Zemfira
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova (, ; born 26 August 1976) is a Russian rock musician. She has been performing since 1998 and has been popular in Russia and other former Soviet republics. To date Zemfira has sold over 3 million records.


Biography and beginning of career

An ethnic Volga Tatar, she was born in a typical middle-class family: her mother is a doctor, and her father is a history teacher. At the age of four, Zemfira interested in music and entered a music school the following year (where she studied piano performance and voice) and writing her first song when she was seven years old. Her older brother Ramil introduced her to rock music, which became her real passion – she listened to
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
,
Nazareth Nazareth is the largest Cities in Israel, city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. In its population was . Known as "the Arab capital of Israel", Nazareth serves as a cultural, political, religious, economic and ...
and
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
, learning to play the guitar. In the 7th grade, Zemfira split her time between music and basketball, becoming the captain of the Russian Girls' Junior Basketball Team by 1990. She began to lose interest in classical music, preferring instead to hang out with friends in the streets of Ufa and covering songs by Russian rock groups such as Kino,
Nautilus Pompilius The chambered nautilus (''Nautilus pompilius''), also called the pearly nautilus, is the best-known species of nautilus. The shell, when cut away, reveals a lining of lustrous nacre and displays a nearly perfect logarithmic spiral, equiangular s ...
and
Aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
(who reached the peak of their popularity in the early 1990s). At the urging of her mother, Zemfira continued with piano studies and graduated music school with honors. In her last year of high school, basketball competed with school work, and the singer abandoned the sport in favour of music. She took the entrance exams for the Ufa College of Fine Arts and was admitted into the second year, studying vocal performance. During college, she performed
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
and
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...
standards in various local bars and restaurants accompanied by her friend, saxophone player Vlad Kolchin. She graduated with honors, and in 1996 took a job as a sound engineer at the Ufa subsidiary of the radio station
Europa Plus Europa Plus () is a Russian commercial radio station. It is owned by the European Media Group and started broadcasting on 30 April 1990 in the Soviet Union. The station primarily plays hot AC and Top 40 music. Europa Plus spans across Russia, ...
. For the next couple of years Zemfira spent her days making advertisement recordings at the station and her nights on a computer, where she recorded the songs that would later become the singles ''Why'', ''Snow,'' and ''Weatherman''. In early 1998, Zemfira invited Rinat Akhmadiyev, Sergei Sozinov, Sergei Mirolyubov, and Vadim Solovyov to join Zemfira. Their first professional gig took place on 19 June 1999 as part of a festival celebrating the anniversary of a local radio station Silver Rain Ufa. Shortly after Zemfira sent out promo tapes to multiple Moscow producers, one of whom (Leonid Burlakov from
Mumiy Troll Mumiy Troll ( ) is a Russian rock group, founded in 1983 in Vladivostok by vocalist and songwriter Ilya Lagutenko (). The name is a pun on '' Mumintroll'', the children's books by Tove Jansson, translated into Russian as "Mummi Troll". Caree ...
) was smitten with the material, and invited the band for some sessions in Moscow:
I was living in Ufa and working in restaurants for four years when I got tired of it. I went to the Europa Plus Ufa radio station. Then, I fell in love with computers and took advantage of the opportunity to write songs at night. I learned a couple of music programs and moved forward. I wrote at night, went home in the morning, and listened. After nine months, I had thirty or forty songs. Then, I went to Moscow just to rest and visit. I took these songs with me on CD-R, just in case. My friend liked them and asked me to re-record them. I went to the record company Fili, but they told me that they wouldn't accept CD-Rs; they needed cassettes. So, I left. I didn't go anywhere else because I didn't like it. My girlfriend gave the cassette she had transcribed at Maxidrom to Leonid Burlakov, the producer of Mumiy Troll. Lyonya called me in Ufa the same day. I scraped together just enough money for a ticket to go back to Moscow.


