Fourteen weeks of silence

After a long concert tour in support of her previous album, “ Forgive me, my love, ” Zemfira took a break to rest. In an interview with “ Arguments and Facts ”, the artist noted that at that time she was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, after which she could not return to the stage: “I just needed to rest. Otherwise, something bad would happen to me ... Maybe it’s wrong that I admit it, but for the last three or four concerts I played with hatred. I hated songs, speakers, the audience, myself. I counted the number of songs left until the end of the concert. When all this ended, I didn’t leave my home for two or three months, but just stupidly surfed the Internet ” ^[15] .

At this moment, according to the singer, a turning point in her work. Zemfira noted that she was not interested in continuing the musical line of her past albums; she did not write new songs for a long time until the song “Infinity” appeared, which became a landmark for the singer:

I was not sure that I would release this album. It was important for me to understand in principle: you need to do this, you don’t need ... To sharpen the pen and stitch 15 “Daisies” no wonder. But we need to move. But I couldn’t. And I didn’t understand why. And for no reason she wrote the song “Infinity”. And the reason was revealed, and immediately realized that I would release the album! "Infinity" is a sign that I am doing everything right ... ^[4]

- Zemfira

According to the singer, the song was created in St. Petersburg . “I remember what I wrote quickly, I remember where. I was in St. Petersburg, I wrote the album. And now, maybe because I missed the music already ... I don’t know, I don’t want to analyze to such an extent. Because I already, it seems to me, analyze too much. And this meticulousness begins to annoy, ”said the artist ^[16] . The album includes compositions written between 1999 and 2001. Zemfira initially wanted to indicate the year of writing for each song, but later abandoned this idea: “I hear where the earlier works are, where the later ones. The listener, I think, will not be heard ... Although I also do not think that this is very important ” ^[17] .

With the beginning of the recording of the album, the dissolution of the Zemfira group also coincided, with which the singer had previously recorded her albums and toured. Zemfira began recording with the musicians of the Mumiy Troll group - Yuri Tsaler and Oleg Pungin ^[18] . Zemfira said: “We talked and came to the conclusion that I will try to do the album with other session musicians. She began recording with Tsaler and Pungin from Mumiy Troll. Then I got a new roster. They sat down with Igor Javad-Zade and Sergey Mirolyubov (he was the only one left from the first “Ufa” line-up), they discussed ... And a new bass player and guitarist appeared. ” Javad was engaged in the selection of musicians, and the group eventually recorded as follows: Sergey Mirolyubov (keys), Alexander Badazhkov (guitar), Vladimir Semin (bass guitar), Igor Javad-Zade (drums) ^[4] . “Djavad-Zadeh remained the drummer, other musicians are new. It’s all because I increase the level of performance. But the guys are still my friends. At first I was very worried, soared, how best it was - to continue playing at the level of the first two records and constantly be dissatisfied or tormented by the fact that now I broke up with the musicians ... I don’t know if I’m right or not, it happened, ”Zemfira said in an interview " Komsomolskaya Pravda " regarding the change in the composition of the group ^[19] .

In September 2001, the singer finished work on recording songs in St. Petersburg at the former Melody studio, where she worked with sound producer Andrei Samsonov ^[20] . The performer noted the great contribution of this musician to the work and said that at that time the album was actually made by four people: Zemfira herself, Samsonov, Tsaler and Pungin. “All four play keyboards, Andrei and I are mixing, Oleg and Yuri are doing the whole rhythm section. The fewer people, the less disagreement and hesitation, because extra people can sometimes bring some kind of confusion and tighten it all up, ”said the artist ^[17] .

September 10, Zemfira arrived in Moscow, from where she was supposed to go to London, where programming , mixing and final mastering of a new disc was to be held in the “Sphere” studio ^[20] . Almost all of January 2002, the singer worked in a studio in Moscow, adding the last songs for the album. On January 27, 2002, the performer flew to London, where she continued to work ^[21] . According to Zemfira, Samsonov found the London studio. Ben Georgiadis, who previously worked with Björk , Jamiroquai , Oasis and Radiohead, was responsible for mixing the album. “At that moment when we were combining the first five songs, in the second equipment room I was combining the Genesis album, in the first - Duran Duran . This is not a show off, it seems to indicate that this is a good studio, ”said the singer ^[17] .

