History of the Both Rivers Group. Oba Rek, history, meaning of the name, album “...you”, discography, videography Oba Rek soloist

Oba Rek
"Obe-Rek" in the club "Zil Arena" (Moscow)
basic information
Genres	Alternative rock Pop rock Russian rock
Years	- n. V.
A country	Russia Russia
City	Moscow
Language of songs	Russian
Label	M2BA
Compound	Denis Mikhailov Timur Avdali Vasily Kashirin
Former participants	Ivan Korobkin Maxim Litvinov Alexey Averin Danil Asunin Alexander Kalinin Alexander Bychkov Alexey Kurshin Mircea Klepikov Evgeniy Gomonoy Roman Shchukin Mikhail Malyshev
official site
Media files on Wikimedia Commons

The current members of the group include:

• Denis Mikhailov - vocals, acoustic guitar, lyrics;
• Vasily Kashirin - guitar;
• Timur Avdali - bass guitar.

Story

The Obe-Rek collective was created in 2003 in the city of Voronezh by Denis Mikhailov, Maxim Litvinov, Alexey Averin and Alexander Kalinin. Soon work began on the first album, and then concert performances. Later, keyboard player Ivan Korobkin and backing vocalist Alexey Kurshin joined the group. With this lineup in 2007, the album “Koleya” was recorded, thanks to which the group became one of the headliners of the annual Voronezh festival “Shurf”. Also in 2007, “Obe-Rek” performed at the international festival “Air” in Petrozavodsk and at the “Hero of Our Time” concert in Luzhniki. The songs “Rut” and “River” were broadcast on “Our Radio” [ ] . In 2008, Alexander Bychkov took the place of Ivan Korobkin.

In 2008, “Obe-Rek” recorded its second album “You”; The album was officially released on the Kapkan Records label a year later. From that moment on, a new stage in the life of the group began: having shot the debut video clip for the main song of the album, “Obe-Rek” was included in the rotation of the TV channel “A-One” and held first place in the “Top-10” for several weeks, and then was nominated for “RAMP” award in three categories simultaneously. In 2010, the group’s third album, “Presence,” was released, which turned out to be heavier and more hysterical. It is dedicated to the presence of man in this world, his purpose and problems. The video for the album's debut song "You" was so successful that one of its creators - director and screenwriter Alexander Makov (known to fans of big cinema for the film "Morphine") - suggested the group shoot a second video and chose the song "Come Back" from the album for this "Presence".

On February 5, 2019, Mikhail Malyshev announced his departure from the group on his page on the VKontakte social network. After his departure, Roman Shchukin plays in the group as a session drummer.

Joint projects

In 2011, the duet composition “Lanterns” was recorded with the lead singer of the Moscow alternative group “Slot” Daria Stavrovich and a video was shot with the participation of the singer.

At the end of 2015, together with DMC, the track “Laugh in Everyone’s Face” was released.

Meaning of the name

According to the musicians, the word “Obe-Rek” is a neologism consisting of two roots “both” and “rivers” and meaning the unity of two dimensions: the surface and depth of the river. “What does the river have to do with it? The image of the river, in our opinion, very poetically expresses the phenomenon of human existence. A river, like a person, has surface and depth. The human surface is our masks and social roles, everyday life, everyday life, routine. But there is also a depth, dark, mysterious..."

Album "...You"

The history of the second album “Obe-River” “You” is complex and confusing. It was recorded and mixed in Voronezh by the group in 2008 and posted on the Obe-Reka website for free download. But the group did not stop there and, contrary to widespread forecasts that, due to the crisis, the young group would limit itself to posting their tracks on the Internet, they decided to officially release the record on the well-known Kapkan Records label, which also works with groups such as “Moi Rockets Up", "Origami", "Jane Air", "AMATORY" and others.

The name itself - “You” - reflects not only its main theme, but also the ideology of the entire group’s work. Having deeply studied philosophy, the Obe-Reka musicians are, first of all, interested in man with all his internal problems and the eternal search for his place in this world.

