Akado ( jap. 赤道 acado: red way; bloody way) is a Russian rock band that positions its style as “intelligent visual rock”. This style is an eclectic mix of glam and j-rock visual traditions, and also contains visual kei elements with an emphasis on androgyny . In terms of sound, the group has united a lot of musical directions [1] : industrial , gothic metal and dark ambient . The group was formed in 2002.
| AKADO | |
|---|---|
| Genres | Alternative metal Industrial métal Electronic rock Gothic metal |
| Years | 2002 - our days |
| A country |  Russia |
| City | St. Petersburg / Moscow |
| Language of songs | Russian , Japanese , English |
| official site | |
Particular attention is paid to the appearance of the participants:
 | - Our main principle is to make the group interesting not only to listen, but also to see - which explains the style with which we characterize - visual rock |  |
Group composition
Nikita Shatanev (Shein) - vocals, poems, music, guitar, images, design of clothes and costumes. The original idea, concept, direction and global artistic production of the group.
Other band members took turns in the following order:
2016:
- MioMi - bass , music .
- Rate - Guitar
- Keí - electronics , samples , programming , keys
- Gins - drums
year 2013:
- MioMi - bass , music .
- Rate - Guitar
- Keí - electronics , samples , programming , keys
- Ghost - drums .
2010:
- MioMi - bass , music .
- Kelly - guitar .
- Ghost - drums .
2008:
- STiNGeR - electronics , samples , programming , keys , background vocals .
- MioMi - bass , music .
- Kelly - guitar .
- Ghost - drums .
2007:
- STiNGeR - electronics , samples , keys , background vocals .
- Lackryx - bass guitar .
- Green - shock .
- Winter - guitar .
2006:
- Chaotic - backing vocals .
- STiNGeR - electronics , samples , keys .
- Lackryx - bass guitar
- Green - shock .
2002:
- Chaotic - backing vocals .
- Lackryx - bass guitar .
- Green - shock .
Group History
Early years: 2001–2003
The very first group, which, even during school years, was brought together by Nikita Shatenev, was called “Blockade” . In 2001, in the village of Sovetsky , not far from Vyborg , four classmates gathered a group. These were: Nikita “Shatenew” Shatenev (vocals, guitar), Igor “Lackryx” Likarenko (bass guitar, recitative), Alexander Grechushkin (guitar), Gregory “Green” Arkhipov (drums).
In 2002, the team recorded and released a small circulation (500 discs) demo album "Silent Genealogical Self-expression" , consisting of 13 tracks. The circulation was soon sold out, and the group began to be invited to various events, resulting in a performance on several open-airs and club concerts, including in Finland, in Tampere .
Birth of AKADO: 2003–2007
In early 2003, Shatenev, Likarenko and Arkhipov moved to St. Petersburg . After the move, it was decided to change the name of the group, since it was initially chosen randomly and did not correspond to the conscious and desired concept of the group. However, the participants did not want to completely change it: the logo of the group, loved by both the public and the musicians themselves, consisted of the letters of its name. Shatenev singled out from the old name “Blockade” the most pleasant, in his opinion, consonance - “Akado” . Japanese hieroglyphs “red” ( jap. 赤 aka , “red”) and “path” ( jap. 道 miti or to:, “road”, “method”) are assigned to it. The name AKADO, thus, means “the red way”, the members of the group put into it the meaning “the bloody way”. In Japanese, however, this combination of hieroglyphs has a different reading and meaning: ( jap. 赤道 sekido:, equator) [2] . Therefore, the group leaves the opportunity for everyone to interpret the word AKADO for themselves, based on this set of meanings and personal preferences.
Soon, in the first year of university, Nikita Shatenev met Anatoly “STiNGeR” Rubtsov, who sorted out a large number of computer and multimedia disciplines, as well as engaged in electronic music. Communication with him subsequently led to the decision to make Anatoly the director of the group. At the same time, Shatenev invited his fellow student Nikolay “Chaotic” Zagoruiko to the group for the role of second vocalist. So in the group first appeared overloaded vocals ( growling ).
Shatenev determined the direction of the group “visual rock” and tailored his first costume to order, according to his own sketches. The remaining members of the group abandoned the visual component in their images. Meanwhile, at the Petersburg studio “DDT” AKADO they recorded their first demo - “animism” . The album did not go on sale due to a computer crash on which the material was recorded and stored. At the same time, the official website www.akado-site.com was registered, and Shatenev and Rubtsov created its first version.
Over time, realizing the success of the image of Shatenev, the group agreed to a visual component and he developed images and costumes for all other participants. At the same time, the band recorded and posted on the Internet a demo track called “Ostnofobiya” .
In 2005, for a short period of time a keyboard player appeared in the group, DJ Katrin, with whom several concerts were played, after which their paths with the AKADO group diverged. Subsequently, DJ Katrin wrote several remixes for the band's songs.