Yuri Saprykin from the Afisha magazine visited Zemfira's Moscow studio while recording and wrote an article about working on the album, where he noted that most of it (including mixing and mastering) took place in London. In parallel, the construction of her own studio was held in Moscow. Zemfira noted that she was pleased with the new composition of the group: “Can you imagine how wonderful the rear is! The tighter the rear, the more the midline has more opportunities to relax. And, accordingly, some kind of life begins ... in the first monitor line ” ^[22] .

Zemfira also said that the bonus song “Dream” became the favorite song recorded for the album. The performer said: “I wanted her in the first record, in the second - she did not succeed in any way. I could not do it. The option that I recorded on “Europe + Ufa” always turned out to be the best. There, of course, there was a complete misfortune with the arrangement, it was of some poor quality, in a radial pisyuk, but there was a mood there. ” The singer also noted that the voice recording was taken from the time of recording on “ Europe Plus ”, and the phonogram was rerecorded ^[7] .

On November 11, 2001, the CD single “Traffic” was released in support of the album ^[23] . On the same day, the song was played on several radio stations, and the video clip shot by director Irina Mironova was put in an exclusive rotation on MTV Russia ^[24] . A video clip containing erotic scenes was released in full version only on the single. Zemfira said: “In my opinion, this is a clip with light erotic scenes that should be associated with what we all do, it all depends on who and how often. I accepted the clip from the first viewing. But, most likely, only viewers of music channels and owners of a multimedia disc will see the full version of the clip. Viewers of the central channels, such as ORT, NTV, RTR, will be able to watch only stripped-down material. It turns out that there is a committee that watches video clips and imposes its resolutions on such works ” ^[19] . Also in support of the album were released singles "Infinity" and "Macho", which were also filmed music videos. The video for “Infinity” was shot by the Latvian director Viktor Vilks, and the song “Macho” was shot by Alexei Tishkin ^{[25] [26]} .

Before the release of the album, he was pre-listened to at the Beefeater Republic club in Moscow ( March 18, 2002 ), arranged for music critics and journalists. Zemfira herself was not at the audition, as she rehearsed before the presentation of the album. Alyona Mikhailova, CEO of Real Records , which released the album, said that unprecedented measures were taken to protect an unreleased record: the master disk was transported around Moscow accompanied by guards. The record was protected, first of all, from music pirates . “We sold the previous album on cassettes to“ pirate regions ”at low prices. Now we categorically refuse such a practice, although it could be more profitable for us. However, if we do not turn the tide with the pirates, the record industry may end at all, ”said Alena Mikhailova ^[27] . Intermedia noted that “the battle for Zemfira, hidden from prying eyes, began even at the stage of recording the album” ^[28] .

On April 1, the album was released and its concert-presentation in the Moscow club "B-2" ^[29] . On the day of the release, a special program “14 Friends of Silence” was also prepared on the radio station “ Maximum ”, where Zemfira talked about the people who took part in the creation of the album. Also, songs from the album ^[30] sounded on the radio station all day. On the same day, the Real Economic Development Department passed a check in the Real Records warehouse. This action was associated with the fact that the pirates failed to get the master disk of the album. “When it became clear that the number didn’t go through, they connected the security forces with a search on the Monolith company’s warehouses on the day of the release. It is quite obvious that the attempt to disrupt the release date, and at the same time to get the original for replication, speaks of the enormous influence of shadow companies, ”wrote in Intermedia ^[28] . An action against pirates was also timed to coincide with the release of the album. The singer’s label and the National Federation of Phonogram Producers sent a letter to then-President Putin asking them to protect the artist from musical piracy ^[29] . Zemfira herself at a press conference during the presentation of the album stated that she considers such actions useless:

I will act in this case as an outside observer, and not as an author-performer. I think that pirates existed, exist and will exist for some time. This is a completely state problem, it seems to me, no matter what the performer is, and what he is singing about. Well, of course, I don’t like pirates, because these are the enemies of musicians and, first of all, record companies. I do not think that this action will help somehow in the fight against pirates ^[29] .