« The main theme of the album is man, the various facets of his life.- Alexey Averin, guitarist of the group, says. - Hence the name - “You”. With this album we wanted to appeal to each of our listeners. In theory, in each song a person should see himself, a certain facet of his life.”.

After the album “You” was successfully received by fans, a video was shot for the title song from it by a professional film crew. The screenwriter was Alexander Makov, who worked in the films Morphine, “On the Other Side,” “The Passage,” etc., and the directors were Alexander Makov and Sampo Mansnerus, who worked with the group 5"nizza.

The debut video “Obe-River” has a philosophical meaning. A girl with an angelic appearance plays with dolls, counting on which of these dolls will love and which will die, and in the end it turns out that she is playing with the destinies of living people.

Filming took place in winter in St. Petersburg in an unheated pavilion in a cold bathroom. But it was this clip that brought “Obe-River” all-Russian fame, getting into the rotation of the A-ONE TV channel and staying at the top of the Top 10 for several weeks. Thanks to him, the group was nominated for the RAMP-2009 award in three categories at once: “Hit of the Year”, “Clip of the Year” and “Discovery of the Year” [ ] . In the “Discovery of the Year”, “Obe-Rek” had a real chance of winning and reached the second round of voting, where it periodically “overtook” the new favorite of pop-rock lovers

It is not entirely correct to classify Obe-Rek as a beginner group. She was created in 2004 in Voronezh by students of the Faculty of Philosophy of Voronezh State University. The musicians, who later became philosophy teachers at their native university, released their debut album three years later and burst into the musical life of Voronezh, finding themselves among the headliners of the annual Voronezh festival Shurf.

But they did not confine themselves within the confines of one city. the same year 2007 performed successfully at the festival Air in Petrozavodsk and at a concert Hero of our time in Luzhniki.

In 2008 Obe-Rek recorded his second album, which was officially released on the Kapkan Records label only a year later. From this moment a new stage in the life of the group began: Having shot their debut video for the title song from the album, the musicians were included in the rotation of the A-one TV channel and held first place in the Top 10 for several weeks, and then were nominated for the RAMP-2009 award in three categories simultaneously.

The video was so successful that one of its creators is a director and screenwriter Alexander Makov(worked with Alexey Balabanov over the film Morphine) suggested the group shoot a second video and chose a song for it Come back from the next, already third album, Obe-Reka. Like last time, filming took place in St. Petersburg and took eight days, but if the last video was entirely filmed in the pavilion, this time more complex and more experimental filming on location prevailed.

In 2009 The musicians actively toured and gave almost 50 concerts, including in Moscow, and also finished work on their third album, which was published by Kapkan Records in early 2010 and presented at a Moscow club Dot. It is dedicated to the presence of man in this world, his purpose and problems. The record turned out to be heavier, more varied and more emotional in terms of emotions, and the song Come back, included in the album, was presented on two radio stations at once - Rocks And Rock-online, and also, having won the program Maximum test drive, got into radio rotation Maximum.

The works of Obe-Reka are thoughtful, deep intellectual texts, written in the best traditions of always relevant Russian rock poetry. As for music, here the group considers itself completely free from various labels and cliches, playing not according to rules and traditions, but as their inner feeling requires. This is heavy, but not devoid of melody, music that combines alternative and mainstream.

The group members themselves enjoy teaching music in their free time and therefore feel confident, not chasing the opinions of authorities and not being afraid of any criticism. This confidence that they are on the right path allows them to carry themselves professionally on stage, without imitating or following anyone.

"We would never sing about something we don’t believe in or feel." - The musicians say. - " If there are real, deep experiences of any phenomena or processes in the world that require expression in creativity, then why not sing about it? We are not trying to convey any ideology, we are trying to make the listener feel what we feel, understand what we understand."

The love for philosophy is reflected in the name of the group.

Obe-Rek is a neologism consisting of two roots " both" And " rivers" and meaning the unity of two dimensions: surface and depth of the river. – The musicians explain. - What does the river have to do with it? The image of the river, in our opinion, very poetically expresses the phenomenon of human existence. A river, like a person, has surface and depth. The human surface is our masks and social roles, everyday life, everyday life, routine. But there is also a depth, dark, mysterious...

