Many remember and honor the “Technology” group from the 90s. But few people know how the fate of one of its soloists, Roman Ryabtsev, began to develop in the future.
“Technology” has been gone for a long time, but Roman is very purposefully rising up the steps of its popularity.
What was the reason for your leaving “Technology”?
I was going to perform different music. On last album"Technology" "Sooner or later" the difference between my songs and the things of Leonid Velichkovsky was very clearly expressed. Secondly, two equal soloists in the group looked very stupid, this was especially noticeable at concerts, when part of the audience was a fan of me, and the other part was Nechitailo. It seemed like two completely different groups were performing on stage. Thirdly, finances were involved; I believed that I was not paid extra for my work.
Is your album “If I Become Different” autobiographical?
It has a certain concept: from the first to the last song the thread of the story of one love can be traced. At first hope is born, but it ends up being doomed. Of course, all my songs are a reflection of real life. I would not wish anyone to experience what befell me. Over time, I realized that having gone through all this, I became more resistant to the effects of aggressive treachery on the part of women. This is important - after all, they are the main culprits of all misfortunes in their personal lives.
Roma, let's look into the past. When did your serious passion for music begin?
When I met my first love. This happened in ninth grade. I fell in love with a girl a year younger than me. Her name was Oksana. Because of her, I started composing music. Together with my classmate, we organized an electronic music duet; we were even played on the school radio during recess. In three years we recorded three albums. Then, already at the institute, I played in the ensemble "Sunny Circle", then was alternately invited to two groups without a name, and already in 1988 - 1989 I began to work professionally in the group "Farewell to Youth", which is now being reborn with my help. In 1990, I joined the Bioconstructor team, from the ruins of which Tekhnologiya was formed that same year.
A singer like you probably has a lot of fans. Doesn't their excessive attention annoy you?
My entire entrance is simply spoiled with all sorts of inscriptions with offers to surrender at any time and in any place, declarations of love, etc. But there are also normal fans who call and ask how my affairs are going, where the concerts are taking place... But, alas, I cannot communicate with everyone who craves my attention. And then I hate it when people offer themselves, especially girls.
What does your leisure time consist of?
I love reading books, and a wide variety of them, from science fiction to historical novels. Already in the first grade I read such a large work as “Spartacus”. I like going to discos and night clubs. But I love communicating with my friends more. We even formed our own club called K.P.N. ("Club sent to..."), uniting people who were abandoned by their beloved girls.
Are you a good owner?
Judge for yourself. I prefer that all my things are thrown upstairs, on the shelves - it will be easier for me to find them later. I have wires from various equipment scattered all over the floor. I think it’s easy to imagine what’s going on in my room. As for cooking, I think that I am simply irreplaceable, because I really love and know how to cook.
Musician, poet and composer - about nostalgia and the future
There was such a hysterical pop ballad - “Love Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” True, not from the “Technology” group, but from Vlad Stashevsky, their colleague in the once common producer Yuri Aizenshpis. Likewise, Roman Ryabtsev, according to him, has no warm feelings left and has no regrets about the decision to leave the once fashionable, but now covered with centuries-old dust, team, which, in fact, rested on him.
Nostalgia has died, synthesizers stand idle in a personal collection, and Ryabtsev now appears on stage with a guitar and new songs, still romantic, but completely different. In an interview with ZD, he talked about the difference between genres going out of fashion and eternal music, is it scary to start everything with clean slate, and also why competition in the artistic environment is growing, and professionalism is falling.
Roman, you already left “Technology” for 10 long years, but then you returned to your “native land”. Now, as I understand it, the bridges have been completely burned. Won't you regret it later? After all, your whole life is connected with this team...
Not all of it, but only part of it. Already since 1993, I have worked as a composer, arranger with other performers, not to mention my solo projects. In our country, this often happens: at first everyone laughs at ABBA, and then, 10 years later, they begin to gasp at how great it was.
The same thing happened with Technology. We tried to enter the same river twice on the wave of nostalgic moods of the public, recorded an album, several singles, but, as it turned out, no one needed it.
