planned to take a group photo for the Double Album. But the musicians had a severe hangover, so the picture didn’t work out: someone was constantly blinking or hiccupping. As a result, it was decided to photograph the musicians in threes.

05

In 1986, the musicians of “Crematorium” ended up in the police station, where they were persistently offered to join the “Moscow Rock Laboratory” - an institution that controlled the activities of Soviet rock bands and organized concerts and tours for them. But before that, he had to audition. One of the commission members was Alexander Gradsky, who initially described the lyrics as “single-layer black stuff,” but when he heard the group live, he changed his mind. Or maybe he even turned in his chair to face them.

06

"Rock Laboratory" found the name "Crematorium" gloomy and repulsive, so for several years the group performed under the name "Cream". After leaving the organization, the original name returned.

07

Voronezh is considered a lucky city for the group; it was here that their first serious tour took place. Since then, “Crematorium” believes that Voronezh brings them good luck, and starts all its tours from here. In addition, this is the birthplace of Grigoryan’s favorite writer, Andrei Platonov. It was his story “Garbage Wind” that inspired the creation of one of the group’s most popular songs.

08

The designer of the group's first concert costumes was Yegor Zaitsev, the son of the same Vyacheslav, whom you know as Slava. Among other things, Yegor came up with the idea of ​​dressing the violinist Rossovsky in a sailor suit and cap, and painted gold teeth for the musicians with special paint.

09

In 1988, in order to make money, Armen Grigoryan composed several tunes for a children's television game show (its name, alas, was not preserved by history), but set the condition that the name of the group should not be mentioned anywhere, because this could have a negative impact on their reputation. By the way, the participants themselves starred there as actors: they played musketeers and fought a duel.

10

The headquarters of “Crematorium” is located in Moscow, in a building where there used to be an underground porn studio.

CATHARSIS
CREMATORIUM

If you believe the legend, the shocking name was born spontaneously. Either from the philosophical concept of “catharsis”, meaning the purification of the soul with music and fire, or in defiance of the names of the then official VIA, such as singing, cheerful, blue and other guitars, or maybe this was the influence of Nietzsche, Kafka or Edgar Allan Poe .

There are countless different versions and interpretations. Every journalist who interviewed the group considered it a sacred duty to ask where, in the end, such a gloomy name came from. Since this question has become an attribute of almost every press conference, the patience of the musicians has gradually become exhausted and in recent years, having heard the sacramental questioning, they become gloomy and flatly refuse to answer.

So the main question of our time remains open...

©️ V. Gavrilov.

Book “Iced Strawberries”

Origins (1974-1983)

The history of the Crematorium group dates back to Moscow school No. 167, where in 1974 students of grade 7 “A” - Armen Grigoryan, Alexander Sevastyanov and Igor Schuldinger- join a rock band "Black spots". The first performances take place at the same school, at a dance, but in addition to songs by Soviet and foreign authors, the young rockers’ repertoire gradually includes their own compositions in an English-like language, passed off as works by Frank Zappa, Grateful Dead, AC\DC, etc.

After graduating from school in 1977, guitarist joined drummer Sevastyanov and bassist Grigoryan Evgeniy Khomyakov. And the trio of students turns into a team "Atmosphere pressure".

1978

The guys are recording their first and, alas, last magnetic album "Ship of Fools"(a kind of hello to Hieronymus Bosch), already consisting entirely of songs of his own composition. But due to the negligible circulation (one (!) copy), this creation has not survived to this day and cannot be presented as evidence. Only thanks to the titanic efforts of Zhenya Khomyakov, most of the songs were restored and recorded by the Crematorium musicians in 2001 under the guise "Requiem for the Headless Horseman".

“Atmospheric Pressure” one way or another existed until 1983, but bans on concert activities led to a fall in the repertoire from the heights of hard rock - to the underground, to acoustic songs.

