The power of the great and super-popular musical project "Aria" is hard to question: hundreds of thousands of Russian rock lovers admit sympathy and love for the work of this group. The “Aria” group often experienced crises, then disintegrated, then converged again; its leaders and selected formats succeeded each other. In such difficult conditions, the creative team runs the risk of disbanding completely if there is no solid and faithful “backbone” in its ranks. Such a "framework", the core for "Aria" were Vladimir Kholstinin (guitarist and co-founder of the group) and Vitaly Dubinin (bass, backing vocals). If Vladimir Kholstinin is the only permanent member of the team and the author of most of the songs, then what are the merits of Vitaly Dubinin to the famous rock band?
Short biography of Vitaly Dubinin
Dubinin Vitaliy Alekseevich was born in the Vnukovo district of Moscow on October 9, 1958. Even at school, Vitaliy mastered playing drums and bass, performed with a school musical group. At the Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MPEI) in 1975, Dubinin met with Vladimir Kholstinin. Having replaced several groups, including “Magic Twilight”, “Alphabet” and “Alpha”, in 1987 Vitaliy came to the place of bassist Alik Granovsky who had left the “Aria”. From this moment, Vitaly did not leave the group, remaining a loyal ally of Holstinin.
The role of Vitaly Dubinin in the activities of the group "Aria"
What, in addition to the professional performance of bass parts, did Vitaly Dubinin do for the band? “Aria”, thanks to his composing talent, was born of such famous compositions as “Ice Shard”, “Rose Street”, “Calm” and “Hero of Asphalt”. These songs are most often remembered by fans of rock music when it comes to the group "Aria". Colleagues note Vitaly’s value as a wonderful melodist who is able to adapt the foreign metal genre of metal to a Russian listener. Among other things, Dubinin’s good vocal data did not go unnoticed - the bassist, along with the then-vocalist of the band Valery Kipelov, performed the part in the song “Torture by silence”, and his voice also adorned the compositions “Blood of Kings”, “Phoenix” and “Battlefield”.
Project "Crash"
In 1997, Vladimir Kholstinin and Vitaly Dubinin released an acoustic album, which included the rearranged compositions of the group "Aria", as well as two songs of Dubinin - "Horror and Fear" and "Such is sadness", which were not previously included in the "Aryan" repertoire. Vitaly repeatedly noted that all the songs that he wrote for Aria were originally born in the acoustic version, and only then did Vladimir Kholstinin make “heavy” arrangements, however, for these songs Vladimir was unable to pick up a spectacular heavy form, therefore they stayed in their original guitar version. Vocal parts in all compositions were also performed by Vitaly Dubinin. The songs, both new and re-arranged, were warmly received by the public, and Vitaly still performs them at New Year's concerts. The name "Crash" is a comic reference to the "mother" team.
Preferences in music and attitude to Russian rock
As the loyal fans of Aria know, Dubinin is negative about the phenomenon of Russian rock. In his own words, Russian rock can hardly be called music. It is not surprising, because Vitaliy is a professional melodist, for whom the musical component of the song plays a major role. According to the canons of Russian rock, the most important thing in the song is the text, and the drawing of notes fades into the background.
As for Dubinin’s musical preferences, he said that he respects foreign rock, listening to him mainly on the radio in the car. He does not name individual idols, but emphasizes that he attaches more importance to the melody than to the text and understanding of its meaning. According to Vitaly, sometimes he does not hesitate to listen to the radio "Chanson" for the sake of laughter and uplifting.
Opinions of colleagues and the press
Mikhail Zhitnyakov, the current vocalist of Aria, considers Vitaly to be a true professional, able to clearly and distinctly explain what song he wants to see. The ease of working with him, according to Michael, is that circumstance that eases the burden of responsibility in the service in such a serious team. The press reviews about the musician are mostly positive, although there are not so many. Often rock musicians, even charismatic and talented, remain in the shadow of the leaders of the groups. Nevertheless, Dubinin does not go unnoticed - he willingly gives interviews, and also loves to play his friends and fans. So, for example, the most famous “duck” about Valery Kipelov (that his real name is Kopylov) is nothing but a Dubinin draw.
Of course, not a single article will tell about who Vitaliy Alekseevich Dubinin is, in as much detail as his work. Vitaly is still working with the group "Aria", so by visiting any concert or listening to studio recordings, you can get acquainted with the musician’s work in more detail. Fortunately, Dubinin for many years, without stopping and practically without going on creative holidays, delights his fans with new compositions.