Musician Valery Kipelov has been on the professional stage for 40 years. Behind the artist's shoulders - participation in the groups "Six Young", "Leisya, Song", "Singing Hearts" and "Aria". Since 2002 he has been the head of the Kipelov group. The "Father of Rock" told RT how the pandemic affected the band's creativity, which of the foreign musicians inspired him in childhood, and why he is not yet ready to hold online concerts.
"Classics and rock are close"
- How did you feel about the fact that the song "I'm Free" became the anthem of the first day of the abolition of self-isolation?
- I understand why she was chosen, and I was glad that they remembered this song, but I did not sing it myself when some restrictions were lifted. She is already more than 20 years old, no performance is complete without her. At one time we even tried to remove the song from the track list, but nothing came of it.
The only thing I would like to draw your attention to then and now: guys, do not forget that the coronavirus is still present. I had a cousin with her daughter, a technician from our group, and in a rather serious form, I know that the musicians also had unpleasant stories.
In the subway, I see, already 30% of passengers are wearing masks, and the rest are without. And I urge: take care of yourself, do not lose your sense of self-preservation. It's not that hard to stay at home.
I myself, when I was on self-isolation, if I went out for a walk, it was very late, when the city actually died out. He spent time at the dacha, doing business. And this isolation did not drive me into any depression, I even found in this some kind of charm.
- How did the pandemic affect your work?
- The coronavirus intervened in our plans, of course. We had a long tour with the symphony orchestra, which had to be interrupted in the midst of it. We managed to play at Crocus on March 13, we were afraid that it would be canceled, because there is a large area. But they slipped through, they covered everything literally in a day or two.
Concerts in Siberia, the Urals, the Volga region have been postponed until autumn. The next concert is to take place in Krasnoyarsk on September 8, but everything is still in limbo, we do not know if we will be allowed to hold them in the end - especially considering the format of the orchestra, that is, there are even more people on the stage.
Well, we thought: there is a silver lining. Since such a story has come out, then we must take advantage of the period of self-isolation and deal with new material. In addition, we are constantly reproached that new albums are rarely released. We have just accumulated a fairly large number of songs. We haven't decided exactly yet, but maybe it will be a maxi-single, because working on the lyrics always takes a lot of time for us. And if all goes well, we hope to release it by the end of the year.
We're trying to tour now. Recently we were in the Crimea for the bike show "Night Wolves". Unfortunately, we didn't know in advance that the festival would take place, so we didn't manage to stay for a couple of days.
Even in the sea it was not possible to dive, at least at night - my head was full of performance. The only thing that was offensive.
We are also finishing work on the video of our concert with the symphony orchestra, and I hope that on September 25 a presentation will take place in the Kinomax cinema network. I have already seen individual fragments, on the whole I liked the whole story. Hopefully the differences in the sound of the cinema will not spoil the experience.
- Is it difficult to combine such different genres?
- Classics and rock music are very close, for example, related directions. And many rock bands performed classical works, the same Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky. Yes, and we used to do a concert at the Green Theater. When I watched this performance, some songs were chilling. Especially "Playing with Fire" about Paganini. The violinist not only played, but actually played the role of Paganini himself on stage. In general, I like the theatricalization of our performance.
- © Official page of the Kipelov group
In the current series of concerts we also had a vocal group, more than 20 people. At first I opposed this. Not only do we need to rebuild our work on stage a little so as not to jam the orchestra, but also the vocal group should have their microphones, and then the whole crowd of musicians and vocalists, including us, should not interfere with each other. But in the end, I hope, everything turned out in the best way, the vocal group added color, and the songs, to which they were accustomed in a certain arrangement, began to be perceived completely differently.
Hopefully, the situation will be clearer by the end of the year. On December 4th at the Stadium we are planning a solo concert in honor of my 40th anniversary on stage. Four decades ago, on July 1, I went with the professional group Six Young on my first tour to Leningrad at that time.
"It was like flying into space"
- If we compare those tours when you started, and the current ones, what are the differences?
- At such moments I remember the tour of the group "Leisya, song". We set a record once: we managed to give 85 concerts in 25 days, can you imagine? Now this number of years can be stretched over two years, but then there were five, even seven concerts a day. We were at the festival "Lights of the highway", at BAM, two groups worked. We played half of the concert at the same venue, changed places with them, then back. And no phonogram, only live.
They worked mainly in Uzbekistan: Zarafshan, Uchkuduk, Bukhara, Samarkand. These were the so-called concerts for the funds of the local philharmonic society. We always responded to this matter, because in Uzbekistan there was no performance rate per month, so everyone worked as long as they could. And surprisingly, all the performances took place with full houses.
Then there was enough time for everything: they managed to relax and see the cities, because there was no such thing that one, maximum two concerts worked - and that's it, it's time to go to another city.
In Leningrad, for example, we played about 20 concerts, and in between I visited all the museums that are there, I walked all the streets on foot. There was more time, because the site was the same, everything was already rebuilt.
