N.O.M.

N.O.M.
Background information
Origin RussiaSaint Petersburg
Genres Art rock, avant-rock
Years active 1986–present
Labels Фирма "Мелодия"
SoLyd Records
General Records
Caravan Records
SNC Records[1]
Associated acts Avia
Website http://www.nomzhir.spb.ru/
Members Andrey Kagadeev
Nikolay Gusev
Alexander Liver
Vitaly Lapin
Nikolai Kopeykin
VarvaraZverkova
Past members Yury Saltykov
Sergey Kagadeev
Ivan Sokolovsky
Alexey Rakhov
Dmitriy Tikhonov
Sergey Butuzov
Nikolai Rodionov
Vladimir Postnichenko

N.O.M. (also, NOM: Neformálnoye objedinénie molodiózhi – The Informal Youth Association) – a Soviet/Russian experimental rock band, formed in 1987 in Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad), known for its mix of art rock, folklore, classical influences (including occasional bouts of operatic singing) and theatrical stage shows. According to Andrey Burlaka's Russian rock encyclopedia entry, N.O.M. – "eccentric, multi-faceted and defying all categorization" – have become "one of Russian rock's brightest phenomena of the 1990s".[2]

N.O.M.'s national breakthrough came in the late 1980s when LenTV started playing several of the band's controversial videos. Short-time heroes of post-Perestroika alternative culture, N.O.M. have never been accepted neither by the massive pop/rock audiences, nor by the New Russian media, but, while staying in the underground, have more than once proved their ability to fill whatever venue they chose to play. The band split into two in 1997, but the 2000s saw NOM-Zhir and NOM-Euro gradually reintegrating, the official reunion concert held on the 20 April 2007 in the Saint Petersburg's "Port" Club.

Band history

The band was formed in Pushkin, Saint Petersburg in 1986 by the company of friends, them students of technical colleges and young engineers, who shared the same interest in music, literature and theatre.[3] The name - Neformalnoye objedinenie molodyozhi - came from the Perestroika media lexicon and referred to the (generally derided) umbrella term by which the "reforming" Communist party tried to "unite" (and control) whatever youth communities they deemed "informal" (and therefore potentially dangerous).[4]

N.O.M.'s founding members were: Sergey Kagadeev (vocals), Andrey Kagadeev (bass guitar), Dmitriy Tikhonov (keyboards, vocals), Sergey Butuzov (guitar) and Nikolai Rodionov (drums, flute).[2] Exotic monikers, used by the musicians (Ivan Tourist, Alexander Liver, Hafizula Sagitdulov, etc) later became their stage alter egos.[5]

In February 1987 N.O.M. released their debut demo. Initially intended as a musical and theatrical illustration to Andrey Kagadeev's short story Протез ("The Prosthetic"), it was recorded at his home on the primitive Soviet Astra tape-recorder and followed Zvuki Mu's tradition of ironic/absurdist rock. Soon after that N.O.M. took part in the TV musical competition, performed there "Ламца-Дрица" satyrical couplets[6] and were surprised to find themselves among the laureates.[2] The band decided to turn professional and formulated their artistic credo as "the idiotization of all the dramatic sides of our everyday and cultural life, as well as over-dramatizaton of [life's] most idiotic aspects."[3]

N.O.M. joined - first the alternative rock association Мост ("The Bridge"), then, in January 1988, the Leningrad Rock Club. In October 1988 Rodionov left to be replaced by Vladimir Postnichenko (alias Starikan/Gotlib Ulrich Tuzeast; ex-Orkestr Deda Mazaja, Bratja Gadiukiny) who used to jam with the band in his student years. Rodionov occasionally appeared with the group (playing flute), but retired after his health deteriorated (he died in the 1990s).[2]

Breakthrough

After the band's appearance at the Sixth Leningrad Rock Club Rock Festival critics classified them as the followers of AVIA, at this point a well-established conceptual art rock band from Leningrad. The parallel later proved to be flawed, but the two bands indeed bonded together. They embarked on the nation-wide tour and signed the humorously worded Molotov-Ribbentrop-type "non-aggression pact."[7]

In 1989 percussionist and performance artist Yuri Saltykov (aka I.N. Turist) joined the band, thus completing what is considered to be its classic line-up. With him the debut Брутто album was recorded in the Dvoretz Molodiozhy Studios by producers Sergey Yelistratov and Andrey Novozhilov.[2] Released two years later on the Leningrad Melodyia record label,[8] it became an underground hit and (quoting an official bio) "made the band one of the most original phenomena of Peter[sburg]'s new rock scene." By this time (according to the same source) "…N.O.M.'s musical language, initially fashioned in a rudimentary folk rock/cabaret style, started to harden and quickly evolved into a totally integral post-punk meets rhythm and blues kind of sound."[3]

