Мельница Melnitsa
Natalia O'Shea
Background information
Origin	Moscow
Genres	Folk rock
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Navigator Records
Website	melnitsa.net

Melnitsa (Мельница, the Russian for windmill) - is a Russian folk rock band. It was founded in 1999 by Natalia "Hellawes" O'Shea and Alexey "Chus" Sapkov around the remnants of a local folk band 'Till Eulenspiegel'.

Style[link]

The band fuses Russian, Irish and other North European folk influences with guitar pop/rock. Natalia "Hellawes" O'Shea, the lead singer and primary songwriter, is an academic and a specialist in medieval European languages and cultures by day. Her expertise lends the typically complex fantasy-laden lyrics a degree of authenticity.

History[link]

For the first several years the band had worked the club and festival circuit, earned a bona fide cult status in the folk-n-fantasy teenage sub-culture and released an acoustic album Doroga Sna (Дорога Сна, The Road of Dream) featuring the underground hit Gorets (Горец, Highlander) set to the Russian translation of Robert Burns' Highland Harry Back Again.

Luck struck in 2005, when the lead single Nochnaya Kobyla (Ночная Кобыла, Night mare) off their second, more pop-infused album Pereval (Перевал, Mountain Pass) had been sneaked into rotation on Nashe Radio (the name and lyrics of the song are a complex allusion to Mara, a Norse mythical entity that caused nightmares). A grass-roots chart effort by fans propelled the song to #1 position in the "Best Of Year" chart, and the band to the small arena circuit (sparsely populated in Russia).

Their latest albums Zov Krovi (Зов Крови, Call of Blood) and Dikiye Travy (Дикие Травы, Wild Grasses, released early 2009) features the same lyrical and melody themes underscored by more rhythm section support from the band.

Discography[link]

There was also a compilation album, "The Best," in 2007.

Lineup[link]

• Natalia "Hellawes" O'Shea - vocals, Irish harp
• Alexey "Chus" Sapkov - producer
• Sergey Zaslavsky - flute
• Alexey Orlov - cello
• Alexey Kozhanov - bass
• Dmitry Frolov - drums
• Sergey Vishnyakov (on march 2010) — guitar

Former members include:

• Alevtina Leontyeva - vocals
• Alexander "Grendel" Stepanov - guitar
• Natalia Filatova - flute
• Natalia Kotlova - cello
• Evgeny Chesalov - bass
• Alexander Leer - drums
• Inessa Klubochkina - violin

External links[link]

• Official site (rus.).
• Melnitsa on RussMus.Net: English translations of lyrics with complete discography

References[link]

1. ^ A portmanteau word referring to obsession with angels and angel motifs

Igor Nikolayev
Background information
Birth name	Igor Yuryevich Nikolayev
Born	(1960-01-17) January 17, 1960 (age 52)
Origin	Kholmsk, Sakhalin Oblast, USSR
Occupations	Composer, singer, song-writer
Years active	1980s – present
Website	igornikolaev.ru

Igor Yuryevich Nikolayev (Russian: И́горь Ю́рьевич Никола́ев; born January 17, 1960) is a Russian composer, singer and song-writer. He is also a member of United Russia.

Biography[link]

Nikolayev was born in Kholmsk, Sakhalin Oblast, into the family of Sakhalin-marinist poet Yury Nikolayev. He graduated from pop Branch (class composer Igor Yakushenko) of the Moscow Institute of Culture. In early 1980s worked in ensemble "Recital" of Alla Pugacheva keyboard and arranger. In 1983 Alla Pugacheva and I. Nikolayev recorded songs "Iceberg", "Tell, birds!", which made I. Nikolayev famous author.

Solo career[link]

In 1986 began the solo career of singer, debut in that capacity has become the song "Mill". The author of about a hundred hits and hits from the repertoire of Alla Pugacheva, Irina Allegrova, Natasha Koroleva, Valery Leontiev, Alexander Kalyanov and other, songs in their own performance ("Raspberry wine", "Poor Mozart", "Let's drink for love" and others). As a poet, he is working with Igor Krutoy, Alla Pugacheva. From 1985 (as composer) and 1988 (as a singer) constantly goes to the final of the festival "Song of the year". Recipient of national music awards "Ovation 1995" in the category "composer".

Igor Nikolaev - holds the prestigious music awards: "Ovation-92" - for the album "Dolphin and mermaid", "Ovation-95" - in the nomination composer year, "Ovation-97" - in the nomination poet year, "Ovation-99" - in the nomination composer year, "Song-99" - for his outstanding contribution to the development of songs (aide Prize Isaak Dunayevsky), "Golden grammofon - 2001" - for the song "Five Reasons", "Best composer in 2002" - prize of the festival "Song of the Year".

His songs were performed and performed by artists and Russian pop stars: Alla Pugacheva, Philipp Kirkorov, Iosif Kobzon, Yuri Nikulin, Lev Leshchenko, Vladimir Vinokur, Lyudmila Zykina, Valery Leontiev, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Larisa Dolina and many others.

In 2004 he became a composer at Star Factory 4.

Discography[link]

• 1986 — Счастья в личной жизни, A. Pugacheva
• 1987 — Мельница
• 1989 — Королевство кривых зеркал
• 1989 — Фантастика
• 1989 — Kingdom of Carnival Mirrors, Sweden
• 1989 — Aqarius 1999 (Lisa Nilsson), Sweden
• 1989 — Julen Ar Har (Tommy Korberg), Sweden
• 1990 — Жёлтые тюльпаны N. Koroleva
• 1991 — Мисс разлука
• 1992 — Дельфин и русалка
• 1992 — Странник мой Irina Alegrova
• 1994 — Малиновое вино
• 1994 — Поклонник N. Koroleva
• 1995 — Конфетти N. Koroleva
• 1995 — Выпьем за любовь
• 1997 — Пятнадцать лет. Лучшие песни
• 1997 — Бриллианты слёз N. Koroleva
• 1998 — Игорь Николаев-98
• 2000 — Разбитая чашка любви
• 2001 — Самая родная
• 2001 — Дочка …и я (jointly with Yu. Nikolayeva)
• 2002 — Прости и отпусти
• 2004 — ЗДРАВСТВУЙ
• 2004 — Миллион красивых женщин (compilation)
• 2006 — Как ты прекрасна

External links[link]

• Igor Nikolayev Biography
• Igor Nikolayev at the Internet Movie Database

This article about a Russian musician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e