Elysium (group)

Start

Bass guitarist Dmitry "Dracol" Kuznetsov founded the group "Elysium" in Nizhny Novgorod , where he came to study from Severomorsk ^[1] . Starting his work as a hobby, Dmitry only after receiving two higher educations - architectural, construction and financial - decided for himself that he wants to devote his future life not to these specialties, but to music ^{[1] [2]} .

It is foolish to spend 10 years of life studying at two institutes. In order to receive diplomas, forget about them once and for all and devote themselves to a rock band. Stupid, but nonetheless, I am happy that I did just that. Our whole life, after all, consists of stupid actions, but this does not mean that they make your life stupid.

- Dmitry Kuznetsov ^[3]

The word elizium , which was named the group, comes from ancient Greek mythology and means the afterlife for the righteous, the abode of eternal bliss. However, Dmitry Kuznetsov gave her that name without any special motive, choosing it from about thirty other options ^[4] . In this regard, the group to this day asks not to ask a repeatedly repeated question about the meaning of its name: “We can not say anything else, neither more intelligent, nor radically different regarding the name of our group” ^[5] . In addition to Kuznetsov, the original composition of Elysium included Ekaterina "Katish" Zudina ( guitar , vocals ) and Alex Repyev (guitar, keyboards ) ^{[6] [7]} . The first recordings of the group took place in 1994, however, the musicians consider it their official birthday on November 30, 1995 - on this day, Elysium gave its first concert, held in the Nizhny Novgorod club Manhattan ^{[8] [9]} .

The group conducted the first rehearsals in the apartment, which Dmitry Kuznetsov and Ekaterina Zudina rented in the Shcherbinki microdistrict ^[7] . In the summer of 1996, the group launched an English-language demo album, recorded at home and independently released on audio tapes ... My Self-control . Later, in the fall, Elysium began its constant concert activity, earning popularity in Nizhny Novgorod and having spent about fifty performances in its hometown in two years. In 1997, the musicians gave their first concert in Moscow , as part of the Generation 97 festival; their song “Mon amour, ma vie” in French was included in the festival's music collection ^[9] . In the same year, Dmitry Danilin and Alexander Telekhov ^{[10] [11]} joined the Elysium as vocalists . Young Telekhov at that time was finishing 11th grade and had already performed with one Nizhny Novgorod group as a guitarist and singer. He got to the concert of Elysium thanks to Igor Tarasov, who tried there to play the role of a drummer. Alexander became interested in a young group and joined their team, helping the participants of Elysium with equipment for concerts and just spending time with them. At one of the parties with Elysium, he was drunk invited to the band by Dmitry Kuznetsov, after, having also drunk, he began to sing the songs of Green Day , Nirvana and Elysium itself. Although the invitation was comic in nature and, according to the participants of Elysium, Telekhov still could not sing at all, they gave him the opportunity to develop himself, and subsequently Alexander became the main vocalist of the group ^{[11] [12]} .

In October 1997, Elysium received the title of “The Best Show Group of Nizhny Novgorod”, speaking at the “Know Ours” festival from Europa Plus radio, and was also awarded a diploma from the Department of Culture and Art of the Administration of Nizhny Novgorod. In 1998, the group released their debut studio album entitled “ Home! " ^[9] .

Change of squad and album “All Islands!”

After the presentation of the debut album and the celebration of its third anniversary, Elysium began to actively perform on the stages of Moscow - DK Gorbunov , the Olimpiysky sports complex and various clubs in the capital, without ceasing to give concerts in their native Nizhny Novgorod. During this period, the group happened to play on the same stage with such performers of Russian rock and punk rock as “ King and the Jester ”, “ NAIV ”, “ Lyapis Trubetskoy ”, “ Bravo ” and foreign bands Marky Ramone and the Intruders and JMKE ^{[5 ] [9]} . On May 26, 2000, Elysium held its first own punk festival in Nizhny Novgorod, where the groups NAIV and Cockroaches were among the invited groups . " ^[9] .

