This is one of the most popular rock bands in Russia, known not only in the post-Soviet space, but also abroad. The songs of "Splin" are broadcast on YouTube in a video sequence, and foreigners ask for a translation, admiring the songs unknown to them. The Russians are joking about the fact that the best depression is depression under Spleen, and they pay tribute to the group, quoting lines from her songs.
This is not to say that at some point the audience most esteemed “Spleen”. The discography of 1994-2014 shows that over the course of their twenty years of experience the group repeatedly released new hits. "Splin" is not one of those who, having sung one song, will be forgotten. Their new album "Resonance" made the same effect in the ranks of fans and amateurs, adding a couple more to the list of hits of the group.
A bit about the group
The 1994 album "Dusty Comes" - here it is, the debut of the group "Spleen". Discography starts from this very moment.
What can be said about the group in principle? "Spleen" from English translates as "spleen", and this is an incredibly accurate name. The permanent leader of the team is Alexander Vasiliev. The group’s birthday is May 27, 1994, which means that this year it has become an adult: “Splin” turned twenty-one. The date was chosen prosaically: not from the day when the album, recorded with the help of session musicians in the studio of one of the theaters, was released and sold in tens of thousands of copies on audio tapes, but when at the party Vasiliev and his long-time university friend Alexander Morozov met the guitarist Stas Berezovsky. A little later, a drummer appeared - Nikolai Lysov.
Style and atmosphere
The Spleen team is called the main hypochondriacs in the country. Perhaps that is why they are loved like that: already Russian classics of 19th-century literature showed that the depressive style of Russian art is very abhorrent to its inhabitants, who recognize themselves in it.
The group is ranked as a Russian rock genre, although in fact it can be expressed very differently. The soloist of the group, Alexander Vasiliev, says he does not want to dwell on the same style and is constantly experimenting. But one cannot fail to notice that Spleen, whose discography is filled with many beautiful compositions, is nevertheless always recognizable by its own atmosphere.
Spleen and poetry
Usually, the lyrics for the songs are written by Alexander Vasilyev himself: he tries on everyday situations experienced by himself and transfers them to art. But “Splin” has a couple of songs, the words of which were taken from well-known verses, for which we can say thanks to the group, because they popularized “Letter to Lilichka” by Mayakovsky, “The End of the Beautiful Era” by Brodsky and others.
It is interesting that when turning poetry into music, “Spleen” preserves the tact of the poem and emphasizes its essence. It is impossible to read these verses differently than Vasiliev read them, because everything is done in the best possible way: words are given in memory, and memory synthesizes their meaning.
1994 - release of the album "Dusty Story"
The full discography of the group "Spleen" has fourteen albums, with the last, "Resonance", divided into two parts.
"Dusty Story" is a crude album, in which a piece of the soul of each of the musicians is embedded. One feels that the group is still trying itself, but it should be said that it does it well. Such a song from the album as “They told me the word” already has characteristic hard lines, and all the compositions are saturated with the elusive Petersburg spirit. Do not forget that in “Dusty were” Vasiliev sang his favorite city in the song “St. Petersburg Sky”.
1996 - The Weapon Collector
"Collector" has become a more mature album with a richer sound and interesting sound. The sketch began to turn into a full-fledged picture. Spleen was becoming more popular - a group whose discography interests fans even after twenty years.
The musicians went to conquer Moscow and signed a contract with SNC. This indicated that two more albums were guaranteed to be released.
“Weapon Collector” was marked by the hits “Black color of the Sun”, “What will you do.” He also contained the radio single “Fish Without Underpants” from the previous album.
1997 - "Lantern under the eye"
Just a year later, in April, the band released their first album on SNC records. This year in general became very important for Spleen: Sound Product re-released Dusty Stuff, the team took part in the second Maksidroma, and it finally got a manager.
The “Lantern Under the Eye” introduced a bit of post-grange, which “Spleen” (albums, discography of 1994-1997 were discussed above) had never played before. In "Were" and "Collector" in abundance there were such fabulous compositions.