Composition of the Obe-Rek group:

Former members of the Obe-Rek group:

Other news

Denis Mikhailov
Alexey Averin
Maxim Litvinov
Alexander Kalinin
Alexander Bychkov
Alexey Kurshin

Ivan Korobkin

The group includes: Denis Mikhailov - vocals, acoustic guitar, lyrics; Alexey Averin - guitar; Maxim Litvinov - bass guitar; Alexander Kalinin - drums; Alexander Bychkov - keyboards, Alexey Kurshin - backing vocals.

The work of “Obe-River” is thoughtful, deep intellectual texts, decorated with lyrical images of nature, which have not been used so often in rock poetry lately. As for music, here the group considers itself completely free from various labels and cliches, playing not according to rules and traditions, but as their inner feeling requires. This is heavy, but not devoid of melody, music in which you can hear something from hard rock, art rock and sometimes even neofolk.

Story

The Obe-Rek collective was organized in 2004 in the city of Voronezh by Denis Mikhailov, Maxim Litvinov, Alexey Averin and Alexander Kalinin. Full-fledged work on the first album has begun. The work of the musicians in their hometown was received with a bang. Concert performances began immediately. Later, keyboard player Ivan Korobkin joined the group (in 2008 his place was taken by Alexander Bychkov) and backing vocalist Alexey Kurshin. With this line-up, the album “Koleya” was recorded in 2007, thanks to which the group burst into the musical life of Voronezh, being among the headliners of the annual Voronezh festival “Shurf”. But she did not confine herself within the confines of one city, and in the same 2007 she performed at the international festival “Air” in Petrozavodsk and at the “Hero of Our Time” concert in Luzhniki, and the songs “Rut” and “River” were broadcast “ Our radio".

The debut video “Obe-River” has a philosophical meaning. A girl with an angelic appearance plays with dolls, counting on which of these dolls will love and which will die, and in the end it turns out that she is playing with the destinies of living people.

Discography

• "Rut" (2007)
• “...You” (2008)
• "Presence" (2010)

Videography

• “...You” (2009) - directors Alexander Makov, Sampo Mansnerus.
• “Come back” (2010) - director Alexander Makov.

The debut video “Obe-River” has a philosophical meaning. A girl with an angelic appearance plays with dolls, counting on which of these dolls will love and which will die, and in the end it turns out that she is playing with the destinies of living people.

Filming took place in winter in St. Petersburg in an unheated pavilion in a cold bathroom. But it was this clip that brought “Obe-River” all-Russian fame, getting into the rotation of the A-ONE TV channel and staying at the top of the Top 10 for several weeks. Thanks to this, the group was nominated for the RAMP-2009 award in three categories at once: “Hit of the Year”, “Clip of the Year” and “Discovery of the Year” 2010. In the “Discovery of the Year”, “Obe-Rek” had a real chance of winning and reached the second round of voting, where it periodically “overtook” the new favorite of pop-rock lovers Tatyana Zykina and Sergei Shnurov’s project “Ruble” 2010.

Discography

• “Little Truth” (demo album) (2004)
• "Rut" (2007)
• "...You" (2008)
• "Presence" (2010)
• "Anchor Field" (2012)
• "Obe-Rek" (2013)

Videography

• “...You” (2009) - directors Alexander Makov, Sampo Mansnerus.
• “Come back” (2010) - director Alexander Makov.
• “Lanterns” (2011) - director Alexander Makov.
• “The Well” (2012) - Production: RuCreation
• “Go Away” (2013) - director Evgeniy Gomonoy

21-12-2016 Alexey "Astarte Eel" Irineev

The Russian group Obe-Rek is currently one of the most obvious and noticeable peaks of modern intellectual rock. The leader of the group is Denis Mikhailov, a philosopher by training. For seven years he taught philosophy at the university, and this is quite noticeable in his work: both solo and as part of the Obe-Rek group, where he is the leader and main driving force. The band doesn't tend to follow any particular direction, and their material is a kind of cocktail of traditional rock, indie rock, art rock, alternative, love metal and even folk! Most recently, Obe-Rek unveiled their newest, now seventh, album, which received the interesting name “Here,” and also filmed a new video. A concert of Obe-Rek in the capital has been announced for January 14th. Therefore, we simply could not ignore all the interesting events that came together, and contacted Denis Mikhailov for an interview.