- Zemfira

In July 2002, Zemfira performed at Megahouse ^[31] . In August, the singer spoke in support of the album at the festival " Invasion ", where she was announced as a headliner. Varvara Turova in Nezavisimaya Gazeta wrote that “her performance exceeded the expectations of even the most devoted fans. She sang like the last time. She improvised, covered the cameras with her hand, smoked, was completely free. She, as always, did what she wanted ” ^[32] . In April 2003, the artist performed at the Fuzz Magazine music awards ceremony, where she received two awards - in the nominations for “Best Live Band” and “Best Video” (for the video for the song “Infinity”). At the ceremony, Zemfira performed three songs, including “London” and the previously unpublished “You Sell My Love” ^[33] . In an interview with Zvukam.ru , Zemfira said: “I have long promised to come to this festival, but I don’t really like to come just to go on stage. It was, in my opinion, at the very beginning of my career, only a couple of times, and all subsequent cases I decided to at least do something. And today's performance is the result of the fact that we made two songs, gathered at home in Moscow, rehearsed something. I mean, it turns out one old song and two new ones, but this is the maximum that we managed in a week or two ” ^[34] .

Zemfira called the record “not nervous” and “full of dignity” ^[35] . While most critics noted that the sound of the album had changed, Aleksey Krizhevsky from VestiRu spoke more broadly: “It is difficult to say where the reason is and where the effect is, but Zemfira’s former miraculous aroma was almost gone in 14 weeks of silence. There was a change not only in composition, but also in sound, ideology, social addressing, energy - everything. It was possible, in the spirit of voluntary propagandists, to ring out with might and main about another riddle, but no, rather we are dealing with the normal process of growing up ” ^[8] . In an interview with Zemfira magazine Fuzz journalist Alexander Dolgov made the assumption that “the feminine beginning is clearly manifested in the album”, with which Zemfira agreed, saying: “So, the time has come! I find it difficult to talk with men about women, because these are some other inner sensations that I, no matter how I try, will not explain to you. Just like you men probably go to the bathhouse ” ^[16] .

Zemfira noted that the album does not have a single concept, but, according to her feelings, the album is a single work because of the way the album was arranged in sequence. “Each song is simply made to suit you. If it doesn’t suit you, you throw it away. So we threw out two songs, not bad, however. Which, by the way, probably corresponded to this terrible word ... In relation to my songs everyone uses the terrible word - “anguish”. I don’t understand what it means, ”said the artist ^[7] .

The song "Webgirl" touched on topics of online communication. Zemfira said that the composition is based on her personal experience:

I am constantly on the web. Ох, очень тяжело разговаривать про песни, расшифровывая слова, — у них и так слова. А нужно, оказывается, ещё и расшифровывать. Песню эту я написала, как раз когда закончился последний тур, я ушла в отпуск и какое-то время провела в Интернете, не выходя на улицу. Так получилось, что за последние два года я видела людей больше, чем за предыдущие двадцать три — представляете? Мне надо было немножко отдохнуть. И вот, собственно, очень много времени я проводила в Интернете и написала эту песню ^[7] .

— Земфира

В интервью на радиостанции Би-би-си певица сказала, что считает компьютеры — главным изобретением XX века. Также она добавила, что у неё самой случались романы в интернете: «У меня было несколько романов в интернете. А что, у кого-то не было? Но романы все эти — краткосрочные. Месяца по два. Сначала развитие, а потом всё уходит на нет. Это азартно же очень. Но главное — не знать кто это и не видеть фотографию, потому что тогда пропадает весь резон» ^[36] .

Zemfira said that she spent a lot of time making the sound of the album perfect ^[7] . Aleksey Krizhevsky from the VestiRu Internet newspaper noted: “The professionalism of the sound on the disc has been reduced to the filigree, precise sharpening and staging of each sound, which is combined with restrained (or restrained) energy. Yes, Zemfira still swings firmly wherever there is an even rhythm, and can allow herself to be mischievous in the spirit of the first album on the song “Sage”, but tearing off her shirt does not stretch her arms - they hold an expensive microphone ” ^[8] . In general, the album is made in the genre of rock music with a predominance of guitar sound. However, Alexander Neverov from the Itogi magazine noted that the record also contained the trip-hop popular at that time, as well as jazz and blues , which were only "very conditional" ^[5] . Tikhon Romanov in the Weekly Magazine wrote that the album turned out to be calm and even in musical terms. “If two years ago Zemfirin anguish reminded of the performer of alternative rock PJ Harvey , then in the current melancholic intonation you can hear something from the tender lyrics of Susanne Vega . In addition, similar arrangements here and there ... And there is not only quiet sadness, but also a depressive grunge in the spirit of Nirvana , and passages under Deep Purple , and links to the Rolling Stones and Depeche Mode, ”the journalist calculated ^[37] .

