Mumiy Troll

Mumiy Troll took their moniker from a figure appearing in Tovi Jansson’s celebrated children’s books and rose to become one of Russia’s most commercially successful and widely praised pop/rock outfits of the 1990s and 2000s. Revolving around the unconventional romantic verses and astute, magnetic persona of principal songwriter and frontman Ilya Lagutenko, the ensemble has remained apart from prevailing currents in Russian music by enlisting overseas producers and completing the bulk of its recordings in England. Although the group has sampled an array of styles across its history, it has cultivated a singular sonic identity suspended between classic Russian rock and Brit-pop.

Lagutenko first began composing and tracking material as an adolescent in Vladivostok during 1981. The next year he assembled the group Shock alongside Vladimir Lutsenko on bass and Alik Krasnov handling every other instrument; they assumed the name Mumiy Troll in 1983 and captured their first studio album, Novaya Luna Aprelya (New April Moon), across 1984 and 1985. The record found strong regional acceptance and, by 1986, received regular rotation in Vladivostok discos. Because the band remained officially unsanctioned in the Soviet Union, however, this visibility carried complications, and at a Far East State University student assembly Mumiy Troll were startlingly labeled among the era’s most “socially dangerous” acts. The collective then entered a prolonged hiatus while Lagutenko fulfilled his Soviet Army national service; only in 1990 did Mumiy Troll complete another album, Delai U-U (Do U-U). The reunion proved brief, since Lagutenko, fluent in both English and Mandarin, accepted a post with a business consultancy in London and China, after which the record vanished without trace.

Residing in London amid the height of the Brit-pop era in 1996, Lagutenko chose to revive the band and commenced work on a fresh album with producer Chris Bandy, whose prior credits include the Cure, Duran Duran, the Rolling Stones, and Tears for Fears. The resulting Morskaya (Sea) appeared later that year. Its polished commercial approach scored an instant hit in Russia, and by the time the follow-up Ikra (Caviar)—a more orthodox Russian-rock effort—emerged six months afterward, the group enjoyed unprecedented domestic popularity. Having stabilized its present lineup of Lagutenko (vocals, guitar), Yuri Tsaler (guitars), Evgeni Zvidenniy (bass), and Oleg Pungin (drums), the quartet launched its first tour across Russia and neighboring territories in 1997. Sustained media visibility and frequent television airplay marked 1998 as an especially productive year that yielded the two-volume collection Shamora: Pravda o Mumiyakh i Trollakh (Shamora: The Truth About Mumiy and Troll) together with the mini-album S Novym Godom, Kroshka! (Happy New Year, Baby!).

Following a brief pause, Tochno Rtut' Aloe (Exactly Mercury Aloe) surfaced in 2001, the same year Mumiy Troll were selected to represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest final, placing twelfth with “Lady Alpine Blue.” Another album, Meamury (Memories), was tracked in 2002, this time under Grammy Award-winning producer John Hudson; shortly after release it earned a gold disc for Latvian sales. Further honors arrived that year when the group received the Russian music industry’s Zolotoy Grammophon (Golden Gramophone) prize, was voted Best Group of 2002 at the Nashe Radio Awards, and saw its song “Eto Po Lubvi” (Because of Love) named Best Song of 2002.

Over the ensuing years Mumiy Troll devoted considerable effort to film and television scores, supplying music for Azazel (2002), Nochnoi Dozor (2003), Pohititeli Knig and Neznaika i Barrabass (2004), and Kosmichesky Reys (2006). They also joined forces with former Suede vocalist Brett Anderson on the 2007 science-fiction thriller Paragraph 78. During the same span the band aligned itself with social initiatives including AIDS awareness and environmental protection, appearing at numerous benefit events worldwide. In 2005 the ensemble issued Sliyanie I Pogloschenie (Merger and Acquisition), whose elliptical lyrics address identity, corporate power, and global politics, and afterward toured China. In 2006 the group took part in Moscow’s international gala Stop Contrafact, staged to coincide with the G8 summit and advocate intellectual-property safeguards. On the emblematic date of July 7, 2007, Mumiy Troll unveiled their eleventh studio album, AMBA, simultaneously declaring for the first time that an English-language version would be recorded.