In 2006, it was decided to take the director into the official composition of the group as an electronic engineer and sampler, and he also recorded sounds and elements for the band’s music as director. In the renewed line-up, the group gave a number of concerts, including the first concert of the AKADO group in Moscow, in the now-defunct R-Club .
In the same period of time, the group, while in St. Petersburg, began work on a promo EP-album “Kuroi Aida” . The recording took place at the St. Petersburg studio "Egorov". During the recording of the material, the band left the Chaotic vocalist, who decided to finish playing music and return to his hometown of Novosibirsk .
Popularity: 2007–2008
In 2007, the group completed work on Kuroi Aida. The mini-album includes the songs “Gilles De La Tourette”, “Bo (or) Ha”, “Kuroi Aida”, as well as remixes of the last two tracks. A remix was also included that combined parts of all three songs - “Oxymoron”. The album was posted on the Internet for free download, as the team members understood that at this stage of fame, few people would be interested in their work, and the disc would be posted on the Internet in poor quality. The album was downloaded from the official site about 30,000 times. In the same year, the group moved to Moscow.
Shatenev took over the overloaded vocals in addition to the clean, and therefore decided not to play the guitar during live performances. So a new member appeared in the group - guitarist Alexander “Vinter” Lagutin. Also part of the overloaded vocal was entrusted to Rubtsov (“STiNGeR”). Anna Shafranskaya took the role of director of the group, immediately organizing several performances for AKADO at Moscow venues.
The team made their first video (for the song “Bo (eh) ha” ) and performed in several cities of the CIS. The group participated in many photo shoots, articles about it were published in many magazines about music and underground culture. But, despite all this, in a group of constantly tense relationship. Most of the group did not share the views of Nikita Shatenev on the further strategy of its development, and as a result, at the beginning of the recording of the debut album, the bass guitarist Lackryx, the drummer Green and the guitarist Vinter left the AKADO lineup, resulting in only two members left in the band: Shatenew and STiNGeR.
Update Composition: 2008–2010
For five months the group actually did not exist, after which Shatenev signed an agreement on linear production with Diagilev Production , reserving the right to artistic and musical production AKADO. After a long search in 2008, they claim the new members of the group: bass guitarist Artem Kozlov, who received the nickname “Miomi” in the group, and drummer Basil “Ghost” Gorshkov. A little later, guitarist Dmitry "Kelly" Yugai was accepted into the official composition of the group.
The best of the old material was selected by Shatenev and the group began to actively rehearse again, pereranzhirovav some of the old songs, and work on new material. As a result, on March 23, 2008, a new line-up, a concert program and images of AKADO were presented at the Moscow concert in the B2 club.
In the same period of time, having signed an agreement with the recording studio “Uniphonix”, the band started recording their new EP “Oxymoron No. 2” , which included the title track “Oxymoron No. 2”, the music for which was written by Miomi, and the thriller “Dirty Easter ". In addition to these songs, there were several remixes on the disc, including an acoustic version of the song “Oxymoron No. 2”, as well as a remix of this song by the British DJ In'r 'Voice, made at the Spiral Starship studio in London. The disc was published in the first small circulation of 1000 copies and was completely sold out within a month.
The debut video for the song “Oxymoron No. 2” was also filmed. The St. Petersburg company Project Helix was involved in the filming, and Yevgeny Priest was the director. The video was presented at specially organized events in St. Petersburg and Moscow and was in the rotation of music channels. After that, the group, having enlisted the support of the concert agency “SYN Promotion”, went on the “Join The Oxymoron Tour 2008-2009” tour, which consisted of three parts and covered more than 30 cities in Russia and the near abroad.
In early 2009, AKADO began cooperation with three companies at once: the Danish manufacturer of musical equipment TC Electronic, the Russian manufacturer of guitar tube amplifiers R'n'R Sound and the American brand of youth clothing Iron Fist. In honor of this, in April, the group went to the "Iron Fist Tour 2009". At the same time, the company R'n'R Sound released a subscription model of the guitar tube preamp AKADO - Kelly R'n'R Signature Model, specially designed taking into account all the wishes of the guitarist AKADO, Kelly. Upon returning from the tour, the team settled for a long time in the studio to record their debut conceptual album, which is still under development for May 2011. The working title of the album is “AKADO - Convergence | XX XII ".
Recent Developments: 2010— ...
In March 2010, after long discussions, by mutual agreement, the team was left by Anatoly “Stinger” Rubtsov, who had been an electronics engineer in AKADO since 2006. The band members remained on good terms with their former stage colleague. At the beginning of 2011, the group was busy searching for a new electronics engineer.
Group Facts
- The group was nominated for the 2008 RAMP Award in the following nominations: “Discovery of the Year”, “Clip of the Year”, and “Hit of the Year” and became the finalist of the Prize in the “Discovery of the Year” nomination. [3]
- Nikita Shatenev, the soloist of the group, according to the results of the vote “Names of Russia - Historical Choice 2009” entered the top 20 personalities and, in the “Russian rock and alternative” section of this competition, took the third place. At the moment, he is participating in the ongoing voting “Names of Russia - Historical Choice 2010”, a project that is an alternative vote to “Name of Russia”, and differs from it in that all applicants on the list are nominated by voters and not predetermined by the organizers. [four]
- The song “Kuroi Aida” from the EP of the same name became the soundtrack for the TV series “Daddy's Daughters” ( CTC channel ), indicating in the credits.
