After the fall of the notorious Iron Curtain in the USSR, many Soviet musicians set out to “conquer Europe”. And they fell into a real shock when they learned that the songs that were accepted in their native country practically “with a bang!” Are not particularly needed by the West. It was also a revelation that it was not too easy to win a foreign listener. Few were able to solve this problem later.
Spartakus is the champion
It is curious that the first and only Soviet composer whose music hit the Western European charts and really enjoyed serious popularity was Aram Khachaturyan. A 1972 joint recording with the London Symphony Orchestra under the name Spartacus reached the 16th position high for the debutant in the UK charts, staying there for 15 weeks.
Unfortunately, Khachaturian himself could not find out why the "Spartak" music liked the British so much. And that fragments of his brilliant works, of course, without any fees, sounded in the Hollywood films of Brass, Kubrick and Cameron. But Aram Ilyich was, rather, an exception. His numerous colleagues, deprived of the theoretical ability to directly communicate and exchange musical material, could not even hope for at least minimal recognition. And they had no idea how to achieve it.
Look for a producer
Boris Grebenshchikov and Gorky Park are considered the "pioneers" of promoting Soviet rock music. But they owe sensational contracts, rather, to a lucky star. More precisely, it is enough for the occasional interest of American producers and people who have had a certain influence. Say, Grebenshchikov, even though his solo project in America failed, was helped by Dave Stewart from the Euruthmics group. And the short-term popularity of Gorky Park among the English-speaking public in the United States and subsequently Scandinavia was caused by the great interest in Soviet perestroika, the collapse of the communist system, the end of the Cold War, a certain novelty and, most importantly, the help of Stas Namin, Frank Zappa and John Bon Jovi.
Thus, the first points of the "instruction" for musicians who dream of achieving fame abroad are great luck, the appearance or search for a competent and experienced producer and, of course, knowledge of the English language. The latter is important even taking into account the fact that there are many well-known and even beloved singers and musicians in the United States, who speak Russian much more often. But the secret is simple: for the most part they sing only for Russian-speaking emigrants.
The names of these Russian-American pop stars are Lyubov Uspenskaya, Mikhail Gulko, Alexander Zhurbin, the first performer of Vologda, Anatoly Kasheparov, Anatoly Mogilevsky, Willie Tokarev, Mikhail Shufutinsky and others. By the way, a new wave of creative emigration began with the famous Aida Vedischeva who was practically squeezed out of the Union to America in the first half of the 70s. Alas, but Vedischeva, with all her undoubted vocal talent and the mass of hits such as "Song about bears", "Hey, sailor!", "Forest deer", "Chunga-Changa", "Help me" and others, become American pop star failed. She did not meet a real producer …
Hello Eurovision
In the Eurovision music competition for young performers, which has been taking place since 1956, Soviet artists have never participated. More precisely, they participated only once, when Alla Pugacheva, a far from young queen of the Soviet stage of the 70s, suddenly came to Eurovision-97. Having taken only 15th place, Alla Borisovna clearly did not increase the popularity of Russian music. Young Russian performers and future winners of the Alsou, Serebro and Tatu (t. A. T.u.) competition turned out to be more understandable for the jury. For the important reason that the voices, images and arrangements of Russian women were liked by listeners, journalists and, most importantly, producers much more. Conclusion: if you want to be heard and appreciated, prepare high-quality material that corresponds to the present day.
Perhaps the most modern way to influence the hearts of Western music lovers and professionals is the Internet and the ability to upload your videos for free viewing on public pages. This is how the future Eurovision participant Pyotr Nalich and the ordinary Russian schoolboy Nikolai Voronov managed to become famous, whose self-made video clips, clearly out of the ordinary with elements of a freak show and a certain outrageousness, gained a million Internet popularity. Both virtual singers now even have real managers with producers and extensive creative plans. And Nalich toured successfully at all, not forgetting to send his multi-page rider first. Conclusion: learn to use the Internet and be able to surprise and even shock the audience with your uniqueness.
The demanded Netrebko
Most of the Russians, who once flashed in the Western charts, left them long ago, disappearing from memory. The only exception is the new Russian opera prima Anna Netrebko, who sang the Olympic anthem during the opening of Sochi-2014. Anna managed to achieve a high degree of demand on the European continent, where she repeatedly hit the leaders of the national charts of Austria, Belgium and other countries, and in North America. By the way, in Austria, which knows how to appreciate classical music, a dozen or so albums of the Russian woman have been released. Hence the most important conclusion: so that you are appreciated and not forgotten the day after the concert, you must learn to sing not only loudly, but also beautifully.