- Greetings, Denis! Congratulations on the release of your new album! Let's start with a brief introduction to the band and Obe-Rek's current line-up.

- If we compare Oba Rek in 2003-2004 and Oba Rek today, what has mainly changed?

The composition has changed (however, since then it has changed several times). For me personally, the project has become the work of my life. Now I only do music, whereas at the very beginning of my journey the prospect of becoming a professional musician did not seem so obvious.

- As far as I understand, the new album has become special for you - a kind of giant step forward, even the style of the artwork is radically different from your past works, how right am I?

I wouldn’t call this step gigantic; we are not making any sudden leaps at all. We open up gradually, step by step.

- Your group has always been famous for its emphasis on lyrics, which made you continue the traditions of Russian rock. Tell us how the themes for your songs come about?

Topics for writing songs and plots are suggested by life practice. Some key, problematic situations of existence settle as anchors to the bottom of the soul, do not give rest, force one to return to them again and again and, ultimately, take on the flesh of sound and words.

- How much does your education influence the style and theme of the texts?

It has a direct impact. Philosophy develops a general cultural level and broadens one's horizons. Some will certainly pass by philosophy without understanding its ideological importance and “existential drive,” but for others, studying this discipline will help them form a holistic picture of the world and provide answers to fundamental life questions.

- Are there any references or quotes to any sources or authors in the songs of Oba-Rek? In the song “Not I” from the new album, I clearly heard a parallel to the work of Fichte and his I/Not-I philosophy... What is the song really about?

No, the song “Not I” has nothing to do with Fichte’s philosophy)). For the German thinker, these categories arise in the process of studying the emergence of the external world (Not-Self) and the cognizing subject (finite Self). At the top of this systemic pyramid, Fichte has the Absolute Self or God. The human I strives to cognize nature (Not I) and through this become God. The task of humanity is to make the transition to absolute knowledge and power over nature. Through this it acquires the properties of God and itself becomes a collective God. And my song simply sings about love and the contradictions that arise in it)).

- Don’t you yourself regret that you spent so many years on education, but in the end you don’t work in your specialty? (I ask because I myself studied philosophy for 10 years after school, but in the end I almost never worked in my specialty, not counting three years of graduate school, when I taught the history of philosophy at the university, taught a special course on Russian philosophy and was the editor of a scientific magazine from 2007 to 2010)

You didn’t work, but I worked for 7 whole years as a teacher at the Department of History of Philosophy at Voronezh State University. He lectured on general philosophy and taught two special courses: on Russian philosophy and political mythology. It’s just that at some stage, two creative forms: teaching and music, began to come into some conflict with each other, and I had to choose. The choice fell on music.

- Yes, I understand very much. Your newest album is called “Here”. Why did you decide to name it that way? For you personally, “here” is where? And how does this “here” vary for different group members?

The focus of Obe-Rek’s creative attention has always been and remains the finite, mortal, suffering and loving person. The very name of the release indicates the formulation of currently experienced problems in this specific historical era, cultural space, and everyday life. Heidegger has such a term (existential) - Dasein, translated from German literally means here-being or here-being. I wanted to highlight these ideas. By the way, we already had a name that was similar in aesthetics and meaning - the album “Presence” in 2010.

- Yes, Heideggerian dasein , undoubtedly, worries all people in one way or another connected with philosophy who have at least some germs of rebellion in their consciousness. The topic is truly extremely interesting, as are the works of this existentialist in general. And if you compare the songs from the album “Here” with what you wrote before, what will be the main difference?

I find it difficult to answer. Analyzing your own creativity is extremely difficult. Let listeners and music experts compare.

