"Lyapis Trubetskoy" (Lyapis Trubetskoy) is the most famous Belarusian rock collective. Their hits first sounded in 1995, and for 24 years the musicians were idols of millions. "Lyapis" became winners of dozens of prestigious awards, they were repeatedly recognized as "Group of the Year", and their songs occupied the top positions of the charts for several weeks. At the same time, they know firsthand what is fraught with being on the "black list" of Lukashenko and the media. But their strong character, talent and assertiveness helped them to overcome all the obstacles and become famous not only in Belarus, but also far beyond its borders.
At the initial stage of development the band performed in the genre of comedy-rock, folk, ska-punk. But over the years they began to raise more serious topics, the lyrics were political and social. The music, accordingly, became heavier.
Formation period and first successes
The founder and unchanged soloist of the group was Sergei Mikhalok. He was born and spent his childhood in Germany, and education was already received in Minsk. Here his family moved in the early 80s. From a young age he was drawn to creativity - he wrote lyrics and music to them. In his student years he formed his own band, which became the prototype of Lyapis Trubetskiy. At that time Ruslan Vladyko, Alexey Lyubavin and Dmitry Sviridovich played with him.
But it was hard to call them a full-fledged band, because besides performances at events, they had no activity: no rehearsals, no repertoire, no name. But each of them was so bright that when they came out to the public, from the first minute they attracted all the attention of the audience and easily won the hearts of the audience.
The first big stage in their biography was at the festival "Try koleri" in Minsk, then at the "Festival of Musical Minorities". The warm reception of the audience and the appearance of the first fans changed their attitude to creativity. They began to gather regularly at the rehearsal base, to carefully compose their repertoire, to improve themselves.
The connecting thread with show business was Evgeny Kolmykov. Since 1994 he helped the guys to develop, and a little later he became their general director. Competent PR, connections and understanding of the inner workings of the media space allowed "Lyapis" to reach a new level. Soon the musicians began to receive royalties, invitations to concerts and festivals. They created a program in the format of a rock opera "Conquest of Space" and went on the first tour in Belarus. The band was named in honor of the hack poet from the work "The Twelve Chairs" Nikifor Lyapis, who wrote under the pseudonym Trubetskoy.
After they were lucky enough to sing on the same stage with rock legends Chaif, Chufella Marzufella, Two Planes and others, the members seriously talked about making a record. They recorded their performance and released the cassettes in an edition of 100 copies. They did not cause a stir, only 20 copies were sold. Later, at the height of their fame, the artists would reissue it under the title "Wounded Heart".
Surge of popularity
In 1996 the group caught the eye of Evgeny Kravtsov, the head of Complexbank. He invited them to the Mezzo Forte recording studio. "Lyapis" accepted the offer, strengthened the sound with several instruments and created a full album. At that time, the lineup included:
- Sergei Mikhalok (vocals);
- Ruslan Vladyko (guitar);
- Alexey Lyubavin (drums);
- Valery Bashkov (bass guitar);
- Egor Dryndin (trumpet);
- Vitaly Drozdov (vocals, violin);
- Pavel Kuzyukovich (French horn);
- Alexander Rolov (guitar).
After the presentation of the album at the Minsk Rock Festival, the fame did not keep them waiting. The composition "Lukashenko", which the musicians performed on the motif of the song from the musical/film "Buratino", became a hit. Nobody really knows how many "Wounded Heart" cassettes were sold, but according to different data the number of them is about 25 thousand copies.
And then there was a succession of successful concerts and performances, work on new albums. They began to shoot clips, thus covering more and more audience. Popularity went beyond the borders of Belarus, the band began to tour actively in Europe. The excitement around the new rock idols led to the fact that, in addition to fans, there were also opponents. For provocative texts and statements the press banned any mentioning of "Lyapis". Despite this, in 1996 they won in three out of four nominations ("Best Group of the Year", "Album of the Year" and "Best Author of the Year").
For the next nearly year and a half, there was a gap in the band's history. But after a pause "Lyapis Trubetskoy" returned with a new video clip for the composition "Au", reminded about themselves, revived the former popularity and began active concert activity.
With the arrival of the new millennium, their music has changed dramatically. Another album "Heavy" in style and genre fully corresponded to the name. Many songs were not allowed to radio air, but fans appreciated this work at face value.
The album "Capital", released in 2007, caused quite a stir. The genre of socio-political satire was criticized by many. But true fans liked the new direction. Such style of songs was traced in the further creativity of "Lyapis Trubetskiy".
The collective existed until the fall of 2014. For the last couple of years they toured the whole Europe and America, filled their discography with cult albums, gave hundreds of enchanting concerts at large-scale festivals in different countries. "Lyapis" entered the history of the Belarusian show business as bright and brave representatives of the new generation of rock culture.
After the breakup of the project, the lead singer Sergei Mikhalok performs in the band BRUTTO, while the rest of the members united and continue to play under the name Trubetskoy. About how their further career will develop, read in the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de.
Discography:
1996 - "Wounded Heart"
1997 - "Smiarotnae väselle".
1998 - "Lyubov kapets" (Archive recordings, 1992-1995)
1998 - "You Ditched"
1999 - "Beauty"
2000 - "All the girls like it."
2000 - "Heavy"
2000 - "Lapisdance"
2001 - "Youth"
2001 - "Lapisdance 2".
2003 - "Chyrvony Kalsony"
2004 - "Golden Eggs"
2004 - "Argentina"
2005 - "Scarlet Sails"
2007 - "Capital"
2008 - "Manifesto"
2009 - "Parade-Allee"
2009 - "Kultprosvet"
2010 - "Agitpop"
2011 - "Merry Pictures"
2012 - "Rabkor"
2013 - "Gray"
2014 - Matryoshka
