Alexander M lead singer of the cabriolet group personal life. Lead singer of the group "Cabriolet": I experienced unbearable pain that I would not wish on my enemy

Popularity, money, love from the audience, full concert halls. The most famous St. Petersburg gypsy, as Martsinkevich is called outside the city, was always noisy, cheerful and literally attracted people to him. His sly squint, black curls, and soft timbre drove fans crazy. The long path from a restaurant artist to the lead singer of the “Cabriolet” group passed quickly. In the mid-90s, Martsinkevich put together a team, and after a couple of years they began to be invited to the best venues in the country and offered tours abroad. Grand Concert Hall "Oktyabrsky", "Olympic", Kremlin Palace and the "Chanson of the Year" award. When it would seem that popular popularity would not allow the team to get lost in the labyrinths of show business, disaster struck. And as you know, she doesn’t come alone. At this moment, the life of Alexander Martsinkevich was divided into before and after. First, another creator and arranger of all the compositions of the “Cabriolet” group, Vyacheslav Polosmakov, died from a serious illness. This was a huge blow for the entire team. After the tragedy, Martsinkevich decides to change the name of the group.

This is a big blow for me. The two of us started from scratch, we were one, we simply couldn’t live without each other. When he was gone, I made a decision. "Cabriolet" is a brand that has been around for 20 years. Changing the name means just starting from scratch, with a clean slate. It was very difficult, because “Cabriolet” for me is associated only with Glory,” the singer admitted to Life.

"Cabriolet" was renamed into the group "Chains" - after the name of one of Martsinkevich's most famous songs. The new brand was losing significantly. Soon, according to the singer, the director of the group, using the organizers of concerts in different cities, with the help of fraudulent schemes, greatly exposes the group.

There was a very strong set-up on the part of my director. We began to engage in showdowns in which very large sums were involved. In some cities, tickets were sold, we were told that the organizers did not comply with the technical rider, and we simply did not go there,” says Martsinkevich, without hiding his excitement. - And people, it turns out, were waiting for us. Later, when the administration changed and we contacted these cities again, they told us that we had abandoned them. In some cities they simply did not provide venues, they were afraid that we would not come. There were money issues, and then we spent a long time resolving these issues.

The death of a close friend, the inability to go on tour - all this plunged the lead singer of the Chains group into depression. At that moment, he did not yet know that a double blow awaited him ahead. His father and younger brother die after each other.

This was the strongest blow for me, the biggest test, unbearable pain, such pain that I would not wish it on my enemy. Before the solo concert, my younger brother Ivan died. We are burying him, and I have a concert. I call the organizers and ask them to cancel everything, but these are huge penalties, people are waiting. When the concert started, I went up to the microphone several times, but I couldn’t sing because I had a lump in my throat. I lost Slava, then my father left, then my brother. As soon as you begin to move away from one trouble, another comes. It’s hard when you lose close people, relatives, loved ones. But when you have friends nearby who will support you, it saves you,” says the singer.

Alexander Martsinkevich was truly saved by his friends, those closest to him, those who were with him throughout all these years - his team. Today the group "Chains" is preparing to release a new album, and in the fall their international tour will begin, which starts in Germany.

They traveled all over Russia and a good half of Europe. True, not in a wagon, as their ancestors roamed in the old days, but on official tours - like world-famous gypsy pop stars. Alexander Martsinkevich and his “Cabriolet” will give a solo show on April 1 at the largest venue in our city - the Ice Palace.

Alexander, did your creative biography begin with hard work in a restaurant?

– For three years I performed with the gypsy folk group “Miricle”, with whom fate accidentally brought me together. But unlike most of my colleagues, I managed not to stay at this level forever. It's terrible when the restaurant public perceives you as nothing more than an exotic dish. Not everyone will be able, no matter how much money they promise him, to perform any music to order while your “grateful listener” devolves roast lamb on both cheeks. You go out to the audience, pour out your soul, sing about the eternal - about love, about happiness, but he is unable to tear himself away from the plate! All my emotional experiences, the sincerity of my feelings become nothing compared to the dull process of digestion. It was killing me. However, I am not ashamed of my restaurant past and do not renounce it at every opportunity, as some popular artists do. I believe that this work turned out to be a good school and taught me a lot. Namely, enormous endurance and the ability to attract the attention of the audience.

Having received the Grand Prix at the World Festival of Gypsy Music in Poland, you found yourself involved in a legal battle... What happened?

– Then we just recorded our first album under the unassuming name “More”, which means “gypsy”. A video was shot for the title song of the album, which was among the top ten songs in the country for several months. Everything would be fine, but upon returning to Russia we learned that a certain Polish group had released an album under the same name and with the same songs, albeit in a slightly different arrangement. There was, of course, no indication of the songwriter, who was me. So a legal battle ensued. “Cabriolet” completely proved the guilt of the plagiarists. However, not a single recording studio in St. Petersburg took it upon itself to release our album on the Russian music market. The refusal sounded approximately the same: “The disc, of course, is wonderful, but if you guys sang in Russian...”. Well, I had to obey the laws of commerce.

Today, not a single performance of yours is complete without the legendary hit “Chains”. When did you write your first song?

- At the age of 13. And from then on, the choice of future profession became obvious to me. Gypsies are a very musical nation. Actually, I was 7 years old when I first picked up a guitar. I came to school with her for the first time. Of course, I was not allowed to attend lessons. And I learned to play more or less tolerably at the age of nine.

Today I am happy that “Cabriolet” was able to take its rightful place among other gypsy musical groups. It is especially pleasant that this is a St. Petersburg group, and it is hardly inferior to many metropolitan and now foreign ensembles. Although we may not be as famous, we are still ahead. The most important thing is that people listen to our songs, spectators come to our concerts literally from three to a hundred years - and this in itself is an indicator of our popularity and the fact that many are not indifferent to the gypsy culture.

All your songs are about love. Do you dedicate them to any specific lady in your heart?

- Of course, I have a lady of my heart. I’m the kind of person who can’t sit down and just write a song. All this comes from personal experiences: when it’s too bad or too good. I write songs in this state. I met, fell in love and - whoops! I captured the emotions and the song was born.

In fact, I am a very amorous person. Who doesn't love beauty? You need to constantly communicate with beauty, be close... Then you will be inspired!

Biography, life story of the group "Cabriolet"

Among the St. Petersburg gypsy ensembles, Alexander Martsinkevich and his group “Cabriolet” are unlikely to compete. For almost ten years of existence, they have traveled around a good half of Europe (though not in a wagon, as their ancestors roamed in the old days), toured many cities in Russia, became laureates and prize-winners of many festivals of gypsy music both at home and abroad, and performed on the same stage with such recognized masters as the Buzylev family. Their concerts are always sold out, even in the summer “dead” season, while famous Moscow pop stars cannot attract even half the audience.

As a child, Alexander Martsinkevich was repeatedly told a story that happened to his grandfather during the Patriotic War. Then their family lived in occupied Pskov and Sasha’s grandfather hid Russian partisans in his house from the fascists. The local elder treacherously “pawned” it to the German authorities. He was immediately arrested and immediately sentenced to death. True, the Krauts turned out to be extremely humane, having promised to fulfill the last wish of the suicide bomber. And then everything happened like in a fairy tale: Sasha’s grandfather demanded to bring him an accordion and began to play. The German officer, amazed by the skill of the performer and his composure before death, let the gypsy go home. - Can you imagine what power music can have and what the “gypsy soul” is? - exclaims Martsinkevich, retelling this family legend. -No, to deeply, truly understand this, you need to be born a gypsy!

Roma have an almost innate passion for music, a national character trait, a feature of their mentality. Nature has endowed these people with truly unique musicality: most of them have beautiful voices since childhood, play, often masterfully, many musical instruments, and “learn to dance before they can walk.” So seven-year-old Sasha, still not really able to read and write, was already playing the guitar given by his mother. At an equally early age, he began singing and “drumming” on a homemade drum kit. It consisted of ordinary kitchen pots and sounded terrible. Several times Sasha’s neighbors made desperate attempts to destroy this monstrous structure, but he patiently reassembled it and devoted at least three to four hours to drum science every day.

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Laughter is laughter, but at the age of twelve he received first prize at the city competition of young talents, among the participants of which he was the only “self-taught”. During the performance, his drumstick broke, Sasha, almost like Paganini, played alone and the demanding jury, of course, did not notice anything. And at the age of 13, Alexander Martsinkevich wrote his first song, and from then on the choice of his future profession became obvious to him .

If we conditionally divide all existing professions into “Gypsy” and “non-Gypsy”, then the profession “musician” undoubtedly belongs to the first group. True, in the history of Russian culture, the reputation of gypsy music, frankly speaking, was very dubious. On the one hand, it attracted people with its originality, temperament and melody, but at the same time it was considered something beyond the bounds of decency. Often, if they weren’t banned, they threw mud at them in every possible way. Perhaps it was only in the middle of the last century that gypsy music was finally “recognized.” Today, in the gypsy environment, being an artist or musician is not only honorable, but also quite profitable. However, this money is incorrect and it is often possible to earn it only in a restaurant.

The creative biography of Alexander Martsinkevich also began with hard work in the temple of gluttony. For three years he performed with the gypsy folk group "Miricle", with whom fate accidentally brought him together, but unlike most of his colleagues, he did not remain at this level forever.

It’s terrible when the restaurant public perceives you as just an exotic dish,” recalls Sasha. - Not everyone will be able, no matter how much money they promise him, to perform any music to order while your “grateful listener” devolves roast lamb on both cheeks. You go out to the audience, pour out your soul, sing about the eternal - about love, about happiness, but he is unable to tear himself away from the plate! All my emotional experiences, the sincerity of my feelings become nothing compared to the dull process of digestion. It was killing me. However, Alexander Martsinkevich is not ashamed of his restaurant past and does not disown it at every opportunity, as some popular artists do.

He believes that this work turned out to be a good school and taught him a lot, namely, enormous endurance and the ability to attract the attention of the audience. By 1994, Alexander had gained enough experience and courage to create his own group. During his time working in the Mirikle ensemble, he wrote many songs that had unconditional success in the restaurant scene. The time has come to test their “action” on the big stage. Resorting to the oldest method - the well-known gypsy mail - he selected a team of young and talented musicians.

"Cabriolet"

It would seem, what does a luxury foreign car have in common with gypsy music? Gypsies simply call a caravan with an open top a “convertible”. In the old days they said about people who came to visit in such a “convertible”: “They came to us with an open heart.”

Hence the name of the ensemble, because we really come to you, the audience, with an open heart and sing with all our hearts,” says Alexander Martsinkevich.

In 1996, the already established ensemble "Cabriolet" received the Grand Prix at the World Festival of Gypsy Music in Poland. There they also recorded their first album under the unassuming name “More”, which means “gypsy”. A video was shot for the title song of the album, which for several months was among the top ten songs in the country. Everything would have been fine, but upon returning to Russia the musicians learned that a certain Polish group had released an album under the same name and with the same songs, albeit in a slightly different processing. There was, naturally, no indication of the songwriter, who is Alexander Martsinkevich. The subsequent legal battle between the offended musicians of the "Cabriolet" group and the plagiarists completely proved the guilt of the latter. The offenders were punished, copyrights were restored, and precious songs were returned “to their homeland.”

But here it turned out that the work of Martsinkevich and his colleagues could not yet find a way out to their audience. All the songs on the album “More” were in the Romani language, so not a single recording studio in St. Petersburg took the liberty of releasing it to the Russian music market. The refusal sounded approximately the same: “The album, of course, is wonderful, but if you guys sang in Russian...” Well, as offensive as it may be, I had to obey the laws of commerce. Songs in their native language have been excluded as much as possible from the repertoire, and now they make up a little more than a third of it. In any case, it is not the intention of the musicians to abandon them completely.

In 1997, the group "Cabriolet" became a laureate of the Russian Pop Song Festival in Moscow, and in 1999 - a laureate of the Silver Key in St. Petersburg. But perhaps their main achievement was participation in the International Festival of Gypsy Art "At the Turn of the Century", which took place last year. Then about 300 artists and groups took part in the enchanting concert. The panel of judges, chaired by the artistic director of the world's only Moscow Gypsy Theater "Romen" Nikolai Slichenko, selected thirty of the best. Alexander Martsinkevich and his group were among them and received a gold medal as winners.

Martsinkevich Aleksandr Marcunkevsch Career: Musician
Birth: Russia
They traveled all over Russia and a good half of Europe. True, not in a wagon, as their ancestors roamed in the old days, but they went on official tours as world-famous gypsy pop stars. Alexander Martsinkevich and his Cabriolet will give a solo show on April 1 at the largest venue in our city in the Ice Palace.

Alexander, did your creative life story begin with hard work in a restaurant?

For three years I performed with the gypsy folk group Mirikle, with whom fate inadvertently brought me together. But unlike most of my colleagues, I managed not to remain at this level forever. It's scary when the restaurant public perceives you only as an exotic dish. Not everyone will be able, no matter how much money they promise him, to perform any music to order, while your grateful listener is devouring roast lamb on both cheeks. You go out to the audience, pour out your soul, sing about the eternal, about love, about fortune, but he is unable to leave the plate! All my emotional experiences, the sincerity of my feelings become nothing compared to the dull process of digestion. It was killing me. However, I am not ashamed of my restaurant past and do not renounce it at every opportunity, as some popular artists do. I believe that this service turned out to be a good school and taught me a lot. And just enormous endurance and the ability to attract the sensitivity of the audience.

After receiving the Grand Prix at the World Festival of Gypsy Music in Poland, you found yourself involved in a legal battle. What happened?

Then we just recorded our first album under the unassuming name More, which means gypsy. A video was shot for the title song of the album, which was among the top ten songs in the country for several months. Everything would be fine, but upon returning to Russia we learned that a certain Polish group had released an album under the same name and with the same songs, albeit in a slightly different arrangement. There was obviously no indication of the songwriter, who was me. So a legal battle ensued. The convertible completely proved the guilt of the plagiarists. However, not a single recording studio in St. Petersburg took it upon itself to release its album on the Russian melodic market. The refusal sounded the same: The disc, of course, is excellent, but if you guys sang in Russian. Well, I had to obey the laws of commerce.

Today, not a single performance of yours is complete without the legendary hit Chain. When did you write your first song?

At 13 years old. And from then on, the choice of my future profession became obvious to me. Gypsies are a very musical nation. Actually, I was 7 years old when I first picked up a guitar. The fundamental time at school came right with her. Of course, I was not allowed to attend lessons. And I learned to play more or less tolerably at the age of nine.

Today I am happy that Cabriolet was able to take a worthy place among other gypsy musical groups. It’s especially nice that this is a St. Petersburg group, and it is hardly inferior to many metropolitan, and now even foreign, ensembles. Although we may not be that famous, we are still ahead. The most important thing is that people listen to our songs, spectators come to our concerts literally from three to a hundred years, and this in itself is an indicator of our popularity and the fact that many people are not indifferent to the gypsy culture.

All your songs are about love. Do you dedicate them to any specific lady in your heart?

Of course, I have a lady of my heart. I’m the kind of man that I can’t sit down and scribble out a song without any fuss. All this comes from personal experiences: when it’s really bad or really good. I write songs in this state. Met, fell in love and up! I captured the emotions and the song was born.

In fact, I am quite an amorous gentleman. Who doesn't love beauty? You need to be aware of beauty all the time, be close to it. Then you will be inspired!

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A. Martsinkevich and gr. "Convertible", song "Guardian Angel", video

The famous Russian singer and composer, founder of the group “Cabriolet” Alexander Martsinkevich was born in the Leningrad region, in the city of Vsevolzhsk. The date of birth of Alexander Martsinkevich is January twentieth, 1967 (01/20/1967). From childhood, Alexander began to learn to play the guitar and drums. Already at the age of twelve, Martsinkevich received his first musical award for successful performance in a competition for young talents. A year later, Sasha Martsinkevich began to compose songs himself.

In the nineties of the last century, Martsinkevich, as part of the gypsy group Mirikle, began performing in restaurants.

In 1994, Martsinkevich founded his own musical group “Cabriolet”. Where did this name come from? The fact is that the gypsies call an open caravan a convertible and it is believed that those who come to visit in a convertible have an open heart. Martsinkevich says that the musicians of “Cabriolet” come to the audience with an open heart and sing from the heart.

In 1995, “Cabriolet” received the Grand Prix of the Gypsy music festival, which was held in Poland. "Cabriolet" records its first music album "More", which translated into Russian means "Gypsy". Since the album “More” was in the Romani language, Russian record companies stipulated that the songs be rewritten into Russian, fearing commercial failure. The musicians had to obey. Now most of the songs are performed in Russian.