It's all in the bag. Interview with the leader of The Hatters. Kazakh in the band The Hatters: “We play gypsy alcoholic hardcore on soulful instruments The heaters group hatters

Who performs “Russian-gypsy alkohardcore on soulful instruments.” They travel to festivals and release videos with Little Big Production. Shlyapnikov frontman Yuri Muzychenko (Thomas) has prepared a list of valuable tips: how to promote a group in just a year.

Be sociable

I always wanted to be visible. Become the funniest in the class, the coolest in the yard. At the age of twelve I was already playing in the coolest rock band in Gatchina, and in the ninth grade I worked part-time at a local theater as a stage technician. I'm a guy who's always ready to fit in, and I still don't feel like an adult with a job. All the projects in which I participated - the Internet show "KlikKlak", the theater "Lycedei", the tattoo studio Backstage tattoo - have one thing in common: the opportunity to communicate. So, having traveled around the world, I realized that in a foreign country you may not know the language, but if you approach any person with tattoos, you will already have a topic for conversation. I want people around me to be able to meet people. Please note that all The Hatters songs are about love and alcohol, that is, also about communication.

Gather a gang

We all love to drink and chat, and we didn't have any business plan. While working at the Lycedei Theater, I met Pavel Lichadeev. He played the accordion, I played the violin, and in November 2015 we performed at the Post Bar for free drinks. Several more musicians joined us, we gave a concert in my tattoo studio, and with the money we earned we recorded a song and posted it on the Internet on February 23, 2016. For fun, they also invited a bass balalaika and decided to aim for Russian Style - that’s what they called the first composition. There are seven of us in the group: me and my wife Anna Sergovna, Pavel Lichadeev, Alexander Anisimov (Kikir), Dmitry Vecherinin, Vadim Rulev and Anna Smirnova. We all play instruments and sing. Just recently we found five more musicians for big solo concerts- we added a horn, trumpet, double bass, violin, viola. And now we are a real camp. But we basically don’t have a guitar.

We all love to drink and chat, and we didn't have any business plan

Start a blog

We spent the whole of March touring Russia. A couple of weeks before the start of the tour, I started making a video blog “Muzychen&Co” to show what was happening behind the scenes. Due to this, the audience, coming to the concert, are already the bearers of jokes between themselves. You know, when in a company of friends someone with a mysterious look says: “Well, do you remember... the window sill!” And everyone was like: “Yes, the windowsill!” And then we go on stage in an unfamiliar city, and the whole audience already knows about the window sill. Before we even started performing, we have already won the audience - now we don’t need to rock the audience with the first five songs.

Run a family business

Over the centuries, it has been proven that family contracting is the most workable structure. My wife Anya, whom I met at the age of sixteen, participates in the group. We do everything together, we pull several straps at once: she is involved in the Tatu Port studio and the Lycedei theater, and I am in charge of the group and Internet projects. When we move from one place of work to another, we give a quick briefing in the car about what needs to be done and where. Our daughter Lisa disconnects us from work worries. Pure mafia. The Hatters is also part of the Little Big Family. We are friends with Alina Pyazok, their producer, and Little Big frontman Ilya Prusikin. Ilyich and Alina, as more experienced guys, tell us what to do and what not to do. We don't agree on everything, but we listen to each other.

Set your priorities

Last summer we had a surge in popularity, offers began pouring in: concerts, contracts, producers. But we are mangy dogs, everything is interesting to us. The Little Big Family team has taken us under their wing and is protecting us from unnecessary offers. At first we thought maybe they were jealous - why are they depriving us of opportunities? But each time they sorted out what was what. Previously, we threw ourselves in different directions, but now the path of the “Hatters” is becoming clearer: I see where I’m going.

Make it your life's work

If you listen to me, you will get the impression that we did not put any effort into today's result. In fact, each of us has been involved in music and theater all our lives - this is the result.

