The Solstice (Civil Defense album)

The albums “Solstice” and “The Unbearable Lightness of Being ” were a tribute to the “red” political passions of Yegor Letov . After the events of October 1993, Letov planned a double album, which would include members of the Instructions for Survival , DK , and Black Lukich . However, the recording did not take place. As a result, the idea grew into a record of Civil Defense material ^[2] . Unlike Letov’s previous album, “ One Hundred Years of Solitude ”, the albums created a “ wall of sound ”, consisting of many guitars and voices. Since Letov fundamentally recorded the album at home, during the recording he had conflicts with his neighbors, according to him the most difficult for all his musical activity:

The most hardships fell on the album "Solstice" - the neighbors hit the battery and this was taken by the microphone, the situation was saved by Makhno, who managed to temporarily charm the neighbors, which Kuzma and I were categorically incapable of. ^[3]

The recording was carried out on an Olympus tape recorder and the result was digitized , as a result of the album’s mixing, Letov was not satisfied:

We did not have time to readjust to digital sound and were somewhat helpless ... Albums are very poorly compiled. Recorded very well, but poorly compiled. At that time, we did not have experience with multichannel digital technology, which we first had. As a result, half of the recorded instruments are simply inaudible; from the other half, the porridge mysteriously sticks out, something is blatantly lacking ... ^[4]

Usually albums are reviewed together. The albums were warmly received by critics who hold leftist views:

And if we really want to attract young people to ours, then people like Letov should determine the face of the opposition - not in the sense of sitting on the presidiums, but in the fact that the songs “Sing the revolution!”, “Solstice”, “Victory”, “ Homeland "," New Day "should be heard at our rallies along with" Get up, the country is huge! ". They were created specifically in order to raise a stadium or a rally of one hundred thousand in a single rush - it is no accident that the inscription “Listen loudly!” Is on both cassettes. ^[five]

The albums were called both the best in the history of the group ^[6] , and “intermediate condensate” and “none” ^[7] .

The words and music of all the songs of Yegor Letov, except for No. 6 (Vadim Kuzmin), No. 11 (Yegor Letov / Kuzya UO).

Recorded in the coffin studio in May-October 1995.
Collected in the same place by Egor, Nyurych and Makhno, January 1997.

• Egor Letov : voices, guitars, drums, bass, harmonica, percussion
• Anna Volkova: voices, electric violin, harmonica, percussion
• Eugene Makhno : guitar
• Kuzma Ryabinov : electric organ, guitars, bass, harmonica, drama, vibraphone, percussion
• Igor Zhevtun : guitar, bass.

Producer: Egor Letov
Technical part: Anna Volkova and Ryabinov.
Design: Egor, Nyrych and Makhno
Artist: A. Fefelov.
Photo: Anna Volkova.

• Album " Solstice " on the band's official website
• History of creation: an interview with Yegor Letov