Career


1999–2005

Recording and production work on the debut album took place at Mosfilm Moscow until 10 May 1999, when the debut was finally released. The promotion of ''Zemfira'' prior to the release included heavy rotation of singles "AIDS" (СПИД), "Arrivederci" (Aриведерчи), and "Rockets" (Ракеты) as well as the video clips for those songs. The band immediately went on tour, starting a tradition of celebrating their beginnings with a summer concert in Ufa while recording their second album ''
Forgive Me My Love ''Forgive Me My Love'' (Russian: Прости Меня Моя Любовь) is Russian singer Zemfira's second album. It features the hit singles "Forgive Me My Love" and "You Want?". It further popularized her recognizable pop-rock sound. It beca ...
'' (Прости Меня Моя Любовь). The group enjoyed popularity from the start, in part because of heavy rotation on radio and television, and in part because a female rocker is a fairly rare and unusual concept for the Russian music scene. The release of ''PMML'' (Russian abbreviation for ''Forgive Me My Love'') in March 2000 brought the band immense popularity. "Searching" (Искала) and "Ripe" (Созрела) became instant hits, and the group was invited to headline the festival
Maxidrom Maxidrom () was an annual international musical festival organized by Radio Maximum station. History References Rock festivals in Russia Music festivals in Russia {{music-festival-stub ...
. Constant touring wore down on the band, and after the release of ''
14 Weeks of Silence ''14 Weeks of Silence'' is the third album by Russian singer Zemfira which became her second best-selling album after ''Forgive Me My Love'' with sales around 1 million copies sold in Russia and 500,000 sold in Ukraine according to her label. In c ...
'' the band took a break. In September 2004, Zemfira began studies towards a degree in Philosophy at
Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...
, but after the first semester she took a sabbatical and did not resume her studies thereafter. On 16 October on the MTV Russia Awards show the singer performed "
We Are the Champions "We Are the Champions" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released from the band's sixth album ''News of the World'' (1977). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems.
" together with the rock group
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
. The fourth studio album, '' Vendetta'', which consists of 15 tracks, was released on 1 March 2005. The recording became a result of Zemfira's collaboration with several musicians: Igor Vdovin, Korney, Vlad Kreymer,
Yuri Tsaler Yuriy Alexandrovich Tsaler (; 22 May 1973 in Pervouralsk, Russia) is a Russian musician playing on lead guitar in the band Mumiy Troll. He studied piano at the Tchaikovsky Music Academy, then worked in a bread factory. He performed with his fa ...
and
Oleg Pungin Mumiy Troll ( ) is a Russian rock group, founded in 1983 in Vladivostok by vocalist and songwriter Ilya Lagutenko (). The name is a pun on '' Mumintroll'', the children's books by Tove Jansson, translated into Russian as "Mummi Troll". Career ...
. Initially the album was going to be named "Oil", but the title was changed few days before the official release. "Vendetta" got many positive reviews.