We did everything ourselves, just good guys helped

Get drunk with the promoters

On the eve of summer, we wrote a press release saying that there are such fools with balalaikas, and sent it to festival organizers to go somewhere. The director of the folk festival “Wild Mint” listened to the band’s recording, came to our first concert in Moscow, we got to talking, ended up at his house and only woke up in the morning. In general, we just got drunk together, and that’s how our first major performance grew together. And then there were trips to “Invasion”, Stereoleto, “Dobrofest”. We played in St. Petersburg at the festival “Oh, yes! Food!”, where music is not a priority. But we are theatrical people - if we go on stage, everyone look at us. They lit it so well that general producer Artem Balaev liked it. He stopped by in the evening to get a tattoo at my salon, and we separated again only in the morning. He showed our music to his friends from the NCA company, and they offered to play as an opening act for Emir Kusturica. They say that the talented need to be helped, the mediocrity will get through anyway. But if you are nothing of yourself, then powerful corporations will not help. We did everything ourselves, just good guys helped.

Avoid platitudes

We have a trick: when we compose a melody, we first imagine it on the guitar - as if a groove metal band would play this part, and then we transfer it to our instruments. We do this to avoid trivial musical moves. Because of this, the music is punkish, and the combination of violin, accordion and trombone gives it a Balkan sound. But we don’t copy someone’s music, we take it as a reference. We have already tried our hand at the style of Metallica, Pantera, Nirvana. In new songs that have not yet been released, we try to convey the structure of electronic tracks. Moreover, we must take into account that we are not professional musicians. Yes, once upon a time we graduated music schools, we still have the skills and we continue to play. But first and foremost we are artists. And we perceive not the song structures themselves, but their internal image- in the theater this is called “grain”.

Text: Natalya Nagovitsyna

Style: Anvar Zoirov

Makeup: Natalya Voskoboynik, Evgenia Somova

Hairstyles: Ivan Ivanov, Sergey Rodionov (PARK by OSIPCHuK)

We thank the Russian national library for help in organizing the shooting

And although, by definition, the domestic The Hatters are a folk, punk, and rock band, perhaps the title of song and dance ensemble is more suitable for them. Under them folk motifs, flavored with gypsy melodies and performed accompanied by an accordion, violin, bass, balalaika, double bass, no one will be able to resist - neither a connoisseur of “Wild Mint”, nor a regular at “Invasion”, nor himself.

History of creation and composition

There is little place for a creative person in a single chosen genre of art. The frontman gathered Russians around their television screens with a notepad and pen for writing culinary recipes. , delighting with sparkling humor every weekday evening on Channel One, traditionally in winter invites you to the New Year’s film “Yolki”. , the head of a large group, in 2017 he was a barker at the exhibition “Retrospective of Brand Realism”.

And the current “Hatters” initially honed acting in "Litsedey". Then, getting together after performances and rehearsals, they brought instruments with them and played melodies that required further filling with images and texts. The common interests of those present helped here.

“It seemed like everyone was a fan of Balkan music, Kusturica, and trash in the style of . So we realized that we would play, but soulfully and more popularly, especially since the leading instruments - the violin and accordion - dictate certain conditions,” the head of the “camp” later recalled - a soloist, to whom the clowning theater also gave him the acquaintance of his future wife.

In addition, the project participants, before creating their own band, had already tried to perform in musical groups, but they were tired of the genres they performed, the soul persistently asked, or rather, demanded something new, completely unlike anything else.

The name appeared by chance. One day, after theatrical everyday life, future pop stars went to the cinema, not wanting to take off their prop hats. The brutal guys who came across did not appreciate the outfit and, laughing, dubbed the strangers hatters.

However, there is also a share of sarcasm and irony in the chosen name. When faced with comments like “What a hat,” the musicians are happy to refer those who are dissatisfied to the direct translation of the word The Hatters.

The base composition forms an octet. In addition to the already mentioned Yura and his wife Anna, Pavel and Anna Lichadeevs, Alexander Anisimov, Vadim Rulev, Dmitry Vecherinin, Altair Kozhakhmetov are participating in it.

Music

Based on the Little Big Family label created by St. Petersburg, the Hatters burst onto the Internet on Defender of the Fatherland Day in 2016, presenting the premiere single Russian Style to sophisticated users.

