Кино: Ранние годы и первые записи (Kino: Early Years and First Recordings)

Soviet rock band
the Soviet rock band

Kino released their debut album, 45, in 1982. Since the band only consisted of two members, Grebenshchikov suggested that members of his band Aquarium assist Kino in recording the album. These included cellist Vsevolod Gakkel, flautist Романов, Дюша, and bassist Файнштейн Васильев, Михаил Борисович. Since they had no drummer at the time, they used a drum machine. This simple line up made the album sound lively and bright. Lyrically, it resembled earlier Soviet bard music for its romanticism of city life and the use of poetic language. The album consisted of thirteen songs and was named 45 in reference to its length. The group's popularity was rather limited at the time, so the album was not considered much of a success. Tsoi later stated that the record had come out crudely and he should have recorded it differently.

In late 1982, Kino attempted to record a second album at the studio of the Maly Drama Theatre, along with drummer Кирилов, Валерий Юрьевич (who later joined Zoopark) and sound designer Andrey Kuskov. However, Tsoi lost interest in the project and they ceased recording. In the winter of 1983, they played several shows in Leningrad and Moscow and were sometimes accompanied by Aquarium drummer Трощенков, Пётр Петрович. Rybin was replaced by rehearsal bassist Maksim Kolosov and later, guitarist Yuri Kasparyan. According to Grebenshchikov, Kasparyan was a poor guitar player initially, but he quickly progressed and eventually became the second most important member of Kino. With Kolosov and Kasparyan, Kino performed their second concert at the Leningrad Rock Club. The band's responsibilities were split evenly between Tsoi and Rybin. Tsoi was in charge of the creative component, writing music and lyrics, while Rybin did all the administrative work, such as organizing concerts, rehearsals and recording sessions. In March 1983, a serious conflict broke out between them, the culmination of multiple differences between the two musicians. Tsoi was particularly annoyed that Rybin performed his songs, and not his own writing, while Rybin did not like Tsoi's unconditional leadership of the group. Eventually, the two stopped talking, and Rybin left the band. The only audio document from this period was a bootleg called 46, which consisted of demos of new songs by Tsoi. These songs continued with the romanticism of 45, but also had darker undertones. Tsoi dismissed the recording as "only a rehearsal tape," but many fans viewed it as Kino's second record. Nonetheless, it has never been recognized as a legitimate album by the band. After the album was finished, Tsoi formed the electric section of Kino, which included Kasparyan on lead guitar, Titov on bass guitar, and Georgy Guryanov on percussion, and in May 1984, they began to actively rehearse a new concert program. Kino then performed at II Festival at the Leningrad Rock Club, where they were highly acclaimed and began to take off in popularity. The group soon became famous and started to tour the Soviet Union.

In early 1985, Kino attempted to record another album, but Tsoi did not like producer Andrei Tropillo's interference in his work, and the project was left unfinished. The album sold 10,000 copies in California, becoming the first release of Soviet rock music in the West.

In June 1990, after finishing a lengthy touring season, the band decided to take a short break before recording an album in France. However, on 15 August, Tsoi died in a car crash near Tukums while returning from a fishing trip. Before Tsoi died, they had recorded several songs in Latvia, and the remaining members of Kino finished the album as a tribute to him. While it had no official title, it is often called the Black Album (Lang ru) in reference to its all black cover. It was released in December 1990, and shortly after, Kino and others close to Tsoi held a press conference announcing the end of the band.

In 2012, on what would have been Tsoi's fiftieth birthday, the band briefly reunited to record the song "Ataman", which had originally been intended to feature on the Black Album. The song was not featured on the album at release because the only recording that existed of the song contained only low quality vocals. This was the final release of the band and the final song to feature Georgy Guryanov who died on 20 July 2013, from complications of hepatitis C, liver and pancreatic cancer, at the age of 52. In 2019, the band announced a reunion with concerts planned in the fall of 2020 for the first time in 30 years. It would feature the band's guitarist Yuri Kasparyan and bass guitarists Alexander Titov and Igor Tikhomirov. It would also use Viktor's voice, digitized from original multichannel recordings, and be accompanied by a "unique video sequence". Viktor Tsoi's son, Alexander, became the band's producer. However, due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the concerts were postponed to 2021. In March 2021, a live album called Kino in Sevkabel came out, and a year later on December 22, 2022, an album named 12 22, was released on platforms.

All Kino songs were written by Viktor Tsoi. His lyrics are characterized by a poetic simplicity.

As one of the first Russian rock bands, Kino greatly influenced later bands. On 31 December 1999, Russian rock radio station Nashe Radio announced the 100 best Russian rock songs of the 20th century based on listener votes. Kino had ten songs in the list, more than any other band, and "Gruppa Krovi" took the first place. The Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda listed Kino as the second most influential Russian band ever (after Alisa.) In addition, "Gruppa Krovi" was listed as one of forty songs that changed the world in a 2007 Russian language edition of Rolling Stone. Tsoi's simple, relatable lyrical style was very accessible to Kino's audience and helped them gain popularity throughout the Soviet Union. While not excessively political, their music coincided with Mikhail Gorbachev's liberal reforms such as glasnost and perestroika. Additionally, the Western style of their music increased the popularity of Western culture in the Soviet Union. Kino has remained popular in modern Russia, and Tsoi, in particular, is a cult hero. The group's popularity is referred to as "Kinomania," and fans of the group are known as "Kinophiles." In Moscow, there is a Tsoi Wall, where fans leave messages for the musician, and the boiler room where Tsoi once worked is a place of pilgrimage for fans of Russian rock. Kino has maintained a niche but devoted following in the West despite there being little to no English language material relating to the band. The band's music was notably popular amongst the internet subculture known as "Doomers", with it often being remixed to have a slowed tempo.