Avia is a well-known musical group in the Soviet Union (and later in Russia). The main genre of the group is rock, in which you can sometimes hear the influence of punk rock, new wave (new wave) and art rock. Synth-pop has also become one of the styles in which musicians love to work.
The early years of the Avia group
The group was officially formed in the fall of 1985. However, the Avia team first appeared on the stage only at the beginning of 1986. At that time, the musicians presented the material "From the life of the composer Zudov." This is a small collection of songs in album format, which showed a bright combination of genres and styles.
From the first song there was a sense of immersion in the typical electronic music of the early 1980s. However, strings and percussion instruments were soon heard, which immediately introduced a rock atmosphere into electronics - an interesting phenomenon for Soviet music of the 1980s. The program was shown for the first time in Leningrad in one of the local Houses of Culture.
Like many rock musicians of that time, the Avia group first had a concert program, and then a full-length album. This is a natural situation for Soviet rockers. It was almost impossible to record a full-fledged album - both for financial reasons and because of censorship. Therefore, initially the guys wrote several songs for performances at concerts.
The name of the group "Avia" is an abbreviation and stands for "Anti-vocal-instrumental ensemble". This is a kind of mockery of the Soviet ensembles of that time. At the same time, it was a typical quartet. The group has three main members, each of them has a role to play.
Guys on stage
Instrumental arrangements with a characteristic experimental sound were accompanied by simple vocals. But there was one more feature - the group used a significant number of different instruments in their work. But there were still few members in the team.
As a result, the musicians not only had to learn to replace each other at the instruments, but also to do something with them regarding the presentation to the viewer. The fact is that on stage it all looked in such a way that the musicians simply ran around the stage from one instrument to another.
The output was thought up very original. The musicians decided to make a show out of this, and turn their “running around” into a small production that would be interesting to watch from the audience. So, showmen and people who were engaged in pantomime were invited to the group.
The band got its own graphic artist and two more professional saxophone players. From that moment on, it was even more like a professional ensemble, in which many members did a great job of organizing a real show on stage.
In fact, it has confused (in a good way) the public and critics a bit. Elements of acrobatics, gymnastics began to appear at performances, pantomime became a very "frequent guest" of concerts. For example, the Avia group could imitate a parade of athletes right on the stage.
The group won the attention of the public, not only in the USSR, but also abroad. In particular, their style was highly appreciated by American journalists on the pages of a number of publications. The musicians annually went to major festivals and competitions, won prizes and gained many fans of their work.
In particular, their skill was highly appreciated at the Leningrad Rock Club Festival. At the event, the organizers paid considerable attention to the group's ability to transform on stage, as well as virtuoso playing the instruments.
Works of the group "Avia"
After some time, the company "Melody" decided to release a full-fledged disc, which was called "Vsem". The circulation of several thousand copies was sold out very quickly, and the group got the opportunity to tour. Interestingly, some of the concerts took place abroad. So, the team visited Yugoslavia, Finland and a number of other countries where Soviet rock was highly valued.
Success was visible not only in other countries, but also in the native USSR. In particular, several songs were repeatedly performed on the Central Television of the Union. The hits "Holiday", "I don't love you" and a number of other songs were recognized by the whole country. However, from 1990 to 1995 There was a creative break in the life of the group.
In 1996, a new disc "Corrected - to believe!" was released. Despite the success with the public, it is still the last release. Since then, the team has gathered together only to perform joint concerts. Most often this happened within the framework of festivals or evenings of memory. The last public performance took place in 2019.
It is interesting that at different times the composition included approximately 18 people. Most of them were hired musicians or entertainers to stage performances. Saxophonists and showmen were regularly invited, who formed an important part of the concert program. To date, it is difficult to find an example of the same original and high-quality staged concert performance.