That same summer, they confidently began to storm large-scale Russian festivals. In autumn – large sites of two Russian capitals and prominent radio stations. Success was cemented by joint performances with Tatarka and directors Emir Kusturica and Goran Bregovic. In mid-November, the video for the composition “Russian Style” was released, and 2 years later it was recognized as the best at the Swiss film festival SIFF.

Exactly 365 days after the release of the debut track The Hatters received the coveted record from “Our Radio” for “Hacking” their main chart. According to the project participants, they themselves did not expect such a powerful start, but success did not derail them: in the spring of 2017 they presented their first album, and after “Yes, it’s not easy with me” in “Evening Urgant”.

“When three generations of women from the same family come to your concert - grandmother, mother and daughter, this is an achievement. Mom likes my songs - this is an achievement. And Urgant was lucky. They didn’t have a band for the evening, but they knew about us. That’s all,” the band’s vocalist said about what happened.

The release of “Full Hat” was preceded by the very personal single “Winter” for the band leader, dedicated to his deceased father. Already in the fall, to the delight of fans, the artists’ discography was replenished with the second collection Forever Young, Forever Drunk.

As for the history of the creation of their own genre, the main emphasis was placed on the heterogeneity and unboringness of the melody and on the fundamental absence of a guitar. Strengthened the dissimilarity of the “Hatters” from others musical groups and the presence of namesake wives of vocalists.

“In fact, rock and family do not contradict each other. Family doesn’t stop me from being rowdy, expressing my opinion and making music. I will even say more: if we had not taken wives into The Hatters, there would be no group now. We would just drink ourselves to death, that’s all,” they reported half-jokingly and half-seriously in an interview with Snob.

Inspiration was drawn from the “soundtracks” of classic Soviet and foreign cinema. The main message, or rather the call of a large army of admirers, is this:

“Don’t be shy, come to us!”

Those who listen to him will be invited to amazing trip, always fun. They have a tradition - to celebrate the birthday of their relatives “Litsedeev” on stage, which they diligently do not break. Access is also open to spectators.

The Hatters now

On July 20, 2018, No Comments united 25 exclusively instrumental singles. Among them are already well-known ones with an unusual sound (“Outside from the Inside,” “The Boy’s Word,” “Romance (Slow)”). The musicians provided a publication with news of their latest creation on VKontakte with a recording in their characteristic manner. Supposedly, everyone is allowed to use the melodies without fear of consequences or blocking.

However, the guys also treat other people’s creativity without hesitation, but with a certain trepidation. They may re-sing it, or they may release a touching version of “For That Guy” by May 9th.

In the fall, the Hatters went on a tour of Russian cities, releasing special concert products for fans. On November 9, a video for the song No Rules was released, gaining 1.5 million views in 6 days.

According to the plot, the group comes to the birthday of a young, but very well-fed sofa critic of their work, which he celebrates with his family, and they put the birthday boy in his place, destroying the apartment along the way. In the finale, a piano falls from the neighbors' home into the center of the hall.

And “Evening Urgant” was not long in coming again, where “the most fashionable and shocking band” presented the composition “I Haven’t Heard”, which had not been performed anywhere before.

They keep in touch with their fans through social networks.

Pavel Lichadeev: When I was in second grade, my dad brought a button accordion and an accordion and asked what I wanted to play. I chose the accordion because I liked the look of it better. Yes, I had little choice.

After school, I entered the Central Asian Technical and Economic College to become a projectionist. Officially, the specialty was called an electronics technician, but in reality it is a projectionist. But I quickly realized that I would not become a projectionist and decided to enroll in the acting department. By that time, I had already often performed with my dad and his show group “ArtBrand International” (approx. Pavel’s father is an actor of the Lermontov Russian Drama Theater Igor Lichadeev). I decided that it was better to study at the acting department in Russia. The choice was between Moscow and St. Petersburg. I don’t know why, but I chose St. Petersburg and now I’m studying at the Faculty of St. Petersburg State Technical University musical theater and pop art. It will be written on my diploma that I am a director, because when we entered, everyone who had acting experience was sent to directing, and those who did not were sent to acting, but these were all formalities, and we had the same program. The acting department is useful even for those who do not want to be an actor; it is very disciplined.