2007–present

On 14 February 2007, a collection of music videos, ''Zemfira.DVD'', was released. It contains all the singer's clips, except ''AIDS'' and ''Traffic.'' In May and June 2007, Zemfira embarked on a short concert tour titled 'Déjà Vu', with performances held in smaller venues (clubs and small theatres). The tour culminated with a Moscow performance at the Green Theatre which was filmed by
Renata Litvinova Renata Muratovna Litvinova (born 12 January 1967) is a Russian actress, film director, and screenwriter. Biography Was born in Moscow to Volga Tatars, Volga Tatar father Murat Aminovich Vergazov and a Russians, Russian mother, Alisa Mikhailo ...
. The tour program focused on stylish remakes of the singer's top hits, often reworked in styles such as
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
,
ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...
, bossa nova, and
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
. A new album, ''Thank You'' (Спасибо), was released at the beginning of October. It is described by Zemfira herself as 'very positive', in contrast to what she terms the 'restlessness' of ''Vendetta''.31.12.05 поздравляю)
('31.12.05 congratulations')
The concert movie ''Green Theatre in Zemfira'', which mixes Zemfira's monologues with selected songs shot during her live performance at the open air show in Moscow, was released in several Russian digital movie theatres on 21 February 2008. Later it was also released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
. The final concert promoting ''Thank You'' was held on 1 April 2008 at the Olimpiysky stadium in Moscow; some journalists considered it as the best performance in her career. Later in June Zemfira was awarded an independent Steppenwolf prize established by a musical critic
Artemy Troitsky Artemy Kivovich Troitsky (; , born 16 June 1955 in Yaroslavl) is a Russian journalist, music critic, concert promoter, radio host, and academic who has lectured on music journalism at Moscow State University. In 1988, he was described in ''The Ne ...
. She won in two categories: The Best Performance (for the Olimpiysky show) and The Best Album (''Thank You''). The movie-concert ''Green Theatre in Zemfira'' by Litvinova was named the best musical movie of the year. On 21 March 2009, an album of b-sides ''Z-Sides'' leaked into the net. In June 2010, Zemfira wrote on her official website: "vacation is over" and announced a mini-tour to promote a deluxe-edition of her first three albums (''Zemfira'', ''PMML'' and ''14 Weeks of Silence''). On 1 August she performed a set of 4 songs on the closing concert of a pop-music contest New Wave. It was her first performance since January 2009. The arrangements of this set were used in the mini-tour in September that included 5 cities:
Saint-Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
,
Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...
,
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
,
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
and Moscow. Critics admitted that her old songs became more rhythmic and resembled demo-versions due to the new minimalistic style of arrangements. In October Zemfira took part in two tribute concerts "20 Years without KINO" in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg that were dedicated to the memory of Viktor Tsoi. Her gig of four covers on Tsoi's songs was seen by some journalists as the most noticeable performance in the program. On New Year's Eve 2011, the video version of two Moscow concerts staged in Crocus City Hall and Strelka Institute in September 2010 was broadcast on Dozhd' (Rain) TV channel. The video was directed by Renata Litvinova. Then the singer informed her fans that the release of her sixth album had moved to Fall 2011. The first single ''No Chance'' (Bez shansov) was presented on
Nashe Radio Nashe Radio (, ''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 broadcast in every major Russian ci ...
on 15 April. During the next three months she gave three performances: on 28 May Zemfira took part in the international rock festival
Maxidrom Maxidrom () was an annual international musical festival organized by Radio Maximum station. History References Rock festivals in Russia Music festivals in Russia {{music-festival-stub ...
along with
The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...
,
Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his dynamic vocal performances that combine his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after ...
,
Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...
, Brainstorm and other artists; then she became a Russian headliner of a ''Muz-TV Awards'' ceremony show at Olimpiysky stadium on 3 June; on 23 July Zemfira performed at the Afisha Picnic outdoor festival in Moscow as the Russian headliner of the main stage. During that gig she presented a new song called "Money". At her April 2013 concert in
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, she was joined by several leading figures of Ukrainian showbusiness on stage, including
Svyatoslav Vakarchuk Sviatoslav Ivanovych "Slava" Vakarchuk (; born 14 May 1975) is a Ukrainian musician, politician, public activist and soldier. He is the lead vocalist of Okean Elzy, a rock band in Ukraine. Vakarchuk is a formerBrussel" (Brussels). In 2015, Vak ...
. She offended some audience members by comparing Kyiv to Moscow, in that she had to work hard, rather than Odesa and St Petersburg where the crowd do the work. In July 2015, Zemfira unfurled Ukraine's national flag at a
concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...
in the Georgian capital of
Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
, drawing criticism from Russian media, while several promoters in Russia abandoned their plans to include her in their programs. However, in 2016, in a concert in Lithuania, Zemfira demanded the audience to remove a huge Ukrainian flag that was unfolded by fans. She said, "I'm Russian, we're in Lithuania. I'm asking you, get rid of that flag. Whilst you love your country, I love mine." In February 2016, during her "Little Man" (Маленький человек) tour Zemfira announced that she would stop touring, which was misrepresented in the media as her abandoning musical performance altogether. Musical critic Troitsky commented that while he does not doubt that the announcement was made in earnest, he believed that since Zemfira is an emotional person, she may change her decision later. , the "Little Man" tour continues in North America.