Later, of course, when "Aria" began, there were much fewer concerts. The enthusiasm is not the same, we all have become older. Plus, you understand that you need to save your energy, since a concert is a responsible business. So everything is limited to a hotel room, at best, lunch with friends.
- How did you restore your voice after seven concerts a day without a phonogram?
- At the time of "Leisya, song" I was not the only vocalist, the load was distributed between us. But when “Aria” began, already in 1985, it became more difficult: both the load was greater, and the repertoire was different. Then a teacher with a conservatory education began to work with me. He showed me exercises for voice restoration, taught me how to breathe.
In addition, I have never really abused alcohol or tobacco. He lit a cigarette only in 1984, when VIA "Leisya, song" and I visited a hospital in Afghanistan with our guys. True, then I smoked sporadically, and nine years ago I quit completely. And for 20 years I have not taken alcohol, which is very glad.
Every day, regardless of the weather or mood, I force myself to do an hour and a half of exercises. When I don't, I feel like something is missing. I carry resistance bands and shells with me so that I can also practice on tour. The life of a vocalist requires a lot of restrictions. If you want to stay in good shape for a long time, then you have to deny yourself a lot.
- Can you remember when and how you heard the first rock songs in the USSR?
- Oh, probably in 1968, in Kapotnya, where I was born. We broadcast some of our first vocal and instrumental ensembles at the rink. Not that rock, but there were some elements. I always liked Pesnyary because they often performed folk songs in such a delicate rock arrangement.
Later, if you take Western bands, I heard The Beatles, on "forty-heels", such flexible records. But, perhaps, the most vivid impression was made by the group Creedence Clearwater Revival. They played country rock blues style.
Perhaps it's all about the unusual "hoarse" voice of vocalist John Fogerty ... I really wanted to imitate him. And then, I remember, I took pots, rulers from my grandmother, sat, played the "drums", while listening to their disc on the "Belarus-62" receiver.
Then there were more serious bands, for example, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, this is the end of the 1960s. Of course, all this made a deep impression on me, since we did not see anything on television except the Soviet stage - although, to be honest, it was very good relative to the current one. But then, against the background of all the officialdom, the Western groups were like a flight into space. As if aliens suddenly appeared and sang completely different music.
And at the age of 14, I myself began to play at dances, weddings, some evenings in the Kapotno recreation center. We tried to reproduce what we heard - The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Creedens Clearwater Revival.
- There is often an opinion that music used to be more sincere. Do you agree with that?
- It seems to me that the music corresponds to its time. I also wondered: why do not we now have Mozarts, Beethovens, why modern classical music is now more often found in film soundtracks? Today's music has become more aggressive. We try to adhere to the old canons. Maybe with new arrangements, digital technologies, effects, but the essence remains the same. Why are we working on the lyrics for so long? Because every word is weighty and we should not be ashamed of what we do.
"I love Cossack songs"
- How do you like modern music? What are you listening to, whom can you mark?
- I am a conservative person in all respects, including in music. Familiar guys younger than me - I have been a pensioner for two years - sometimes educate, but, for example, I can hardly tell the fashionable rappers by their names.
My criteria is for music to catch the soul's strings, no matter what style. What I listen to at home is very different from what I do on the professional stage. For example, classical music - not so long ago I watched a wonderful concert of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, sitting in the country with a cat. For some reason, he especially respects Wagner, and when he hears, he immediately comes running.
I love folk music, Cossack songs. Many are surprised how love for Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath - and for Lydia Ruslanova coexists in me. Well, it somehow gets along well. This year is generally 120 years since her birth. To the joy or chagrin of my fans, but I would not have passed such an anniversary and gladly performed something from her repertoire.
- Who would you like to sing a duet with?
- You know, there has never been such a directly cherished dream. Not because I value myself so highly. On the contrary, I always think: would the second member of the duet like to sing with me? That is, there is no such goal in itself, and I always carefully weigh my possibilities. If a song is close to me, if I am able to reveal myself enough in tonality, I consider such proposals positively.
For example, I think it was a great honor for me to sing “Calm” with Udo Dirkschneider as part of Aria. With Tarja Turunen we made a wonderful duet for our song "I'm Here".
I liked our performance with Edmund Shklyarsky very much. I once got hooked on the songs of "Picnic", their lyrics and music are close to me, so I sang with them with great pleasure. We had a duet with Sergei Galanin, but I got the impression that I was a little off topic there.
- Do you keep in touch with any of the musicians who were popular in the 1980s and 1990s?
- Honestly, with no one in particular. Sometimes we call up Kolya Rastorguev - we worked together for five years in the Leisya song group, often lived in the same room. Or, it happens, I saw someone on TV, remembered each other, phoned, found out how things were. But all busy people, so this rarely happens. I have a rather narrow social circle, I maintain close relationships with children, grandchildren and musicians with whom I work.
- Tell us how you met the group's poet Margarita Pushkina?
