"A Simple Motion" (
Russian language; ''Prostye Dvizheniya''.
Cyrillic; Простые Движения) is a song by
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
recording group
t.A.T.u.
t.A.T.u. (russian: Тату, ) were a Russian music duo that consisted of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The singers were part of children's music group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with ...
, taken from their re-release of their debut English studio album ''
200 km/h in the Wrong Lane
''200 km/h in the Wrong Lane'', also titled ''t.A.T.u.'' in Japan, is the second, and first English-language, studio album by Russian music duo t.A.T.u., released on 10 December 2002, by Interscope Records. It is the duo's first studio album ...
'' (2002). The song was written by
Mars Lasar
Mars Lasar is a German-born keyboardist and composer, raised in Australia. Predominantly new-age, his music also contains elements of electronica, jazz, pop, world, and rock. Lasar's music has appeared on television and in films; one notabl ...
,
Ivan Shapovalov
Ivan Nikolayevich Shapovalov (Cyrillic: Иван Николаевич Шаповалов, born 28 May 1966) is a musical producer based in Moscow, Russia. He is best known for being the founder and former executive producer/manager for t.A.T.u.
...
,
Martin Kierszenbaum
Martin Kierszenbaum, also known by his pseudonym Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, is an American music personality. As a songwriter and producer he worked with Lady Gaga, Sting, Madonna, Mylène Farmer, Keane, Tokio Hotel, Far East Movement, Robyn, Fei ...
, Valery Polienko, while the production was handled by
Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...
.
Background
"A Simple Motion" was written by
Mars Lasar
Mars Lasar is a German-born keyboardist and composer, raised in Australia. Predominantly new-age, his music also contains elements of electronica, jazz, pop, world, and rock. Lasar's music has appeared on television and in films; one notabl ...
,
Ivan Shapovalov
Ivan Nikolayevich Shapovalov (Cyrillic: Иван Николаевич Шаповалов, born 28 May 1966) is a musical producer based in Moscow, Russia. He is best known for being the founder and former executive producer/manager for t.A.T.u.
...
,
Martin Kierszenbaum
Martin Kierszenbaum, also known by his pseudonym Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, is an American music personality. As a songwriter and producer he worked with Lady Gaga, Sting, Madonna, Mylène Farmer, Keane, Tokio Hotel, Far East Movement, Robyn, Fei ...
, Valeriy Polienko, while the production was handled by
Trevor Horn
Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...
and was to appear on their studio album ''200 km/h in the Wrong Lane''. Before the song emerged, there was a Russian counterpart entitled "Prostye Dvizheniya". The song was recorded in 2001 and was featured on their remix compilation, ''
t.A.T.u. Remixes
''t.A.T.u. Remixes'', or simply ''Remixes'', is an official compilation of remixes from t.A.T.u. The album features remixes from '' 200 Po Vstrechnoy'' as well as from ''200 km/h in the Wrong Lane'' and some new remixes. The Russian release includ ...
'' (2003). "Prostye" was originally proceeded as the lead single of the compilation, but due to lack of promotion, it was cancelled. A
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...
was released in Russia, which caused controversy as it featured a nude Volkova
masturbating
Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combination ...
and having orgasms.
[Prostye Dvizhenia](_blank)
Youtube.com
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in San Bruno, Ca ...
.[Tatu presents a naughty video](_blank)
. The song only appeared on the group's remix compilation.
In February 2008, when t.A.T.u. uploaded the Russian edit on their YouTube page, the group added in their description in the video that pre-recordings of the English version did exist, but were left unreleased.
On 2 October 2012
Cherrytree Records
Martin Kierszenbaum, also known by his pseudonym Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, is an American music personality. As a songwriter and producer he worked with Lady Gaga, Sting, Madonna, Mylène Farmer, Keane, Tokio Hotel, Far East Movement, Robyn, F ...
announced via their website that they would be re-releasing the group's first studio album as ''200 km/h in the Wrong Lane: 10th Anniversary Gold Edition'', a celebration of ten years for the group's first studio album.