The first appearance of "Cream..."
(1983-1987)

During this period, the first opuses of the great and terrible “Cream...” appeared. In the group, replacing each other, the then friends, drinking buddies and even neighbors of Grigoryan play. Here are just some of the names of the participants in this combined ensemble: Shchepin, Pletnev, Troegubov, Portnov, Kutuzov, Pushkarev, Lagutin, Brodkin, Khomyakov, Sevastyanov... With the advent of the violin Mikhail Rossovsky, the band takes on a very original sound. The era of “tenants” begins and, thanks to such songs as “Tanya”, “Outsider”, “My Neighbor”, “Crematorium”, “Winged Elephants”, etc., the first fame comes!

In the songs of the ASG, a synthesis of genres, non-standard for rock and roll, gradually appears: ballads, waltzes, blues, ethnics, elements of classical music, the facets of a kind of crematorium lyrics with original characters and expressive surreal images are formed.

IN 1985 a magnetic album is being recorded "The Illusory World". The album's highlights include the songs "America", "Our Time", "Sebastia", as well as the megahits "Sexy Cat" and "Little Girl".

Kt's apartment and concert activities are reaching their climax. At one of the performances, the guys organize a costumed happening, in which the now famous biker and designer, and then comrade-in-arms and friend of “Crematorium”, takes an active part. Egor Zaitsev. It was with his light hand hat appears, which from that day on has become an invariable attribute of Armen Grigoryan’s image and a symbol of the group.

"CREMATORIUM"
(1987-2008)

In 1987, Grigoryan and Rossovsky decided to reach a qualitatively new level of performance and reformed the composition. At the film studio. Gorky's album is being recorded "Coma", awarded (no more or less!) a 1st degree diploma from Aurora magazine in the holder of the best magnetic albums of 1988.

The songs “Garbage Wind”, “Ugly Elsa”, “Khabibullin”, “Hare Rama”, “Hounds”, “Reanimation Machine” were born on this disc.

Next year they join the team Andrey Saraev(drums) and Sergei Tretyakov(bass), who are destined to work in it for 20 years, record almost the entire discography, give countless concerts and become epic heroes of the Crematorium epic.

It should be noted that many musicians played as guitarists in the Crematorium, thereby establishing a tradition of periodic rotation of personnel in this position. However, the bar Dmitry Kulikov, raised high in albums "The Living and the Dead" And "Strawberry with ice", never dropped and, thanks to the skill of subsequent performers ( Osipov, Murashov, Terentyev, Burkhel, Kulikov), the sound of the songs took on new forms and shades.

IN 1989 album comes out this year "Strawberry with ice". During this period, the band's musicians experienced a passion for art rock, which is directly reflected in the arrangements. So, in addition to the title song, songs appear - “A World Full of Love”, “Arkhip Arkhipych”, “Pavlik Morozov”, “Women of the City of Roses”, “Last Chance”.

Having replenished the concert repertoire with new creations, Kt begins to actively tour the vast expanses of the USSR, which, of course, strengthens the team and significantly increases its professional level. Fan clubs scattered throughout the country unite in World Society of Friends of Cremation and Arm Wrestling, abbreviated "VODKA". The fan club now has a coat of arms, manifesto and charter!

In 1991, one of the most conceptual and avant-garde albums “Crematorium” was released - "Zombie". The flickering of various characters merge into a surreal fresco, and the music combines polar genres from hard rock to jazz. It is difficult to single out individual songs and hits from the general chain of short stories.

The most famous are “Caligula”, “Creatures”, “Trellis”, “Hurray” and the title piece. “Zombie” turns out to be very successful in design.

This disc marks the beginning of Kt's collaboration with a wonderful artist. Vasily Gavrilov, who is responsible for the design of this and almost all subsequent editions of the group.

IN 1994 This year, Grigoryan and his comrades starred in the English-Russian feature film “Tatsu” together with an old comrade of the group Margarita Pushkina. And the leading actor is an actor Vyacheslav Bukharov takes the vacant violinist position Mikhail Rossovsky who emigrated to Israel. And until 2007, Slava fulfilled her duties brilliantly.