Despite the increasing success, by 2000 a part of the group’s early composition was forced to leave it, in connection with which Elysium temporarily suspended its activities from July to December ^[9] . One of the vocalists, Dmitry “Rotten” Danilin, completed his studies in foreign languages ​​in Nizhny Novgorod and left for permanent residence in the USA, where he continued his graduate school. Another vocalist, Ekaterina "Katish" Zudina, married the second guitarist of "Elysium" Dmitry Kalenov and decided to devote her life to the family. Kalenov, in turn, took up his own musical project "Guantanamera" ^[10] . At the end of 2001, due to disagreements with other members of Elysium, drummer Igor Tarasov left the group, playing in it since 1997. A replacement for Tarasov was found in less than a month: Alexei Kuznetsov from the $ 7000 band became the new drummer ^[13] . In addition to him, trumpeter Alexander Komarov returned to Elysium, who began to play in the group back in 1998-1999, after which he was drafted into the army ^{[14] [15]} .

It is believed that in 2001 the first true success came to Elysium: new songs from the band’s future second album - “Three White Knights”, “Islands”, “Don't Be Sad!” Appeared on the air of Our Radio , known as the main Russian radio station promoting domestic rock artists. The song “Three White Knights” (a cover version of the song from the film “ Wizards ”) has been kept in the charts “ Chart Dozen ” for more than two months. As a result, the second album of Elysium released in 2002, “ All the Islands!” ”, Significantly different from the debut album“ Home! ”, Ensured its popularity throughout the country and made it one of the main performers of the Russian punk rock scene ^{[5] [16]} . With the presentation of the new album, Elysium went on its first concert tour, performing in the cities of central Russia - St. Petersburg , Moscow , Tver , Yaroslavl and Nizhny Novgorod - together with the groups " Cockroaches! ", Sobut and" The Adventures of Electronics . " In the summer of the same year, “Elysium” played at one of the largest Russian rock festivals “ Invasion ” and the main festival of St. Petersburg “ Open Windows!” " ^{[5] [9]} .

Ksenia Sidorina's participation

In the fall of 2002, Ksenia Sidorina joined the Elysium as a backing vocalist , who sang in the Nizhny Novgorod band LADY-F and already performed with Elysium at the Invasion festival ^[17] . For the first time, Dmitry Kuznetsov invited Sidorina to the group in the spring, seeing her at a LADY-F performance at one of the rock festivals. “He called me and was somehow embarrassed, but with pathos invited me to become a backing vocalist in Elysium, while demanding that I completely stop my solo activity in LADY-F - I naturally refused! But, a week later, he called again and invited, but on milder conditions ... so I ended up in Elysium ”(Ksenia Sidorina) ^[18] .

Since Sidorina was mainly only a backing vocalist, for Elysium it was not necessary that she be present in the composition at every performance of the group. This gave Xenia the opportunity to simultaneously engage in her own projects, including LADY-F ^[19] . In the studio work of Elysium, the girl, on the contrary, took an active part. With vocal Sidorina was recorded and released in the spring of 2003 the third studio work of the group - the album " Cosmos ", which became commercially even more successful of the previous album "All Islands!" After its release, Elysium set off on its second concert tour ^[5] . In addition to Cosmos, Ksenia acted as a member of Elysium at the subsequent studio releases of the group, released in 2004. In the spring of Elysium, in honor of its eightth anniversary, it released its first official collection, Rock Planet! ”, In which, in addition to the selected best songs, a considerable part was new studio material ^[5] . In the fall, the album “ Electric Train to Mars ”, recorded last year, was released, where “Elysium” performed six cover versions of the songs of the group “ Hives ” ^[20] .

In 2004, two participants left the Elysium - trombonist Sergey Tremasov and guitarist Sergey Sukhonin, who along with Dmitry Kuznetsov also wrote the lyrics of the group. Unlike the trombonist, Sukhonin dropped out due to poor relations in the team, but became a member of the Lampasy group, formed by the ex-drummer of Elysium Igor Tarasov ^{[19] [21]} . In turn, the former guitarist of Lampasov (formerly of The Ventilators and Parasites ) Kirill Krylov became a member of Elysium ^[22] .

