Oriented on making people closer

Melbourne. July. Warm winter evening. There is vanity and pandemonium in the courtyard of the Russian House. Tickets for the “Brother” concert dedicated to Sergei Bodrov Jr., a famous Russian director and actor, were sold out two weeks in advance. The organizer of the musical project is amateur singer Murad Arrykov, a Turkmen from Ashgabat who now lives in the Australian city. About a year ago, he won the hearts of the Russian-speaking Melbourne audience by winning the performers' competition with the song "Favorite Eyes". This melodic composition, in fact, "opened" the concert venues of Melbourne to him. Orient told his readers about this story.

A year after the debut performance, Murad presented the “Brother” project to Melbourne music lovers - the concert program included songs from the cult duology Brother and Brother-2 by Russian director Alexei Balabanov. Many musical groups, as well as their compositions, at the time of the release of the films, were either completely unknown, or they were known only in very narrow circles – “BI-2”, “Dancing Minus”, “Semantic Hallucinations”, “Ocean of Elza”, “Chicherin" and others. The main role of Danila Bagrov in the film was played by actor Sergei Bodrov Jr.

Balabanov's picture made them famous in one morning, and the music that sounded in the film epic became an anthem for the generations of the 80s, dashing 90s and zero among the representatives of the former Soviet Union, many of whom have dispersed all over the world, including to Australia. Therefore, with the theme of the project, Murad, one might say, "hit the bull's-eye." For the audience, the concert became nostalgia for youth, hometowns and childhood friends.

The music salon of the Russian House in Melbourne is full house. By some miracle, even stowaways were placed in the hall. And the evening was held in the popular today style of the apartment house - a cozy and warm atmosphere and the opportunity to hold a creative meeting in an informal setting, where the audience “dates” with the music and direct live communication between the speaker and the listener takes place.

Favorite songs performed by singers and bands took the audience into pleasant memories, and interesting mini-stories of the presenter Murad Arrykov created the illusion of a sincere conversation in the kitchen, “magnetizing” the audience with pleasant emotions. For example, the audience was interested to know that the song “No one writes to the Colonel” by the BI-2 group, or rather its early version, was first performed in 1998 in Melbourne. Later, in 1999, after participating in the Russian festival "Invasion", the musicians met the director Alexei Balabanov and took part in the creation of the soundtrack for the film "Brother-2" and starred in the film as themselves. And the song "No one writes to the Colonel", sounded in this blockbuster, instantly becomes a hit and still remains one of the main compositions of the group. Our compatriot Murad sang it at the concert.

Another hit, which was sung at the concert, has an interesting story. In 2000, the new song "I was looking for" by the now stellar Zemfira was released and, without having time to get into the artist's album, it was approved as the soundtrack for the film "Brother-2". After the release of the film, the composition takes the first line of the Nashe Radio hit parade and to this day is listed among the best songs of the singer.

Probably, few people know that the first part of the "Brother" dilogy was filmed in just thirty-one days, and the film's budget was about 10 thousand US dollars - that is, the film was shot at its own expense. Many actors worked for a nominal fee or even for free. As for the musical design of the film, Balabanov agreed with the leader of the Nautilus Pompilius group, composer and singer Vyacheslav Butusov on a kind of barter deal - free music from Nautilus, and a video clip based on the film from Balabanov. So, almost the entire soundtrack for the first film was written and sung by rock musician Slava Butusov. The song "In the Rain" performed by the Melbourne group "Trali-Vali" was greeted with enthusiasm by the audience.

Each composition played at the concert had its own backstory. An excellent selection of songs was made for the epic film. Some sounded in the films, and some remained behind the scenes, however, they were all included in the albums "Brother-2" and "Brother-2 not included." One of these “left overboard” songs was “Sand Pit Generals” by the group “Accident”, which also graced the evening.

The performances of singers and vocalists were replaced by musical groups, and then the program continued in the style of "open microphone" - the guests of the "kvartirnik" were already singing on stage. As they say, the party was a success - both the musicians and the audience "came off".

– Of course, I was very worried when starting this project - here it was not just necessary to go on stage and sing. It was about the organization at all stages. And it was very nice when, after the concert, both the audience and the musicians approached me with words of gratitude. The first pancake came out not at all lumpy, but it turned out to be a beautiful and tasty cake, judging by the feedback from the audience. After the evening, heated discussions began with the musicians and even in a fever they “threw” ideas for a future performance, - Murad Arrykov, the author of the project, told Orient.

The Melbourne beau monde received the vociferous Turkmen. Today he is known and loved in the musical circles of the city, and the number of fans is added after each performance. After all, the main thing for an artist is to give people live emotions that they take home and stay in this pleasant euphoria. Murad Arrykov gives them just such a fortune, so his performances in Melbourne are expected.

Gulya Geldyeva

Photo: provided by the Alex James