ARTIST INFORMATION

Text translated from an article in Кругозор №12/1991. Writer is credited as Д. ТКАЧЕНКО

Taking place at the end of May of this year, Leningrad group 'Невский проспект' (Nevsky Prospekt) took first place at pop-music festival 'Шлягер-91'. The popularity of the collective was obvious, but their recent songs could only be listened to in Leningrad or Moscow. They were rare guests on television, and published information on the group in the press was little.

The story of 'Невский проспект' starts, one could say, in 1987, when a new band called 'Проспект' performed for the first time on the program 'Розыгрыш', which was lead by the budding singer and composer Volodya Krivoshey.

Since childhood, Volodya learned to play on the piano, violin, guitar. In ninth grade, quitting school, he enrolled in the Mussorgsky School of Music, learning guitar in the pop department and contrabass in classical. While serving in the army, he mastered three brass instruments, and later at the Leningrad conservatory extended his education in contrabass. Volodya Krivoshey hoped to carry out his long-standing musical intentions by creating 'Проспект'. Soon their first album would be recorded.

In September of 1987, the collection 'Путь в никуда' went on a journey across the country, but the group had already broken up. Volodya Krivoshey got a job working at a disco in the military medical academy. It was there he got to know Volodya Nikolaev. Later they were joined by Arseniy Ivankovich, and began rehearsals. They consider January 1989 as the official birthdate of the band, which they decided to call 'Невский проспект', when their first major performance took place in the Palace of Sports in Tashkent.

After many months, the ensemble recorded their debut album 'Поп-антенна', including the popular songs 'Поп-антенна', 'Краслива-лебеда' and the superhit 'Мы с тобою'. The members of the group selected the most interesting style at the time – energetic 'new wave' with elements of disco, but with the guidance of Russian melodies and chants. For its first days of existence, the band confidently set out to conquer the musical Olympus, winning at competitions and festivals.

They toured the country, performing in festivals 'Звуковой дорожки' of 'Московского комсомольец', and partaking in the most popular musical TV programs did its job. The music of Volodya and his friends claimed the hearts of music lovers from Tallinn to Vladivostok.

Winning at the concert 'Хит-парад надежд-89', the group started to record their tape album 'Мы с тобою', which delighted pop fans as early as the spring of 1990. The song 'Осталось прошлое' from this album was firmly in the 'Топ-секрет' program for a month.

Their next success was the schlager 'Милая девочка'. The song was first performed last November at the 'Ленинград-90' charity festival for disabled children.

Interesting music and the popularity of the group compelled the firm 'Мелодия' – who are stingy on new names – to release the debut EP of 'Невский Проспект', which included songs of different styles, including a lyrical song of the words of the 'Silver Age' poet Sergey Solovyov, 'Ты не мучаешь меня'.

Some time later, Volodya suddenly disappeared from sight. He locked himself alone with synthesizers and within a week recorded the solo album 'Вечер в компании. Классика. Часть I' which arranged world-famous works by Vivaldi and Haydin, Chopin and Bach, Mendelssohn and Paul Simon.

The album came out, and how it did! It's been in the top 10 for a few months now in terms of sales, and music critics remarked on the seriousness of the album and professionalism of the performance. When asked why he decided to turn to the classics, Volodya answered: 'I never left the classics. After all, they are my inner world that I've been connected to since my childhood'.

Now the group is working on their first LP, which may possibly be called 'Художник подвала'. It will include songs from various years. It will be a fusion of pop and jazz-rock, reggae and classical – music for all tastes. The band has not toured in the past years. Alongside the studio work, the band is shooting music videos of their songs, and are preparing to shoot a musical film. For three years, the group's lineup has not changed. And today 'Невский проспект' is Vladimir Krivoshey (vocals, music writer), Vladimir Nikolaev (vocals, computers, keyboard), Alexander Albert (keyboard), Arseniy Ivankovich (lead guitar), and Maksim Kuzentsov (drums). Famous in the world of pop, V. Kaduman, the director of the band 'Форум', spoke about them after 'Шлягер-91': 'They took off for a long time, but there was no landing – their flight continues, and they will go even higher'.