In June 2004, in Moscow, Elysium held its own rock festival, Punk Romance, which subsequently became annual ^{[5] [9]} . On July 24, the group performed at one of the country's main rock festivals - Wings , held at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow ^[23] .

Rimma's Fourth Album and Contribution

In the spring of 2005, Elysium finished recording a new studio album. After playing concerts in April and May, the musicians decided to spend the summer outside the group ^[28] . At the same time, backing vocalist Ksenia Sidorina left the composition of Elysium. According to the general opinion of her and other participants, by this time Ksenia had advanced far in her own solo projects, and participation in Elysium could not allow her to develop further ^{[18] [29] [30]} . Subsequently, she appeared on stage with the group as a guest, and even before leaving she took part in recording many songs from the new album. The album “ On the Outskirts of the Universe ”, which the group called its most serious work, was released in the fall of 2005 and was significantly different from the previous works of the group: compared to the romantic mood of the albums “All Islands!” And “Space”, most of the songs “On the Outskirts of the Universe” united lyrical, gloomy subjects ^{[28] [31]} . “The album“ On the Outskirts of the Universe ”and, in many ways, a change in musical priorities is a natural development, I would say, a natural process of growing up a group. True, it is not at all a fact that you will hear another similar album from Elysium ”(Dmitry Kuznetsov) ^[32] .

That same fall, Elysium found a new backing vocalist: Ksenia Sidorina was replaced by Rimma Chernikevich, who had come to Moscow from Kursk . In Kursk, at the age of 14, Rimma was seriously engaged in rock music, preferring her studies at a pharmaceutical college, and managed to stay as a member of several groups. The girl liked Elysium at the first audition: “Compared to her, all our previous vocalists did not sing at all. When we heard Rimma, we were in such a light shock. And right after one eight-hour rehearsal, we pulled her out for a concert-presentation at the Point . ” After participating in a number of performances, Rimma was accepted into the composition, and already as part of Elysium she appeared at a concert dedicated to the group’s tenth anniversary ^[33] . Former Elysium members were also invited to take part in the concert - vocalist Dmitry Danilin, guitarists Alex Repyev and Sergey Sukhonin and trombonist Sergey Tremasov ^[34] .

Rimma Chernikevich’s participation in Elysium, however, lasted less than a year; with her vocals, only two studio recordings were released - the song " Oh, roads ... ", which appeared on the collection " We won! ", And the version of the song" Tears-Mirrors "with the replacement of the vocals of Ksenia Sidorina. In the summer of 2006, Chernikevich left the group, as she was preparing to enter the Gnesins Russian Academy of Music , and later went to Spain . Dmitry Kuznetsov believed that "Elysium" lost a truly fantastic singer ^{[27] [35] [36]} .

Social Issues in Songs

In 2007, Elysium became the first Russian group to perform on the same stage with the California punk band NOFX , one of her favorite artists ^[37] . At concerts in late August at the Port Club in St. Petersburg and the Moscow B1 Maximum club, Elysium played with NOFX in support of a pair with another American team, Mad Caddies ^[38] .

2007 was the beginning of a new creative period for Elysium. Having changed the musical style and lyrics even more than with the album “On the Outskirts of the Universe”, the group devoted their work to the topic of social problems . For the first time, the group showed itself in this, performing the song “How much are you?” At the concert, and in the fall Elysium released the maxi-single “ Target Children / Children Killers ” with five new compositions related to problems of public morality, war and ecology ^{[39] [40] [41]} . In 2008, the band also released the Internet single “ Diane, ” a cover version of Therapy? related to the topic of rape ^[42] .

... In the work of any team, there comes a moment when the group becomes interested in looking at their work from a slightly different angle. And who knows how this happens: someone, playing previously hard music, is switching to a more positive wave, someone is the other way around. <...> There is an audience that listens to us, and we can talk to her about issues such as racial prejudice, corruption in politics, and the environment. <...> We have been entertaining and amusing people with our positive for a long time and will do it, but now we want to jump to a higher level, to a more serious wave. I want to be a little more political, to speak honestly, openly. <...> I think we just matured.