After the Petersburg - Channel 5 and the nascent Moscow Vzglyad TV Show started playing the band's videos, the band's popularity grew rapidly. In 1990 N.O.M. toured Spain and France; in the course of the next 5 or 6 years they played in many European countries and performed at the Seventh Leningrad Rock Club Rock Festival.[3]

Golden years

By the time the sophomore К Чортям Собачьим (K Chorty`am Sob`achjim, To Dog's Hell) was recorded and self-released in 1990 (three years later Melodiya followed suit[9]), Sergey Butuzov departed, leaving a certain gap in the overall sound, which AVIA's Alexey Rakhov a guest guitarist struggled to fill.[5] Despite the loss, the album received rave reviews. Anatoly Gunitzkiy wrote in Roxy Express (1990):

At the background of N.O.M.'s every single opus some kind of an absurd plot can be found. Music - a set of multi-coloured stylizations – is nothing more than a brilliant, expressive background for these short stories. Noticeable is the progress: everything here [compared to the debut] is perfectly constructed, worked out and honed down; nothing is superfluous, everything's meaningful – from vocal equilibristics to tricky arrangements… What specific rock genre this belongs to, I wouldn't venture to guess, but it is still heartening to think that it was rock culture that's been able to give haven to all of these incongruous – Odlopezes, Airman Kamyshins, Samba Hopkinses and other inhabitants of the N.O.M. panopticon... Finally, vocal artistry should be mentioned: the concept of 'theatricality' is very much central to the group's aesthetics… and vocals here are of the most sophisticated quality. Whether it's N.O.M.'s solo vocal performances (and every member of the group does indeed sing) or their choruses – everything sounds wildly grotesque. All this brings to mind an idea of some inside-out kind of punk, mince-meated through the mental absurdist machine."[3]

"The second album, К Чортям Собачьим, is my all time [NOM] favourite. This was the band's finest hour. We were sort of deeply feeling each other. No one was trying 'pull the quilt' as it were, there were no superstardom ambitions. We were just bursting with new ideas and felt - so easy, so good… It was little later that the unity cracked and the problems began," Andrey Kagadeev remembered in July 2009.[7]

In February 1991 N.O.M. played at the Leningrad Rock Club 10th Anniversary concert; featured in the compilation was "Samba Hopkins" with A. Liver on vocals. In May the band performed in Novosibirsk with, among others, The Shamen.[2]

Due to AVIA's temporary inactivity Rakhov became the band's semi-official member and played sax on the band's third album Супердиск (Superdisc), featuring such N.O.M. classics as "Чорт Иваныч", "Город", "Душа и Череп".[10] Of the opener, "Nina" (by this time a live favourite), A. Gunitzkiy wrote: "…combining cool electro sound with fragments of delightfully crass phrases… [it] never fails to throw every possible kind of audience into the state of deep mental prostration."[3]

It was in those days that N.O.M. became residents of the Vasileostrovsky Youth Center (later - TaMtAm Club). According to A. Burlaka, the band's style of self-promotion was consistent with their image: they regularly decorated the city walls with self-published quasi-sotsart posters, mostly teaching fans the code of behavior at the self-proclaimed "Kings of St.-Petersburg"'s concerts, but also spreading jovial or misleading information about the band.[2]

Сенька-Мосгаз (Senhka-MosGaz, the band's fourth vinyl LP and first ever CD) was shelved due to the economic crisis and released in November 1996. Video for the controversial track "7 %" was filmed in France. The album proved to be the last one for Tiknonov (a.k.a. A.Liver) as a full-time member[11] who pursued a solo career in 1995. The latter took him as far as France (where he married) and Geneva Opera (where he continued to sing through the next decade). Several musicians tried to fill Liver's shoes, among them jazz musician Yuri Sobolev (ex-Pangei) and Ivan Sokolovski (ex-Nochnoi Prospekt, Miagkie Zveri). In 1995 N.O.M. relocated to the Wild Side Club and played in Rock Side Festival, recruiting Alex Rakhov and A.Liver for the occasion.[2]

The release of the greatest hits Ультракомпакт (Ultracompact) compilation (General Records) became possible largely due to rock critic (and N.O.M. fan) Artemy Troitsky's help. It was followed by the concert album Live is Game [sic].[12] Among those who played in the studio were Nikolai Gusev (keyboards), Zhenya Zhdanov (flute, AVIA), Alexey Popov (sax, from Doo Bop Sound). Rakhov returned to AVIA to be replaced by Vitaliy Lapin (ex-Myshi), from then on a full-time guitarist with the band.

