Splean (russian: Сплин) is a popular Russian rock band, formed in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

in 1994.Андрей Бурлака. Рок-энциклопедия. Популярная музыка в Ленинграде – Петербурге. 1965–2005, Том 3, Спб:Амфора, 2007 с. 268-273 Since then, they have remained one of the most popular rock bands in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

and the former

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. The band's name is derived from "

spleen The spleen is an organ found in almost all vertebrates. Similar in structure to a large lymph node, it acts primarily as a blood filter. The word spleen comes .

" (in the sense of " depression"), and the "ea" spelling in English is a pun on the spelling of the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

. It was borrowed from a short poem by

Sasha Cherny Alexander Mikhailovich Glikberg ( rus, Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Гли́кберг, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲikbʲɪrk, a=Alyexandr Mikhaylovich Glickbyerg.ru.vorb.oga), better known as Sasha Chorny ( rus, ...

, which the band set to music.

History

Lead singer Alexander Vasilyev and bass guitarist Alexander Morozov decided to form a band together while working in "Buff" theatre as stage workers. Later, keyboardist Nikolay Rostovsky and other musicians joined them. Despite the risk of losing their jobs, they began recording their first album '' Pyl'naja byl''' (''Dusty Fact'') in one of the theatre's studios at night. Their growing popularity was made evident by

Boris Grebenshchikov Boris Borisovich Grebenshchikov (russian: link=no, Борис Борисович Гребенщиков; born ) is a prominent member of the generation which is widely considered to be the "founding fathers" of Russian rock music. He is the fo ...

's and Konstantin Kinchev's support. In 1996, the band began to play concerts in Moscow and other cities. In subsequent years, Splean recorded several albums and a number of hit singles, including "Orbit bez sahara" ("Sugar Free Orbit"), "Novye ljudi" ("New People"), "Vremja nazad" ("Backwards Time"), and "My sideli i kurili" ("We Were Sitting and Smoking") Despite rumours that the group were on the verge of breaking up in 2004, Splean continues to perform throughout Russia and the world. The band frequently experiments and evolves, so the current version of Splean is quite different from its original version. In 2004, the band garnered international attention for the inclusion of their song "Bud' moej ten'ju" ("Be My Shadow") in the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

Sergey Lukyanenko Sergei Vasilyevich Lukyanenko (russian: Серге́й Васи́льевич Лукья́ненко, ; born 11 April 1968) is a Russian science fiction and fantasy author, writing in Russian. His works often feature intense action-packed plots, ...

's bestselling novel, ''

Night Watch Night Watch or Nightwatch may refer to: Books * ''The Night Watch'', a 1977 memoir by Central Intelligence Agency officer David Atlee Phillips Novels * ''Night Watch'', a 1972 novel by American screenwriter Lucille Fletcher * ''Night Watch'', a 1 ...

''. In 1998, Splean opened for

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

at Moscow's

Luzhniki Stadium Luzhniki Stadium ( rus, стадион «Лужники», p=stədʲɪˈon lʊʐnʲɪˈkʲi, ''Stadion Luzhniki'') is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. The full name of the stadium is Grand Sports Arena of the ...

, during the

Bridges to Babylon Tour The Bridges to Babylon Tour was a worldwide concert tour by The Rolling Stones. Staged in support of their album '' Bridges to Babylon'', the tour visited stadiums from 1997 to 1998. It grossed over $274 million, becoming the second-highest-g ...

. Splean headlined the Krylya rock festival in 2005 and

Nashestvie Nashestvie (russian: Нашествие) was the largest open-air festival of Russian rock, organized by Nashe Radio station. It was held annually during the first weekend of July (first weekend of August until 2006) in the environs of Moscow, Rus ...

in 2015. "Skazhi" ("Tell Her"), the single from ''Razdvoenie lichnosti'' (''Split Personality''), topped song and video charts on the radio and MTV, and the song's video was awarded the MTV Russian Music Award for Best Video. The band won several

Nashe Radio Nashe Radio (russian: Наше радио, ''Our Radio'', pronounced ''Nashe radio'') is a Russian Rock music radio station. It was designed to promote Russian rock bands, as opposed to pop and Western music. Nashe is based in Moscow and broadca ...

"Chart Dozen" awards, including Best Song and Chart Leader for "Orkestr" ("Оrchestra") in 2015 and Best Album for ''Obman Zrenija'' (''Optical Illusion'') in 2013.Объявлены лауреаты премии «Чартова дюжина»
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Members

* Alexander Vasilyev - lead vocals, guitar *Vadim Sergeyev - guitar *Dmitriy Kunin - bass-guitar *Nikolay Rostovsky - keyboards *Alexey Mesherekov - drums

Discography

Soundtracks

* 2000 - ''Брат 2'' (''

Brother 2 ''Brother 2'' (russian: Брат 2, translit=Brat 2) is a 2000 Russian crime film. It is the sequel to the 1997 film ''Brother''. Much of it is set in Chicago. Plot The film opens with Danila Bagrov being interviewed on television with two f ...

'') — "Линия жизни" (Life Line) * 2001 - ''Тайный знак'' (Secret Sign) - "Моё сердце" (My Heart), "Пластмассовая жизнь" (Plastic Life) * 2002 - ''Война'' (''

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

'') - "SOS", "Феллини" (Felini), "Пластмассовая жизнь" (Plastic Life) * 2004 - ''Егерь'' - ''Сломано всё'' (''Everything is Broken''), "Время, назад!" (Time, Backwards!) * 2006 - ''Живой'' (''Alive'') - "Сиануквиль" (Sihanoukville), "Романс" (Romance) * 2008 - ''Качели'' (''Swing'') - "Мама миа" (Mama Mia), "Мобильный" (Mobile) * 2012 - ''Отпуск'' (''Vacation'') - "Романс" (Romance) * 2013 - ''Посредник'' (''Mediator'') - "Время, назад!" (Time, Backwards!) * ''

Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the e ...

'' - Линия жизни (Life Line) on radio station Vladivostok FM

External links

Official site

YouTube channelRussmus info on Splean, including lyrics and translationsLast.FM Сплин pageSplin and Alexander Vasilev

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from Saint Petersburg Russian rock music groups Russian alternative rock groups Musical groups established in 1994 Winners of the Golden Gramophone Award Russian activists against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine