Lumen (band)
Lumen | |
---|---|
Origin | Ufa, Russia |
Genres |
Alternative rock Post-grunge Punk rock |
Years active | 1998–present |
Website | www.lumen.ws |
Members |
Rustem Bulatov Igor Mamaev Yevgeni Trishin Denis Shakhanov |
Past members | Yevgeni Ognev |
Lumen is a Russian rock band from Ufa. They combine punk rock with traditional Russian rock. The band considers February 12, 1998 as their birthday. This is the date when the musicians first performed under the name "Lumen", and not as "Безымянные мучители гитар" ("The Nameless Guitar Torturers").
Biography
1996–2000
The band had been formed during 5 years by young boys Igor Mamaev, Denis Shakhanov and Rustem Bulatov. Bass guitarists changed for many times. Finally Yevgeni Ognev became bass guitarist of the band. At first they covered songs of "Grazhdanskaya Oborona" and "Kino", then tried to make their own songs.
2001
In 2001 group has played in "Navigator" club. This concert was a base for their first album "Live in Navigator club"
2002
At the beginning of the year group published their first work – album "Live in Navigator club". During the year they have been working on their first album, which was recorded in Navigator club studio. One of the song called "Sid&Nansy" got on the "Наше радио (Our radio)" and became a radio-hit – it was at the top of the chart during two months. After that group was invited on «Чартова дюжина» festival in Moscow. It was the first really big performance of the group. Musicians consider this festival as a turning point in their career.
2003
In 2003 group published their first studio album – "Без консервантов (With No Preservatives)". It includes 18 songs, among them cover "Харакири(Harakiri)" – their own cover of "Grazhdanskaya Oborona".
2004
In 2004 band began to work with Vadim Bazeev – today he is a director and a producer of the group. They also have published album "Три пути (Three Ways)" – their second studio work. After the album release they started their first tour of twenty cities in Russia.
2005
At the beginning of the year band published their second live album "Одной крови (Same Blood)". This album included two new songs «Не спеши (Don't hurry up)» and «Благовещенск (02)(Blagoveshchensk (02))». In October of the year they have published third studio record – album "Свобода (Freedom)". Sound of the group began tougher, some songs are very acute social. Lyrics from song "Государство (State)" are still actual – "It's kind of democracy here but it's actually an empire. I love my country so much, but I hate the government!"
2006
2007
2008
2009
2011
Conclusion
In ten years, step by step Lumen became the most famous Russian alternative band. In October 2007, the band won two prizes at the RAMP Awards from the main alternative music channel in Russia "A-One", they were the laureate of nominations "Best band of 2007" and "Best album of 2007". In October 2008, Lumen won the "Band of the Year" prize at the Russian Alternative Music Prize. Their first radio hit – "Sid and Nancy" was released in 2002 and became a hymn for huge number of teenagers who found their own ego in Lumen's lyrics and realised that they were soul-mates. Then two of their songs "C4" and "Skolko" ("How long?") found the same destiny as "Sid and Nancy". The song "Gosudarstvo" ("The State"), featuring lyrics that are very critical of Russian political situation, became the most audience-demanded song on A-One.
Lumen’s following releases only increased their success. Today Lumen have 10 official releases among them five studio albums, five live albums and two live DVDs. It is easy to imagine but difficult to believe that just within a few years Lumen came to be known as big and well-known artists without any special support from major labels or some fake PR. And they moved from small venues and joint concerts to solo concerts at the biggest and most famous venues in Russia. Lumen always search for new approaches and are not afraid of experimenting with their sound. Some say that they are representative of the new wave in alternative music; some call them followers of traditional punk music. But the band itself doesn't care about any labels or definitions. They make honest and uncompromising songs and don’t try to stick to a "format" or state of affairs. Their songs always find thousands of admirers throughout Russia and their life as a band is a storm of drive and real emotions, and for this reason their numerous concerts always draw huge audiences.
Members
- Rustem Bulatov (Tem) – vocals, sampler
- Igor Mamaev (Garik) – guitar, backing vocal
- Yevgeni Trishin (Shmel) – bass, guitar, keyboards
- Denis Shakhanov (Dan) – drums
Past member
- Yevgeni Ognev (John) – bass, in March 2007 he left the group[1]
Albums
Studio albums
Release Date | Title |
2003 | Без консервантов (With No Preservatives) |
2004 | Три пути (Three Ways) |
2005 | Свобода (Freedom) |
2007 | Правда? (The truth? OR: Really?) |
2009 | Мир (World OR: Peace) |
2012 | На части (Apart) |
2013 | Нет времени для любви (No time for love) |
Live albums
- Live in Navigator club (2002)
- Одной крови (Same Blood) (2005)
- Дыши (Breathe) (2006)
- Буря (Tempest) (2007)
- Лабиринт (Labyrinth) (2011)
DVD's
- Дыши (Breathe) (2006)
- Буря (Tempest) (2007)
- Record МИРА (2010) – documentary film about recording album "Мир"
- Live at Teleclub (Ekaterinburg) (2011)
Compilation albums
- The Best (2007)
Singles
- Пассатижи (Pliers) (2003, maxi-single)
- TV No More (2008, internet single)
Awards
Russian Alternative Music Prize
The RAMP Awards are awarded annually by the A-One TV channel.
- Best Artist – 2007, 2008
- Best Album – 2007 (Pravda?), 2009 (Mir)
Fuzz Awards
The Fuzz Awards is an annual Russian awards ceremony established in 1997 by rock music magazine of Fuzz.
- Best New Artist – 2007
- Best Album – 2008 (Pravda?)
ZD Awards
The ZD Awards are awarded annually by the Moskovsky Komsomolets.
- Best Alternative Act – 2009
References
Related links
- Official Site
- Unofficial Site Lumen (RU)
- Alter LUMEN – Unofficial Site
- fan club
- Official "Три пути" album site
- Lumen on Last.fm
- Lumen: Forward-Looking Politics, Old-School Rhetoric (in English) – farfrommoscow.com
- Interview with Lumen in Murmansk (In Russian)
- Lumen discography at MusicBrainz
- Music Videos on Youtube
- Fan forum
- БРАТство (Brotherhood) – Fan Club
- Lumen-mail.ru – Fan-Club in "mail.ru"
- Concert in Smolensk Review (in Russian) http://www.tektonika.ru/conc_34.jsp
- Belarusian Lumen Community
- Concert in Chernovts
- Excerpts from Songs