From 94 to 97 albums united by one story are released: "Tango on a Cloud", "Tequila Dreams" and "Botanica". At the same time, the group is releasing two more discs: "Micronesia" and "Gigantomania", with compositions that did not fit into previous albums. Thus, among others, the songs “Pinocchio”, “Johann Strauss”, “Poison” and, oddly enough, “2001”, written and first played in 1987 at the first Festival of Hopes of the Moscow Rock Laboratory, were born.

IN 1999 year, the group went on their first world tour, covering, in addition to the Soviet Union, USA, Israel and Europe. All this was organized in support of the new album "Three Springs", with an impressive number of excellent songs such as “Gehenna of Fire”, “Monsieur Serge”, “Zebras”, “African” and “Kathmandu”, and the latter instantly soars to the top of the charts, and is also included as a soundtrack in a cult film "Brother 2"!

IN 2000 year, the musicians begin work on new material, and two years later the next, 13th numbered album appears "Mythology", filled with friendly cartoons and stories from the lives of friends and team members. And the ironic self-portrait “Crematorium” is a song "Merry Ensemble", – becomes the calling card of the group. However, it is with “Mythology” that the long-term crisis begins...

Perhaps the psychological fatigue of the squad, which remained virtually unchanged for a long time, took its toll. Be that as it may, the next 6 years were not marked by the release of anything new. And yet, the number of concerts has not decreased. "Crematorium" becomes one of the country's most lively rock bands. IN 2003 The cremators are going on another world tour of Russia, the CIS countries, the USA and Western Europe, the quintessence of which is the city of Amsterdam. The geography and number of tours are steadily growing in 2006 The musicians give a total of 127 concerts, thereby setting their own absolute record.

In November 2005 year, a website for Grigoryan’s solo studio project opens on the Internet "3"Angel", and a year later his debut album is released "Chinese tank". By the way, Armen Grigoryan became the only artist in the entire history of “Invasion” who performed at this festival with two active groups.

In October 2007 a violinist appears in the group Maxim Guselshchikov.

Modern "CREMATORIUM"
(2008-ND)

IN 2008 year, after a six-year break, the 14th numbered disc “Crematorium” was released, called "Amsterdam". In the spring of the same year, a new concert tour “Journey to Amsterdam” starts! Then a bass player joins the group Nikolay Korshunov and drummer Andrey Ermola.

Thanks to the recognition of listeners, the title song repeatedly rises to the top of the HP Chart Dozen hit parade, takes 2nd place at the end of the year and 4th place in terms of duration of stay in the Dozen in the entire history of its existence. The songs “Amsterdam”, “Don’t Rubbish”, “Goblins” and “Hobbits”, “The Harlot Lida”, “Olya”, “Lunatic”, “Romeo and Juliet”, “Naked Parade” replenish the concert repertoire, and the album itself is at the end 2008 receives "Golden Disc" from the All-Russian Association of Phonogram Producers for outstanding sales results of imperishable works.

IN 2009 This year the group turns 25 years old and, despite the busy touring schedule of the anniversary world tour, ASG is implementing a number of non-musical projects: starring in one of the main roles in the film "How to find the ideal"(premiere took place on 4/07/2009 at 22.35 Moscow time, RTR), performs works by Gogol, Kuprin, Green and Andreev for audiobooks "About Mysterious Incidents". (“Content-Media”, 2010. Series “Literature Lesson”).

“Crematorium” is preparing a program for the 2010/2011 season "Metamorphosis", which, in addition to Kt’s songs, also includes songs from ASG’s solo album “Chinese Tank”: “Lyubasha”, “My Horse”, “Freddy Krueger”, as well as the supernova song “Werewolf” - the only guest from the future Kt album.

The idea of ​​​​transforming people into monsters was emphasized not only by the selection of the repertoire, but also by the mise-en-scène for songs with the participation of theater and circus performers. Based on the beneficial effects of this program, Professor Vadim Albertovich Rodionov, together with Moscow State Pedagogical University graduate student Olga Smykova, created a video for the song “Goblins and Hobbits”, which becomes the basis for a training session in the field of drug addiction prevention among adolescents and youth!

In March 2011 The violinist's place is taken by an old friend of the group, a multi-instrumentalist. Alexander Luchkov.

In 2012, after completing the North American part of the Metamorphosis tour with a grand concert in New York, in the notorious Webster Hall, (in which, by the way, more than one generation of classic rock heroes was noted in its time (from Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, to Aerosmith and Nirvana), two replacements are taking place in the Crematorium team: a young guitarist Vladimir Kulikov replaces Vladimir Burkhel, and instead of Alexander Luchkov, Maxim Guselshchikov appears on stage again.

IN 2013m, after a five-year break, the updated line-up releases the 15th numbered album Kt "The President's Suitcase". The title song rises to 1st place in the Chart Dozen, and the musicians with Suitcase set off on another triumphant journey!

Combining new songs and fresh arrangements of immortal hits into the “30+” program, Kt in October 2014 travels abroad on the Anniversary European Tour, which lasts two months and ends on December 9 with a gala concert at the Moscow Glavclub, in the presence of more than three thousand people.

At first 2015 , in the series “Legends of Our Rock” by the St. Petersburg publishing house “Amphora” is published illustrated history of the group "Crematorium" under the authorship of Mikhail Margolis.

KT continued its touring history and prepared a special program for International Women’s Day on March 8 "Cinderella", where numerous ASG girls met on the same stage: from the ugly Elsa and Tanya to Olya, Marilyn and even Medusa the Gorgon! The touching parade of ladies, so beloved by the public, marched through 24 cities, tens of thousands of kilometers of Russian sky, railways and highways, and in the middle of summer ended with the largest concerts - in the St. Petersburg Glavclub and Moscow Yotaspace, simultaneously timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the World Society of Friends of Cremation and Arm Wrestling!

After a short vacation, the musicians spent a week-long session in the studio and recorded drafts of most of the songs from the future album “Invisible People”!

The concert season ended in the crowded capital's Yotaspace club, where Kt celebrated his 32nd birthday! Veterans - Andrei Saraev, Sergei Tretyakov, Alexander Luchkov, as well as friends and colleagues - Vadim Saralidze, Natalya "Helavisa" O'Shea ("Mill"), Ivan Demyan ("7B") also took the stage along with the current musicians of the Merry Ensemble "), Alexey Yashin (“Casual”), Denis Vasiliev and his enchanting Street Theater “High Brothers” and many others!

At first 2016 year, a photo shoot for the Crematorium group took place at the Vyacheslav Zaitsev Fashion Theater in Moscow to design a new studio work that was being prepared for publication.

All costumes and accessories for creating fantastic images of the characters in the crematorium songs were kindly provided to the rockers by their creator and longtime friend of the group, Yegor Zaitsev.

On April 1, also known as World Alternatively Gifted Individuals Day, “Life” was chosen as a radio single for the HP chart - a joyful and optimistic song with an unambiguous hint that a harmonious relationship between a man and a woman is not only pleasant and a useful pastime, but also a powerful means of combating the astral forces of world Evil. As is clear, “Life” will soon become gold in the hit parade of this radio station. On July 9, Kt musicians and artists from the “High Brothers” circus performed in tandem on the main stage of the “Invasion” rock festival, after which they decided not to play there until the protectionism, nepotism and meanness that had become the norm for the would-be organizers were eradicated. main event of the summer!

The official release of the new album on the largest digital storefronts was posted on August 26, 2016, and the concert-presentation of the 17th number album Kt "Invisible People" took place on September 17 at the capital's Izvestia-Hall club! The festive program included artists from the High Brothers theater, stilt walkers, acrobats, mimes, clowns, the beautiful Tequila Boom, the flying Brunhilda and many other heroes of this magical album!

The solemn procession of the “Invisible People” across Russia, which started in September 2016, lasted until the end of the year, and in February 2017 Kt went overseas and presented a new album to fans in the USA and Canada! Upon returning to our homeland, taking into account proposals for the “Invisible People” program, the tour extended until the end of spring!

