Dolphin

Born in 1971, Andrey Lysikov performs under the artistic name Dolphin, rendered in Russian as Del'fin, and ranks among the most esteemed artists in present-day Russian alternative hip-hop. His recognition includes the Best Performer prize from the MTV Russia Music Awards, which has earned him admiration from mainstream pop listeners as well as dedicated followers of independent music.

He adopted the stage name while participating in the hip-hop outfit Mal'chishnik, known in English as Bachelor Party, a group that operated between 1991 and 1996 and attracted broad attention from youthful audiences while provoking outrage through lyrics saturated with sexual themes. From 1992 to 1994 he simultaneously developed the side project Duboviy Guuy', roughly translated as Oak Guy, whose two documented releases emphasized bleak suicidal themes paired with aggressive alternative guitar textures.

Once Mal'chishnik disbanded in 1996, Lysikov initiated two separate efforts: Mishiny del'finy, translated as Misha's Dolphins, which carried forward the somber tone established in Dubovyi Guuy', and the Dolphin project, which moved away from explicit rap into deeper underground hip-hop territory. His first solo album, Ne v fokuse or Out Of Focus, appeared in 1997 and triggered repeated controversies with the press, fueled by episodes such as the use of profanity during a television appearance and an incident in which he lowered his trousers before a hostile biker crowd at a live show.

In 1999 he issued Glubina rezkosti, meaning Depth Of Field, an album assembled entirely from samples of recordings by Marilyn Manson, Tori Amos, Sonic Youth and additional artists, together with captured live-instrument passages. This method laid the groundwork for the polarizing sonic identity Dolphin has sustained ever since, in which softer, more introspective vocals approach poetry more closely than standard hip-hop and rest upon layered beats and samples arranged into an intricate, haunting mosaic.

Two further projects reached audiences in 2000: Ya budu zhit', or I Will Live, and the experimental Plavniki, translated as Fins. Dolphin attained a prominent position in Russian entertainment after signing with Universal Music Russia in 2002 and appearing in a major motion picture the following year.

Zvezda, meaning Star, arrived in 2004 and met with widespread success, sending four tracks into regular radio rotation. The 2007 album Yunost', or Youth, confirmed his continued pursuit of fresh timbres drawn from earlier technology, as he employed vintage drum machines and keyboards to generate, in his own words, "a pleasant discomfort."