Regarding the lyrics, Olga Gaidukova wrote on “Sounds.ru” that the album contains “the same uneven versification - touching poetic revelations are combined with“ passage ”lines, the salt of which is probably obvious only to Zemfira herself.” The journalist noted that such lines as “Dream paranoia-long” and “let's be friends on the lips” are “sure to be pulled into quotes,” as well as the fact that many songs have textual continuity to the singer’s early compositions. “...“ P “is perceived as a kind of reminiscence“ I was looking for ”,“ Webgirl ”-“ Unshared ”, and“ Sage ”-“ Chamomile ”,” the author wrote ^[12] . Alexander Neverov also noted that the songs have preserved “a lot of“ daisies “”, which appear in rhymes “like“ poison-look ”and in the infinite“ you, me and you and I ”. Nevertheless, the journalist noted: “True, in some places“ you “turn into Icarus , and“ me “- into a UFO . And immediately it becomes interesting ” ^[5] . Tikhon Romanov wrote that Zemfira is “a master at composing biting phrases that do not need to be interpreted.” In the new album, they are found in almost every song: “Time kills me, I kill time” (“Song”), “I will be forever with you, your deadly poison, your last look” (“P”), “I hear: I to fly above all, to fall harder, but what kind of sensations “(“ Sensation “)”. Nevertheless, the journalist emphasized the fact that these phrases, although “are embedded in the memory,” but they are not always “original and sincere” ^[37] .

The first composition of the album “Paranoia” is distinguished by a “British” sound and sounds melodic ^[38] . Maxim Kononenko noted that the song is built on the line “a dream paranoia-long”, while he remarked: “The rhyme, of course, is beautiful - but it doesn’t clarify the meaning.” The journalist also noted that the song is light and “pretty” in mood ^[39] . The song "Traffic" was named characteristic of the album as a whole ^[38] . Alexander Murzak at Zvukah.ru noted that “eerie symphonism” and a quote from Led Zeppelin appear in the composition ^[12] . Kononenko noted that the completion of the song strongly resembles the ending of the "fatalistic" song "I dream of ashes" of the group " Aquarium " ^[39] .

“Infinity” (indicated in the booklet of the album as “ ∞ ”; it was also called in English “Infinity” ^[39] ) - a pop-rock composition with a predominance of guitar sound. The song was called too complicated for pop music, including because of the line “just by chance I guessed the infinity sign” ^[39] . Alexander Murzak wrote about the composition: “One of the most touching and sentimental Zemfirin songs, he takes for a living and does not let go for a long time” ^[12] . Alexey Munipov in Izvestia noted the “marvelous melodic move” in the composition ^[40] . The song is recorded in a measure of time in 2/4, in the key in E minor . In the first couplet and chorus, the chords are played by bust. In the second couplet, “the guitar strings are not pressed to the end, so the sound is somewhat similar to the violin pizzicato”, which resembles the sound of the clock ^[41] . The work “Macho” begins with the “lonely” sounding piano and the phrase “Call, I will wait.” Maxim Kononenko noted the similarity of sound with the works of Phil Collins and added that this is “generally the highest quality music ever released by Russian musicians” ^[39] . The poems were described as standard Russian pop lyrics, reminiscent of the works of Alla Pugacheva ^[38] .

The song "Tales" reminded critics of the mood and sound of the song "Traffic" ^[38] . So, Kononeko noted that the arrangement is very similar to the indicated song, and the text resembles a “nightmare”, with the line “My beloved fairy tales do not read - no need, and I stomp on the roof” ^[39] . Under the sixth number is the song "Song", called the "ultra-grainy lull" ^[38] . The song "R" (Zemfira said in an interview that it reads like a Russian "er" ^[7] ) is also a slow composition, but with a heavier sound ^[38] . Maxim Kononenko wrote that “the recipe for making a laughing potion has been encrypted in this song, replacing what has been called the letter“ E ”(extasy) throughout the world for decades. The recipe is encrypted in the form of an acrostic. If you put together the first letters of the lines of the text of this song, you will get explicit instructions for action ” ^[39] .