- In 2009, AKADO Group became the official Russian representative and leader of the American brand of youth clothing Iron Fist . In the same year, the band's bass player, Miomi, was chosen as one of 24 bass guitarists from around the world [5] to test the new RH450 bass amplifier from TC Electronic , Denmark .
- The group was nominated for the Moscow Alternative Music Awards 2009 (MAMA) in the following nominations: “Discovery of the Year” and “Clip of the Year” [6]
- In 2010, the group signed a contract with representatives of the American brand INOX and is now the official company in Russia. [7]
- The group's logo includes two Japanese characters: “orangutan” ( jap. 猩 sho:, also means “bright red”) and “wrong side” ( jap. 裏 ri or hurray ) . In the clip "Oxymoron 2" the name of the track pops up a translation of the name of the song, written in a vertical letter : 矛盾 語法( Jap. mudzyungoho:) .
Discography
2004 - Demo:
- OSTNOFOBIA.
2007 - Kuroi AIDA (EP):
- 01 - Gilles de la Tourette
- 02 - BO (L) GA
- 03 - Kuroi AIDA
- 04 - AIDA (DJ_Katrin Laws of Germany Mix)
- 05 - Gods Pain (Max Troid Fitere Remix)
- 06 - Oxymoron
- 07 - Voice training (bonus)
- 02 - BO (L) GA
2008 - Oxymoron No. 2 (EP):
- 01 - 001
- 02 - Oxymoron # 2
- 03 - Dirty Easter
- 04 - Oxymoron No. 2 (Karaoke Version)
- 05 - Dirty Easter (Instrumental Version)
- 06 - Oxymoron No. 2 [Acoustic Mix]
- 07 - Thought Overload [BF Mix]
- 08 - Threeplex In'r 'Voice [EBM Remix]
- 02 - Oxymoron # 2
2013 - Osnophobia (Single):
- 01 - Osnophobia (Single Version)
- 02 - Osnophobia (Instrumental Version)
- 03 - Osnophobia (Electronics)
- 04 - Osnophobia (Acapella)
- 02 - Osnophobia (Instrumental Version)
2016 - DARKSIDE (EP)
- 01 - Dark Side
Unpublished:
- 01 - Kuroi AIDA (remix),
- 02 - {The First Lady} -mix Oximoron № 2.
2018 - AURA (Single)
01 - AURA,
02 - AURA (instrumental)
Clips
- BO (L) HA - Home video
- Debut Clip - Oxymoron # 2
- DARKSIDE (New Clip from 2016 and in the updated line-up)
Background to the Oxymoron # 2 Clip
Shatenev:
| For six years, the guys and I were dragging on ourselves and not letting AKADO die. But each time we almost came close to the issue of the clip, we understood that AKADO's style doesn’t exclude the possibility of cheap or low-quality video, so we chose “nothing at all than anyhow!”! But in 2007, the paths of the group and the production center of Dyagilev crossed. They turned out to be extraordinary people who did not encroach on our thoughts and ideas, but trusted us and took upon themselves the solution of many questions that the group could not cope with for a long time. Working on a clip is perhaps the most difficult thing I've ever worked on in AKADO regarding its visual side. The concept of the group in the video, its stylistics, elaboration of costumes, hairstyles, makeup, even the choreography of all the members of the group - all of this fell on me. The song “Oxymoron No. 2” tells us that it would seem that absolutely incompatible things can live in one person. Such as aggression and tenderness, beauty and moral deformity, cruelty and mercy. In each of us there are two characters, two entities, two opinions; and we are listening to one thing, then another, only once realizing that all this together makes us one.Nikita Shatenev |
Awards
- In 2008, Dark City, Akado magazine ranked among the groups in the nomination “Discovery of the Year in Russia”. [eight]
Notes
- ↑ Tomskinform - Akado Group will perform in Tomsk as part of the OneTwo Session Part Two.Rock festival (not available link)
- ↑ Large Russian-Japanese dictionary
- ↑ NEWSmusic.RU - The RAMP 2008 Prize will be as honest as possible
- ↑ Names of Russia - the historical choice of 2010
- ↑ RH450 Test Pilot page on TC Electronic website
- ↑ MAMA - Moscow Alternative Music Awards
- ↑ Stylish and elite costume jewelry and accessories from INOX stainless steel Archived January 8, 2010.
- ↑ Results of the Year of Dark City Magazine No. 49, 2009, p. 42
Links
- group page on myspace
- YouTube channel
- http://liveinternet.ru/community/akado_ - community groups on Liveinternet.ru
- http://darkdiary.ru/users/akado - group page on DarkDiary.ru