Kino (band)
Encyclopedia
Kino was a Soviet rock band headed by Viktor Tsoi
. It was one of the most famous Soviet rock
groups of the 1980s.
) as rock
band Garin i giperboloidy (Garin & The Hyperboloids, after Aleksei Nikolaevich Tolstoi's novel The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin
) consisting of Tsoi, Aleksei Rybin and Oleg Valinskiy. A year later, the name of the band was changed to Kino. Since rock music
was considered a "bourgeois style" in Soviet Union, Kino, like the other rock bands, performed only in semi-underground clubs and at musicians' apartments (kvartirniks).
In the summer of 1982, Kino's first album 45 (named for its length in minutes) was recorded as a collaboration with the band Aquarium
. The album was slowly distributed through underground channels and gave a new fame to the group.
The band's first real hit was the album Noch released in 1986; songs from this and the two previous albums were included in the Red Wave: 4 Underground Bands from the USSR
compilation disc released in the USA
in 1986.
At the beginning of the Perestroika
era, the band gained more prominence, and the 1988 album Gruppa krovi, together with the film Needle
, which starred Tsoi, brought the band to the pinnacle of popularity.
During the next two years, the band released another album and did shows in the USSR and abroad, attracting enormous audiences, until August 15, 1990, when Tsoi died in a car accident near Riga
. The tape with the vocal track for the new album survived the accident. The album was completed by the rest of the band and released in 1990 without a title, though it is commonly cited as Chyorniy albom (i.e. The Black Album) since it has a wholly black cover.
The band's popularity in the Soviet Union
was so extraordinarily high that after Tsoi's death, the words “Цой жив!” ("Tsoi lives!") and “КИНО” appeared on public surfaces throughout the country. Writing these words became a kind of a memorial ritual among fans of the band. Even today the slogan occasionally surfaces in urban graffiti and is extremely common in permanent marker or scratched into walls.
All Kino songs were written by Viktor Tsoi. His lyrics are characterized by a poetic simplicity. The ideas of liberty were present (one song was named "Mother Anarchy") but, on the whole, the band's message to the public was not overly politically charged, except for themes of freedom. Their songs largely focused on life, freedom and love. Daily life is embedded in Kino's vocabulary (for instance, there is a song about the elektrichka
, a commuter train many suburbanites use daily).
Viktor Tsoi
Viktor Robertovich Tsoi ; 21 June 1962 – 15 August 1990) was a Soviet rock musician, leader of the band Kino.He is regarded as one of the pioneers of Russian rock and has many devoted fans across the countries of the former Soviet Union even today...
. It was one of the most famous Soviet rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
groups of the 1980s.
History
The band was formed in the summer of 1981 in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) as rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Garin i giperboloidy (Garin & The Hyperboloids, after Aleksei Nikolaevich Tolstoi's novel The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin
The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin
The Garin Death Ray also known as The Death Box and The Hyperboloid of Engineer Garin is a science fiction novel by the noted Russian author Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy written in 1926–1927. It was one of the first science fiction novels in Russian...
) consisting of Tsoi, Aleksei Rybin and Oleg Valinskiy. A year later, the name of the band was changed to Kino. Since rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
was considered a "bourgeois style" in Soviet Union, Kino, like the other rock bands, performed only in semi-underground clubs and at musicians' apartments (kvartirniks).
In the summer of 1982, Kino's first album 45 (named for its length in minutes) was recorded as a collaboration with the band Aquarium
Aquarium (group)
Aquarium or Akvarium is a Russian rock group, formed in Leningrad in 1972 by Boris Grebenshchikov, then a student of Applied Mathematics at Leningrad State University, and Anatoly Gunitsky, then a playwright and absurdist poet.-History:...
. The album was slowly distributed through underground channels and gave a new fame to the group.
The band's first real hit was the album Noch released in 1986; songs from this and the two previous albums were included in the Red Wave: 4 Underground Bands from the USSR
Red Wave
-Side 3 :All songs from the album Energy.# "Экспериментатор" – 4:31# "Мы вместе" – 2:43# "Доктор Буги" -Side 3 (Alisa):All songs from the album Energy.# "Экспериментатор" (Experimentor) – 4:31# "Мы вместе" (We're together) – 2:43# "Доктор Буги" -Side 3 (Alisa):All songs from the album Energy.#...
compilation disc released in the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1986.
At the beginning of the Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
era, the band gained more prominence, and the 1988 album Gruppa krovi, together with the film Needle
Needle (1988 film)
Needle is a Soviet movie filmed in 1988. The main character Moro is played by the famous Soviet rock musician Viktor Tsoi.-Main cast:*Viktor Tsoi - Moro*Marina Smirnova - Dina*Pyotr Mamonov - Doctor...
, which starred Tsoi, brought the band to the pinnacle of popularity.
During the next two years, the band released another album and did shows in the USSR and abroad, attracting enormous audiences, until August 15, 1990, when Tsoi died in a car accident near Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
. The tape with the vocal track for the new album survived the accident. The album was completed by the rest of the band and released in 1990 without a title, though it is commonly cited as Chyorniy albom (i.e. The Black Album) since it has a wholly black cover.
The band's popularity in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
was so extraordinarily high that after Tsoi's death, the words “Цой жив!” ("Tsoi lives!") and “КИНО” appeared on public surfaces throughout the country. Writing these words became a kind of a memorial ritual among fans of the band. Even today the slogan occasionally surfaces in urban graffiti and is extremely common in permanent marker or scratched into walls.
All Kino songs were written by Viktor Tsoi. His lyrics are characterized by a poetic simplicity. The ideas of liberty were present (one song was named "Mother Anarchy") but, on the whole, the band's message to the public was not overly politically charged, except for themes of freedom. Their songs largely focused on life, freedom and love. Daily life is embedded in Kino's vocabulary (for instance, there is a song about the elektrichka
Elektrichka
Elektrichka is an informal word for elektropoyezd , a Soviet or post-Soviet regional electrical multiple unit passenger train. Elektrichkas are widespread in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the former Soviet Union....
, a commuter train many suburbanites use daily).
Band members
- Viktor TsoiViktor TsoiViktor Robertovich Tsoi ; 21 June 1962 – 15 August 1990) was a Soviet rock musician, leader of the band Kino.He is regarded as one of the pioneers of Russian rock and has many devoted fans across the countries of the former Soviet Union even today...
(Виктор Цой) – lead singer and guitarist (1981–1990) - Yuri KasparyanYuri KasparyanYuri Dmitriyevich Kasparyan is the former guitarist of the Russian rock band Kino and was also a member of Vyacheslav Butusov's group Nautilus Pompilius. With Butusov he jointly wrote the 1997 album "Незаконнорожденный/Nezakonnorozhdennyy" ....
(Юрий Каспарян) – lead guitar (1983–1990) - Igor Tikhomirov (Игорь Тихомиров) – bass (1986–1990)
- Georgiy Guryanov (Георгий Гурьянов) – drums (1983–1990)