The song "Main" begins with the sound of a rumble and with the sounds of a music box. The song differs from the previous ones at a faster pace. The composition includes ironic phrases, for example, “you will learn about me from newspapers, mind you - they cheat”, and the refrain melodically refers to the music of the eighties ^{[38] [39]} . The song “Who?” Recalls the earlier works of Zemfira. Alexey Munipov called the song “unexpectedly peppy” ^[40] . Konstantin Bakanov in mNews.ru also wrote that the song resembles Zero and Scale Sensors from the album “Forgive Me My Love” ^[38] . “The song most reminiscent of the Zemfira that we know. The difference is one, but fundamental - supermusic again softens everything and turns the crystal clear surroundings of Zemfirin’s voice of past albums into a dense English sound that has nowhere to go for many years, ”wrote Maxim Kononenko about the song ^[39] . Katya Karinina designated the song as “very frank”, “in a good way aggressive”, but “completely adult” record ^[12] .

“Webgirl” is a pop-rock lyric ballad with guitar accompaniment ^[42] . Kononenko described it as an anthem of the IP generation with magnificent images: “fingers trying to guess” and “keys that store heat”. The critic also noted that no one had ever sung about the Internet, and at the end of the composition, the sound of a dialing modem is heard ^[39] . In the song "Sage" there are echoes of an earlier, more "nervous" performance of Zemfira. In the composition, “the rhythm changes from slow to fast-heavy and vice versa” ^[38] . “Feelings” were called “transparent jazz number” with “a very vital saying, suiting literally everything”: “But what a feeling! To me, to fly, to fly above all, to fall more painfully, but then ... ” ^[40] . In “Komsomolskaya Pravda” they wrote that the composition was unusual for the singer and Zemfira appeared in her as the “Russian Shade ”, and “the melodic jazz-like entry immediately takes you to a cozy bar with subdued light and slightly audible music” ^[42] . In the bonus track “Dream”, which is built on “Zemfirin chords”, independent electronic bass appears ^[40] . The composition also has a saxophone part recorded by Vlad Kolchin, a former fellow student of Zemfira at the Ufa College of Arts ^[43] .

Yuri Saprykin from the Afisha magazine positively described the album. In his opinion, the album rests on two things: the perfect sound and, as the critic put it, "on self-esteem." “This is a record recorded by a smart and strong woman, and it can be heard even in the way her voice sounds. The voice has become cleaner and more confident, and it seems that by the very fact of his sound, he gives you the same confidence and - as mentioned above - dignity. I don’t understand how much the country will find this interesting, but even if not, this album is already a fact of art, a fact that has taken place, ”the author wrote, eventually ranking the album as a classic ^[10] . Dmitry Shpakovich in “Music.com.ua” gave the album the highest score (10 out of 10 possible). “Of course, there is a risk that with this [album] Zemfira will push away a significant part of“ girls with a player ”, that is, middle school students who idolize the first albums of the singer. Well, let. But I am more than sure that now those who previously categorically did not perceive it will pay attention to Zemfira's work. After all, the album’s potential is very high, ”the journalist noted, and at the same time came to the conclusion that:“ The silence, which lasted as long as 14 weeks, was finally broken and turned into a whole piece of great music ” ^[9] . Sonya Sokolova described the album as “very smooth, very beautiful,” but noted that there wasn’t enough drive in it: “... what was supposed to grow with each new album went into the sand. After last year's “Scale Sensors” was expected not a chill-out, but a highway ” ^[12] .

Alexey Mazhaev from Intermedia.ru gave a negative assessment of the album. In his opinion, I do not want to listen to the record again, and it sounds like a verdict. “Zemfira's new record once again proved its high potential, which, alas, was spent mainly on attempts to prove that she was a serious musician. The sound-verified recording as a result turns into a nuisance, the singer’s slinky hints in most songs are resolutely rejected, and the motives turn to the side of complication. There is great doubt that the audience was waiting (for a long time) from Zemfira for this. The texts, on the contrary, have been simplified to indecent, ”the reviewer stated ^[11] . Alexey Krizhevsky in “Sounds.ru” also reacted negatively to the album. “Speaking about the album itself, it is hardly interesting: a trembling in the body, for which, in my opinion, everything is done in music, runs only a couple of times per album. You listen to everything else as a background, ”said the journalist ^[12] .

Dasha Buravchikova in " Arguments and Facts " gave a mixed assessment of the album. In her opinion, ““ Fourteen weeks of silence ”amazes with the sound quality - this is a plus, and the absence of what we call the soul in the old way is a minus. The only more or less catchy song - a song promoted long before the album was released for sale under the sign of infinity. Everything else is difficult to listen to, like one long song, skillfully written on an expensive computer, but without meaning and content ” ^[46] . Olga Gaidukova positively described the record: “The creative pregnancy of rock girl # 1, 14 weeks long, strangely enough, brought a healthy baby, looking like the eldest, only with universal longing in her eyes. The album traditionally has at least three or four absolute hits, a couple of boring songs, a couple of Confessions ” ^[12] .