In 1996 N.O.M. released Хозяева СССР, или Обезьянье рыло (Masters of the USSR or the Monkey's Muzzle), a short film (first in the series of eight) which amounted actually to a compilation of early videos. The next one, Made In Europe (1997) documented the group's European voyages. Their Skotino-Rap (Bestiality Rap) video received the special ("For radicalism") prize at the Festival of video art staged by the Moscow Exotica magazine. In 1996 N.O.M. opened for Laibach in the Leningrad's Palace of Youth. Their "Ukrblues" received the MIDEM Grand Prix at Cannes in the Low budget video nomination.[2]

The split

In spring 1997 N.O.M. premiered their new sci-fi conceptual show Во имя разума (In the Name of Reason) in the Black Dog Club which was followed by the album of the same name (released by SNC Records). On 20 March the band celebrated its 10th anniversary with the grandiose circus-like show in Saint Petersburg.

Later in the year, though, N.O.M. fans were shocked by the unexpected announcement. Both the Kagadeyev duo and the band itself split into two: Euro-NOM (Sergey Kagadeev, Postnichenko and Nikolai Mayorov who contributed to the filming of "The Masters of the USSR") and Zhir-NOM - Andrey Kagadeyev (bass, vocals), I.N. Tourist (vocals), Nikolai Gusev (keyboards) and (later, occasionally) A.Liver,[13] Lapin recording with both. According to A. Burlaka, it was "the battle of egos" that caused the conflict: Kagadeev-junior was at this point was the band's frontman, while his elder brother did most of the songwriting.[2]

Euro-NOM

N.O.M.-junior (augmented with Denis Medvedev of Dva Samoliota), debuted in October 1997 with the concert in the Ne Bei Kopytom Moscow club, as part of the Inter-Fuzz Festival. The owners of "Saigon" music shop financed his group's album Euro. The record, released in November 1997, received mixed reviews and caused controversy, its major theme being anti-globalism. The album's most memorable track (according to A. Burlaka), though, was the cover of Gavrila Lubnin's song poking fun at David Copperfield's Russian tour and the uproar the latter's been causing.

Euro-NOM (as it's become known since then) presented the album at the Lensovet theater: the group members not only changed their aliases (S. Kagadeev adopting the 'Leopard' moniker) but also proposed the new way of N.O.M. abbreviature's interpretation: Новые Основатели Мира, Novyje Osnovateli Mira (New Founders of the World). In March 1998 bassist Vladimir Khanutin (ex-Barbuljator and Chizh & Co, playing drums in both bands) joined Euro-NOM.

Zhir-NOM

Zhir-NOM (also N.O.M.-Senior, NomZhirProject) debuted on 30 November 1997 in the St.-Petersburg Zorro Club where it presented the Zhir album material. Valery Kuteynikov (ex-AVIA) joined the band and Vassiliy Pavlov replaced Rakhov who departed to join the Deaduski project.

Zhir album was officially released in the spring of 1998 and premiered on 18 May in the Spartak Club (with A.Liver guesting). The recording of the concert made by Alexandr Mironov (of Strannyje Igry and AVIA) was released as Liveжиr in 1999.

For some time the two fractions lived parallel lives, but Euro-NOM's activities soon whittled down. Lapin departed to PepSee (to be replaced by Alexey Lysenko, ex-Kacheli). In August 2000 after the South of Russia tour Euro-NOM were sent to the "indefinite vacation" and another N.O.M. dropped its Zhir-tag (which, as the band members insisted, had never been adopted officially). Kagadeev-Jr. moved to Moscow to become a tradesman. Medvedev started DJ'ing in Griboyedov Club as Re-Disco. Postnichenko opened his own Tzynik Club.

Zhir-NOM's efforts were more fruitful. In 2000 Terra Fantastica published A.Kagadeev and S.Butuzov's book Чудовища (Monsters), two novels and a screenplay included. The same year A.Liver published his book Рельсы и шпалы (Rails and Ties); by this time he's released six solo albums.[2]

In 2002 N.O.M.'s association with Caravan Records (which released the group's 3 LPs and two Liver's solo albums) resulted in a lucrative joint project when Caravan's boss Max Susloparovopened the Orlandina Club with NOM as residents and decorators. In May 2002 NOM's first movie, a "fairytale thriller" Paseka came out, Kagadeev-Sr. and Kopeikin credited as scriptwriters, Liver and Turist - as the leading actors.[2]

A renewed contract with с SoLyd Records resulted in three studio albums: Экстракомпакт (2000), Очень отличный концерт (2001), 8уе (2002), accompanied by three compilations - НОМ-15: 1987-2002 (2002), MP3 Коллекция (2002) and Russisches Schwein (2003). The 2004 Альбом реального искусства (The Album of Reality Art), using Russian oberiu poetry (Oleynikov, Kharms, Tchukovsky and others) was released on NOM's own Yazbetz Records.[2]