Admission to the acting department at Russian universities is a difficult thing, because it is subjective. There is no unique instruction that, if you follow it, you will do. It all depends on whether the master likes you. For example, you may not enroll, but next year come to another master and enroll. Some people do it the third or fourth time. But I was lucky - I got in the first time. Admission is divided into rounds, something like a casting. It's a lot of psychological pressure, I wouldn't want to go through it again. The first two rounds you read poetry, excerpts from prose and plays, show sketches, sketches, and the third round is an interview. And if you are untalented, and in the first two rounds you can still pretend to be talented, then in the third they will definitely figure you out. If you successfully pass all three rounds, then you will have exams in Russian language and literature (this applies only to foreign citizens; Russians take the Unified State Exam). I was not prepared for these exams and played dumb. I was lucky that the exams were taken by senior students, and I did it “the Kazakh way,” bribing the examiners with flowers and sweets.

There were also unusual stories receipts. For example, there is a guy studying at our academy who stutters badly. But when he goes on stage, he stops stuttering. He successfully passed all three rounds without stuttering once, and they learned about his stuttering only after enrolling. Even when he tells jokes, he doesn’t stutter, and when everyone starts laughing, he says: “S-s-s-s-funny, r-r-r-r-really?”

During our studies, my friend Yura Muzychenko and I often played in the dressing room during breaks between performances, I played the accordion, he played the violin. Then we thought that we did not have enough drums and bass, Dima Vecherinin joined us on drums and Sasha Anisimov with a bass balalaika. Later Vadim Rulev came with a trombone and two Anyas - Anya Smirnova and Anya Nikitina. They are in charge of percussion and show. So, in February of this year, the group “The Hatters” was formed.

The name arose like this: we were walking around the city, wearing hats from the prop shop, some gopniks walked towards us and said: “Ha-ha, hatters.” We never thought that in six months we would be able to achieve such success. The first concert took place in a tattoo studio, then we sang in bars and clubs, and in the summer we already performed at such major festivals as “Invasion” near Tver, “Wild Mint” in Tula region and "Stereolet" in St. Petersburg. In October we are expecting two big solo shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg. And on November 5, our group will perform at the Kremlin Palace as the opening act for Emir Kusturica and Goran Bregovic.

Most often we are compared to Leningrad and Gogol Bordello because we use violin and trumpet. But we have our own trick - we don’t use a guitar as a matter of principle. Sometimes we compose music on the guitar, but then we transfer it to the violin and accordion. We position our genre as Russian-Gypsy alcoholic hardcore with soulful instruments.

We would like to go with concerts in our hometowns - Almaty, Yaroslavl, Tynda, Gatchina, but it is expensive. My current visit to Almaty cost a hundred thousand, and there are seven of us. And I don’t think it’s needed here. There are plans for concerts in Europe. We have already started translating songs, and we think that our music will be interesting to European listeners, since for them it is exotic. We have no goal of releasing an album. For what? All our music is freely available on VKontakte, besides, albums are not bought, and almost everyone releases singles. The same Leningrad with which we are compared. It used to be like this: the Red Hot Chili Peppers released an album, and everyone ran out, bought it and listened to it from beginning to end. Now the perception is a little different, and we are not the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

From modern Russian music I would highlight the Affinage group. They're a little depressing (unlike us) but cool. And if we take Kazakhstan, then a friend of mine recently played a Kazakh singer for me - Galymzhan Moldanazar. This is really very cool. He sings in Kazakh, but it’s as if he doesn’t. It’s good that it exists in Kazakhstan.

Moldanazar's music is almost a rave, he is our Jim Morrison, you should listen to him in clubs on acid.