Alexey Munipov in Izvestia positively described the album. In his opinion, the album was no better than previous records, but it really is completely different in sound. The author also noted that the album needs to be perceived differently than Zemfira’s early records: “You need to listen carefully, stretch yourself, knead, grind: some songs, having felt the listener's effort, really open in the palms, like flowers. Beautiful stops await you along the way. ” In conclusion, the journalist came to the conclusion that: “Not for the sound, not even for a new, strong, timely word (although it is abundant here), but for these“ feelings ”of a twenty-six-year-old Ufa girl - they are still peculiar, unique, valuable - worth buying “14 weeks of silence” ” ^[40] . Yuri Yarotsky in the newspaper Kommersant gave an ambiguous assessment of the album. In his opinion, “the record certainly deserves epithets like“ adult ”,“ complex ”,“ ambiguous ”. Also - "brilliantly recorded." But by no means is it "hit". " According to the author, Zemfira appeared on the album as a completely different artist, and the work turned out to be too complicated for pop music ^[47] .

Yulia Sankovich in Novaya Gazeta wrote that Zemfira has become "slower, more feminine and simpler." According to the author, the album reflected the other side of the singer’s nature, and, as the journalist noted: “Mom has already been proven, now she is exploring herself. Less “Mumiy Troll” - more philosophy ” ^[48] . Vitaly Brodzky and Olga Saprykina in “ Komsomolskaya Pravda ” positively described the record. Journalists did not agree with the opinion of other reviewers, who called the album "boring." “... here she is, the new Zemfira. And not at all boring, as some journalists managed to gloat. And not at all so unexpected. In every song she is heard, all the same Zemfira. Somewhere aggressive (“P”), somewhere lyrical (“Web”), somewhere philosophical (“Feelings”), ”the publication noted ^[42] .

In 2010, Alexei Mazhaev, reviewing the reissue of the first three studio albums of the singer, gave a more positive assessment of the record (four points out of five). The reviewer noted that Zemfira’s desire to create what the public does not expect from her is felt in the work. Alexey wrote that despite the fact that the album is worse than the previous two, “but even in such non-conformist passion, the artist managed to produce at least two songs“ for centuries ”:“ Main ”and“ Webgirl ”. And among the rest of the tracks over the years, you can hear a lot of interesting things ... ” ^[45] .

Even before the official release, Real Records label announced that the album showed record sales for Russia and that the record is a landmark for the Russian recording industry. According to Alena Mikhailova, according to requests from wholesale stores, the album exceeded the circulation of Zemfira's previous album, “Forgive me, my love,” which was recognized as the best-selling album at the 2001 Record Prize. “The circulations for which we received the“ Record ”award for“ Brother-2 ”and Zemfira’s previous album have already been blocked by the number of preliminary applications,” Mikhailova stated ^[27] .

Two days after the release, 200 thousand audio discs and 300 thousand audio cassettes of the album were shipped to stores ^[28] . According to Alena Mikhailova, 180 thousand copies of the album’s audio discs were sold out on the first day of sales alone, which was a record level at that time ^[29] . In the first week after the release, the disc took first place in the Intermedia agency’s domestic record sales chart, but in the second week it dropped to second place, losing the first album “ Lube ” “ Come on ... ” ^[49] . On May 6–12, the disc took third place on the chart of the national repertoire chart ^[50] . By July 2002, the Russian circulation of the album exceeded one million copies. According to Real Records, 700 thousand tapes and 300 thousand CDs were sold. In addition, 150 thousand discs and 300 thousand cassettes were sold in Ukraine ^[13] .

“Fourteen weeks of silence” was nominated for the 2003 “Record” award in the “Album of the Year” nomination ^[51] . As a result, the album lost to the Lube group disc ^[52] . According to West Records, the distributor of the album in Belarus, in this country the disc became the second by sales in 2002 and the first among Russian releases ^[2] .

“Fourteen Weeks of Silence” was released on both the CD and the cassette . The album includes twelve main tracks and one bonus track. Part of the circulation of the record was released without a barcode, and part with the logo of Our Radio ^[43] . Later, a special edition of the album with an expanded booklet was released ^[53] .