- Kirill Krylov, guitarist of the group since 2004 ^[25]

In 2008, a new musician joined the Elysium - cellist Egor Baranov, who was a teenager who attended the band’s early concerts and had recently performed as a session musician of Elysium, taking part in the recording of the album “On the Outskirts of the Universe” and the maxi-single “Children- targets / Children-killers ” ^{[43] [44] [45]} . In April, the official DVD “ Peace - Not War!” ”With the first professional video of“ Elysium ”recorded at the celebration of the 12th anniversary of the group in 2007 at the club“ B1 Maximum ” ^[46] . On May 17, at the Orange club in Moscow, Elysium played a joint concert with one of its most beloved and revered musical groups - the German punk rock band Die Ärzte ; for a foreign team, this was the first performance in Russia ^{[10] [47]} .

The new direction in the work of Elysium, taken on the maxi-single “Target Children / Children Killers”, was developed in the form of the next studio album 13 , released in 2008 in honor of the 13th anniversary of the group ^{[48] [49]} . Album 13 was the group’s final work in this direction - the next numbered album of Elysium “ Evil Will Die ” was already a return to the traditional style of the group, but, nevertheless, contained another song of the same name on the topic of social problems ^[39] . After the release of the album on November 13 , 25, the group began its new concert tour, which lasted until February 2009 ^[50] .

Komarov departure and US tour

In the summer of 2010, Elysium was left by trumpeter Alexander Komarov, who had been playing in the group since 1998 (not counting the temporary withdrawal from the army) ^{[14] [15]} . The precedent that Komarov leaves the team occurred in May. According to vocalist Alexander Telekhov, during a group trip to a concert in Perm, Komarov, being very drunk with other members, said he was leaving Elysium. Despite the fact that friends tried to hold him, Alexander got off the train and moved into the forest. However, the next morning he called them, apologizing and asking to be taken back, after which he remained waiting for the train in Yekaterinburg ^[51] . On June 4 and 5, Komarov was again absent from the group’s concerts, and on the 6th, it was officially announced that Alexander had left Elysium. According to the musicians of Elysium and Komarov himself, it became difficult for him to work in a group, in particular because of family affairs and participation in the provincial orchestra ^{[15] [52]} .

As for the band’s spiritual section, Komarov’s temporarily played Elysium saxophonist Albert Rodin, originally a session musician, a former member of the $ 7,000 band who came to Elysium in the spring of 2010 and whom Alexander himself considered an excellent substitute for himself ^{[15] [52]} . However, the group could not do without a trumpeter, and a new member, Dmitry Sotnikov ^{[45] [52],} was taken in place of Komarov.

In September 2010, the Greatest Hits online album “Elysium” was released , the recording of which began back in 2009, a collection of new and acoustic versions of the band’s existing songs ^{[53] [54]} . After the presentation of the collection, the group, having secured material from it, went on its first tour to the USA . The Elysium's tours abroad lasted about three weeks, during which the band performed in the cities of Boston , Washington , Chicago , Phoenix , Austin , Los Angeles , San Francisco and Seattle ^[55] . “Usually, Russian rock stars do not go further than New York, Washington or Boston. We swept through the whole country, from Chicago to Texas , from Arizona to California ”(Dmitry Kuznetsov) ^[27] . After returning to Russia, Elysium, having played concerts in her native Nizhny Novgorod, took up work on her new author's studio album ^[55] .

Evil Will Die and Political Protests

В конце февраля 2011 года группа отправилась в большое турне по Украине , дав концерты в Киеве , Харькове , Днепропетровске , Донецке , Запорожье , Одессе и Симферополе , и выпустив в честь этого макси-сингл « Найкращi співанки » с версиями своих песен на украинском языке ^[56] . В сентябре 2011 года вышел новый альбом « Зло умрёт », который группа охарактеризовала как работу в традиционной стилистике «Элизиума», «возвращение к корням» ^{[27] [57]} . В октябре «Элизиум» дал большие сольные концерты в Москве и Санкт-Петербурге, а в ноябре вновь сыграл в Киеве, где уже выступал во время украинского тура в начале года ^{[58] [59]} . 2 декабря 2011 года группа «Элизиум» отпраздновала своё 16-летие, дав большой сольный концерт в московском клубе «P!pl». Выступление группы проходило в так называемом «золотом составе»: в качестве приглашённых гостей вместе с «Элизиумом» выступили одни из его самых известных бывших участников — трубач Александр Комаров и бэк-вокалистка Ксения Сидорина ^[60] .

