The prehistory of the Melnitsa group began in 1998, when musician Denis Skurida received the group's album Till Ulenspiegel from Ruslan Komlyakov.
Creativity of the team interested Skurida. Then the musicians decided to unite. It was assumed that Skurida would play percussion instruments. Ruslan Komlyakov began to master other musical instruments, except for the guitar.
Later there was a need to find a soloist for the team. She became Helavisa (Natalia O'Shea), who was known as the author of many songs and a talented singer. The first concert of the group took place in the club "Stanislavsky". It featured songs such as "Snake", "Highlander" and others. "Til Ulenspiegel" was at the peak of popularity from 1998 to 1999.
Then the group included: Helavisa (soloist), Alexei Sapkov (percussionist), Alexandra Nikitina (cellist). As well as Maria Skurida (violinist), Denis Skurida (founder of the group) and Natalia Filatova (flutist).
At that time, the group was a success with the audience. But then, due to disagreements on financial issues, misunderstandings began to arise in the team. As a result, all the participants did not want to continue working with Ruslan Komlyakov, and the group broke up.
Helavisa managed to unite the musicians again, who had the idea to create a new group. On October 15, 1999, the Melnitsa group was created, which included former members of the Till Ulenspiegel group. The name of the latter was still on the poster of the first concert of the new group, which took place two weeks later.
Helavisa, who became the founder and soloist of the Melnitsa group, as well as the main author of the texts, told the audience about the changes that had taken place then from the stage. She also came up with the idea for the band's name and logo.
The creative path of the Melnitsa group
The debut for the group was the album "Road of Sleep" (2003), but it became famous in 2005. The composition "Night Mare" (from the plate "Pass") took the leading position of the "Chart Dozen" on the radio station "Nashe Radio".
Since then, the Melnitsa group has been a regular member of the hit parade, and the songs of the folk-rock group regularly appear on the air. In the same year, significant changes took place in the composition of the team. Some of the musicians left the band and created their own group "Sylphs".
At the same time, another soloist appeared in the Melnitsa group - Alevtina Leontieva. She participated in the preparation of the third album "Call of the Blood" (2006). In subsequent years, the team led an active touring activity.
In 2009, a new album "Wild Herbs" was released. Soon a collection of selected compositions "The Mill: Best Songs" was released. In addition to working in the Melnitsa group, Helavisa also developed a solo career. Her debut album was called Leopard in the City, which was released in 2009.
Two years later, the Melnitsa group delighted their fans with the single Christmas Songs. It contained two compositions ("Sheep", "Take care of yourself"). Spectators of the group's traditional Christmas concert could enjoy it.
In April 2012, the band presented the fifth album "Angelophrenia", as well as a video for the song "Roads".
A year later, the group released the album "My Joy", which included five songs.
Big band concert
2014 was marked by a big concert in Moscow, dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the group's creative activity, and the clip "Contraband".
The next albums that were a dilogy were Alchemy (2015) and Chimera (2016). Later, the group combined these two albums in the Alhimeira. Reunion".
At the moment, the folk-rock band "Melnitsa" includes vocalist and harpist Helavisa, guitarist Sergei Vishnyakov. As well as drummer Dmitry Frolov, wind player Dmitry Kargin and Alexei Kozhanov, who is a bass player.
The group continues touring, releases new albums and videos, performs at major music festivals and has already received a number of prestigious awards. The Melnitsa group is a regular participant in the Invasion festival, which is organized with the support of the Nashe Radio radio station.
In 2018, Helavisa's video "Believe" was released, which was filmed in the church of St. Anna.
2019 was an anniversary year for the Melnitsa group - it turned 20 years old. In honor of the significant date for the collective, the concert program "Mill 2.0" was prepared.
Music group "Melnitsa"
Without this group, it is impossible to imagine the history of Russian folk rock. Since it is this group that sets the main direction for the development of the genre, determines its tone and style. But in general, the group's work is not limited to one genre.
Helavisa is a Celtologist and linguist by training and has a Ph.D. Therefore, her texts are filled with various folklore and mythological subjects. The magical world of the compositions of the Melnitsa group is filled with the spirit of ancient tales, legends and ballads.
Some of the songs were written to poems by Russian and foreign poets of different eras: Nikolai Gumilyov ("Margarita", "Olga"), Marina Tsvetaeva ("Goddess Ishtar"), Robert Burns ("Highlander"), Maurice Maeterlinck ("And if he ... "). The work of the Melnitsa group was influenced by Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, U2, Fleetwood Mac and others.
"Melnitsa" is a musical group with a 20-year history, which has become a real phenomenon in the domestic music industry. Just like 20 years ago, the band never ceases to make surprises for the fans, leading them along the road of sleep into the fabulous world of their songs.
The latest news about events in the creative life of the Melnitsa group can be found on the group's website and in the official communities on social networks.
Mill in 2021
On March 12, 2021, the band's discography was replenished with a new LP. The disc was called "Manuscript". Recall that this is the 8th studio album of the Russian group. The musicians say that the tracks included in the collection are fundamentally different from previous works.
