Edmund Shklyarsky is the permanent leader and vocalist of the rock band Piknik. He managed to realize himself as a singer, musician, poet, composer and artist.
His voice cannot leave you indifferent. He absorbed a wonderful timbre, sensuality and melody. The songs performed by the main vocalist of "Picnic" are saturated with special energy.
Childhood and youth
Edmund was born in Moscow in 1955. He is half Pole, so he speaks fluent Polish and Russian. Edmund grew up as a musical child. It is not surprising that in childhood he mastered playing several musical instruments at once.
Edmund's mother was directly related to creativity. She taught at the local conservatory and taught piano to students. Initially, the guy learned to play the keyboard, then the violin. But, something went wrong, because with academic music, Edmund did not work out from the word “completely”. The young man fell in love with the sound of Western rock.
His soul was captured by the records of the legendary The Beatles и The Rolling Stones. Edmund had no choice but to pick up the guitar. But, when it came to choosing a profession, the young man went to study as an energy engineer at the Moscow Polytechnic Institute.
Edmund chose his profession under the influence of the head of the family. The father wanted his son to have a serious job that would provide him with a good future. Despite being busy at an educational institution, he did not leave music. In his student years, he founded the first team. The brainchild of the rocker was called "Surprise". Under this sign, the guys performed at the prestigious Spring Rhythms festival.
Then Edmund wanted to become part of the already promoted Aquarium team, played the keys in Orion, and was even listed in the Labyrinth group. Working in popular bands provided the musician with the necessary experience, but at the same time, he realized that he wanted freedom, and it was unrealistic to get it in such groups.
He had like-minded people, thanks to whom he created another musical project. Edmund presented a brainchild to heavy music fans, which was called "Picnic".
The creative path of the singer Edmund Shklyarsky
The newly minted team debuted before the public in the early 80s. A year later, the group's discography was opened by the LP "Smoke", where a certain Alexey Dobychin acted as a co-author of Edmund. By the way, this was the only case when the leader of the group asked for help at the stage of writing lyrics and music. The band's discography included more than two dozen albums. All records except the debut album belong to the authorship of Shklyarsky.
The group quickly showed who was on the #1 rock scene. A couple of years after the debut performance, they became laureates of the prestigious festival in the capital. In terms of popularity, the group was not inferior to Zoo and Aquarium.
The team gives a number of performances. Even then, a certain performance appeared, which in the end will become an obligatory attribute of each performance of the Picnic. Today it is difficult to imagine the performances of artists without bizarre musical instruments designed by Edmund, lighting effects and mummers who appeared on stage in high stilts.
By the beginning of the 90s, the group's discography included five full-length LPs. They are the favorites of the public. Each performance of the artists takes place with a large house. They are greeted everywhere as special stars and kings of the rock scene. The musicians of "Picnic" did not seek to imitate anyone, and this was their peculiarity. Edmund sings about social and political problems - problems that affect every citizen of the country. He manages to get to the sore point, thereby he stirs up the interest of the public.
At the beginning of the "zero" the presentation of the collection "Egyptian" took place. Some of the tracks sounded in the wake of "Our Radio". Since that time, Edmund and his team have been regular guests of the prestigious Invasion festival. The guys managed to increase the interest of the public.
In 2005, another disc of the band was released. We are talking about the collection "Kingdom of Curves". The title track of the LP became the musical accompaniment to the film of the same name. The track "The shaman has three hands", which was also included in the record, regularly gets into the "Chart Dozen".
Then he takes part in the dubbing of the animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas, brilliantly performing the role of vampires. Mysticism often surfaced in his work, so Edmund's choice is quite easy to explain.
Visual Arts
He continued to write music and record new records. In 2010, long-plays were released: Iron Mantras, Obscurantism and Jazz, Stranger. In 2017, the team celebrated a solid anniversary - the 35th anniversary of its foundation. The musicians pleased the fans with a festive concert and skated the tour.
He began drawing as a child, and over the years extended his love for the fine arts. Almost all the covers of the rock band "Picnic" were drawn by Edmund Shklyarsky. He felt his music, so he perfectly conveyed the mood of musical works. The characters in the artist's paintings are often hidden behind masks.
His painting is filled with abstractions and symbolism. The artist's painting seems to follow from his poetry and complements it. Sometimes he organizes exhibitions so that everyone who is interested in fine arts can enjoy and feel his work. In 2005, the rocker's paintings were exhibited at the Peter's Arena, and in 2009, the NOTA-R publishing house released the Sounds and Symbols LP.
Details of the personal life of the artist Edmund Shklyarsky
Edmund can safely be called a happy man. His personal life has developed successfully. With his future wife Elena, Shklyarsky met in his youth. The rocker finally fell in love with the girl during the New Year's dance. The marriage produced two children - a daughter and a son.
A large family lives in the cultural capital of Russia - St. Petersburg. The son followed in the footsteps of his father. Since childhood, he was interested in music, and when he mastered playing the synthesizer, he became the youngest musician in the Piknik rock band. Alina (daughter of Edmund) sometimes takes part in writing poems that form the basis of musical works.
Edmund is already twice a grandfather. He leads an almost healthy lifestyle, loves yoga, loves to read and play chess. A man considers his home to be the best place to relax. Zhenya managed to create the “right” atmosphere at home.
He is often credited with being related to the Russian actor Ivan Okhlobystin. Shklyarsky denies kinship, but focuses on the fact that he adores Ivan's work. They worked together on the film "Arbiter". Okhlobystin took on the role of director, and Edmund was responsible for the musical component of the film.
Interesting facts about the singer
- He is a Catholic by religion.
- In 2009, he was awarded the "Certificate and Badge of Honor of St. Tatiana."
- He collects all the press that is associated with the rock band "Picnic".
- Edmund composed the musical accompaniment for the films "Kingdom of the Crooked" and "Law of the Mousetrap".
- He admires the work of Radiohead and Garbage.
Edmund Shklyarsky at the present time
Edmund often tours Russia with his team. Musicians prefer not to make long pauses. Every two years, Shklyarsky pleases fans with the release of a new LP. For example, in 2017, the group's discography was replenished with the LP "Sparks and Cancan". The collection includes 10 tracks. The novelty was warmly received by numerous fans and music critics.
In 2018, the musicians of "Picnic" during the next tour got into a traffic accident. Edmund escaped with a head injury and a minor fracture. The musician's condition was stable. Edmund could not sit still for a long time, so after a while the rockers continued their planned tour.
A year later, the premiere of the single "Shine" took place. The release of the composition took place on the official website. Edmund does not lead social networks, so news from the life of the team regularly appear on the site.
In 2019, Edmund and Picnic presented the album In the Hands of a Giant. It is impossible not to note the excellent concentration of memorable compositions in the longplay: "Lucky", "In the hands of a giant", "The soul of a samurai is a sword", "Purple Corset" and "Such is their karma".
In 2020, the team spent on tour. Some of the musicians' concerts had to be canceled due to restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. In the same 2020, a presentation of a new single took place, which was called "Sorcerer".
In 2021, Piknik celebrated its 40th anniversary with an anniversary tour of the Russian Federation. The tour was called "The Touch". The poster of the performances of the rock band is posted on the official website.