Отойдя от темы социальных проблем в студийных работах, «Элизиум» не переставал активно возвращаться к ней на сцене. В частности, это связано с тем, что участники группы являются ярыми противниками путинского режима в России ^[39] . Ещё во время презентации альбома «Зло умрёт» в 2011 году, группа в лице Дмитрия Кузнецова обратилась к фанатам с напоминанием о грядущих весенних президентских выборах и призывом голосовать за любую партию против « Единой России » ^[61] . Один из председателей политической « Партии народной свободы » Илья Яшин отметил в своём личном блоге, что полторы тысячи фанатов «Элизиума» встретили эти слова восторженным рёвом и аплодисментами. Сам же Яшин высказал ^[62] :

5 марта 2012 года, спустя день после выборов, «Элизиум» выразил поддержку в честь протеста против их фальсификации ^[63] . В дополнение протесту против Путина, «Элизиум» записал новую песню « Злое сердце », приуроченную к массовым беспорядкам, произошедшим 6 мая 2012 года на Болотной площади . Песня была выпущена в виде интернет-сингла ровно через год после этих событий ^[64] .

Музыканты «Элизиума» не обошли вниманием широко известное дело с феминисткой панк-рок группой Pussy Riot . В феврале 2012 года участницы этой группы были арестованы за несанкционированные выступления в Богоявленском соборе в Елохове и Храме Христа Спасителя ^{[65] [66]} . Pussy Riot исполнили песню «Богородица, Путина прогони!», которой раскритиковали коррумпированность Московского патриархата Владимиром Путиным , а также ущемление прав ЛГБТ-сообществ и преследование идей феминизма со стороны Русской церкви ^[67] . Участниц группы привлекли по статье за хулиганство , предусматривающей лишение свободы на срок до 7-и лет, и «Элизиум», присоединившись к акции протеста в защиту Pussy Riot, охарактеризовали эти обвинения как несправедливое уголовное преследование за художественные, музыкальные и политические высказывания ^{[68] [69]} . В поддержку арестованной группе, на концерте 13 апреля 2012 года музыканты «Элизиума» исполнили свою антирелигиозную песню «И рассыплется в пыль», одевшись в разноцветные маски с прорезями — подражая аналогичным выступлениям участниц Pussy Riot ^[69] . Этот акт поддержки был холодно воспринят православным байкерским клубом « Ночные Волки », под эгидой которых было запланировано участие «Элизиума» на майском фестивале Bike Weekend: «Ночные Волки» запретили группе выступать, обвинив её в противостоянии Русской церкви ^[70] .

Трибьюты и кавер-версии

После выхода альбома «Зло умрёт» музыкальная деятельность «Элизиума» была во многом связана с кавер-версиями песен иных исполнителей. В сентябре 2012 года группа выпустила макси-сингл « Cover Day » с шестью композициями, которые были запланированы для будущего полноценного трибьют-альбома , где музыканты сыграли любимые песни различных зарубежных рок-исполнителей ^[76] . В конце сентября также вышел альбом « A Tribute to „Элизиум“ » — сборник песен «Элизиума», исполненных разными отечественными группами ^[77] . 30 ноября «Элизиум» отметил своё 17-летие в московском клубе «Milk»; в честь этого события на сцене вновь появились бывшие участники группы, Александр Комаров и Ксения Сидорина, исполнившая песню «Дождь» ^{[78] [79]} .

