La Minor

La Minor at the Wilwarin Festival 2014

La Minor (Ля-Миноръ) is a St. Petersburg folk punk band, which was formed in 2000 and focus on Russian chanson has experienced. The band itself describes their mix of styles as Cool and Jazzy Urban Funk, Criminal Songs or Odessa Beats.

history

La Minor formed in 2001 as a St. Petersburg club band . Slawa Schalygin, singer of the group and formerly a member of the psychobilly band The Navigators, also organized the first concert: at the Spirit Club, of which he was the manager at the time. Musically, the band picked up on the crook chanson tradition of the 1920s, 1930s and 1970s - albeit not one-to-one, but with the time required in the group's opinion. Musically, La Minor relied on a wild mix of lo-fi street polka , traditional Russian elements, jazz and ska . The songs themselves draw on the tradition of the Russian chanson, but have been adapted to the needs of a young, urban club audience - in part with alienated or updated texts. The instrumentation was mixed accordingly; the classic band line-up of drums , guitar and double bass were joined by the accordion and saxophone .

The first album, Blatnjak, was released in 2001. Like the follow-up albums, it contained mostly (partly alienated) traditionals such as Murka , Odessa-Mama and Gop-So-Smykom . Five albums were released by 2009; the title The Girl in the Cotton Dress was also published on the Trikont compilation Russendisko - Hits . Since its inception, the band has made a name for itself primarily because of their atmospheric live concerts . Since 2004 there have been regular tours through Germany , the Netherlands , France , Switzerland and Belgium . In addition, numerous appearances at festivals such as the Euro Folk Festival in Ingelheim am Rhein , the overload festival in Enschede , the Netherlands, the Festival Wazemmes l'accordion in France and on the Berlin Berlinale (2009). The group consists of the following line-up: Slava Shalygin (vocals), Igor 'Kowtschegow (saxophone, vocals), Grigori Sjomkin (Russian accordion, vocals), Vasily Telegin (double bass), Alexej Topolow (guitar, vocals) and Dmitri Dawydow (drums) .

Music and criticism

Due to their mix of rock and street music elements as well as traditional crook chansons, La Minor are often compared to bands like Gogol Bordello and Leningrad . Singer Slawa Schalygin lists the 1970s singer Arkady Severny as his great role model. However, he sees major differences. While Sewerny and other traditional interpreters liked to give spontaneous ac-hoc performances with corresponding song variations, La Minor put a lot of work into the arrangements of the pieces. He states that having a good time with the audience is an important concern of the group. When asked about the party factor of La Minor music, he said succinctly: “For some reason a lot of rock musicians come to our concerts. They like it. I believe that you can only relax to this kind of music. "

The world music website Weltmusik-Magazin characterized the band's music as “underground chanson with a human face” and praised the successful mix of styles: “La Minor come from St. Petersburg, but have a weakness for Odessa . The streets and bars of the two cities are somewhat similar in their European charm. La Minor play the so-called street chanson, Russian folk, jazz and klezmer . They bring part of the atmosphere of Odessa from the 1920s to the 1940s to life. Her songs are like detective novels about little crooks and tragic love, happy and melancholy at the same time. Thieves and cops, hookers and undercover agents populate the urban underworld of La Minor songs. The affectionate, loving, motherly aspect of the Russian language makes the rough stories touching. Timeless. "The website Sound & Image praised the band's performance in particular:" Singer Slava Shalygin has the organ that suits every mood, and his music buddies pick him up in every state of mind - whether in tango - Step, with a bit of klezmer in the suitcase, as a lullaby or as a sporty drinking song to the Ska rhythm. "