[Cherrytree to Reissue "200km/h In The Wrong Lane" with Unreleased Song "A Simple Motion" and Special Remixes.](_blank)
Posted by Cherrytree on October 2, 2012 at 1:30am. Cherrytree officially confirmed that an unreleased song, which was "A Simple Motion" would be featured on the re-release album, with the track list being revealed.
Recording and release
The song was recorded in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
in 2002.
[Cherrytree to Reissue "200km/h In The Wrong Lane" as 10th Anniversary Edition](_blank)
While working with t.A.T.u, their producer and A&R
Martin Kierszenbaum
Martin Kierszenbaum, also known by his pseudonym Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, is an American music personality. As a songwriter and producer he worked with Lady Gaga, Sting, Madonna, Mylène Farmer, Keane, Tokio Hotel, Far East Movement, Robyn, Fei ...
stated he had the "privilege" to work with the group and was proud of releasing the album with the unreleased song.
Lena Katina
Elena Sergeevna Katina (russian: link=no, Елена Сергеевна Катина; born 4 October 1984), better known as Lena Katina, is a Russian musician who gained fame as one half of the pop/electronica duo t.A.T.u. She started her car ...
, former member of the group stated that she found "A Simple Motion" her favorite on her album described it along with many album tracks as "
nostalgic
Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", a Homeric wo ...
."
Cherrytree Records
Martin Kierszenbaum, also known by his pseudonym Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, is an American music personality. As a songwriter and producer he worked with Lady Gaga, Sting, Madonna, Mylène Farmer, Keane, Tokio Hotel, Far East Movement, Robyn, F ...
premiered the song on their
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...
account.
Critical reception
"A Simple Motion" received favorable reviews from music critics, which some found it a highlight. Bradley Stern from
Muumuse stated "Drifting along mournful strings and a solemn piano melody, the English version is a devastating rendition that puts their lush vocals at the forefront. “A simple motion over and over,” the girls cry out on repeat–well, over and over. It’s gorgeous." Virginia López from ''Eurovisionary'' described the version "long-awaited" and called it a "ballad with a solemn piano melody."
Music video
There was no official music video for the English version, only a fan-made video for th
Planet Purple Remix A video for only the Russian edit was shot. The music video caused controversy in Russia, as it featured Julia Volkova
masturbating
Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrators, or combination ...
in the video.
Some of the controversy was about Yulia's age when this footage was taken; the footage carried a timestamp of April 5, 2002, and she was born on February 20, 1985, which would have made her 17 years old if the timestamp was accurate. The video was eventually banned in Russia due to this content.
Volkova responded to the scene, stating "Well, like everybody does. If you don't know, you must be too young! Although I think people your age probably do much less innocent things."
Shapovalov, who directed the music video said that he wasn't concerned about a possible ban, saying "Tatu are ratings-makers for the music TV channels, so I'm positive they will air the video."
An original version was shot, featuring several "simple motions". Lena Katina is shown in a cafe, engaging in numerous simply activities such as drinking water, flipping book pages, and stirring her tea whilst talking on her phone. Several shots showed Yulia Volkova naked in a bathtub masturbating. However, Shapovalov stated in an interview that he had to censor it, saying "
edecided to censor the masturbation scene, leaving in only a shot of Yulia’s face at the moment she has an orgasm."
Volkova's nudity was exploited further in leaked clips; after she removed her top, her breasts were exposed while she masturbated.
Track list and formats
Album version
# "A Simple Motion" – 2:47
The Remixes
# "A Simple Motion (GunSlungLow Remix)" – 4:13
# "A Simple Motion (Planet Purple Remix)" – 4:00
Release history
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simple Motion
Song recordings produced by Trevor Horn
Songs written by Martin Kierszenbaum
Songs written by Valery Polienko
T.A.T.u. songs
2002 songs
Pop ballads
2000s ballads
Music video controversies