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Boris Grebenshchikov - Worth noting

Boris Grebenshchikov - Worth noting: Encyclopedia II - Boris Grebenshchikov - Worth noting

BG has virtually always been able to skillfully combine his interests into a cohesive, if highly eclectic, whole. His lyrics can feature Hinduism, Russian Orthodoxy, and drug use in the same quatrain and not make one blink an eye. The ability has only grown stronger over the years. 1999's "Psi" switches from detailed references to samurai culture to mentions of a certain carpenter's son to data storage on hard driv ...

Boris Grebenshchikov: Encyclopedia II - Boris Grebenshchikov - Worth noting

Boris Grebenshchikov - Worth noting

BG has virtually always been able to skillfully combine his interests into a cohesive, if highly eclectic, whole. His lyrics can feature Hinduism, Russian Orthodoxy, and drug use in the same quatrain and not make one blink an eye. The ability has only grown stronger over the years. 1999's "Psi" switches from detailed references to samurai culture to mentions of a certain carpenter's son to data storage on hard drives, all the while maintaining tight lyrical cohesion.

His output has been rather prolific. Over the 30+ years of his carrier he wrote 500+ songs, most of which were recorded and/or performed publicly. At this point Aquarium has 21 albums in the official discography, approx. 12 "unofficial ones", and about as many live records. Additionally, BG recorded cover albums on material from the two most prominent Russian-language songwriters -- Alexander Vertinsky (1994's "Songs of A.Vertinsky" (Pesni A.Vertinskogo)) and Bulat Okudzhava (1999's "Songs of B.Okudzhava" (Pesni B.Okudzhavy)) --, two albums of mantra music with Gabrielle Roth and the Mirrors, (1998's "Refuge" and 2002's "Bardo"), and an album of electronica versions of Aquarium songs from late 70's - early 80's with the Russian duo Deadushki. Which left him time to be credited on records by big-in-Russia bands Nautilus Pompilius, Mashina Vremeni and Kino, as well as the UK acts Shakespeare's Sister and Kate St. John. This list is not exhaustive, either.

BG is also known as a student of religion and mysticism. He translated several Hinduist and Buddhist books for publication in Russian, travelled the Orient widely, and is friends with A-list spiritual celebrities. He is just as familiar with the Russian Orthodox tradition (Aquarium web site has had a call for discovery of Orthodox relics going for years), and used to mix them freely in his lyrics. "Russian Nirvana" (Russkaya Nirvana) off "Kostroma mon amour", e.g., is a dual-pointed send-up containing a reference to "sitting down in the lotus posture in the middle of Kremlin". His relentless promotion of Tibetan buddhism in the 90's and his tendency to use buddhist-derived logic with touches of absurdism to avoid answering questions in interviews make him pretty distinct amongst other Russian artists.

BG also translated several Buddhist and Hinduist texts to Russian, including:

Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche (son of Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche) "Bardo Guidebook" - "source material for the "Tibetan Book of Living & Dying" a.k.a. "Tibetan Book of the Dead" Bardo Thodol, in 1995;

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche "Repeating Words of the Buddha" - "the essential points of spiritual practice, inseparable from everyday life.", in 1997;

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche "Rainbow Painting" - "addressing the topics of practices of accumulating and purifying to facilitate unification of view and conduct", in 1999;

Shibendu Lahiri "Kriya yoga" - "authentic teachings and techniques of Kriya Yoga", in 2003;

"The Katha Upanishad", Upanishad belonging to the Yajur Veda, in 2005.

He has a rather unique singing voice. A combination of his natural timbre and a specific vibrato slightly reminiscent of a goat with downward expansion of range and unusual resonation (acquired through training) make his voice highly recognizable.