It’s bad that the underground is not so developed in Almaty. There is some strange music, you listen to it, and most likely you will be alone in the whole of Almaty. And in St. Petersburg or Moscow there would be a lot of you. And I don’t think it depends on the population. When you walk around St. Petersburg, there are some kind of posters hanging everywhere, there are several concerts every day, everyone goes there, and this is not tavern music. I remember a long time ago in Almaty there was a club “Retrospective”, and that’s where it was. 15-16-year-old dudes played heavy, played poorly, but it was, there was some kind of party, and it’s sad that it didn’t lead anywhere.

Photos: Azat Kasymov

Yuri Muzychenko, or just Thomas, - theater artist " Actors", creator of the group " BKMSB", series " clogged", tattoo studio Backstage Tattoo and vocalist of the group The Hatters (« Hatters"), as well as a participant in the show HYPE MEISTERS on MTV.

Biography of Yuri Muzychenko

Yura born July 8, 1987 in St. Petersburg. In the family, the boy was the youngest, his parents' favorite. As I said myself Muzychenko, he got away with everything, so he was a “gouge.” Already in sixth grade Yura I created a rock band with my friends.

Yuri Muzychenko about his first group: “We came up with a group and called it “Phobos.” Let's write "Phobos" on all the fences and walls with chalk. The next day they decided to call themselves “Deimos”. Let's go, they wrote everywhere: “Phobos are freaks!” We started writing "Deimos". We believed in all the stupid things we do.”

After ninth grade, the young man wanted to enter a music school. He understood that he would not be accepted into the tenth grade because his academic performance was not very good. On courses in music school the guy didn’t like the atmosphere, because the musicians turned out to be reserved people. But he himself was completely different.

Then Yura decided to enter theater school, and his mother agreed that he would be accepted into the tenth grade for further admission. After school Muzychenko got to St. Petersburg state academy theatrical arts to the acting department. Upon admission, a rather funny situation happened to him, which led him to “ Actors“, although the young man imagined himself on completely different stages and in other roles.

Yura Muzychenko about his admission: “I didn’t want to go to the Lyceums at all, because I saw myself in Youth Theater on the Fontanka near Spivak or at the Comedy Theater. And when I came to the second round, to the audition, there was a Harley-Davidson standing in the yard. I go there, and there’s a guy in a T-shirt sitting in the admissions office. He, apparently, has a hangover and is sleeping. And he's so cool! Well, cool man! Nightingale is his last name, cool guy! They ask me: “Sing something.” I start singing: “I’ll go out into the field with my horse at night.” I close my eyes. And he, you know, opens his eye slightly and looks at me: “Wait, wait, when you play the violin, do you also close your eyes?” - "No". - “Well, there’s no need. You look like an idiot." And continue to sleep. And I liked this impudence so much that I chose them. And, in the end, not in vain. They are real rock 'n' rollers."

After graduating from the academy, Muzychenko got on the stage of the theater " Actors", where he met the future members of his group.

Career of Yuri Muzychenko

Despite the intense work in the theater, Yura never forgot about music. No wonder he can play the violin, guitar, keyboards and drums.

In 2011, his group “ BKMSB" The name of the group means absolutely nothing; the musicians chose it as a symbol of freedom, the absence of any boundaries in creativity. The music changes along with the guys, so it’s difficult to name any specific genres that define the group’s work, but the musicians define their music as a mixture alternative rock and pop rock.

"BCMSB" became the winner URBAN SOUND, festival SNICKERS URBANIA, held in St. Petersburg, and also participated in the festival “ World against drugs», « Windows Open», « Swing"and in many other major festivals.

In 2013, an Internet series about tattoos appeared online. clogged" The creators of the series and its “ideological brain” were Yuri Muzychenko And Alexander Anisimov (Kikir). They also played not the last roles in the series.

Yuri about the creation of the series: “The idea is almost general... you know, when several people come up with something all the time, then in general it’s not clear who came up with what. We tried in every possible way to pump up our group “BKMSB”, we decided to shoot video diaries, and it seems that the third episode was about getting a tattoo... Well, it somehow seemed to fail, views and all that. Well, then the idea came up to experiment and film a program about tattoos, but so that we and our music would be there. That’s how it all happened, but it dragged on so long that they opened their own tattoo studio, “The Downtrodden.”

