Nogu Svelo! - Early Period (1988-1995)

Early Period (1988-1995)

Max Pokrovsky - music, lyrics, vocals, bass Igor Lapukhin - guitar Dmitriy Krichevskiy - drums Maxim Likhachev – trombone Aleksandr Volkov - keyboards

The group “NOGU SVELO!” was founded in 1988 by singer and bass player Maxim Pokrovsky. “NOGU SVELO!” can be translated as “I've got a cramp in my leg!” - like people shout when they come into cold water. At the beginning “NOGU SVELO!” was a member of “Moscow Rock Laboratory”, an organization which supported both well-known and promising independent groups. When “Moscow Rock Laboratory” broke up in 1992 “NOGU SVELO!” already recorded two albums, took part in several big festivals and were well-known far outside Moscow.

The band's first two albums are difficult to find, even in Russia.

The debut, 1:0 в пользу девочек (The Girls Lead 1:0), recorded in 1990 but released in 1993, shows the band's creative processes: the music being written by the bassist Maxim Pokrovskiy and drummer Anton Yakomul'skiy is built around sometimes loose, sometimes tight bass riffs, and spacious drum cascades, with synths and guitars flowing in to play something that seemingly was made up on the spot by the respective players. The improvisational quality and the complete ignorance of any sort of commercial demands characterize this LP, yet plenty of songwriting talent is on view. The childish melody of "Дурдом" (Nut-House) - a track recorded in 1989 - is ethereal, and "Тычинка" (Stamen) has a near-orchestral repeated synth passage surrounded by loose guitar and bass interplay. "Элегия" (Elegy) has a driving bass riff, soaring guitar passages and an intense chorus relieved by a humorous acoustic guitar chorus. "Тазепам" (Tazepam) sounds like a less-successful attempt at the same thing until a locomotive-esque synth interlude recreates the song as a sort of psychedelic cartoon music. Several of the songs were re-recorded by the band on their later albums, with only "Лысая девочка" (The Bald Girl) gaining something in the process. The humorous nature of the band's music is here underscored by "interludes" between the songs that consist of repeated synth music and recited poetry about people falling off buildings and dogs getting "stuck" on each other in the yard.

The band's next album, Капризы манекенщиц (The Capriciousness of Mannequins) was recorded in 1991 and released on vinyl in 1992. It is dominated by guitar and rhythmic bass. The title song has dramatic, psychedelic soundscapes, pulsating bass and a melodic chorus. Three songs were later re-recorded: Хару Мамбуру (Haru Mamburu) (1993), "Голая королева" (The Naked Queen) and "Хрустальная ваза" (The Crystal Vase) that appears on 1999's Каллы (Calla Lillies).

But the group really shot to fame in 1993 when “NOGU SVELO!” won the first prize for its song “Haru Mamburu” in the festival “Generation - 93”. The lyrics were written in some special language invented by Maxim himself. The video for this song happened to be the first video of the band. Besides, “Haru Mamburu” became the soundtrack to a documentary film about Chechnya shot by London Television (directed by Tom Lasica). Since then, one could see “NOGU SVELO!” in popular TV shows and on the covers of the magazines and hear its songs on the radio. The next two videos of the group won awards in the festivals “Generation - 94”. In 1994 “NOGU SVELO!” took part in a rock festival in Montlusson, France, and in 1995 were awarded the Grand-Prix in the festival “Golden Stag”, Brasov, Romania for the video “Message”.

1993's Хару Мамбуру provides the majority of the material for 1995's Сибирская любовь, a compilation of re-recorded songs from the band's first three albums and some new tracks. On the 1995 versions, the band had access to quality production facilities. Хару Мамбуру tracks that were not re-recorded are: "Самураи в рисовом поле" (Samurais in a Rice Field), an Oriental escapade; "Petting My Pets" and "Magic Pencil", both with catchy pop choruses disguised as rock songs; and "Баранья опера" [Baran'ya opera) (Sheep Opera), with one of the band's guitar-centered refrains are hidden among four minutes of band members pretending to be sheep.

Two further pop-rock tracks, "Пляжный рок-н-ролл" (Beach rock'n'roll) and "Baby" were re-recorded for Сибирская любовь; "Super Creature" with Teutonic guitars surrounding the timpani-dominated refrain and "Demoralization of Love", the with a pace-shifting winds-section interlude added in the re-recording.

The 1995 release contains two new songs; the title track, the band's attempt at a Eurovision entry that raised awareness of them in Russia despite not winning the national nomination; and "Рождественская колыбельная" (Christmas Lullaby), lasting less than 2 minutes.