English-Russian Dictionary (Come on, Llama), I Don't Want to Go Home, Bonnie and Clyde, Nevsky Prospect - these hits appeared thanks to the album Lantern Under the Eye.
1998 - "Pomegranate Album"
April 1998 - release of "Pomegranate Album". All the songs that went into it were already played at concerts by “Splin” live, and yet they still became the subject of much debate and discussion. There were no more "fairy tales" in the album - only vital compositions, in addition, the influence of psychedelics affected. By the way, it was "Pomegranate Album" that contained one of the most famous songs of the group - "There is no way out." Within its framework, Orbits Without Sugar, All This Bullshit, and God Tired of Loving Us were released.
1999 - "Altavista"
Altavista is the new period of the Spleen group. Full discography 1994-2014 it can be safely divided into two parts precisely this year, because all the songs from the album are very mature, serious, adults.
In 2000, “Altavista live” was released on two CDs, containing live recordings of the group. In the same year, the Denominator was released, a collection of songs from previous albums.
2001 - "25 frames"
The new album saw the light two years later. At this time, the group toured first, and then took a time out to record it. "25 frame" has become something unusual - the songs from there vaguely resembled the times of the "Lantern", but at the same time contained notes of what "Splin" had never played before. The album included the fruit of the group’s collaboration with BI-2 - Fellini. It is interesting that the next tour was held under the same name.
In 2001, there were changes in the composition of the Spleen team. Discography, music - all this is permanent Alexander Vasiliev was now going to create with Kolya Voronov and Vadik Sergeyev. Morozov, who was with Vasiliev from the very beginning, left the group in favor of a quiet family life.
2002 - Acoustics and Handball
In 2002, single- and double-disc versions of the recordings of the acoustic concert of the Spleen group were released. The discography was also replenished with another album in the same year - Handball. It was a small collection of five songs, which however included another very famous hit - “My Heart”, which stopped and then went back.
2003 - Drafts and New People
The release of “New People” delighted fans, “Drafts”, in fact, represented Vasilyev’s solo album. In "Drafts" were collected songs of Alexander, written in the period 1989-2003. This provided the basis for talk about the breakup of the group. But, fortunately, they were false.
2004 - the same "Romance" and "Reverse Chronicle of Events"
Vasiliev came up with the melody of "Romance" when listening to Chopin. Subsequently, the work became one of the most famous in the work of the Spleen collective. Discography received an album dedicated to this song. "Romance" was released on a three-inch CD in three versions. This happened in 2004. At the same time, Reverse Chronicle of events was released, with its magnificent “We sat and smoked” and “Geography Lesson”. "Romance" is also included in the "..chronicles ..".
2006 - "The split personality"
In 2006, Spleen released their next album. By this time, the group became quite famous not only in the post-Soviet space, but also abroad and went on tour to New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco. In addition, the composition changed several times during this period. Only the leader remained unchanged.
2007 - "13 Years in Rock and Roll"
Having dedicated the collection of the best songs (some in the acoustic version) to the 13th anniversary of the group, in 2007 Spleen released 13 Years in Rock and Roll.
On the official website, changes in the composition of the group were again announced.
2009-2014
In 2009, “Signal from Space” was released, and “Splin” writes a cover of the song “Time Machine” “It Was So Long A Time”. The Letter also appears in the album to the verses of Joseph Brodsky. "Signal ..." received well-deserved success, and the group, among others, was nominated for several awards of the Chart Dozen Prize.
2012 was the year of the release of "Optical Illusion", 2014 - the "Resonance" in two parts. Both albums already look more static, saturated with the atmosphere of "Splin". But, despite this, Vasiliev always manages to surprise fans with new, extremely vital lines.
The full discography of the Spleen group is surprisingly indicative in terms of the creative and personal growth of each of the participants. In the history of seemingly depressed musicians, there is a constant movement forward, and their works inspire with their bright sadness, but not at all longing.