Often customers of corporate concerts say: “Just don’t sing anything new, only old songs. We grew up listening to them, we conceived our children listening to “Strange Dances.” This, of course, is damn flattering, but when you hear it for the hundredth time, you begin to feel like an ancient fossil, a museum exhibit, or Kobzon’s younger brother.
I don’t want to turn into a mummy and howl “press the button” in a creaky voice. I'm not going to press any more buttons. I felt that the group was turning into a mothball substance, all performances were reduced to participation in discos of retro radio stations or in dubious hodgepodges with the participation of groups that I personally had never noted in my hit parade and, moreover, did not think that I would end up with them on the same stage. But when you get into this creepy nostalgic frame, this happens more and more often.
Therefore, I decided to put a bullet point. I have accumulated a lot of new material that I want to move on with. It is absolutely impossible to work on it in the context of “Technology”. Fresh compositions do not fit into Procrustean bed the notorious “buttons” and the cold sound of synth-pop, which only a small number of fans enjoy today.
Are there so few of these nostalgic fans? Many artists complain to me in interviews that the public constantly asks to play “something old,” but on the contrary treats new things with great distrust...
If we talk specifically about synth-pop, there are really very few of its fans left. This is noticeable even in the festivals that enthusiasts organize every year. If previously dozens of foreign groups came to such events, today all this has turned into dull get-togethers. Synth-pop went deep underground, and there, in general, it occupied its worthy niche. Most styles are not eternal and experience their ups and downs...
For example, in the 1980s, speed and thrash metal was wildly popular. Everyone shook their hair and bleached their hair, but today all this has gone somewhere, and completely different styles have become fashionable in heavy music. Old school fans, of course, remained, but they hid in small local clubs.
I myself really love synthesizers, I have a whole collection... But still, my seven guitars are more expensive to me. In contrast to those genres that are becoming obsolete, there is music that is timeless. This guitar music, with which rock and roll began and with which it will end.
Such trends as classic rock and roll, rockabilly, blues, and classic hard rock are not disappearing anywhere. AC/DC started making music in the 1970s, and they are still doing the same thing. At the same time, no one will tell them: “Guys, you are not relevant.” And even if they say, they and their fans won’t care.
I was asked on the radio: “What can you offer young people?” The same as everyone else. I do not set myself the goal of working for any specific age audience - this is an order and internal prostitution. I want to, I'm not afraid loud words, create for eternity.
- What is the concept of the new solo project? Is there a common theme to this story?
Modern music industry is at that stage of development when thinking in large forms - epic albums - no longer makes sense. Previously, I sat and thoroughly worked on a record, arranging songs in a certain order (for example, I “spotted” a trick from Dieter Bohlen - putting the slow song third in a row), thinking about how the dynamics would develop from composition to composition, creating a concept.
Today, in the era of the Internet, clip thinking and the prosperity of a variety of pirated services, where you can find any music, people, as a rule, do not listen to albums, they listen to individual songs. They have even begun to be called exclusively tracks, which, frankly, infuriates me: the DJ has a track, and a work with vocals is a song. But that’s just me... I’m grumbling like an old man (laughs).
In general, task number one now is to present several new compositions to the public in the most interesting way possible. We have already shot one video in a deliberately very simple style of the late 1980s - early 90s, where the video sequence does not distract from the song itself and at the same time creates a certain atmosphere. I even wanted to find a Super VHS camera, but all the camera operators I knew said they don’t keep such old stuff. So we had to create the effect of a “floating” picture, like on St. Petersburg television in 1989, using modern programs.
Now we are writing video scripts for two more songs and have organized a competition for listeners for the best lyric video: this is a format where some pictures are simply superimposed on the music, replacing each other, and text is displayed on them in parallel, and it turns out that now videos are the most viewed on the Internet.
After the release of several singles, we will release an album. The working title is “Spring”, after one of the songs. And it is very symbolic, because now I really feel some kind of revival after the lethargic winter sleep, in which she stayed in last years"Technology".
