VIA Samotsvety (VIA Samocvety) was a legendary band, whose fame rumbled far beyond the Soviet Union. Their songs were loved and known by heart by adults and children. Sincere lyrics, simple motifs, eternal themes, beautiful voices and professional musical accompaniment - the Samotsvetovs had everything to enter the encyclopedia of Russian pop music. They became "song classics", many of their songs passed to the status of folk songs. Next year the ensemble will celebrate its 50th anniversary, and their hits are still favorite, in demand and alive.
Founder, ideological inspirer and leader
Yuri Malikov is the person to whom VIA "Samotsvety" owes its existence. It was him who had the idea to create a new, extraordinary and atypical for the Soviet Union collective. Such an idea visited him during a trip to Japan. There he was inspired by foreign music, thought over the concept of the band and made the first developments. Returning home, he carried with him 15 boxes of imported equipment, on which he spent the whole earned fee.
Without wasting time, he immediately started to implement the idea: he organized several auditions, selected soloists, found musicians. In the first line-up there were 7 artists, some of whom did not last long at all.
Yuri Malikov was not in a hurry to choose a name. At first, the musicians called themselves simply "VIA". But after the first performance it was necessary to choose a more original pseudonym. This was helped by the listeners of the radio program on which they performed. The choice fell on "Samotsvety" not by chance. First of all, their most hit song "I'll take you to the tundra" had the words: "We will collect as many gems as you want...". And secondly, the name characterized their ensemble exactly - each member revealed different facets of talent, complemented others, made the group shine in full.
Creative way
At first, after the formation of the VIA, the musicians performed compositions from the Beatles repertoire and accompanied Oleg Anofriev. Having recorded several of their own works, Yuri Malikov organized their debut performance on the radio. In 1971, as part of the morning broadcast about them made a program where the ensemble sang only two songs. And two months later their compositions were already in rotation on various radio programs. Soon they were invited to perform at a pop concert in the Moscow "Hermitage". The success was overwhelming, they conquered the audience, winning their love once and for all.
During the year the band members changed frequently, and only by the end of 1972 the line-up that recorded most of the VIA's golden fund was formed. It included:
- Irina Shachneva;
- Sergey Berezin;
- Gennady Zharkov;
- Valentin Diakonov;
- Eduard Krolik;
- Anatoly Mogilevsky;
- Yuri Peterson;
- Nikolai Rappoport;
- Yuri Genbachev.
The ensemble was one of the most popular groups in those years. And there were reasons for that: they were the only ones who performed patriotic songs, the participants had bright and memorable images on stage, and the compositions themselves were written in simple and accessible language without any intricate subtexts. This is exactly what was missing on the music platform.
The next few years were more than eventful for the Samotsvetovs. They traveled to all corners of the Soviet Union, Latin America and even Africa. Their performances gathered an audience of 17 thousand spectators, concerts were held every day and in all weathers. No domestic performer or group could boast such success.
This continued until 1975. Being at the pinnacle of glory, most of the collective left the project and created VIA "Flame". But Yuri Malikov did not lower his hands and did the impossible: in 20 days he found new, no less talented musicians, updated the repertoire and prepared a program of a solo concert. With this material and fresh faces he started to work.
A new stage started in the history of the band. They began to cooperate with other authors, moved away from traditional songs, began to approach intelligently to the lighting at concerts, transformed the form of performances. Instead of boring entertainers, the gaps between the numbers were filled by the artists themselves. They communicated with the audience, commented on their songs. It was then that the debut of the future humorist, and at that time - a member of the ensemble, Vladimir Vinokur. Such innovations were positively perceived by the public.
The success of "Samotsvetov" began to fade after the Olympics-80. Then, in anticipation of the world event, the authorities released rock culture to the masses. New and unknown music embraced the inhabitants of the USSR. Until the end of the 80s, the ensemble still held the attention of fans, recorded about a hundred compositions a year, collected full houses. Malikov put a lot of effort to keep his project afloat. They moved away from the usual genre, following the trend of fashion, began to organize musical performances. But time was taking its toll: the young people who listened to "Samotsvetov", grew up, and the new generation favored fresh styles of music, and the artists themselves VIA tired. Some began to engage in business, to think about a solo career, to pay more attention to personal life. In 1992, the activity of the collective was suspended.
The return of the favorites of the public
Their break in the creative biography lasted 3 years. In 1995 they were offered to gather for the filming of the program "Golden Schlager". Then about 30 artists from compositions of different periods came to the set. After the program was aired, they received a positive response of emotions and memories. The audience missed the "Samotsvetami" and some participants decided to reunite.
During the Soviet era, the ensemble recorded 4 albums, after the resumption of activity replenished the discography with almost a dozen records. Most of them include remixes, new arrangements, medleys and a couple of fresh compositions. Until 2019, they worked in two main compositions.
Today, the Samotsveti are Yuri Malikov, Elena Presnyakova, Alexander Nefedov, Oleg Sleptsov and Georgy Vlasenko. They have a repertoire of 150 legendary compositions, dozens of awards and prizes, new projects, a wealth of experience and, most importantly, boundless love and recognition of fans. Read about further achievements of the team in the catalog of artists on the website kontramarka.de.
Discography:
1973 - "My Address is the Soviet Union".
1973 - "Samotsvety"
1975 - "We Are Young"
1980 - "Way to the Heart"
1983 - "Weather Forecast"
1995 - "There, Beyond the Clouds"
1996 - "All That I Have in Life"
1996 - "Twenty Years Later"
♪ 1997 ♪
♪ 2000 ♪
2001 - "Boulevard of Stars"
2001 - "Recordings of the 70's, 80's"
2003 - "Kolokolenka"
2003 - "First Love"
2006 - "New Love Mood"
2009 - "Grand Collection"
2009 - "NEW Samotsvety"
2010 - "Golden Hits"
2010 - "We Are Young"
2011 - "Samotsveti" surrounded by stars
