Markscheider Kunst is a Russian band that plays Afro-Caribbean music. They became nonsense in the domestic show business, which attracted attention. Energetic, driving and really funny songs performed by them simply could not go unnoticed. The composition of the band members often changed, and each new musician brought something fresh to the development and formation of the MK. But the enthusiasm and joy in creativity were always present. Today, the "Surveyor Kunst" is a Latin American expression, African rhythms, a German name and a Russian origin. They mix cultures of different countries, creating unique musical works.
The period of formation
The history of the band dates back to 1992 in St. Petersburg. Then four students-surveyors of the St. Petersburg Mining Institute decided to unite and create a musical group. They were Sergey Efremenko, Kirill Oskin, Sergey Egorov, Pavel Bogdanovich. Although it wasn't music and university that brought the guys together at all, but a banal hobby of hockey.
The guys came up with the original name for the team for a long time. Everyone wanted it to be memorable, not like standard pop names. The "Surveyor Kunst" has become an ideal option. "It's difficult to pronounce and remember it, because we will never be on a par with pop groups, but we will always remain a little bit in the underground," the participants themselves believe. Translated from German, the word Markscheider means a mining engineer or technician, Kunst means art. The musicians claim that the name has no hidden semantic connotation, and they themselves translate it as "the art of differentiation".
The first compositions in the band's creative biography were in the rockabilly style. Over time, it was diluted with jazz, reggae, blues, Latin and Jamaican motifs. It is impossible to unequivocally name the genre in which the surveyors sing. Even the band members themselves are not trying to do this. They are sure that music should not be boring. By mixing melodies, they create something new every time.
MK gave its debut concert in 1992 on the same stage with the bands "Fruits and Pistol" and "Postcolor". At that time, they were members of the TamTam music community. With his help, they recorded two albums that were never officially released.
In 1995, Vladimir Matushkin and Kirill Ipatov joined them. Their collective sounded in a new way. At the same time, they organized, together with the NTO Recipe group, a small tour of the clubs of St. Petersburg. A year later, they recorded one of their concerts and began distributing it to friends as their first album. It was officially published only in 2002.
Each performance transformed MK from another musical boy band into a real polystylistic group, where elements of the culture of different peoples are present. Over time, they moved from clubs to the stages of festivals and halls. Having reached a large audience, they had crowds of fans. In 1997, they already toured Europe with concerts.
With the advent of the new millennium, their composition has been updated. In particular, the brass section has expanded. The participants of the "Surveyor Kunst" have always paid special attention to the sound. If in their first works they were content with guitar, bass, drums, then over the years their compositions already had more original instruments: trombone, saxophone, double bass, trumpet, percussion, several types of guitars.
MK songs can be heard in some movies. For example, in the film "Peter FM" they play "Jamaica", "Happiness @ru" and "Dance". And the movie "Love in the big city 2" is decorated with the track "Kvass-kvass".
The activities of musicians are not limited to just one MC. They participate in various projects, record songs with other artists and bands. The most vivid and productive were creative tandems with "TRESMUCHACHOS & COMPANIEROS", "St.Petersburg Ska-Jazz Review", "Vova Katya", "OPTIMYSTICA ORCHESTRA", etc. They also work closely with recording studios, where they are often invited as session musicians.
Throughout the history of the band, the members have changed periodically. Today, the current line-up announced:
Sergey Efremenko (soloist);
Kirill Oskin (bassist, double bassist);
Daniil Prokopiev (drummer);
Kirill Ipatov (percussionist);
Vladimir Matushkin (guitarist);
Denis Rachkov (guitarist, vocalist, administrator);
Anton Boyarskikh (trombonist);
Egor Popov (trumpeter).
It is difficult to call "Surveyor Kunst" megapopular in Russia, although they have an army of thousands of fans and a discography of 10 albums. But in Europe and the USA, millions know about them. The musicians themselves do not see this as a tragedy and explain the current situation simply: "In our work, except for the Russian language, there is nothing traditional, domestic, close to our people."
Today, the band continues to delight fans by performing at various music venues. Each of their concerts is a real explosion of positivity and joy. Read about what else the "Surveyor Kunst" will surprise us with in the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de .
Discography:
1992 — "R. F. O."
1995 — "Who to be"
1998 — "St. Petersburg - Kinshasa TRANSIT"
2000 — "Live at club Havana"
2001 — "Beautifully Left"
2003 — "In Touch"
2005 — "St. Petersburg - Kinshasa TRANSIT (reissue)"
2008 — "Cafe Babalu"
2010 — "Utopia"
2016 — "Chameleon"