Since we are talking about clips, when they first appeared on domestic television, they were a curiosity. How now, in your opinion, has the industry of their production changed in Russia?
Judging by the results that many performers give, everyone is trying to spend less money. In addition, you basically won’t listen to half of the songs for which videos are shot without visual accompaniment. In general, the general crisis is taking its toll. Basically, all the clips are quite simple, filmed in the pavilion with small inclusions computer graphics. There are very few plot stories left. I want to do exactly this.
- Starting over from scratch at 20 years old and at an already mature age are two different things. Aren't you scared?
As the hero of “Sorcerers” said, “I see the goal, I see no obstacles.” I am one hundred percent sure that the Technology group is a project that has already become obsolete. We completed our task, we remained in history, but I don’t see any point in shaggy grandma further, convulsing. I've already had a few performances with fresh material and I feel a response. I see, for example, how people, having heard a song for the first time, begin to sing along already on the third chorus. So it's catchy and I'm moving in the right direction. And then, frankly speaking, what is there to be afraid of? All the hits of “Technology” - “Press the Button”, “Sooner or Later”, “Strange Games”, “Half an Hour” - I wrote. It's not difficult for me. I do not depend on any third-party authors, poets, arrangers, I do everything myself in my studio. I have a great lineup of musicians coming together. Among them, for example, is Oleg Abramov, the guitarist of Lead Fog, with whom we played 20 years ago. So we are slowly preparing for the big one. solo concert in Moscow in the spring, where, in fact, the presentation of my solo project will take place.
When did you begin your glorious journey, in musical world there were different moods - both protest rock and psychedelic avant-garde artists. Why were you drawn specifically to the neo-romantic scene?
I never wanted to sing newspaper editorials like so many bands liked to do in the late 1980s. “But there’s no sausage in the store!” And my panties are worn out!” - when I performed at the first Voronezh rock festival, there was 90 percent of such material there. It made my hair stand on end.
I was brought up on Western music, and in the songs of such artists new wave, like Duran Duran, New Order, Alphaville, if political notes appeared, it was very sporadically. Everything there was beautiful, neo-romantic... I started listening to Russian music when I was 15 years old, and it was “Aquarium”, which I have loved since then once and for all.
In addition to “Train on Fire” and several other compositions in which Boris Borisovich raises in a veiled, allegorical form political topics, he didn't have such things. BG never got involved in politics. In general, I believe that this is the prerogative of journalists, bloggers...
I myself can go through such issues on my page on the social network, but I won’t sing about it, and it’s not a matter of age. Even when I was young and hot, I wasn’t drawn to this field either. I believe that music should bring joy to people. If, as we have already said, people conceived children while listening to “Strange Dances,” it’s scary to imagine that they would do this under some kind of politicized aggressive manifesto, and what kind of infernal creature could eventually be born.
Nevertheless, musicians also do not live under a glass bell. How does it affect creative person surrounding reality? And how can you protect yourself from its negative effects?
This depends solely on the ability to maintain internal balance and filter information. After all, I’m not 20 years old, and somehow I learned, while reading the news, not to faint every time, but just look at it all from the outside and draw conclusions: “Well, the end is even closer. What else can we do? Neglect and waltz.” I just see a lot of people who react sharply to everything, and end up going crazy, standing with placards at pickets, and meeting the next end of the world. I don’t want to be like them at all. I have my own life, my own goals and objectives. And now the most important thing for me is a new start as solo artist. Nothing can lead me astray or distract me, no meteorites or asteroids approaching the Earth.
In your opinion, is there some kind of musical community in Russia today, or has the time of individualists come?
There are certain clans, parties that gather around certain composers, producers or musicians. But in general there is no single musical community. There used to be rock clubs, but they died. Today it’s every man for himself: we still have some kind of capitalism, albeit built on the basis of the book “Dunno on the Moon.” Everyone fights for their place in the sun.
- What is the level of competition?