Zemfira nowadays

In April 2020, Zemfira released the single ''Crimea'', and on September 6, she performed as the headliner at the Stereoleto festival in St. Petersburg. On February 26, 2021, the singer released her seventh studio album, ''Borderline'', her first in eight years. The album consists of 12 songs. The album cover features the title written in white letters on a black background, crossed out several times. In July 2021, she released a four-song mini-album titled ''Ah''. In 2021, Zemfira's music video ''остин (Austin)'', directed by Alexey Krupnik, was the overall winner of the Berlin Music Video Awards, while it also won the award for the Best Concept category. During the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
, officially forbidden to be called a war in Russia, her website featured only the statement "нет войне" ("no to war"). Though she performed a concert in Moscow on the day the invasion began, she was reported to have left the country. On 21 March, she released an anti-war music video to her 2017 song ''Don’t Shoot'', while also removing all of her other songs from her
YouTube 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 who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel. The video contained footage of Russia’s military assault on Ukraine and of anti-war protests in Moscow. In March of 2022, Russian media circulated information about Zemfira's emigration to France, the singer herself did not comment on this. On May 19, 2022, Zemfira released the anti-war song ''Meat''. The music video consisted of drawings created by
Renata Litvinova Renata Muratovna Litvinova (born 12 January 1967) is a Russian actress, film director, and screenwriter. Biography Was born in Moscow to Volga Tatars, Volga Tatar father Murat Aminovich Vergazov and a Russians, Russian mother, Alisa Mikhailo ...
, who also directed and edited it. On May 25, 2022, the single ''Meat'' was posted on major music streaming services. In the summer of 2022, the media published a list of musical performers whose performances in Russia were allegedly deemed undesirable. Singer Zemfira (Ramazanova Zemfira) was in that list. In February 2023, the Russian government placed Zemfira in its list of " foreign agents". On March 10, 2023, Zemfira released the anti-war single ''Rodina'' (stylized as ''PODNHA''). On May 10, 2023, through her representative, Zemfira sent a lawsuit to the Ministry of Justice, demanding that the foreign agent status be declared illegal, which was later rejected. At the same time, the singer opened a recording and music publishing company in Moscow called ''Rodina''. In late May, the media reported that Zemfira had obtained French citizenship, but the singer soon denied it.