- It happened in 1985. “Aria” didn't even have a name at that time. None of the poets took what we did seriously. They said: yes, the music seems to be fine, but this is only until the first policeman, you will not be allowed to play it. In fact, we were simply boycotted.
Margarita was the first to respond. Her first song was "Torero" on our first album "Megalomania". I remember then there were disputes about who the bullfighter, butcher or minister of high art was. I adhere to the second option, I myself was in the bullfight. In general, I got into the text then, which Rita did not like. But later she said: "I trust you." This is how it happened.
- Did you also “fit in” into some texts?
- Yes, a decent number of them. For example, half of the text in "I am free" is mine. The last album also has it. The song "Unconquered" is dedicated to the besieged Leningrad. I really wanted to answer all these comrades who said: “Wouldn't it be easier to surrender Leningrad? There would be fewer victims, there would be a city like in France ... "It then jarred me so much that the lines were born:" Unconquered, passed through hell, // unconquered hero Leningrad, // unconquered for all time, // unconquered city of Peter " ...
- RIA News
- © Alexey Kudenko
I then said: "Rit, maybe it will seem opportunistic to someone, but it's from the heart." She: "Let me write to you." There was no melody, nothing, only the approximate size showed. I say, we will focus on Vysotsky, on the song "No crosses are put on mass graves." And literally the next day she sent me a text. I was just shocked.
For 35 years we have known her, and the acuteness of feelings does not subside. I understand that sometimes it is difficult for us, we may not have the same views, we argue, because both strive for perfection, but, in spite of everything, I love her very much. And I hope that we will write the next songs with her, because I have not yet discovered other poets for myself.
"It is difficult to work without energy in the hall"
- Do you often meet with misunderstandings from your fans?
- I rarely watch social networks. I sometimes read reviews for our concerts, songs, but I don't attach much importance to them. And there are different opinions. I know that there were a lot of complaints about the last album. There is a song called "Thirst for the Impossible", it is about personal experiences, and we wrote it in such a blues style that not everyone accepted it.
In general, we go for experiments in music, we do not confine ourselves to any framework. Sometimes we perform folk songs at concerts, which, I think, does not at all contradict the direction in which we work.
Or they made Nadir's aria from Bizet's opera Pearl Catchers. I have long dreamed of singing it, I just had to find the right form. We made a rock ballad out of it, changed the size - I hope Bizet will forgive us for that.
There was also a lot of rejection: they say, a wonderful work performed by the great opera singers, he sang here in his hoarse voice. But the goal was not to surpass Lemeshev! The people began to wonder what it is. At first they thought it was our new song weird. Then they learned that there is such an opera, that is, they joined the classics. In other words, the task was completed.
I am absolutely fine with constructive, well-grounded criticism. Moreover, I myself am always dissatisfied with what I do.
- You mentioned that you do not have pages on social networks. But I saw that your YouTube channel has a lot of subscribers, more than 200 thousand. Do you like answering questions, uploading videos?
- Honestly, I am often just forced to do it. I somehow got used to living the old fashioned way. And I think it's not worth telling everything about yourself. I understand that we live in a modern world and we need to somehow keep up with the times, but I still strongly oppose.
- How do you feel about new formats, such as online concerts?
- I've seen different groups, on different platforms, but I'm not yet ready for this myself. Still, it is very difficult to work without feeling the energy of the hall, without breathing, without eye-to-eye glances.
- On the Internet, your photo of where you ride the subway is very popular ...
- I saw her, yes, funny. I was tired.
- Are you really that unpretentious in everyday life?
- I do not drive a car, my daughter takes me to the dacha - I am very comfortable with her, she is so calm behind the wheel. If someone recognizes me on the subway, I do not feel anxiety. Well he came up, asked for an autograph, shook his hand, thanked for the work. I am pleased, of course. But this is not why I go to public transport, I just feel comfortable, I want and like it. Just like walking in parks, sledding, cheesecakes with granddaughters, going into the forest to pick mushrooms. My musicians often make fun of, and that's how I like living.
- It is somewhat at odds with your image on stage ...
- Yes, understand.
There was a funny incident. I came to Bryansk, I have many musician friends there. And one of them warned his daughter that Kipelov would come to visit. Well, I came, we sat, drank tea, talked, remembered. Suddenly the daughter comes in: "Dad, when will Kipelov come?" She probably thought that I would come in thorns, in a riveted leather jacket.
- What makes you a truly happy person?
- I feel really happy when we get good songs with good lyrics, when I feel how all this resonates with our fans. I am happy when I am with my loved ones and bring them joy. That's when my granddaughters and I, after the bath, sing folk songs to the accordion.
I am happy when the family understands and supports you and when there are musicians who share your ideas. I have been with many for more than ten years, for example, we have been working together with a drummer for 32 years.
It is a great happiness to realize that someone still needs you. And the fans still get up, take out lighters on the songs "Kosovo Field" or "Unconquered".