In fact, it’s quite high, because the simplification and cheapening of the music production process has led to the fact that today every schoolchild, having downloaded pirated software and programs from the Internet, can write a track and become an artist. The same synth-pop in the 80s was the lot of rich aesthetes who could afford to buy a synthesizer, but today people simply use ready set sounds. But this usually has nothing to do with creativity. That is, competition is high, but the level of professionalism is falling.
Another problem arises: in tons of musical slag it is very difficult to find something worthwhile. What should listeners and artists do in this situation?
It’s not easy for both of them. In theory, music portals and radio stations could identify something interesting and worthwhile. But the radio plays what either its owner likes or brings profit. There are rare cases when artists become popular only thanks to the Internet. This is what happened with Peter Nalich, Igor Rasteryaev... In fact, I will be banal, but talent will make its way. If you really have something interesting, sooner or later there will be a demand for it.
- Do you find any interesting young performers yourself?
Yes, for example, the group “Hardly”. The guys play very high-quality, pleasant, fairly heavy rock. I even advertise them on my Internet pages. The problem with many young teams is that they come up with names that are difficult to remember. In general, they send me a lot of music, and the pearls, of course, have to be caught from the general heap of manure.
- You had experience working abroad. Have you ever thought about leaving everything and staying there?
No. You know, to understand a woman, you need to think like shoes. The same thing here: in order, for example, to work in France, where I recorded an album, you need to grow up in that cultural environment or at least spend it in it for a long time. The French music market, on the one hand, is close to ours in that the emphasis there is also on the textual component, on the other hand, it is very specific. So working abroad was just an experience for me. But I am sometimes interested in collaborations with foreign artists. For example, we are now recording a duet with a Greek singer, whom we accidentally met in the summer in Moscow at a Greek festival. The song will appear in several versions - on its native language, in English and a mixture of Russian and Greek.
On the fourth of November at the Legends of Retro FM festival there will be a performance by the legendary group “Technology”
MK-Boulevard met with the group leader Roman Ryabtsev and found out how the artist lives today.
MK-Boulevard met with the group leader Roman RYABTSEV and found out how the artist lives today.
— Roman, you have admitted more than once that at one time “Technology” broke up because of women. Are women now trying to destroy your brotherhood?
“We are courageously resisting them... Just kidding.” Since then we have matured and gained life experience and learned to separate flies from cutlets. Personal life and work should not interfere with each other.
— How did the idea for your comeback come about?
“I called Vova Nechitailo myself and offered to reunite. Despite the fact that literally a month before in some interview he said “no, never.” The Internet convinced me - I went to the search engine, out of vanity I typed “Roman Ryabtsev” and ended up on the forum of “Technology” fans, where I registered and began to communicate. And then offers started pouring in: let’s come back.
— Yours former producer Aizenshpis sarcastically remarked in his book: “Down down pilots do not return.” What could you answer to Yuri Shmilevich?
- It’s already difficult to answer him... In fact, it’s all nonsense. Look at the same “Mirage” - Sukhankin and Gulkin. They were nowhere at all, but they returned. Yes, so much so that one can envy. By the way, they will also perform at the Legends of Retro FM festival.
— In 2005, you took part in the very first Retro FM festival. On November 4, you will perform again at Legends, now celebrating their fifth anniversary. Why do you think an event of this format - with idols and songs from the 80s and 90s - was so successful?
— A huge number of people in our country spent their youth listening to the music of the 80s and 90s. Today these people have achieved success, achieved success and matured, but they still want to return to their youth, remember their first discos, their first girlfriend, their first kiss. It’s funny, but 30-50 people on different network resources wrote to me about the same thing: “Thank you for “Sooner or Later” and “Strange Dances,” my wife and I conceived our first child to this song.”
— This year, Toto Cutugno, Thomas Anders, Sandra, E-Type will take part in “Legends of Retro FM”. How do you feel about these artists? With whom from Russian participants festival, do you communicate?
