Boris Grebenshchikov: “Selling oneself and self-expression may coincide sometimes”
“Aquarium” will play a Christmas concert “Arigato” in the “Theatre of Young Spectator” on December 23, 2006. It will include some compositions that have never been played on concerts before. Boris Grebenshchikov told dp.ru about the way the modern music should be.
After four-month’s pause caused by the reasons of medical character – Grebenshchikov was urgently operated on eye on June – “Aquarium” recommences concert (and not only concert) activity.
The “Christmas Concert” is surely based on the songs from the last album with such hits as “Glasses”, “Voulez-vous coucher avec moi”, “Careless Russian Rover” and “Mama, I can’t drink any more” among them.
From more then 1500 songs written during the existence of the band, at least one third of them is beyond any time boarders, these songs form Grebenshchikov`s “table of main elements”. It’s not surprising that some of them come to the surface from time to time and in new sounding they introduce that needed healing element to today’s life.
The activisation of this process is supposed to take place next year, as the 2007th is a year of the 35th jubilee of the band.
The “Olma Media Group” publishing house has already issued a new book “The Songs of BG”. Besides that, it is planned to publish a high-priced exclusive edition of the same book for the most devoted admirers of the group. Each one will have the author’s personal signature.
DP.RU: Is it possible to distinguish between rock`n roll and pop music today?
B.G.: I have a contra-question: “Is it possible to distinguish a free man and an enchained one? A man longing for freedom and one who doesn’t care about it? I think it’s rather hard to tell by appearance. But the substance can always be seen. A free man will never subscribe to something in which he’s not interested.
DP.RU: Singing rock`n`roll not having another way out – it’s up to the 80s. But today you can compromise, to play the music that is demanded first, and then to play for yourself…
B.G.: Here’s the situation like loosing one’s innocence. You can loose it “in a wrong way” to have everything OK in future, can you? Why not? But, from my point of view, there are some things that can happen only once. Selling oneself and buying pleasure for this money is much more difficult then just to get pleasure.
DP.RU: But if music can’t be sold, does it mean, that there’re not so many people who need it?
B.G.: A musician must be occupied with music. And those who can sell it must sell it. Anyway, there’s a difference between selling oneself and self-expression. Sometimes it happily coincides, and sometimes it doesn’t.
DP.RU: Is there more traders or creators nowadays?
B.G.: Equally. There are millions of people who want to listen to pop music. It’s silly to think that everyone longs for advanced, experimental, spiritual music.
DP.RU: But it’s difficult to be promoted without money investments…
B.G.: There is no point in promotion without investments, but there’s a point in playing music without it.
DP.RU: And what must be real music look like?
B.G.: Santana said a good thing about it: “Music must touch man’s mind, heart, bollocks and all the rest. If it touches all these places – it’s real music”.
DP.RU: And is there music separately for legs, head and so on?
B.G.: That’s music for invalids.
Alexander Grigorjev
Translated by Anna Pavlova
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