U-Piter is a rock band founded by the legendary Vyacheslav Butusov after the collapse of the Nautilus Pompilius group. The musical group united rock musicians in one team and presented music lovers with the work of a completely new format.
History and composition of the Yu-Piter group
The date of foundation of the musical group "Yu-Piter" fell on 1997. It was this year that the leader and founder of the group, Vyacheslav Butusov, was in a creative search - he published the disc "Ovals"; presented a project with Deadushki; joined the project "Illegitimately Born Al Chemist Dr. Faust - Feathered Serpent".
Vyacheslav was invited to the last project as a vocalist, and the talented Yuri Kasparyan, the former guitarist and soloist of the legendary Kino group, was involved in the musical side. In this tandem, many brilliant ideas arose, so it is not surprising that a musical project soon appeared.
The founders of the U-Piter group themselves offered to find the guitarist and bass guitarist, and the rest of the participants had yet to be searched. But soon the composition was formed. The former soloist of the Aquarium group Oleg Sakmarov and drummer Evgeny Kulakov joined the team.
The group also has an official birthday - October 11, 2001. On this day, the group was introduced to the general public, then, in fact, the first single "Shock Love" appeared.
Rock fans were looking forward to this day, because it was already known that they were working on songs.
Fans immediately asked the question, where did the soloists get the name from and how to interpret it? Some put forward this version: "YOU - PETER".
However, later Vyacheslav explained that in translation from the Old Slavonic language the name sounds like “her stone”. He advised the "fans" not to think about the meaning of the name, because "there are completely different associations."
In the early 2000s, the new musical group toured the CIS countries and neighboring countries. The musicians performed tracks from the repertoire of the Kino group and solo works by Vyacheslav Butusov.
Only by 2003 did the musicians have materials for the release of their debut album. In the same 2003, Oleg Sakmarov left the band, and the musicians began to work together. In this composition, the team worked until the date of the collapse of the Yu-Piter group.
Only in 2008 there was a change of guitarists. In 2008, Sergey Vyrvich will join the group, and in 2011 Alexey Andreev will replace him.
Music by Yu-Piter
The debut album of the rock band was called "The Name of the Rivers". The album includes 11 Butusov tracks. In support of the collection, the musicians went on tour.
In addition, they stormed all kinds of music festivals that took place on the territory of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Music critics dismantled the musicians' tracks piece by piece. They were often accused of working "under the blueprint".
The first few years the U-Peter group spent in constant comparisons with Butusov's previous Nautilus Pompilius team. There were also those who said that the new group was "a 25% solution of Nautilus Pompilius".
The soloists of the group tried to make their debut disc completely different - they added lively subtle musical instruments to the genre rock style and filled the tracks with deep philosophical meaning.
In the second album "Biography" the guys tried to add a little to the style. The main difference of the collection is a lot of electronic music.
Some songs frankly sound in the rhythm of pop-rock. Later, Butusov was reproached for the lack of control and restraint of the conceptual style.
The soloists of the group presented the second album "Biography" in 2001. The disc turned out to be very tasty. The tracks "Girl in the City" and "Song of the Going Home" became real hits. Musical compositions got into the rotation of famous TV channels.
The guys filmed a video clip for the song "Girl ...". Some say that this particular track is the hallmark of the Yu-Piter group.
Despite the fact that the group was successful, there is another side to this popularity. Music critics accused Butusov of writing frank pop music. The reaction of the performer was not long in coming:
“My group did not set itself any framework and restrictions. If you think that Yu-Peter's tracks are pop, fine. I just write, record and do things that not only bring me joy, but also my fans.”
Group albums
In 2008, the group presented their third studio album, Praying Mantis. From the collection breathes some melancholy, depression and apathy. Butusov intentionally made the third album gloomy. The top composition of "Mantis" was the track "Tell me, bird."
Among the fans of rock there were those who called the third disc the best, and all because of the presence of a pronounced guitar sound.
Butusov was also delighted with what he created together with the soloists. In addition, the musicians recorded the album "Mantis" outside the constrained contract conditions.
In the same 2008, the U-Piter group presented the double tribute album Nau Boom to fans of their work. The record was recorded in honor of the 25th anniversary of the birth of Nautilus Pompilius.
The first part of the collection includes tracks recorded by Russian rock stars, the second - musical compositions recorded by the group.
"Flowers and Thorns" is the fourth album of the legendary rock band. Butusov's songwriting was inspired by the hippie culture of the early 1970s. In addition, the album marked an appeal to the unreleased tracks of the Kino musical group.
Butusov and Kasparyan composed music for the poems of the famous Viktor Tsoi "Children of the Minutes". The composition was included in the album "Flowers and Thorns", and also became the soundtrack to the film "Needle. Remix.
In 2012, the musicians released a concert collection "10 PETER". More than 20 songs included in the disc are cover versions of Nautilus Pompilius tracks: “Tutankhamun”, “Bound in one chain”, “Wings”, “Walking on water”, “I want to be with you”, etc.
Three years later, the group "Yu-Piter" replenished the discography with the album "Gudgora". The disc was worked on in Norway. "Gudgora" is an album consisting of 13 tracks.
"The Flood", "I'm coming to you", "Farewell, my friend" - each track received high praise from music critics and ordinary music lovers, and not because of the music, but because of the lyrics, which were filled with philosophy.
In 2017, Butusov told the "fans" the bad news. He disbanded the musical group. The project lasted 15 years.
Yu-Piter group today
The Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper wrote that “in June 2017, Butusov assembled a new team, which included Denis Marinkin, bassist Ruslan Gadzhiev and session guitarist Vyacheslav Suori, well-known in St. Petersburg.”
In the same 2017, Vyacheslav presented the film Nauhaus to fans, which was directed by Oleg Rakovich. This film was dedicated to the memorable events of the Nautilus Pompilius collective. In addition, at the presentation of the picture, he said that the new group will release an album in 2018.
In 2019, Butusov's band Order of Glory presented their debut album Alleluia, which included 13 tracks.
In 2020, the group toured major Russian cities. The next concert will take place in St. Petersburg.