“Cutugno was one of my childhood idols, and it will be terribly interesting for me to see him live. I also have a lot of respect for E-Ture. Previously, during their concerts in Russia, we were on tour all the time, so now I will be glad to see them perform. As for the Russian participants, I now communicate more closely and are friends with the younger generation of musicians. We collaborate with them in terms of arrangements, remixes, and in search of a new sound. We don't want to remain a band from the past. Recently recorded new album“The carrier of ideas”, which, on the one hand, has retained the signature sound of “Technology”, and on the other hand, is addressed to modern youth and is in tune with their musical tastes. For me, November 4th is doubly important date, because on this day both our performance on “Legends of Retro FM” and the release of our new album “Bearer of Ideas” will take place.
- Why did he wait so long for his time? After all, judging by the Technology website, “Bearer of Ideas” could have been released back in 2006.
- And even earlier. Everything started to be written back in 2003 - the first song “People” appeared then. But there were many difficulties. Firstly, it was difficult to enter the same river a second time. I wanted new songs in the spirit of the old “Technology”, but it wasn’t mothballs. Secondly, legal problems began with record company. I've been through a long and painful divorce with my business partners. Fortunately, we managed to reach an agreement in a civilized manner and maintain normal relations. But the album was lying on the shelf all this time. However, I’m even glad that everything turned out this way. I think now is the time for this music.
BY THE WAY
One of the founders of "Technology" Leonid Velichkovsky was not included in new line-up groups.
There is a version that the main reason for his absence was a financial issue. But
two new members appeared in the team - Alexey Savostin and Matvey Yudov.
Roman spent his childhood - from six to eleven years old - in Syria, with his parents. Since then, customs and culture Arab world became one of the hobbies that still captivate his imagination. Speaks Arabic quite well. He also speaks French quite well, which he mastered while working in Paris. However, my favorite language is English. Ryabtsev, with tenacity worthy of better use, writes some of his songs in English language, since his stock of Russian words is sorely lacking. The years spent in the sultry Middle East also left their mark on the musician’s other passions. For example, he hates all winter sports.
And skiing somewhere in the Alps can become for him the most terrible torture of all known to modern civilization.
The singer, musician and composer will turn 45 in January. Shortly before the New Year, Roman married for the second time. TV Program magazine met with Ryabtsev to find out what he is doing now and what is happening in his life
Photo: Ivan PROKHOROV
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2015 begins for me with filming in a television series, where I once again play myself,” says Roman. - Quite a funny role.
- And this despite the fact that you basically don’t watch TV. At least talk about it often.
At some point, I reviewed it so much that I realized: it couldn’t give me anything new. For example, I can’t watch films on TV because they are constantly interrupted by advertisements. I’d rather go to the cinema or buy a CD. If I want to watch a specific program, I download it from the Internet.
- For example, political fights?
No, I'm not interested in them. This probably came with age; I became calmer. I don't think there's anything about them that will grab me. Besides, I know the television kitchen: people who are ready to punch each other in the face on air then have a nice conversation in the smoking room. All this big show... This year I was often called to appear in television projects, from Alexander Gordon’s program to funny quizzes in which you need to perform a song while suspended from the ceiling. The bottom line is basically the same: the viewer should like the show.
- And you agree: hang from the ceiling in the show “Stars without pathos” on the “U” channel. Are we talking about the same program?
I am participating, yes. It was very funny, I would even say hilarious. I looked at myself in the recording and roared with laughter.
- ...realizing that all this is for the amusement of the public.
Excuse me, where do I work? In show business. IN Lately I radically changed my attitude towards all these programs. Let’s say, about ten years ago, maximalism still played in me: “Yes, I’m a serious person, I won’t go on these entertainment programs!” And now I think: why not? If I'm fooling around in the company of my friends, then why shouldn't I do the same in public? If formerly group“Technology” tried to maintain a brutal image - we tried not to smile, we were serious - but now, in general, we don’t give a damn about anything. We can allow ourselves to be ourselves.
“I was brought up in the correct communist spirit”
- You were born in Voronezh, then returned there after living with your parents in Syria. Does anything connect you with this city now?