Являясь большими поклонниками американского рок-исполнителя Игги Попа , участники «Элизиума» выпустили 6 февраля 2013 года кавер-версию на его песню « The Passenger ». На решение сделать кавер повлияли слушатели «Элизиума», которые отмечали некоторую схожесть между песней «Зло умрёт» с последнего альбома и песней Игги Попа. «Элизиум» решил ответить им, целенаправленно перепев «The Passenger» таким образом, чтобы она напоминала звучанием песню «Зло умрёт». Музыканты не стали заниматься переводом песни на русский, так как, по их мнению, подобные предыдущие попытки у других отечественных исполнителей оказались неудачными; в результате, песня была исполнена «Элизиумом» на оригинальном английском языке ^[80] .

Весной 2013 года «Элизиум» провёл два концерта, посвящённых знаменательной дате — 10-летию альбома « Космос ». Третий студийный альбом группы, «Космос» был выпущен в 2003 году и до сих пор считается фанатами лучшим альбомом «Элизиума». В ходе концертных выступлений, прошедших 18 и 19 апреля в клубах «Аврора» (Санкт-Петербург) и «P!pl» (Москва), группа исполнила все песни «Космоса» от начала до конца, чего не было даже на презентации этого альбома в 2003 году. Репертуар концерта отличался так же в том, что песни «Космоса» были сыграны в их оригинальном звучании 2003 года (в настоящее время, «Элизиум» исполняет некоторые песни этого альбома в ином стиле) ^{[81] [82]} .

Осенью 2013 года напомнил о себе готовящийся релиз полноценного трибьют-альбома Cover Day , в преддверии которого год назад был выпущен одноимённый макси-сингл . «Элизиум» активно исполнял его песни на концертах и выкладывал готовый студийный материал на своём официальном сайте ^{[83] [84] [85] [86] [87]} . На одном из осенних концертов «Элизиум» исполнил не связанную с трибьютом кавер-версию песни «Дурак и молния» группы « Король и Шут », почтив память её ушедшего из жизни лидера Михаила Горшенёва ^[88] . Между тем, самому «Элизиуму» в 2013 году исполнилось уже 18 лет. Как символическую дату, группа отпраздновала своё «Совершеннолетие» новым концертным туром, начиная с 3 ноября. Заключительный концерт «Совершеннолетия» прошёл 15 декабря в столичном клубе « Arena Moscow » ^[89] . Как и в прошлые дни рождения группы, к выступлению «Элизиума» присоединились его бывшие участники; на этот раз, помимо Александра Комарова и Ксении Сидориной, на сцене появился один из самых ранних исполнителей группы — гитарист и первый вокалист «Элизиума» Александр Репьев. Помимо экс-музыкантов, вместе с участниками «Элизиума» выступили их друзья из других групп: Владимир Родионов (« Ульи »), Вячеслав Бирюков и Сергей Байбаков ( Distemper ), Дмитрий Спирин (« Тараканы! »), Дмитрий Кежватов ( Spitfire ) ^{[90] [91]} . Незадолго до этого концерта, 13 декабря «Элизиум», наконец, выпустил свой трибьют-альбом Cover Day , включающий в себя тринадцать кавер-версий песен зарубежных групп, исполненных «Элизиумом» на русском, а также на оригинальных языках ^[92] .

В конце года «Элизиум» презентовал в хит-параде « Чартова дюжина » песню «Когда мы были младше», которую планировалось включить в будущий новый студийный альбом группы ^[93] .

Снегири и драконы

8 февраля 2014 года «Элизиум» вновь выступил на сцене вместе с зарубежным исполнителем, в этот раз на петербургском концерте группы The Locos — проекта шоумена Pipi из испанского коллектива Ska-P ^[94] .

Во второй половине февраля «Элизиум» объявил о готовности материала для записи нового, седьмого студийного альбома. Одна из песен нового альбома, «Когда мы были младше», уже появилась в сети в конце 2013-го года. Что же касается остального материала, то «Элизиум» предложил своим фанатам ускорить процесс производства альбома, предоставив им возможность оказать финансовую поддержку группе через краудфандинг -сайт Planeta.ru . Седьмой альбом под названием « Снегири и драконы » был выпущен 18 сентября 2014 года, а все поддержавшие проект получили от «Элизиума» различные поощрения за помощь в его реализации ^{[95] [96]} . В поддержку нового альбома «Элизиум» организовала концертный тур с 14 по 28 ноября, проходящий по городам Ярославль , Владимир , Ижевск , Екатеринбург , Челябинск , Курган , Тюмень , Киров и Нижний Новгород ^[97] .

