Armen Grigoryan (, ) is a
singer/songwriter, artist, and the front man (and main songwriter) of "
Krematorij" (''Crematorium'')
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n rock-band.
Biography
Armen Grigoryan was born on November 24, 1960, in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
to
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...
n parents. During school time, he was a classmate of
Sergey Golovkin, who later became a notorious serial killer. A player of
Dynamo Moscow, Grigoryan became a two-time champion of
junior football.
He grew up listening to the magic sounds of
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
mysteriously penetrating the
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...
. Inspired by Beatle's music, Grigoryan, while still in high school, started his musical career (from 1977 he played in a band called "Atmospheric pressure") and in 1983 he formed "Crematorium" which gained a reputation throughout the former
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and began to perform at concerts all over the country. A long search for his own unique sounds came to fruition in 1984, when "Krematorij" added a violin to their version of
Rock-n-Roll. Since the 1980s, Armen Grigoryan has participated in the development of Russian rock music.
Armen Grigoryan is an author of more than two hundred songs. Many of them, including "Krematorij", "Tanya", "Kondrati", "Trash Wind", "Khabibulin", "Ugly Elsa", "Sebastia", "Sexy Cat", "Strawberry with Ice", "Little Girl", "2001" and "Katmandu", are very popular among the audiences throughout the former Soviet Union, the Netherlands, Germany, Israel and the United States. He composes multifaceted lyrics that frequently deal with the themes of life and death in various religious contexts. Grigoryan's "ironical and philosophical songs are fond of sincerity and humanity".
"The red-haired trouble of the neighbourhood
The first fiddle; that was understood
All her days
Like a zebra's skin
She used to be happy
But now she's in
Chinese tank ..." (transl. K. Leonov)
In 2006 Armen Grigoryan started a new project ''3' Angel'' and released the album "
Chinese Tank". According to critics, the album's concept is the spirit of excitement, adventure and immutable truths, tied up with modern realities.
Armen Grigoryan is an author of several architectural projects. He is also known as a painter and public activist. Grigoryan is considered as one of the ''100 famous Armenians living in Russia'' by the readers of “Noah's Ark” newspaper. In 2012 "Krematorij" issued a petition urging the
Russian State Duma to
criminalize all forms of
nazism
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
, including the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...
.
In 2012 "Krematorij" and other well-known Russian musicians (
Yuri Shevchuk,
Bravo,
Noize MC
Ivan Aleksandrovich Alekseyev (; born 9 March 1985), known professionally as Noize MC, is a Russian rapper, singer, and actor.
Biography
Childhood, early work (1985–2002)
Alekseyev was born on 9 March 1985 in Yartsevo, Smolensk Oblast, Yart ...
, etc.) recorded the "White Album" to show solidarity with opponents of President
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
. The album took its name from the white ribbons worn by demonstrators during the opposition rallies.
In 2019 Armen Grigoryan wrote the first authorized biography of the ''Krematorij'', “Ghosts of the Krematorij".
In June 2023 a collection of Grigoryan's best songs translated into different languages was released.
Discography (solo)
*Armen Grigoryan and "3' Angel" - "
Kitaysky Tank" (Chinese Tank) (2006)
Filmography
*
Tatsu (1994 film)
*
Brother 2 (soundtrack: ''"Katmandu"'')
*
How to Find the Ideal
*''Studenty'',
film serial (songtrack), 2006.
Other websites
Official site of Crematorium3' Angel
(English)
Rock in Armenia and Armenians in RockFan-club (in Russian)Crematorium at Peoples.ruSongs collectionАрмен Григорян. Клубника со льдом. Песни, Москва, 2002(in Russian)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grigoryan, Armen
1960 births
Moscow Aviation Institute alumni
Living people
Armenian rock musicians
Musicians from Moscow
Russian people of Armenian descent
Russian rock singers
Soviet male singers
20th-century Russian male singers