Lyrics

Zemfira's lyrics are known for their originality and unique style. The singer herself does not like to discuss lyrics in interviews and does not consider herself a poet. Nevertheless, her lyrics are often published in rock poetry collections. In an interview with Toppop.ru, Zemfira said that she could not describe lyrics: "It's hard for me to talk about lyrics. I can still think about music — there's blues, there's electronica — but with lyrics, it's more difficult. What you want to say, you say". Nevertheless, many journalists have made them the subject of their research. During the program ''School of Backbiting'',
Avdotya Smirnova Avdotya (Dunya) Smirnova (; born 29 June 1969) is a Russian screenwriter, film director, producer, TV host and literary critic, winner of numerous awards and accolades, founder of the charity foundation . Biography Early years and family Av ...
and Tatyana Tolstaya called Zemfira a distinctive poet in interviews with her. Some researchers find parallels between Zemfira's early lyrics and the poetry of
Yanka Dyagileva Yana Stanislavovna "Yanka" Dyagileva (; 4 September 1966 – 1991) was a Russian poet and singer-songwriter and one of the most popular figures of her time in Russia's underground punk scene. She both played solo and performed with others, incl ...
. It has been noted that Zemfira's world is seen through the eyes of a young person discovering life for the first time. In her songs, love is paired with death. The song ''Synoptik'' states that "the highest result in the will to life is achieved through death". The semantic invariant of the first album was the song ''AIDS'', which contains the idea that: "You love — you die". Some songs feature the phenomenon of "teenage language", using phrases in English like "comebacks" and "our birthday with you". Sabrina Yassi has noted that Zemfira's lyrics are deeply entwined with
taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
yet pervasive societal themes, such as alienation, depression, sexuality, and AIDS.''Sabrina Jaszi.'
Biography. Allmusic.
In 2000, the magazine '' Znamya'' published an article devoted to the artist's early lyrics. A researcher of Zemfira's work wrote that her poetry refers to the "symbolic 69th" year and the era of rock musicians. The researcher also mentioned the themes of ''Fragmentarity, Love and Fear, A Look at the Place of Habitat (City), Youth, and Death as a Synthesis of the Previous.'' These themes are deeply and personally experienced by the author. By the third album, music journalists had begun to emphasize the singer's unique language. Olga Gaidukova of Sounds.ru wrote that the album contains "the same uneven versification — touching poetic revelations are combined with 'passable' lines, the salt of which is probably obvious only to Zemfira herself." Gaidukova noted that lines such as "paranoia-long dream" and "on the lips let's be friends" will definitely be quoted. She also noted the textual continuity to the singer's earlier compositions in many songs. Tikhon Romanov wrote that Zemfira is "a master of composing scathing phrases that need no interpretation". In the album Fourteen Weeks of Silence, such phrases are found in almost every song: "Time kills me, I kill time" (''Song''), "I will be forever near, your deadly poison, your last look" (''R''), "I hear: I fly higher than everyone; the fall is more painful, but the sensations are better" (''Feeling''). The song ''Webgirl'' touched on themes of internet communication. Zemfira said the song was based on her personal experiences. She added that she has had online romances herself: "I've had a few online romances. Hasn't anyone else had one? But these romances are all short-term. Two months at a time. They develop at first, and then it all goes away. It's a gamble. The main thing is to not know who it is or see the photo because then the whole point is lost". The fourth album, ''Vendetta'', has been described as thematically very personal, intimate, and candid. According to Michael Baev of Fuzz magazine, Zemfira reached "the limits of self-depth" on ''Vendetta''. Alexei Vishnya felt that Vendetta revealed the singer's gift for speaking to a generation in their own language. "Sex, drugs, and death; separation drowned in blue — great sources of inspiration. The whole album is saturated with hatred; a nervous caprice hangs in the air with an axe", — he noted. Social themes appeared on the album for the first time. ''Nebomoreoblaka (Skyseaclouds)'' is the only song from the album with social overtones. Dmitry Yakushev of Left.ru wrote that the song was clearly directed "against the orders and results of show business". The mention of singer Valeria in the song sparked much discussion in the press. After the album's release, Zemfira linked its theme to the record ''Vendetta''. According to the artist, "If ''Vendetta'' was restless and I was searching, then here I found it". The relationship between these albums is similar to the relationship between Queen's A Day at the Races and A Night at the Opera. "A period of misunderstanding is a period of understanding". In terms of poetry, the album featured the waltz ''Boy'' and the song ''Gentlemen''. Mikhail Margolis wrote that in the waltz, "the address to the boy and the decadent presentation of the song immediately resurrect Gumilev's 'My dear boy, you are so cheerful...'" Vyacheslav Ogryzko drew parallels between Shevchuk's "Blind Boy," Auktsyon's "Boy," and Kira Muratova's work, noting the adolescent maximalism in the phrase "Zero money. Zero sex. Music is dead". Yuri Loza emphasized that, in her work, Zemfira reflects the views and sympathies of a woman who is "lost in this world and dangles between the values accepted in any society and a certain elite loneliness". The partner present in Zemfira's songs is not a husband. Rather, it is an abstract "you" with whom she has a strange relationship; there is nothing about family or raising children. There is "kill the neighbors", but such a text does not quite fit into the worldview of an ordinary person. According to Loza, such turns are inadmissible according to the canons of creating a professional pop text.