There is a certain nostalgia... After all, it was in Voronezh that I entered college and even studied one course there. At this time, many events happened that turned my life upside down... This year in the summer something came over me, and I realized: I definitely need to go to Voronezh! Just like that, not on tour. I think the notorious midlife crisis has finally caught up with me. The summer was generally very chaotic and crazy. I tried to understand myself, my life, including my personal life. Thank God, everything has settled down now. But then I was tormented by mental tossing, I suddenly felt acutely that I needed to go to Voronezh - to come and just wander around the city for a couple of days, go to the village where my grandparents lived. I don’t like pretentious words, but I wanted to get down to the roots.
- By the way, regarding the Voronezh Institute... Why did you suddenly decide to enter a pedagogical university?
At the insistence of my parents. They, diplomats, were planning another business trip abroad. I was at that age when I could no longer go out with them. In embassy schools in the Middle East, children usually study until the fourth or fifth grade. As a rule, ten years only exist in large capitalist countries: the States, France, Germany... Therefore, my brother and I graduated from school in a special boarding school for children of foreign workers. Going to another country, my parents thought: where should I go? They were quite rightly afraid to leave me at home. 16-year-old teenager, free life, alone in an apartment. What will happen? Now I understand them very well. And then I was terribly angry. However, mom and dad insisted that I enter Voronezh pedagogical institute, which they themselves graduated from. In addition, the deputy dean is their classmate. Grandmother and grandfather are nearby. In general, in their opinion, I was under supervision. My parents hoped that I would enter the Voronezh Institute, and the next year I would transfer to Moscow. That’s exactly what happened.
- Did you realize that Moscow is a city of great prospects?
For me, Moscow was just the capital of our Motherland. That's all. Understand, I was brought up in the correct communist spirit. And how else could a teenager who lived for five years in the embassy be raised? Immoral people were not allowed abroad. I took everything at face value. The word “careerist” for me was as dirty as “bureaucrat” or “bribe taker.” I sincerely despised people who strive to make a career and get out somewhere. I thought it was very dirty, ugly and bad. That is, I was an absolutely communist-raised child. It was only later that an envious and contemptuous attitude appeared towards me, a Muscovite who came to Voronezh, which depressed me very much, and I tried by all means to show: I am absolutely the same as everyone else, no different.
“Technology” has become bronzed. And I reconsidered my views on life and creativity."
- Did you start thinking about a career as a musician while still in school?
No, I didn’t even think about a musical career. The fact is that in the 9th and 10th grades, my friend and I, while serving “exile” in that same boarding school, tried to compose songs. I played the piano, and my friend had three instruments at once: a drum machine, a synthesizer and an electric organ. His parents, working in Italy, gave them to him for his good studies. As a result, we recorded three magnetic albums, absolutely disgusting in quality, but very funny, sincerely naive in content. Although, I admit, I recently started recording one of these songs, slightly reworking the text and leaving unchanged the melody, composed at the age of 16!.. Then, during the times of the USSR, it was impossible to even dream of a career as a musician without having music education and appropriate certification. Already in my first year of college, my parents bought me a Casio electric organ. With him I was the first guy in the village! (Smiles.) Without talking, they took me to the institute’s international VIA “Sunny Circle”. In 1987, I managed to get to the first Voronezh rock festival as a guest, out of competition. They allowed me to sing three songs, after first forcing me to go through the hell of the literary councils. I took my texts either to the district committee or to the city committee of the Komsomol, they were approved there, they looked for sedition, they didn’t find it and they stamped it. Everything was so gloomy... In general, I myself was going to follow in my father’s footsteps and build a diplomatic career. Music was just my hobby, but there were people around me all the time with whom I was interested in playing and who were interested in playing with me. And when I arrived in Moscow, I joined the group. Now I don’t remember how or to which one. Then there was another group. Little by little it started going, followed by the first tour to Smolensk...
- At one time, you managed to collaborate with Kristina Orbakaite, and with the group t.A.T.u., and with Vlad Stashevsky. Do you continue to work with other artists?
I haven’t done anything like this for 10 years. “Technology” took up too much time. But now I’m restoring my previous skills, starting to work for other performers, I don’t want to advertise their names yet. In one case, I act as the author of music based on the poetry of another person, in the second, I produce songs.