26 декабря 2014 года группа «Элизиум» выпустила новогодний сингл — кавер-версию песни «Представь себе» из фильма « Чародеи » ^[98] .

Яды

В середине апреля 2015 года группу покинул гитарист Кирилл Крылов, игравший в составе с 2004 года ^[99] . Несколько дней спустя на замену Крылову встал Антон Киселёв — лидер и вокалист нижегородской группы Lunapark ^[100] .

28 сентября 2016 года «Элизиум» выпустил макси-сингл « Не верю » ^[101] к своему будущему номерному альбому. Следующий сингл « Старая школа » стал доступен для свободной загрузки с официального сайта группы 3 октября 2017 года ^{[102] [103] [104]} . Третий сингл « 1905 » был выпущен 11 октября ^[105] . Сам восьмой номерной альбом под названием « Яды » был выпущен 20 октября 2017 года ^{[106] [107]} .

Elysium Family

Various members of Elysium formed several subsidiary groups and solo projects, which Elysium unites in its own community called Elysium Family ( English family - "family"). Elysium itself, as far as possible, helped these groups develop ^[108] . The first of these third-party projects was the Guantanamera punk rock band, founded in 2000 by guitarist Dmitry Kalenov who left Elysium. His wife Ekaterina Zudina, one of the first participants in Elysium, also took part in this project ^[10] . In 2001-2002, backing vocalist Yuri Devyatov participated in Elysium, who, after leaving the band, devoted his time to his own pop punk project, Vacation ^[17] .

In 2002, drummer Igor Tarasov, who left Elysium a year earlier, founded the group " Lampas ", playing in the mixed genres of reggae , ska-punk and punk rock ^{[13] [109]} . Later, Elysium guitarist Sergei Sukhonin also joined his group; at the same time, the guitarist of Lampas Kirill Krylov began to play in Elysium. It was with the Lampasy group that the leader of Elysium Dmitry Kuznetsov proposed making the internal label Elysium Family, under which a debut album with the songs of the project was released - split “ LADY-F / Lampas ”. In 2005, with the label “Elysium Family”, a new, fully-fledged album “Lampasov” was released “ We need the seas and oceans ” ^{[21] [109]} . Both works of the project were created not without the participation of Elysium musicians; in addition, many songs that the group did not consider suitable for their work were implemented on the Lampas albums ^[14] . Subsequent work of the project came out without the “Elysium Family” registry, as its participants decided to develop independently ^[21] .

Former backing vocalist of “Elysium” Ksenia Sidorina at the time of joining the group was already a member of the LADY-F ensemble in Nizhny Novgorod (formerly “Lady Fredi”). As with the Lampas, this project debuted on the LADY-F / Lampas split released by Elysium. In 2004, Sidorina came up with the idea of ​​creating an emphasized “female” punk rock band, as a result of which her other project called “Lipstick” appeared. This project, however, did not last long, and together with the LADY-F group broke up in 2004. In the same year, Ksenia, together with Moscow musicians, organized a new group “ Blonde Ksyu ” and recorded her debut album, where she contributed material from her past projects. After participating in the recording of the new album “Elysium”, Ksenia left the group for the full development of her solo career in “Blonde KSU” ^[18] .

Relations with other artists

Elysium maintains friendly relations with many performers of the Russian rock scene. For many members of Elysium, one of the favorite domestic performers was the Hives group; in 2004, both groups even released a joint album, Electric Train to Mars , in which they performed six songs each other ^[19] . Elysium has very good relations with the Belarusian group Lyapis Trubetskoy , whom they met in 1999 during a joint performance in Nizhny Novgorod , finding common interests in music ^[32] . The founder and vocalist of Lyapis Trubetskoy Sergey Mikhalok took part in the recording of the albums Elysium, On the Outskirts of the Universe and Evil Will Die ^{[57] [110]} . The group supported the development and implementation of the creativity of the Moscow FIGI team, giving it the opportunity to jointly perform at concerts ^[111] . The leader of Elysium Dmitry Kuznetsov considers his lead friend the vocalist of the Cockroaches! » Dmitry Spirin , whom he helped organize concerts in Nizhny Novgorod ^[112] . Kuznetsov mentioned that the musicians of Elysium leave positive impressions with the Ber-Linn and Feast groups ^[19] .