Musical Style

Zemfira's musical style is classified within the genres of
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
and
pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
. Her music reflects influences from guitar pop as well as harmonies of
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
and bossa nova.''Michael Zilberman.'
The pink scare
salon.com (29 February 2000).
Michael Zilberman noted that influences on the singer’s music can be traced to non-Russian artists. In her lighter works, traces of
Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter of Folk music, folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans 40 years. In the mid-1980s and 1990s she released four singles that entered the Top 40 charts in the ...
and Portishead can be heard, while in her heavier compositions, elements of
Alanis Morissette Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...
and
Ani DiFranco Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco (; born September 23, 1970) is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influenc ...
are evident. Sabrina Jaszi, writing for
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
, stated that musically, Zemfira is closer to
Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...
and
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
, with her "complex, obsessive aesthetic of stadium rock filled with lo-fi guitar melodies and screaming vocals". Vladimir Polupanov observed in her early songs "major guitar pop of the ‘90s, diluted with naive ‘70s keyboards", and in her singing, "timbral similarities with Aguzarova’s vocals". The second album expands the genre diversity of the band’s music. Tender
ballads A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...
(''Do You Want?, Cigarettes'') and
grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...
(the chorus of ''I Was Searching'') appear. Zemfira steps beyond the sound of her band, incorporating slide guitars, piano, strings, brass,
saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
, and electronic elements. Some songs give the impression of being recorded in the mid-1980s (''Ripened'' and ''City''). Later, Zemfira embarked on a long period of experimentation with sound. On her third album, ''Fourteen Weeks of Silence'', the focus was placed on the quality of the sound. Alexey Krizhevsky from the online newspaper '' VestiRu'' noted: "The professionalism of the sound on the album is brought to a filigree, meticulously polished, and orchestrated precision of every sound, combined with restrained (or deliberately subdued) energy. Yes, Zemfira still swings distinctively where there’s a steady rhythm and can allow herself to be playful in the spirit of her first album on the track ''Sage'', but her hands no longer reach to tear her shirt—they hold an expensive microphone". Overall, the album is performed in the rock music genre with a predominance of guitar sound. A different assessment was given by Alexander Neverov from ''Itogi'' magazine. In his opinion, the album features the then-popular
trip-hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...
, as well as
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
and
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
, though "rather conditional". Tikhon Romanov in '' Weekly Journal'' wrote that the album turned out calm and balanced musically. "If two years ago Zemfira’s intensity was reminiscent of alternative rock artist
PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer-songwriter. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined local band Automat ...
, in the current melancholic intonation, one can hear something of the tender lyricism of
Suzanne Vega Suzanne Nadine Vega ( Peck; born July 11, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter of Folk music, folk-inspired music. Vega's music career spans 40 years. In the mid-1980s and 1990s she released four singles that entered the Top 40 charts in the ...
. Moreover, there are similar arrangements in places… And there’s not only quiet sadness but also depressive grunge in the style of
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
, passages reminiscent of
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
, and references to
Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
and
Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...
", the journalist noted. In ''
