Career
Ilya Lagutenko founded Mumiy Troll in Vladivostok on 16 October 1983.[3] In 1985, the group recorded their first album, Novaya luna aprelya, which was distributed as magnitizdat.[4]
Mumiy Troll disbanded when Lagutenko was conscripted into the Russian navy.[5] In 1990, they briefly reunited and released their second album, Delay Yu-Yu, on tape.[4] Having studied Chinese and English at the Oriental Studies Institute of the Far Eastern Federal University, Lagutenko worked in China and London from 1991 to 1995.[3][6] In 1995, he returned to Russia and reformed the band.[6]
In May 1997, Mumiy Troll released their first studio album, Morskaya (Russian: «Морская», lit. 'Marine'), which brought them wide popularity.[4][3] Six months later, they released their second studio album, Ikra (Russian: «Икра», lit. 'Caviar').
In 1998, MTV began broadcasting in Russia and Mumiy Troll's music video for the song "Vladivostok 2000" was the first music video by a Russian artist shown on the channel.[7]
In 2001, the group represented Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest and came in 12th place.[4][3] Time Out (London) wrote that they 'stole the show' by standing out as snakeskin heroes amongst all the taffeta and tuxedos.[verification needed]
The group wrote and produced soundtracks for a full-length cartoon movie and gave a new sound to classic Russian silent sci-fi movie and donated tracks to feature films including Russian blockbuster Night Watch, where Lagutenko also plays the Vampire. His face is on the cover of the American release.[citation needed]
Their 2005 album Sliyaniye i pogloshcheniye (Russian: Слияние и Поглощение, lit. 'Merger and Acquisition') was called back from the printers on the day of release when distributors realized that the bride and groom on the cover were wearing masks of Putin and Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The band changed them into symbols of hearts and United States dollars respectively.[citation needed]
In 2008, the band signed with the Agency Group.[5] In 2009, they released the album Comrade Ambassador, their first album to be made commercially available in North America, and toured North America to promote it.[6] In 2012, Mumiy Troll released their first English-language album, Vladivostok.[5]
In 2013, they released the album SOS matrosu (Russian: SOS матросу, lit. 'SOS to the Sailor'), written during the band's round-the-world trip on a 19-century sailing ship in locations.[4][8]
In 2015, they released album Piratskie kopii (Russian: Пиратские копии, lit. 'Pirate Copies') and in 2016, the English-language album Malibu Alibi.
In 2011, the first Mumiy Troll Music Bar was opened in Vladivostok.[9] In 2015, Lagutenko opened a second Mumiy Troll Music Bar in Moscow.[3]
The group has participated in various international festivals and music conferences, including SXSW, Culture Collide, Zandari Festa, Mu:Con, Sound City, and Visual Japan Summit.[citation needed] In 2013, they founded their own showcase festival "Vladivostok Rocks" (V-ROX).[10] The festival was dubbed "a small Pacific Woodstock" by Russia Beyond The Headlines.[11] V-ROX was held annually from 2013 to 2019. The 2020 edition of the festival was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]
Mumiy Troll was the first to support the activities of PSI organization fighting AIDS in Russia and performed at the No Name Fever exhibition for AIDS in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2005. They are also well known for conservation activities on wild life in Far-East taiga and helping local minorities to survive. Ilya Lagutenko is a patron of the British-Russian Amur fund for the protection of Amur tigers and leopards.[citation needed]
In 2022, the group condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and, as a result, had all their concerts in Russia canceled by the authorities.[13]
Style
Lagutenko lived in London in the 1990s and was influenced by the Britpop scene at the time.[14][1] Lagutenko has described the band's style as "rockapops."[5]
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