In the 2000s, the City 312 collective gained popularity. The composition of the group includes 6 people. The soloist is Svetlana Azarenko, better known under the pseudonym Aya.
Group "City 312"
Why is such a name chosen by the team "City 312"? The composition of the group hails from the capital of Kyrgyzstan - Bishkek. It was there that they first got together. And 312 is the telephone code of this city.
This pop rock band, also called "Citizens", originated in 2001. The first part included 4 people. It was they who performed at the first concerts under the name "City 312". The composition of the group has changed from time to time. So, the guitarist, previously known for his participation in the "Ayan" group, could not stand the rhythm of life in the capital after the band moved to Moscow. In his place came Masha (Maria Pritula).
The drummers regularly changed in the collective. The most famous for the general public was Igor Javad-Zade, who played with Butusov, performed in Zemfira, Igor Talkov, Kristina Orbakaite, Alexander Marshall and many others.
At different times, Viktor Golovanov, also known by the group "Degrees", and Sergey Kovtun also played drums.
Movie soundtracks
"City 312", the composition of the group you will find in this article, has become one of the few groups that has gained fame and popularity due to the writing of soundtracks for modern films.
In 2006, Oksana Bychkova directed the comedy melodrama Peter FM. The main theme of the film was the song "Out of Access Zone", which was performed by the team "City 312". The band members wrote this song at the request of the creators of the picture. In total, two dozen compositions were used in the film, including Underwood, Aquarium, Mumiy Troll, but only this one became a hit right after the premiere. Everyone immediately started talking about the City 312 collective. The composition of the group, photos of the participants are in this article, immediately became interested in music critics and fans.
In 2006, the group shot a video for the song "I will stay", which became the soundtrack to Timur Bekmambetov's science fiction film "Day Watch". This song has even been nominated for the MTV Award for Best Soundtrack of the Year.
Later they wrote songs for Timur Bekmambetov’s comedy melodrama “The Irony of Fate. Continuation”, Yevgeny Bedarev’s fantastic melodrama “New Year’s Tariff”.
First records
The group "City 312" released its first record in 2006. It was called "Out of Access", like the main hit. After the release of this album, another of their songs became popular on the Russian stage - "Lanterns".
“Citizens” immediately amazed their fans and music critics with their versatility, they were not afraid to experiment and play in different genres, from heavy metal to rumba and even jazz.
In 2007, their second record was presented to the public. Album "Turn around". In addition to the main hit, which became the name of the record, it included such popular songs as "213 Roads", "A Girl Who Wanted Happiness."
After that, the group began active touring tours. And not only in Russia and the countries of the former Soviet Union, but also abroad. With concerts, the City 312 team visited the USA, Poland, Germany, Belgium, France, Holland, and the Canary Islands.
Now the group continues to conduct an active touring activity, performs a lot, works on new compositions and records. He continues to write songs for films.
And I
The permanent soloist of the group is Svetlana Nazarenko, known to fans under the pseudonym Aya. She was born in Kyrgyzstan in 1970. The only one in the group who has dual citizenship (Russian and Kyrgyz).
She dreamed about the career of an artist since childhood. At the age of 7, she became a soloist with the Bolshoi Concert Children's Choir. In 1982, she showed herself at the republican folk art competition, after which she was noticed by the famous Kyrgyz producer Rafail Sarlykov. He invited her to his ensemble "Araket".
Soon after, Nazarenko began a solo career. She took part in contests and festivals, taking prizes.
In the 90s, four of her solo albums were released - Good Night, Broken Radio, Dream Music, and Strawberry Flavored Tea. Despite success at festivals and popularity in Kyrgyzstan, she felt that she could not fully realize herself. By 2001, she graduated from the Kyrgyz Institute of Arts, having received a diploma in "Pop Vocal".
Soon after, she teamed up with the brothers Pritula, Dmitry and Leonid, to create her own team. So there was a group "City 312". The composition, the soloist of which has not changed, has undergone various changes during its existence, but the skeleton has been preserved for 16 years now.
In 2007, Nazarenko received the highest creative award of Kyrgyzstan. She was awarded the title of Honored Artist of this republic.
Prithul Brothers
Dmitry and Leonid were part of the initial composition of the City 312 group. Their names became well known to the Russian public. They still play in the collective.
Dmitry Pritula, nicknamed Dim, sings on backing vocals, plays keyboards. He is the author of the lyrics of most of the songs performed by the collective. He graduated from the College of Music, conducting and choral faculty.
His brother Leonid, nicknamed Leon, writes music for songs. He also has a musical background. In the same music school, he studied at the pop department. In the group plays the bass.
Over time, a new guitarist appeared in the group - the wife of Dmitry Maria Ileev, who took his last name. So as many as three members with the name Pritula appeared in the team "City 312". The composition of the group, which Masha quickly joined, only got stronger from this. Maria Pritula plays the guitar. Her musical education was limited to private guitar courses with Alexei Knyshov and Timur Mardaleishvili.
Alexander
The second guitar in the group "City 312" is played by Alexander Ilchuk. He has the assets of the State Musical College of Pop and Jazz Art in Moscow and the Novosibirsk State Conservatory named after Mikhail Glinka. In these educational institutions, he studied guitar.
In order to play in this group, he passed a casting. In addition to him, three more musicians claimed the place of the second guitarist. As Ilchuk admits, he was very late, almost two hours. Therefore, he was the last to speak. But managed to make a corresponding impression. Immediately after listening to it, he was offered to further collaborate with the group.
Nick
Another current member of the team Leonid Nikonov, nicknamed Nick. He graduated from the Saratov Regional College of Arts. Received a diploma in drum class. In the group "City 312" he plays percussion instruments.
Nikonov has extensive experience playing drums, especially in rock bands. He has a rich concert and studio activity.
Since 2015, in parallel with performances in the City 312 group, he has been playing in Seryoga’s new project under the name Polygraph Sharikov. He also acts as a musical artist directed by Ilya Averbukh.