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Mumiy Troll
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Ilia "Laguta"
Lagutenko - Vokals
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Oleg "Punga"
Pungine - Drums
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“Vive le Rockapops!”
Mumiy Troll (pronounced Moo-me Troll) is
undoubtedly the top band on the current ex-Soviet Rock and Pop scene
and has really made its mark with startling albums and live performances
that are bursting with energy, combining warmth with total debauchery.
The charismatic frontman, lead singer and songwriter of the band,
Ilia Lagoutenko, has been the driving force since the beginning.
Originally from the port of Vladivostok, in the Far East of Russia,
he formed his first psychedelic punk band named Bunny Pee at the
age of 11. This was at a time when Russia was still isolated behind
the Iron Curtain, and any rock’n’roll activities were
considered
subversive and were forced underground.
During the eighties Ilia formed Mumiy Troll, experimenting with
different music styles from neo-romanticism to big beats. Mumiy
Troll released two cassette only albums and became established a
following in the underground scene of many Russian cities. However,
being labelled “the most socially dangerous band in the world
- alongside Black Sabbath and the Sex Pistols” by local Communist
Party Chief, but “sweet popsters” by aggressive rock critics,
did not help the band to become recognized by the general public.
Ilia spent the first half of the next decade in oriental studies
and traveling the world in search of some purpose!
In 1996, having been almost forgotten, Mumiy Troll was offered a
modest record deal in Russia. It enabled Ilia and his long-term
collaborator, Leo Burlakov (now the band’s manager), to start
their first proper studio project in London. The resulting album,“Morskaya”
(Nautical), along with some fantastic promo videos (with constant
rotation on MTV Russia), intrigued the Russian audience enough to
get Mumiy Troll the status of “Best Band of the Millennium”,
and “Morskaya’’ reached Number 1 in the Russian charts,
as well as their other albums.
Mumiy Troll then delivered a successful live version of the album,
exploding all the rumours about Mumiy Troll being a “one-hit
wonder” studio project.
Having found their audience, Mumiy Troll are now seen a Russian
treasure – ‘The Dostoyevskys of Modern Pop’. Their
enigmatically smiling leader has not only became a sex-symbol of
his generation but also a most desirable and adorable figure for
the Russian media, who found they had finally met an intelligent,
human, faithful and independent creator amongst the morass of second-rate
Russian pop stars.
Mumiy Troll is now a household name in Russia, throughout the former
Soviet bloc, and in an increasing number of other countries. Fan
mail and interview requests arrive all over the world. Still independent
and even without any distribution outside Russia, Mumiy Troll successfully
played concerts in the UK, USA, Israel and Japan. Their live performance
at Kanemori Hall, Hakodate, Japan, was broadcast by satellite to
over 40 million viewers in Asia. Hong Kong’s Channel V has
broadcast television documentaries about the band. Scandinavian
radio stations play their songs...
In Russia Mumiy Troll usually play 5,000 - 20,000 seat arenas on their tour. They headlined the Moskowsky Komsomoletz Festival in Luzhniki, playing for over 100,000 people!
The band is currently on tour promoting their latest CD, “
Exactly Mercury Aloe”, and are working on new English language
material.
”The most socially dangerous band in the world”
has arrived!
What the papers say:
“…the meteoric rise of Mumiy Troll, a Vladivostok band
that has sparked a Beatlemania-like phenomenon in Russia.”
- Time Out, UK
"... the charismatic lead singer, with his raw energy, biting
sarcasm and catchy choruses, is at present perhaps the only truly
vital singer on the Russian music scene. The rest are either crushing
bores, fools, or just con-artists…"
- St Petersburg Times, Russia
“...The band with no borders.”
- Hokkaido Simbun, Japan
“…Russia’s hottest band. Young Russians do not believe
in Santa Claus, they believe in Mumiy Trolls…”
- Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
PR-photography and text courtesy of Mumiy Troll
all other photographs © Hannelore Fobo