Komsomolskaya Pravda ''Komsomolskaya Pravda'' (; ) is a daily Russian tabloid newspaper that was founded in 1925. Its name is in reference to the official Soviet newspaper '' Pravda'' (English: 'Truth'). History and profile During the Soviet era, ''Komsomolskaya ...
'', it was written that her song ''Sentiments'' composition is unusual for the singer, and Zemfira appears in it as a "Russian Sade", with "a melodic, jazzy introduction that immediately transports you to a cozy bar with dim lighting and barely audible music". '' Vendetta'' became an even more experimental record, with one part consisting of electronic compositions and the other of rock songs. In terms of genre, the album includes
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
,
trip-hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...
,
Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...
,
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
, and
synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...
. In an interview with '' Russian Newsweek'', the artist elaborated on the album’s musical diversity: "A colorful album. Many styles—purists of genre purity will criticize. Archaic rock, even blues, and electronic arrangements. I’m a person with broad views—that’s how I wanted it". Boris Barabanov wrote that the simplest way to describe the album is as rock, as "the guitar sound has never been so heavy and grandiose on her records before". However, after listening, the critic noted that only four songs (''Skyseaclouds, Give Me Your Hand, Baby, and Hang Yourself'') are performed in a rock vein. On the other hand, he considered that "the album could just as well be described as a collection of ‘sad lyrical pieces,’ occasionally interrupted by rock-and-rolls". Alexey Mazhaev, in ''Musical Truth'', wrote that ''Vendetta'' is a kind of puzzle that "everyone can assemble for themselves from beautiful motifs, heartfelt lyrics, electronic sounds, alternating with heavy rock".''Mazhaev Aleksey.'
Земфира — «Вендетта»
// Музыкальная правда. 2005. № 14.
Sergey Stepanov from Rol.ru stated that "Zemfira more readily than usual scatters allusions and
hyperlinks In computing, a hyperlink, or simply a link, is a digital reference providing direct access to data by a user's clicking or tapping. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text with ...
, to the point of absurdity: the album features, in turn, a melody from
The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. Within a few months of their first gig, the line-up settled as Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar, primary songwriter), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussi ...
, a drum loop from
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
, and a guitar riff in the style of
Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...
. In the course of working on the album, Zemfira created her first
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
—the eponymous track. In an interview with Guru Ken, Zemfira mentioned that the song is her first blues, made according to all the genre’s canons:
Actually, I've never liked blues songs. Even in music school, we were all forced to listen to them, play them. There are some traditional blues forms, twelve-bar, minor, major… It was precisely for their traditionalism that I didn’t like them. But, apparently, something accumulated in me—and I got my first blues in my life. I wanted to make it as archaic as possible, with an old drum sound…
Alexey Mazhaev considered that in terms of
arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...
, the song is almost blues, but melodically it resembles the track ''Infinity'' from the album ''Fourteen Weeks of Silence''. Kapitolina Delovaya noted that the song is still an atypical blues. She pointed out the connection of ''Blues'' with Zemfira’s song ''London Sky'' and highlighted that the composition showcases the wide range of the singer’s voice. On the album ''Thank You'', the artist moved toward more "complex music". Boris Barabanov wrote that Zemfira had long abandoned creating music according to the rules of "formatted" Russian rock. "Her album ''Thank You'' (2007) marked a shift to ‘complex’ music, which was duly appreciated by, for example, people like the neo-academic composer
Vladimir Martynov Vladimir Ivanovich Martynov (Russian: Владимир Иванович Мартынов) (Moscow, 20 February 1946) is a Russian composer, known for his compositions in the concerto, orchestral music, chamber music, and choral music genres. Life ...
". The reviewer noted that the album ''Z-Sides'' presented completely different material, referencing "carefree pop".


