Yegor Letov
| Yegor Letov | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Igor Fyodorovich Letov |
| Also known as | Yegor Letov |
| Born |
September 10, 1964 Omsk, USSR |
| Died | February 19, 2008 (aged 43) |
| Genres | punk, post-punk, garage rock, psychedelic rock, noise rock, noise, industrial, experimental music, avant-garde, musique concrète, conceptual art, singer-songwriter |
| Occupations | vocalist, musician, poet, songwriter, producer, painter |
| Instruments | singing, guitar, bass guitar, drums, noises |
| Years active | 1982–2008 |
| Labels | GrOb-records,Zolotaya Dolina(on LP 1992-1994), BSA, HOR, Misteriya Zvuka, Vyrgorod |
| Associated acts | Grazhdanskaya Oborona, Kommunizm, Kuzya UO, Egor and Opizdenevshiye, Yanka Dyagileva |
| Website | http://www.gr-oborona.ru |
Igor Fyodorovich "Yegor" Letov (Russian: И́горь Фёдорович (Его́р) Ле́тов, [ˈiɡərʲ fjodaravit͡ʃ jɪˈɡor lʲetɐf]; 10 September 1964 – 19 February 2008) was a Russian musician, poet, and conceptual art painter, best known as the founder and leader of the post-punk/psychedelic rock band Grazhdanskaya Oborona (Civil Defense). He was also the founder of a conceptual art project called "Communism" that mocked the Soviet propaganda style (samples of speeches of Soviet leaders, Russian patriotic songs, propaganda slogans, and other nationalistic materials were often used in their compositions) and played with Siberian singer-songwriter Yanka Dyagileva.
Letov was born and died in Omsk. A prolific musician, he was also a polarizing figure in the Soviet Union. He was controversial in the mid-to-late 1980s when he satirized the Soviet system and helped develop a gritty Siberian punk sound. After the fall of the Soviet Union, during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, he became disillusioned with Yeltsin's government and developed a fan base among nationalists and communists. Yegor Letov was one of founders and the first members of National Bolshevik Party.[1] He later distanced himself from National Bolshevism[2] and politics at all. In an interview, Letov expressed that his favorite poets were Alexander Vvedensky (1904–1941), one of the OBERIU writers, and Vladimir Mayakovsky. He also expressed his interest in Conceptualism, and spoke of his own work in punk music and in creating a public image as a work of conceptual performance art. His favorite writers were Henry Miller, Andrei Platonov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Franz Kafka, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Kōbō Abe and Kenzaburō Ōe.[3] Letov also was highly influenced by Kurt Vonnegut[4] and William S. Burroughs.[5]
In 1997 Letov married the bass guitarist of Grazhdanskaya Oborona Natalya Chumakova; they had no children.
Yegor Letov died of heart failure in his sleep on 19 February 2008 at his home in Omsk.[6][7] He was 43 years old.
References
- ↑ Punk and national-bolshevism
- ↑ http://www.gr-oborona.ru/pub/pub/1090486302.html
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ Cult Rock Musician Egor Letov Died, 19.02.2008
- ↑ Punk Legend Yegor Letov dies of heart failure 21.02.2008 The eXile
External links
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