- Did the new album turn out the way it did naturally, or did you purposefully want to record something new?

- Among the musical influences on your music, you name indie rock, alternative rock and even folk. You might be surprised, but personally, many of the tracks from your new album reminded me of Finnish love metal in the spirit of To/Die/For. Entwine. Charon, The 69 Eyes and others like them. What do you think about these parallels and how do you feel about these groups and similar allusions?

I cannot give any intelligible comments on these comparisons, since I am not familiar with the work of the groups you mention). There are always parallels in musical activity. Artists and musicians do not exist in a vacuum; in one way or another they are influenced by other creative projects and personalities. And, besides, people are designed in such a way that they always strive to find some similar features in everything. In other words, put a label on it and say: “Oh, we’ve already heard this, it’s similar to such and such.” It’s just that a person is designed that way, it’s difficult for him to live in a world of chaos, order and classification are necessary)).

I couldn't agree more with your last statement! I admit, it’s very unusual to see a remix of one of the songs ending the record on an album of your genre. How did you come up with the idea of ​​putting on the disc a remixed version of one of the most interesting tracks from the release – “The Best of Worlds”. Who was the author of the remix?

- Which composition from the new full-length album do you consider the most successful and why? Perhaps there are several such compositions?

A very difficult question. Here you need to figure out the evaluation criteria and on what scale to compare. There are songs that are successful from the point of view of logic and beauty of the text, there are those that are distinguished by a certain “pop quality,” that is, their ability to melodically “bite into the listener’s brain” from the first listen. And there are tracks with art-rock elements that I like precisely for their technical and arrangement unusualness. They are a failure from a hit point of view, but interesting from a performance point of view. So it’s difficult to make an unambiguous assessment here.

The author of the release visualization is the wonderful Moscow designer Arsen Daniel. We are very grateful to him for his help with the design. In my opinion, it is unnecessary to explain what is shown on the cover. Let everyone see what they see.

- In the new video for the song “Best of Worlds” we see an almost visual embodiment of nostalgia for a bygone childhood. Why did you decide to choose this particular track in order to complement it with video, why not “Childhood”, for example - the composition that brought you third place in the “Russian Rock-battles” rock chart, or not “Not I”, probably What's the standout track on the album?

St. Petersburg video director Alexander Makov offered to shoot a video for “The Best of Worlds.” It was he who came up with the idea to experiment with the implementation of the teleport effect. And he chose the song for his experiments). This coincided with our intention to support one of the most popular tracks on the album with a video.

- What deep meaning did you want to put into this clip? How successful do you think you were?

It seems to me that the clip is very transparent and does not pretend to be any kind of deep allegory. It simply illustrates the words of the song, nothing more.

- Aren’t you afraid to scare off fans with your difficult texts and emblematic videos? Sergei Kalugin from the group Orgy of the Righteous, in order to reduce the cognitive dissonance between his work and the perception of fans, even began giving lectures 10-14 years ago. Have you thought about this possibility?

We are afraid). And we see that the “opacity” of the material affects the popularity of the group (more precisely, the not very high degree of its popularity). But what can you do, you can’t deliberately primitivize yourself. Philip Philipovich Preobrazhensky shouldn’t have stooped to Sharikov’s level, living with him in the same apartment?)

- Undoubtedly. But even he at first tried to establish contact with Sharikov and talk some sense into him. Like other characters present in this novel by Bulgakov, right down to government officials. How likely is it that your poems will one day see the light of day in the form of a book, as was the case with B.G., for example, and the same Kalugin, do you think?

I didn't think about it. To be honest, I don't care. I consider myself primarily a musician, a songwriter, and not a poet.

- Where and how did the video shoot take place? Did you plan to do something like “making of”? I have no doubt that such videos will be no less interesting than the clips themselves.

Filmed in St. Petersburg. We just wandered the streets, some shots were shot in the director’s apartment. In fact, we do not consider this clip as some kind of serious image work. Just a light and beautiful illustration for the song.

“Ashes” really turned out to be a little heavy... But this was not on purpose, I just saw the arrangement of the track from this angle at the very beginning. It would probably be possible to twist the options further. On the other hand, I am not bothered by the heaviness of the sound. If it is metal, it is very light). And what's wrong with metal?

- In my opinion, there is nothing bad in metal, and the same “Ashes” reminded me of a composition with an identical name by B.G. It was also very difficult and uncharacteristic of Grebenshchikov’s work and was a new milestone in his development. Therefore, it’s definitely nice to hear something similar from Oba-Rek! You very often give solo acoustic concerts, recently performed in St. Petersburg, Tver, Podolsk... How did it go at these recent concerts, and how would you determine the difference between the acoustic sound of Obe-Rek songs and the electric one? What is closer to you personally?

The last acoustic mini-tour in the north (Veliky Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Tver) was positive, as always). Reserved seats, minibuses, hostel, hotel, sound checks, performances, autograph sessions. Nothing new or unusual, I’m already used to this format of life. And, by the way, I’m just dying of boredom when there are long pauses between trips. As for the difference between acoustic and electric sound, each of the options is close and dear to me in its own way. In a group performance there is more drive and exchange of energy flows with the musicians and the audience. Less dynamics in music, more “forte”. Acoustics allows you to establish some kind of more intimate interaction with almost everyone in the hall. You look at people more carefully, look into their eyes... The performance becomes more delicate, since you are alone on stage and all the flaws in the playing and vocals become more obvious, you have to pay more attention to the playing and singing. Moreover, in acoustics the emphasis is always on the voice. It is in this format that vocal capabilities are revealed in their entirety - from a whisper to hysteria.

- What are your expectations ahead of your performance in Moscow on January 14? What's special about this concert? What are your overall impressions of the capital’s public?

On January 14, we celebrate the Old New Year with Muscovites and everyone who comes to our capital concert. We are preparing a large program, planning the track list, preparations have not yet been completed, so it is too early to talk about surprises at the moment. The capital's public is wonderful).

- In which city do you like to perform the most and why?

Each city has its own “face”, each hall is distinguished by its unique specificity and emotional signature. That’s why we like to perform everywhere, and everywhere is good in our own way).

- What connects Obe-Rek with the Theater of Illusions group and how do you evaluate the experience of working together with this team?

Obe-Rek is connected to this group directly through me. The musicians of this band (vocalist and bassist) are my friends. We once shared the Voronezh stage, performed at festivals and clubs. We went to role-playing gatherings and just forest gatherings around the fire. In a word, we ate rock together and trampled the roads). We recently recorded and released a joint track. The song was written by Yura Kholodov, the leader of TI. I took part with the second vote. Nice track. Kind and a little sad.

- Which groups could you call your comrades-in-arms, brothers-in-arms, colleagues, perhaps teachers?

There are probably no teachers now, we have outgrown this period, we are trying to produce something fundamentally our own. We are friends with musicians from the groups 7B, DMC, Simantika, Prostoband, and a number of other groups. There are more than enough acquaintances and friends in the music community).

- There is nothing left until the New Year. How does your team spend these pre-New Year days and how do you feel about celebrating the New Year?

Strange question), I find it difficult to answer. I personally spend time with my guitar, books and computer.

- An even stranger question is probably: many people, including musicians, complain that the year 2016 was (and is) simply hyper-difficult. How are you doing with this? What can you say about the past (or already past) year?

The year is like a year... For us it is quite successful: we released an album, shot two videos for the songs “Rings” and “Best of Worlds”. There are no fewer concerts, and people haven’t stopped going to them. There is no significant progress in terms of the popularity of the project, but for us this is quite natural).

Oh, I haven't listened to anything new at all. No, I probably listened to some songs from the new albums of a number of bands, but in such a way as to make a rating of the albums... I’m not capable of that).

- Understand. Once the vocalist answered the same question Slayer Tom Araya replied: I play in the same band, and that's more than enough for me. Do you and the Oba-Rek group already have plans for how you will celebrate the New Year this time?