Discography


Studio albums

* 1999 ― ''
Zemfira Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova (, ; born 26 August 1976) is a Russian rock musician. She has been performing since 1998 and has been popular in Russia and other Post-Soviet states, former Soviet republics. To date Zemfira has sold over 3 million ...
'' (Земфира) * 2000 ― ''
Forgive Me My Love ''Forgive Me My Love'' (Russian: Прости Меня Моя Любовь) is Russian singer Zemfira's second album. It features the hit singles "Forgive Me My Love" and "You Want?". It further popularized her recognizable pop-rock sound. It beca ...
'' (Прости меня моя любовь) * 2002 ― ''
14 Weeks of Silence ''14 Weeks of Silence'' is the third album by Russian singer Zemfira which became her second best-selling album after ''Forgive Me My Love'' with sales around 1 million copies sold in Russia and 500,000 sold in Ukraine according to her label. In c ...
'' (Четырнадцать недель тишины) * 2005 ― '' Vendetta'' (Вендетта) * 2007 ― ''Thank You'' (Спасибо) * 2013 ― ''Live in Your Head'' (Жить в твоей голове) * 2021 ― ''Borderline'' (Бордерлайн)


Live albums

* 2006 ― '' Zemfira.Live'' (Земфира.Live) * 2009 ― ''Zemfira.Live2'' (Земфира.Live2) * 2016 — ''Little Man. Live'' (Маленький человек. Live)


Compilation albums

* 2007 — ''Thank You, Vendetta'' (Спасибо, Вендетта) * 2010 — ''Z-Sides'' (Z-Sides)


Box sets

* 2010 — Zemfira. Gift Edition (Земфира. Подарочное издание)


Soundtracks

* 2012 — ''Rita's Last Fairy Tale'' (Последняя сказка Риты) * 2021 — ''North wind'' (Северный ветер)


EPs

* 2021 ― ''Oh'' (Ах)


Singles

* 1999 — "Snow" (Снег) * 2000 — "Goodbye..." (До свидания...) * 2000 — "To Wait (Hali-gali)" (Ждать (Хали-гали)) * 2001 — "Traffic" (Трафик) * 2008 — "10 Boys" (10 мальчиков) * 2011 — "No Chance" (Без шансов) * 2012 — "Money" (Деньги) * 2019 — "Joseph" (Джозеф) * 2020 — "Crimea" (Крым) * 2021 ― "Austin" (Остин) * 2022 — "Meat" (Мясо) * 2022 — "Homeland" (Родина; stylized as PODNHA) * 2024 — "Colette" (Colette)


Side project releases

* 2013 — First & Last (First & Last; the release of the side project "The Uchpochmack") * 2022 — Zemfira from Luke (Земфира от Луки; the release of the side project "Zemfira from Luke")


Filmography

* ''Goddess: How I Fell In Love'' ( Богиня: Как я полюбила) (2004) * ''Green Theater in Zemfira'' ( Зелёный театр в Земфире) (2008) * ''Moscow. Crocus/Strelka'' ( Москва.Крокус/Стрелка) (2010) * ''New York, The Theater at MSG'' April 12th, 2024 * ''Miami, Jackie Gleason Theatre'', April 17th, 2024


Awards and nominations

MTV Europe Music Awards , - ,
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
, rowspan=4, Herself , rowspan=3, Best Russian Act , , - ,
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
, , - , rowspan=2,
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, , - , Best Eastern European Act , Russian National Music Awards , - , 2015 , Herself , Best Rock Artist , Muz-TV Awards !Ref. , - , rowspan=2, 2003 , '' 14 Недель Тишины'' , Best Album , , rowspan=2, , - , "Бесконечность" , Best Song , , - , 2005 , rowspan=2, Herself , rowspan=2, Best Female Act , , , - , rowspan=2, 2006 , , rowspan=2, , - , '' Вендетта'' , Best Album , , - , rowspan=5, 2008 , Herself , Best Female Act , , rowspan=5, , - , ''Tour'' , Best Show , , - , ''Спасибо'' , Best Album , , - , rowspan=2, "Мы разбиваемся" , Best Song , , - , Best Video , , - , 2012 , rowspan=4, Herself , Best Female Act of Decade , , , - , 2014 , rowspan=2, Best Female Act , , , - , rowspan=2, 2016 , , rowspan=2, , - , Best Rock Act , , - , 2017 , "Жить в твоей голове" , Best Song of 15 Years , , Zolotaya Pchela !Ref. , - , 2005 , Herself , Artist of the Year , , Berlin Music Video Awards


References


Bibliography

*


External links


YouTube channel

An article on Zemfira from 2000



Zemfira at Forbes.ru
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zemfira 1976 births Living people 21st-century Russian women singers Musicians from Ufa Tatar people of Russia MTV Europe Music Award winners Russian pop singers Russian rock singers Russian women pop singers Russian women rock singers Russian women composers Russian women singer-songwriters Russian singer-songwriters Tatar musicians People listed in Russia as foreign agents Indie rock musicians Russian expatriates in France Russian National Music Award winners 20th-century Russian LGBTQ people 21st-century Russian LGBTQ people