The album cover was designed by Vadim Dubtsov. Zemfira said that it took about three months to complete the design ^[54] and it was done in a conceptual style: “On the cover is like spilled colored mercury, drops of which can be collected throughout the text insert. There is not a single photograph of Zemfira or her musicians ” ^[42] . One of the cover options was made in brown tones, as a result of which the drops of varnish depicted on it looked like Coca-Cola:

I don’t even know how to explain some abstract things. Well, here at the level of sensations, it seems to me that you do not even need to try to explain. My nephews asked me the same question several times. I ask: “Why are you repeating yourself? Неужели вы не помните, что спрашивали об этом месяц назад?» Они мне задают следующий вопрос: «Это „Кока-Кола“?» Им, наверное, хочется, чтоб это была «Кока-Кола»… Но это не «Кока-Кола», всё что я скажу. Можно иначе посмотреть на это. Примерно так, по-моему, может выглядеть тишина. Хотя, может быть, и нет ^[16] .

— Земфира

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Ответственные за выпуск

• Земфира Рамазанова — вокал , музыка , лирика , клавиши , продюсирование , концепция
• Сергей Миролюбов — клавиши, перкуссия , программинг , сведение , продюсирование (дорожки 4—8, 13)
• Андрей Самсонов — клавиши, запись, программинг, сведение, продюсирование (дорожки 1—3, 9—12)

Musicians

• Игорь Джавад-Заде — барабаны (дорожки 4—8)
• Олег Пунгин — барабаны, перкуссия (дорожки 1—3, 9—12), клавиши (дорожка 10)
• Юрий Цалер — гитары , бас-гитары , клавиши (дорожки 1—3, 9—13)
• Александр Бадажков — гитары (дорожки 4—8)
• Владимир Сёмин (Родриго) — бас-гитары (дорожки 4, 6, 13)
• Ринат Насыров — бас-гитары (дорожки 5, 7, 8)
• Олег Белов — клавиши (дорожки 2, 9, 12, 13)
• Кирилл Ипатов — перкуссия (дорожка 13)
• Влад Колчин — саксофон (дорожка 13)

Мастеринг

• Ray Staff — инженер звукозаписи (Sony Music Studios)

Record

• Борис Истомин — инженер звукозаписи (дорожки 1—3, 9, 12, 13)
• Николай Орса — инженер звукозаписи (дорожки 4—8)
• Владимир Осинский — режиссёр звукозаписи (дорожки 4—8), сведение (дорожка 13)
• Владимир Овчинников — режиссёр звукозаписи (дорожки 10, 11, 13)

Сведение (Sphere Studios)

• Malcolm Atkin — директор по администрированию
• Patti Nolden — администратор
• Ben Georgiades — главный инженер (дорожки 1, 3—9, 12)
• Benedict Fenner — инженер (дорожки 2, 10, 11)
• Dean James — ассистент инженера
• Francesco Cameli — ассистент инженера
• Nick Friend — ассистент инженера
• Lynsey Coles — ассистент администратора

Record

• Петербургская студия грамзаписи (дорожки 1, 2, 3, 9, 12, bonus)
• Тон-студия «Мосфильм» (дорожки 10, 11)
• Студия «Кладбище подземных журавлей» (дорожки 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, bonus)
• Радиостанция «Европа плюс Уфа» — голос (bonus)
• Сведение — Sphere Studios
• Мастеринг — Sony Music Studios

• Альбом «Четырнадцать недель тишины» (скачивание) на официальном сайте Земфиры
• Владимир Полупанов. «Критические дни Земфиры» (неопр.) (недоступная ссылка) . Rol.ru (10.07.2002). Дата обращения 31 августа 2011. Архивировано 1 августа 2008 года.
• «14 недель тишины» (неопр.) . Бел.ru (15.05.2002). Дата обращения 2 сентября 2011. Архивировано 28 января 2012 года.
• Виталий Бродзкий, Ольга Сапрыкина. «Земфира: Первую песню я написала, чтобы заработать на мороженое» (неопр.) (недоступная ссылка) . « Комсомольская правда » (16.08.2002). Дата обращения 13 сентября 2011. Архивировано 26 мая 2008 года.
• Vladimir Polunanov. Zemfira rested // " Arguments and Facts ". - 2002. - No. 47 (1100) .
• Julia Alexandrova. Traffic has gone // " Evening Moscow ". - 2001. - No. 215 (23286) .