- What about the new album of the group “Technology”? You said that he was about to come out.
I reconsidered my plans for life and creativity. In my opinion (although not everyone agrees with me), the “Technology” group has finally turned into, as they say on the posters, “ legendary group“Technology”, that is, has become bronzed, completely moved into the category of retro. From touring practice I see: no one needs anything new from us. Concert organizers keep telling us: “But, for God’s sake, don’t sing new songs!” Therefore, I consider it inappropriate to do something new under the brand name of the Technology group. In 2009 we recorded the album “Bearer of Ideas”. But we don’t play even half of the songs from it at concerts. I already had a similar situation in 1993. I wrote songs that did not suit the group at all, it was never “Technology” - Celtic-Irish melodies... In general, as then, I now decided to release my solo album. And for “Technology” for the upcoming anniversary (in March 2015 we turn 25, we plan to celebrate on a grand scale - big concerts) record several new singles.
- Is there anything that surprises or pleases you in modern music?
The surprising thing is that nothing new or interesting happens in it. Continuous chewing of the old. Previously, let’s say, there was a fashion for some branch dance music. Take, for example, Goa trance, tribal house or drum and bass, which lasted for several years and then were replaced by some other general hobby. Now, thanks to the Internet and flash mobs, everything happens hastily, within a few months, and is quickly forgotten. Music TV channels are practically dead and have no influence.
- But thanks to the same Internet, Igor Rasteryaev, Pyotr Nalich were “born”...
Rasteryaev interested me: he started well, but then, in my opinion, everything became dull. I didn’t like the cash right away, I wasn’t hooked. It’s much more fun to listen to another song by Semyon Slepakov. Here he is, in my opinion, beautiful. Especially the song “The best sex is sex with your wife.” How many years has this hit been, and I listen to it with delight every time.
- On your Facebook page you admired the composition Gangnam Style.
She's gorgeous. This is a superbly constructed song that contains absolutely all the pop clichés: sounds, structure, arrangement. The perfect cocktail!
- For some time, the Technology group collaborated with Yuri Aizenshpis. Which producer would you be happy to work with now?
With Max Fadeev. This is the only one who can be called a producer in correct understanding the meaning of this word. Of all our producers, he is the most interesting and close to me. I think he does everything very cool.
- Maybe it's time to try your hand abroad again?
No, because none of our people succeeded. No examples! And to think that I will succeed is stupid and naive.
- But you didn’t think so when you left for France in the early 90s?
I didn’t go there - I lived in Paris only during the recording of the album. I went to France solely with the hope that my album would sell in the future. However, I had no illusions, remembering the experience of releasing Radio Silence by Boris Grebenshchikov - with much larger budgets and producers like Dave Stewart. So what? As a result, his album failed. Therefore, I regarded my trip only as an interesting experience of working “differently”, not like ours.
- What is the cardinal difference?
Mentality! We recently played at a rehearsal facility consisting of several rooms. There, various young groups rehearsed non-stop from morning to night. And 90 percent of them played hard heavy metal: adrenaline, teenage energy... But no matter how funny it may sound, they play fashionable and quite relevant music. Young people don’t go through an amateur song club and play guitars in the yard, they don’t sing Soviet songs at singing lessons. These musicians were brought up by the Internet and radio on the right music. And in 20 years, when our generation and the scoop remaining in our brains die out, there is a chance that such groups will break through.
- In principle, could you move abroad?
For what? If only for recording an album. But I have my own studio here, and I physically cannot move it abroad. You can, of course, go with a mobile keyboard and one synthesizer, but it won’t be the same. Of course, if the situation in 1993 were repeated and some French people offered me to sign a contract and record an album, I would agree. But so far no one is offering anything...
- Do you like to talk about corruption in the domestic music business. Do you encounter this yourself?