On 20 April 2007 in the Port Club the official reunion concert took place with Kagadeev brothers, Liver, Turist, Lapin and Gusev performing.[14]

On 28 February 2009 N.O.M. performed in the Glavklub, playing songs from the forthcoming album Кирпич в живот (Kirpi′tch v Zhivo’t, Brick into Stomach). A week later the Moscow Ikra Club hosted the show. The album was released later in the autumn.[15]

N.O.M. lyrics and linguistics

The band became famous for their highly literary (somewhat baffling, occasionally offensive but always hilarious) lyrics which continued the tradition of Russian surrealism made famous by authors like Nikolai Gogol and Daniil Harms[4] and using Soviet propaganda cliches, elements of folklore, sci-fi, clips from films and children's songs. NOM songs' characters have been compared to those of E. T. A. Hoffmann and Mikhail Zoshchenko.[5] One of the best-loved examples was "Gorod" (The City), an ironic "pro-Siberian" paean with the 2-word refrain "Nakati piatachinu" (roughly translating as: 'now do produce a fiver, will you?', an idiom used in aggressive begging).

Some of the N.O.M. lyrics sound indecipherable even for a Russian listener. Words like "ainu", "кutzurubki", "aurelui" etc., are (according to the band's official site's FAQ) of romany origin. Another enigmatic word, "ljuy", is claimed there to be "a Romanian suffix, good for any a Russian word":[13] a linguistic statement, never meant to be taken, apparently, at its face value.

One of the best known early songs, "U Karytzu Mashek"'s lyrics is based on an obscure "riddle without any answer" found allegedly by a Russian folklorist Pyotr Kireyevsky. The name for one of the most outlandish N.O.M. characters, extraterrestrial priest Одлопез (Odlopez) was attributed to Sergey Butuzov (yet later found in one of the Stanisław Lem novels, Butuzov allegedly never heard of).[13]

Along with the outlandish quasi-folkish "found words", strange phonetics are being there exploited too. The pronunciation used in the song "Svinukh" is that of a "deaf person who's learnt to speak" but is unable to hear himself (according to the band, that was used by a character named Anatoly, played by Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, in the Soviet film "Professiya – sledovatel", "Profession - a detective").

Non-musical projects

Andrey Kagadeev is the author of two novels (Страус and Танец Ханумана, both included in compilation Чудовища, "Monsters", in 1999) co-written with Sergey Butuzov.[16] Kagadeev, also a published poet, is a member of a designer collective MW Art.[13]

Since 1991 N.O.M. have been releasing a series of short films, the last (and 8th) of them being Коричневый век русской литературы (The Brown Age of the Russian Literature, 2008). In May 2002 N.O.M.'s first movie Paseka was released. In February 2004 N.O.M.'s second film Geopolypy (a kind of global political analysis) followed.[2]

In July 2009 Andrey Kagadeev told the online press-conference held by www.lenta.ru that the major film, a 'cosmic epic' called Звёздный ворс (Zvio′zny Vors) is in the process of being made, featuring, alongside N.O.M. members, past and present, Shnur (Leningrad, Rubl), Mikhalok (Lyapis Trubetskoy's frontman) and Oleg Skripka of Vopli Vidopliassova.[7]

Discography

Albums

Films

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 www.nomzhir.spb.ru Н.О.М. Дискография
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 NOM. ROCK-N-ROLL.RU
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 www.pripev.ru: NOM bio
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Russian Studies, 2004: Russian Popular Culture and Underground Russian bands A - Z
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 www.peoples.ru/ NOM
  6. ↑ http://www.nomzhir.spb.ru/music/brutto/brutto.php?lang=ru#text9 Lamtza Dritza Russian text
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 NOM press-conference: 17 07 2009
  8. ↑ Discography. Брутто
  9. ↑ Дискография: K Chortyam Sobatchim
  10. ↑ Discography, Superdisk
  11. ↑ http://www.nomzhir.spb.ru/music/mosgaz/mosgaz.php?lang=ru
  12. ↑ NOM Discography
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 www.nomzhir.spb.ru FAQ
  14. ↑ NOM's golden line-up celebrates the band's Anniversary
  15. ↑ http://lenta.ru/news/2009/03/04/nom/ Lenta.ru: Музыка: НОМ презентует новую программу в "Икре"”
  16. ↑ www.nomzhir.spb.ru Published literature
  17. ↑ Хозяева СССР, или Обезьянье рыло fragment #8

External links