During the cold summer of 2017, during the break between festival performances and for the upcoming large-scale celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of the “Coma” record, the main tracks of this historical album were re-worked in new live versions, and the songs “Hound Dogs”, “Africa” and “Claustrophobia” after have returned to the CT repertoire for many years! The tour was named accordingly "30 years in Coma" and it died down intensely from October 19 to December 24, ending with a concert in the Moscow club “ZIL Arena”, where, among other things, the lost Santa Claus appeared with a bag of gifts that were distributed to connoisseurs of the crematorium discography, those who showed themselves on the group’s social pages, and just good boys and girls. The head of the Moscow Order, Maria Orlenko, was accepted as a Dame of the Order of the Knights of the Crematorium. And the culmination of the “New Year’s Fire” from KT was the festive burning of the old ASG hat - a symbol of the rock band’s entry into the anniversary year!

The 35th anniversary is coming! This means that there will be many surprises and many happy cremators around the world!

To be continued…

You can find complete information and a detailed chronology of the history of KT on the group’s official website in the Chronicle section very soon! Follow the group news for updates.

Today the Crematorium includes:

Armen Grigoryan(music, lyrics, guitar, vocals)

Maxim Guselshchikov(violin, keys)

Vladimir Kulikov(guitar)

Nikolay Korshunov(Bas-guitar)

Andrey Ermola(drums)

Natalia Seraya(director)

Separately, it should be noted that the most deserved and honorable at the moment (after the ASG, of course) member of KT since 1987, permanent sound engineer Sergei Ovsyannikov. It was with him that the Merry Ensemble played all the concerts, and most of the studio material was also his work!

“Crematorium” initially performs in apartments and quickly gains popularity in the rock circles of the capital, and after the release of the album “The Illusory World” (1985), fame comes at the all-Union level. The group begins to be invited to concerts in other cities. However, in “Crematorium” a discord begins between the two leaders, as a result of which Troegubov leaves the team and creates the “Smoke” project. “Crematorium” continues to gain momentum: in 1988, “Coma” was recorded, an album that gave the group the final status of “headliner” of the Soviet rock scene. The song “Garbage Wind” (written under the influence of the story of the same name by A. Platonov) is shown on central television, the group travels around the country with numerous concerts. But a crisis is brewing within the team again - several musicians leave the team, the group actually breaks up. Grigoryan manages to recruit a new composition, which exists to this day almost unchanged.

In 1993, Troegubov returned to Crematorium for a short time, now as not just a musician, but also the director of the group. The most successful album in the history of “Crematorium” is being recorded “Double Album”. In 1994, the film “Tatsu” was shot with the participation of Nastya and “Crematorium”. The film turned out to be weak and was not released, but its video materials formed the basis for a number of video clips of the group. After another quarrel, Troegubov left the group for the last time, having never found a use for himself in the new lineup. Later, he writes the book “Life in the Crematorium and Beyond,” in which he settles scores with Grigoryan, repeatedly and unsuccessfully sues his former comrade-in-arms, and again convenes “Smoke,” which soon ceases to exist completely. Meanwhile, “Crematorium” continues its creative life: new albums are periodically released, the group tours throughout the former Soviet Union and abroad (concerts in Israel, Germany and the USA). The group enjoys the attention of critics and remains beloved by numerous fans. In terms of contribution to the development of rock music in Russia, “Crematorium” is on a par with other “pre-perestroika” teams. Grigoryan's lyrics are multifaceted; the real and other worlds intersect in the songs. Armen pays special attention to the topic of life after death and various religions. The lyrics of songs, which in the 80s were often deliberately rude, “everyday,” today have become quite elitist. The music of “Crematorium” has always been influenced by various musical movements from waltz to hard rock. In the arrangements, on the same level as the lead guitar, attention is paid to the violin, which gives “Crematorium” a special flavor.

Lately, Grigoryan has been trying to reach a new level of creativity and is creating a solo project, “The Third Angel.” The Third Angel's album entitled "Chinese Tank" is released. The Crematorium group, led by Armen, continues to operate in parallel.

The group’s most famous hits include “Garbage Wind”, “Ugly Elsa”, “Little Girl”, “Sexy Cat”, “Leper Colony”, “Tanya”, “Iced Strawberries”, “Outsider”, “Khabibulin”, “The Last chance”, etc.

Modern composition: