“a Group of extreme tourism!” — jokes Andrey Grigoriev-of Apollo, Recalling the tumultuous tour of the “Simons”. Those who found their enchanting appearance in the 90s already in a more or less conscious age, you can make an experiment: open the group’s discography and find that they seem to know half of the songs, even if the fans are not. Gunpowder in powder flasks rife now, but the time inexorably moves forward. No sooner had the fans to blink as their favorite of Andrew “Red” as it’s loving called in the people, exchanged half a century. In the anniversary interview, he remembered the trip to the Tula (or rather, in Cannes) with his samovar, long-term cooperation with Igor Matvienko and the virtues of the quarantine.
Andrew, I think your fans I can’t believe you’re turning 50. You yourself realize it?
‘ that’s the thing that the head does not fit. Emotionally, physically, visually, I can not associate with this figure… I didn’t mean to mark this anniversary, but my older friends — Igor Matvienko, Sergey Mazaev — speak: “Andrey. Well, 50 years. It!”. So the big party for 400 guests to be. I am organizing that everyone was comfortable and fun: the first half of the holiday will all meet, then perform the “Ivanushki” and then I escorted. In the end, rest all except for me!
— is There a feeling of complete implementation? Or you still it is important to set new goals?
— We are often asked: “Why are you writing new songs? There is “Ring”, “poplar fluff”. Customers before events to ask, “Please don’t do anything new.” We have so many hits that you can safely rest on their laurels. Yes, you can even just sing “Clouds” and then 25 years imposingly to go out with them on stage every day to give interviews and to participate in the filming, but I always feel creative challenge. Therefore, we don’t stop and even now are working, creating and recording new songs. I really want them the same as our greatest hits from the 90’s and 2000’s, sounded like the fans.
the Igor Matvienko has its own music Academy where students learn production — making music, texts and arrangements. We gave them a task to compose songs in the style of “Simons”, and several songriter very good at it. Interested in working with young sounddesigner, poets who grew up on our songs. I really like it. They both create music in a particular direction, but pass it all through, so something new is born. Once I came to the Studio. There sits a man of about 30 and a girl-poet, in appearance not more than 25. They tell me: “If we are even 5 years ago said that we would just be talking to you, not what do you sau��d, we wouldn’t believe it!”. In such collaborations is the creation of the new album. It will be a mini-album, we will record 6 songs that we sing at our anniversary concert. They will be hits or not — to solve certainly to the public, but you will hear them for sure! This year especially has coincided already two major dates: the me — 50, and “Simons” — 25.
attachment to the old hits is the property of the Russian and world public as a whole?
of course it happens all over the world. Imagine if a bar in some American town starts to sound like Hotel California, or Queen, or an old Madonna song, people will still come back mentally and emotionally at a time when they were growing up, listening to these songs. When I’m in the car and the radio sounds A-ha and Michael Jackson, I had goose bumps, “vozvrata” this is happening. Fresh interesting music, of course, catchy, but powerful old hits remain in memory and are associated with some romantic memories or some other pleasant moments when you, for example, resting on the sea, hanging out with friends, was in a pioneer camp. You need something that covers from the past. I’m the same human like and all, so I just… “You’re my heart, you’re my soul” — and away we go.
— Groups break up, break up artists with producers, and you have with Igor Matvienko’s still “advice Yes love”. A very rare case. The secret of such years of happy cooperation?
— in 1995, Igor and very clearly agreed on the Bank: the fees, percentage. When we started, he told us: “Guys, the most I can promise you this opportunity to buy yourself a Studio apartment in Vykhino if suddenly you will become popular.” “Ivanushki” is not for enrichment, this is really the meaning of my life, and always has been. All that I have been, I found it thanks to “Ivan”: friends, a wife, with whom we lived for 16 years in a happy marriage, the eldest son named Ivan. It’s not just a lifestyle, it is fate.
— I understand what you’re saying, but life still consists of black and white stripes, Islands, spots…
— we had an absolutely smooth, beautiful creative way. Another thing is that life goes on, and, of course, on the way there are some new branches. It is not “Ivanushki”, and that is associated with the development of my personal brand in Sochi, where I actually was born. Now in this direction, I have a lot of interesting suggestions, only manage them to adopt and implement. Here I develop my own story related to business projects. Say “actor legs”. It was all these years, but after 50 is less to speak and to engage in parallel with other work and projects: to build a hotel or a restaurant. The pension should be happy and passing by the sea.
Speaking in modern language, in the 90 “Ivanushki” have become the most popular boy band. It is attractive but insidious definition. Century “malchukova” groups are usually short: time passes, and you have with you to do something, somehow change so as not to look stupid on stage. What helped you to stretch this creative story for so many years and remain limited in their role?
— Well, dancing on stage has become smaller. Everything else is the same: same charge, the pleasure of performance. I am sometimes asked: “are you not tired of singing the same thing?” I said, “And you can imagine how the actor in the theater playing the same role of, when step right, step left shot?” In this sense we are free, what I want, and sing. Want to “Clouds” — play, no out from the program. All the mood. Honestly, I still go on stage as the first time. There is always such a pleasant jitters, and not me alone. The same Kirill Andreev. Cyril Dee-Dee, which is with us for 7 years and basically grew up in our songs, in General, the sausage of happiness.
— it Turns out, the “Ivan” has joined two generations. Developing the theme of musical continuity, you may recall that your younger relatives — nephew and godson — created group #APPolonovGang. What trends can you see on the stage today?
— I see that every six months someone blows up the audience with hits, and then disappears and immediately appears next artist, the next song. Globally in that someone has now entered the history of Russian pop music, I do not believe. In the 90s there were some great “characters”: “Ivanushki” followed us through the year, “Hands Up!” and “Disco Crash”. Then, of course, was still Hi-Fi, “Guests from the future”. On the rock scene heroes at that time were Zemfira, “spleen”, “Bi-2”. You can still count on the fingers. We sang “Clouds”, shot a video, and more than a hundred million people separately, the whole country from small to large. And now there is a huge number of talented guys who work hard. They have YouTube, Instagram, Tik-Tok and a bunch of other social networks, but there is such a global national love. The information flow is so big that they are drowning, not only the music. On the Internet you can find everything what you need and don’t need. I’m sure that will be a hundred years old, and “poplar fluff” will sound in any Sochi cafe and the young guys now will be much harder to earn people’s love.
— before the creation of the “Simons” you worked in the musical “Metro” in America. Was thinking to stay there?
— of Course. When we arrived on Broadway, we had three Russians in the troupe: I, Igor Sorin and Polina Griffis. We were 20 and we all had planned to stay in America. The result was only Pauline and I lived there for quite a long time. I at some point realized that he had exhausted his creative, emotional potential in the story, took everything I could from “Metro” and other musicals, and said to the Director Janusz Yuzefovich: “Thank you. I learned from you a lot as an artist, dancer, Director. Now I’m going back to Russia, and I will think of doing something for themselves.” I didn’t want to hang in a rut, and I essentially gave up everything — a stable job, salary abroad and returned to Sochi. Then the owner of the fashion Theatre where I worked as a musical artist-demonstrator, model, asked me to be his Director and artistic Director, and I made a very cool show-the show fashion in a new format, more like a Broadway show than a fashion show. Arrived for the premiere of Igor Matvienko, with whom we were friends in my 19 years, and after the performance he asked me: “Andrew, you did in Sochi? Now let’s create music project.” Thus was born the group “Ivanushki”. So Sochi and her homeland.
Can you imagine that in 5 years you will see some talented young artist that will take under his wing?
— When Igor Sorin decided to leave the team, I already took under the wing of Oleg Yakovlev, who was with us for 16 years. Then I found and took the team Cyril Dee-Dee. It was important that the group lived. If we talk about the promotion side projects, someone was lucky and he found Zemfira for example, other talented artists and helped them to become known. I got a bunch of songs, but I haven’t seen the nuggets that really could be a superstar and conquer the country. Not because they were bad. Is always many, but none of them met those who I would have heard potential megahit, who could confidently say: “Everything. I’m your producer. Let’s go!”.
do you Believe in the special path of Russian music?
Absolutely. The Russian-speaking population is 130 million people in Russia and about the same around the world. In the same America a lot of them: when we were touring there, the halls were Packed, but globally to conquer the world has failed us or someone else from the Russian artists. Something happened at the Tattoo, love Vitas in China, but it’s still not history on a global scale. The first song, “somewhere”, we first recorded the English version, and it was called “Stay away”. We presented it in 1995 at a music festival in Cannes. What we said: “Guys, where are you in Tula with his samovar?” Then the desire to conquer the world as lost its, we humbly apologized and decided that we’d better sing in Russian for their own. Everyone wants to be a star and give your creativity the planet, but if our mind and heart are songs in Russian, Zach��m to show off. Abroad is also a huge number of brilliant musicians, and we simply don’t need. Example to me my children who listen to “Simons” and some wild foreign rappers whose names I can’t even pronounce.
— I can’t not ask the most relevant now for many question. How you have lived the quarantine? How much he changed your plans?
I stopped wanting to tour. I liked it so much… Quarantine I spent in Sochi, in the same chair in which I sit right now and talking to you. In front of me the Black sea, and it’s so nice here after 25 years of nonstop touring and concerts. Of course, they already had the addiction, but when you have a pandemic, I fast from this relationship opened up. Realized that I need less to speak, get plenty of rest. I felt more or less normal person, who can be a free evening, an opportunity to read a book. Me in connection with this “Evanescence” rock-n-roll such simple pleasures were practically unavailable. But now it’s 50, Carl! Let me rest in the end!