Having filmed 11 episodes of the first season, the creators, concluding that they were on the right track, began working on the second season. And it was decided to film the third season in Europe.

The series was designed for viewers interested in tattoos, for those who were interested in tattoo production, from application, sterility, safety to healing and other nuances of the process. Therefore, the authors, diligently approaching the narration of each serial episode, discovered something interesting, focusing on the history of tattoos, style and choice of design.

Also in 2013, appeared on the YouTube website new channel « Klikklak", which broadcasts comic series and programs. Yura Muzychenko is one of the participants in this channel, the so-called “video blogger party”.

In 2015, Yura had to leave the theater because the team was literally “falling apart” by one of the workers. However, a musician’s career did not prevent Muzychenko from returning to theatrical stage. Then, in 2015, the group was formed The Hatters (« Hatters»).

Yuri Muzychenko and The Hatters

The Hatters is a musical and theatrical group from St. Petersburg, which includes musicians, actors, physicists, tattooists, auto mechanics, clowns, photographers and cameramen. The guys defined their genre as “Russian-Gypsy alcoholic hardcore with soulful instruments.” Their work is a combination of romance, punk and folk rock.

Yuri Muzychenko says: “We met at the Litsedei theater, and it turned out that everyone was a fan of Balkan music, Kusturica, Bregovich and trash in the style of Guy Ritchie. So we realized that we would play, but soulfully and more folk-wise, especially since the leading instruments - the violin and accordion - dictate certain conditions.”

Since its appearance in February 2016, “ Hatters" are gaining popularity at breakneck speed: they became the "Legendary Discovery of the Year" at the festival " Wild mint", were invited to all major festivals in the country, appeared on the waves of " Our radio", as well as other radio stations in the country, received the " Chart's dozen" in the category "Hacking", performed at main stage“Invasions” and were noted for their performances at the Olympic Stadium and at the opening of the St. Petersburg Arena stadium. Magazine Kommersant-Lifestyle included them in the list of the most promising musicians to watch in 2017. The Hatters- “theirs are on the board,” and each of their songs touches the soul.

The group released their debut folk-punk album “Full Hat” on April 21, 2017. At the beginning of December of the same of the year The Hatters presented their second album, Forever Young, Forever Drunk.

The Muzychenko team performed twice on the Channel One show “Evening Urgant”: in April 2017 with the song “Yes, it’s not easy with me,” and in November 2018 they presented the track “I didn’t hear.”

Yuri Muzychenko in HYPE MEISTERS

In July 2017 Yura became a participant in a new show on the MTV channel HYPE MEISTERS, where he and Kolya Serga find out what is cooler - TV or the Internet. Musicians travel to different festivals, perform numerous tasks to get points and become a “Hype Master”.

Personal life of Yuri Muzychenko

Still on the theater stage " Actors"Yura met his love Anna Nikitina which he calls Anna Sergovna. She always supports young man in all his endeavors. Spouses Muzychenko- people are creative, therefore, according to Yuri, in an hour they can yell at each other thirty times and make peace thirty times.

Anna about her marriage to Yuri: “The fact that both are artists, clowns, brings us closer together, we are together at work and at home, but we don’t get tired of each other at all. It just happens that we are sitting at home, drinking tea, and one of us suddenly starts talking about how best to do something in the play, what kind of props to come up with. Our profession does not allow us to forget about it even at home. We are proud that we are clowns and work in such a theater.”

In 2011, the couple had a daughter. Lisa. Already in early age the girl began to show creativity, imitating their parents. Yura And Anya they say that she surpassed both of them in charisma and acting abilities.

Discography of Yuri Muzychenko

BKSMB Group

2012 - Check
2011 - The whole truth about you
2009 - For hearts... For minds

The Hatters

Albums
2018 - “No Comments” (Instrumental)
2017 - “Forever Young, Forever Drunk”
2017 - “Full Hat”

E.P.
2018 - “Three Inside”
2016 - “Stay True”