"AuktsYon" (Auktsyon) is a famous Russian rock band, which stands out noticeably against the background of other performers of this genre. Their original style has undergone a number of transformations over the years of creative activity. Alternative and psychedelic rock is closely intertwined with reggae and ska, punk jazz is combined with ethnic motifs, light pop and beat - to perform such experiments is not for every professional. But "AuktsYon" did the impossible, their works are not subject to all the laws of music. That is why fame and popularity could not bypass the collective. Despite the fact that their songs were not so often played on the radio, and the clips were rarely spun on TV, from the lack of fans they did not suffer.
The period of formation of the collective
The founder and constant leader of the group is Leonid Fedorov. His first band he organized in his school years and called "Paragraph". A few years later, a couple more musicians joined the team. At first they played mainly at discos. A little later they changed their name to a more pathos name - "Phaeton".
From 1987 to 1980 their rehearsals were held in an ordinary apartment. Then the musicians got a professional rehearsal base with all the necessary equipment in the club "Leningradets".
There were constant replacements in their collective, and only in 1982 the first stable line-up was formed. It included:
- Leonid Fedorov (author of lyrics, soloist, guitarist);
- Victor Bondarik (bassist);
- Sergey Melnik (guitarist);
- Dmitry Ozersky (keyboardist);
- Oleg Garkusha (sound engineer, vocalist, producer);
- Evgeny Chumichev (drummer).
They joined the Leningrad Rock Club, which at that time opened a lot of opportunities for aspiring musicians. To add solidity to the collective, they changed the name again. Since there were no fantastic ideas, the guys decided to use an ordinary dictionary. Scour the whole book they did not have the patience, and the search ended already at the letter "A". "Auction" turned out to be the only adequate name. It was the one they settled on.
In 1983 they gave their debut concert. Special appreciation from the public to win them not managed to win, but even then it was clear that these are promising guys. They had potential, unconventional approach to design and visualization of performances.
After a not too successful start the band settled down for a long time on the rehearsal base. During three years they were looking for "new faces", a dozen musicians and vocalists passed through them.
Long-awaited success
After a small pause in the history of the band, a new stage began. In 1986 they performed at the Rock Club Festival with a carefully prepared repertoire and a fresh program "Come Back to Sorrento". It was a victory, they became a real discovery for the audience. The audience instantly picked up their songs and appreciated the rhythmic melodies. The performance brought them popularity and their first fans. Encouraged by their success, they soon released their debut album with the same name "Return to Sorrento".
In 1987 the band began to tour extensively in Russian cities, starred in the movie "The Burglar", performed at many rock festivals. At the same time they worked on the creation of the next record and a new concert program.
The peak of popularity of "Auction" fell at the end of 1988. Having taken part in the VI Leningrad festival, they felt what is "triumph". At the height of fame gave concerts in all corners of the USSR.
At the end of the 80's in the name there was a small correction - there was a memorable letter "Y". After another concert, the artists walked the streets of the city and saw a poster with a list of rock bands. Boris Shaveinikov, who was a drummer at that time, decided to include his band in the list. But he made a mistake in spelling. The musicians appreciated the humor and the "new" name itself stuck to them. Thus appeared "AuktsYon".
Having traveled around their native country, in 1989 they went on their first foreign tour, which was an incredible success. It was the most eventful period of their biography. Until 1995 they added three albums to their discography, gave hundreds of concerts abroad and in Russia. They conquered with their unpredictability on stage, rebelliousness, and at the same time professional sound and prepared program.
Decline in popularity
After the album "Bird" (1994) the band had a creative crisis. The number of concerts decreased, interest in them began to fade. Some musicians began to build solo careers, play in subsidiary projects, master new activities or arrange their personal lives. Fedorov managed to try himself as a producer, and also collaborated with Volkov-Trio. Together with the new team, they recorded a record under the authorship of "AuktsYon-Volkov-Kurashov". In 2001, he created the label "Snail Records" and two solo albums. The other members also did their own promotion.
After 12 years of hiatus, no one hoped that "AuktsYon" would revive. But they managed to get together and issue in 2007 another record "Girls Sing", and another 4 years later - "Yula".
The band exists until today. The current lineup includes:
- Leonid Fedorov;
- Viktor Bondarik;
- Oleg Garkusha;
- Dmitry Ozersky;
- Nikolai Rubanov;
- Boris Shaveynikov;
- Mikhail Kolovsky;
- Vladimir Volkov;
- Yuri Parfenov.
They continue their concert activities, periodically travel abroad (they are especially loved in Germany), and have started a YouTube channel. By their 30th anniversary a movie about their creativity called "More" was released, shooting of which lasted for 7 years. Work on creating albums and writing new compositions does not stop. About the latest events in the biography of the collective read in the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de.
Discography:
1986 - "Return to Sorrento".
1989 - "How I Became a Traitor"
1989 - "Everything is calm in Baghdad".
1990 - "Asshole"
1991 - "Bodun"
1992 - "Kettle of Wine"
1993 - "The Bird"
1995 - "The Dweller of the Peaks"
2000 - "There Will Be No Winter"
2002 - "It's Mom" (old and new material live in the studio)
2007 - "Girls Sing"
2011 - "Yula"
2016 - "On the Sun"