The musical genre in which Elysium plays does not have a clear definition and is a mixture of several directions at once. According to critics and the group itself, the basis of Elysium music is punk rock with elements of many other genres, in particular, such as ska , reggae , metal , jazz , as well as surf rock , country , Soviet pop music ^{[108] [113 ] ] [114]} . Very often the style of Elysium is referred to as ska-punk , which the group categorically denies, claiming that they played ska-punk only in 1999-2001. The musicians themselves gave their musical style an individual name - space rock (sometimes calling it romantic rock ) ^[19] .

The main author of the music and lyrics of Elysium is Dmitry Kuznetsov; previously, the lyrics were written by former guitarists Sergei Sukhonin and Kirill Krylov ^{[1] [116] [117]} . In addition, a significant part of the group’s hits (“My Self-Control”, “Islands”, “Stay”, ““ Boring, ”“ Burn Brightly, ”“ Not My Love ”) was written by Nizhny Novgorod poet Mikhail“ Michael ”Makarychev. ^[118] The traditionally formed content of the group’s songs mainly carries a romantic , dreamy mood: these are topics of love , human relationships, pacifism , the desire to get away from problems and the routine of life; songs about summer, the romance of warm countries and long-distance travel, very often associated with space subjects ^{[39] [116] [119]} . Some Albo s that produced group differed from their normal sound. album " on the outskirts of the universe " included songs from more personal lyrical content dark tones with the dropped elements ska punk and adding stringed instrument ^{[31] [113]} . unusual for of Elysium’s creativity, the maxi-single “ Target Children / Killer Children ” and album 13 were distinguished by songs dedicated to social issues , heavier and sharper music and an aggressive manner of singing by a vocalist ^{[41] [120]} . The group also sees little in common between their current work and the sound of their debut album, “ Home! "Released in 1998 ^[121] .

Current squad

• Dmitry "Dracol" Kuznetsov - bass (since 1995)
• Alexander "Propeller" Telekhov - vocals , acoustic guitar (since 1997)
• Egor Baranov - cello , keyboards , backing vocals (since 2008)
• Maxim Burmakov - drums , percussion (since 2015) ^[122]
• Timofey Osetrov - trumpet (since 2015) ^[123]
• Alexander Legasov - guitar (since 2016) ^[124]

Former members

• Alexander "Alex" Repyev - guitar , keyboards , vocals (1995-1996)
• Catherine "Katish" Zudina - guitar , vocals (1995-1999)
• Dmitry “Rotten” Danilin - vocals (1995-2000)
• Mikhail "Vera" Durynichev - drums (1996-1997) ^[125]
• Igor Tarasov - drums (1997-2001)
• Sergey "Eyes" Sukhonin - guitar (1998-2004) ^{[19] [126]}
• Alexander "Komar" Komarov - pipe (1998—2010)
• Dmitry Kalenov - guitar (1999-2000)
• Andrey Krupinov - trumpet (1999) ^[127]
• Maxim Golovin - trombone (1999) ^[127]
• Sergey Tremasov - trombone (2001-2004)
• Yuri Devyatov - backing vocals (2001-2002)
• Ksenia "Ksyu" Sidorina - backing vocals (2002-2005)
• Cyril “Kira” Krylov - guitar (2004—2015)
• Rimma Chernikevich - backing vocals (2005-2006)
• Albert Rodin - Saxophone (2010)
• Dmitry “Boeing!” Sotnikov - the pipe (2010—2015) ^[128]
• Alexey "Younger" Kuznetsov - drums , percussion (2001—2015) ^[122]
• Anton Kiselev - guitar (2015-2016) ^{[124] [129]}