Certainly. It seems like you have a good relationship with "radio people". You offer them a song to broadcast. “Yes, yes, let’s listen,” they answer. And nothing. Silence. And only then you find out through other people - and this is the most disgusting thing - that the song does not fit the format. They hint that you need to bring money. They are even embarrassed to talk about it directly. You can’t just come to the commercial department and pay for the song to be played on air. Everything happens at the level of half-hints.
"Unnecessary hysterical love I don't need"
- Which best qualities did you take it from your father?
Despite the fact that my dad is a diplomat, it was he who taught me to do everything with my own hands. I thought about this just the other day while screwing on another shelf. In principle, I can do everything at home that does not require gas welding: put together a table, paint it, hang a shelf... I love it. It’s easier to drill and nail it yourself than to call a professional. Dad was always doing something at home, nailing, picking. And I watched and learned to be independent.
- You once said that a musician has three constant expenses: a studio, a car and a spouse. The situation has not changed?
Pah-pah, I don’t spend money on medicine yet (smiles). Number one on this list is, of course, the wife. Fortunately, the studio no longer needs any expenses. Only in rent for the premises. 28 synthesizers is more than enough. I want to get rid of at least a couple. I don’t play on them, but they take up space... A car? Yes!
- Although lately you prefer the metro.
I try to take the metro more often because it’s fast. You won't be able to park in Moscow. I have two more meetings and a rehearsal planned for today. I would spend half a day in the car, and on the subway - whack-whack, back and forth... I have absolutely no complexes about this. And when it’s warm and dry outside, I also ride a scooter or bicycle.
- We talked about the three main expense items... Does alcohol interfere with this “coordinate system”?
Only non-alcoholic beer, and even then without fanaticism. For more than four years now.
- How did you come to this?
There were a lot of calls. Naturally, admonitions from loved ones. Yes, I myself felt how quickly I get tired - an eternally broken state, bad feeling. Volodya Nechitailo dragged me to the clinic to check my body. That's when I realized how terrible everything was. I decided: it’s time to call it quits if I want to live happily ever after. An elementary fear for my health appeared. As a result - a half-hour session, a bunch of electrodes connected to the head - and the very next day I calmly looked at the alcohol, no emotions!
- Don’t you have a feeling of nostalgia for the times when your entrance was covered with declarations of love, when fans overwhelmed you both night and day?
No! It was terrible and unpleasant. Honestly speaking, without coquetry, because it made my life terribly difficult. Vanity is such an interesting thing: it’s good when it’s monetized, when fans shout “Roma, Roma!” and at the same time buy tickets to the concert. But separately, it’s not interesting. By the way, now there are no fewer fans, they just flowed from the entrances to the same Facebook and became more civilized. And now they don’t interfere with life (laughs).
- You once said: “I plan my life for the day ahead and for what will happen in three years, and in between - freestyle.” Where did you get these frames from? Why exactly three years?
Three - good number, magical. But not everything in my life can be divided into such segments. The notorious midlife crisis that I experienced this summer has led to the fact that I now try to plan with great caution. Moreover, in the current economic situation, it is generally unrealistic to plan anything. What will happen in three years? The goblin knows him! Of course, I have Napoleonic plans - in next year finally release my album. At least on the Internet... But I feel that planning and I are incompatible things. This is very bad, of course, wrong, but this is me - Roman Ryabtsev.
Makeup and hairstyles: Kristina KOVALEVA.
We thank The Box bar for their help in organizing the shooting.
Private bussiness
Roman RYABTSEV was born on January 25, 1970 in Voronezh. He grew up in a family of diplomats and lived in Damascus (Syria) for five years. Professional musical career began in 1988 as part of the duet “Farewell to Youth”. In 1990, he became a keyboard player for the Bioconstructor group, which then transformed into Tekhnologiya. In 1993, Ryabtsev went to France to record solo album under contract with Radio France Internationale. Returning to Russia, he soon left the team and officially announced the start solo career. Over 10 years, Ryabtsev released four albums, while simultaneously working on remixes and arrangements for various artists. In 2003, he recreated the group “Technology”, in which he still performs together with Vladimir Nechitailo and Matvey Yudov. His wife is journalist Marina Chancellor (Ryabtseva).
