Pop-Mechanics (Popular Mechanics) () was a musical collective founded by Sergey Kuryokhin in 1984. The line-up of Pop-Mechanics often changed, with musicians from rock groups such as Aquarium, Kino, Strannye Igry, AVIA, and Auktyon took part in its performances. Pop-Mechanics ceased to exist with Kuryokhin's death in 1996.
History Sergey Kuryokhin acted as the composer, conductor, and artistic director of Pop-Mechanics, as well as performing as a musician. The collective's performances were partly improvised and mixed genres, including elements of jazz, rock, avant-garde theater, and ancient mystery plays. The stage performances sometimes included animals.
The first Pop-Mechanics concert took place on 14 April 1984 in Moscow on the stage of the Moskvorechye House of Culture. The group's first performance in Leningrad took place in the spring of 1985 at a festival of the Leningrad Rock Club.
In 1988, Pop-Mechanics had their first international performances, including shows in Finland, Sweden, and Germany. From 1988 to 1991, the majority of Pop-Mechanics performances took place abroad. The group was less active after 1991.
Kuryokhin's final Pop-Mechanics show took place in Saint Petersburg in September 1995. The performance was also a fundraiser and advertisement for Aleksandr Dugin's Duma electoral campaign. Pop-Mechanics participants
With the exception of Kuryokhin, Pop-Mechanics did not have a permanent line-up. Participants in Pop-Mechanics shows included:
† — show, avant-garde fashion Kola Beldy — vocals — trumpet — saxophone — guitar Sergey "Afrika" Bugayev — industrial group, electronic drums Igor Butman — alto saxophone — saxophone — guitar Vsevolod Gakkel — cello — maracas, industrial group, theatrics Boris Grebenshchikov — guitar, theatrics Georgy "Gustav" Guryanov † — industrial group, percussion, vocals — keyboards Yuri Kasparyan — guitar — soprano saxophone, flute, recorder — tuba, vocals † — drums † — percussion Elena Korikova — vocals, backing vocals Sergey Letov — saxophone, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone Yegor Letov † — bass guitar, guitar Aleksandr Lipnitsky — guitar † — performances, show Timur Novikov † — industrial group Valentina Ponomaryova — saxophone Arkady Shilkloper — French horn, jagdhorn — crumhorn † — guitar, theatrics — bass guitar, guitar, theatrics Igor Tikhomirov — bass guitar Alexander Titov — bass guitar Viktor Tsoi † — guitar — guitar, sound engineer † — viola Joanna Stingray The British actress Vanessa Redgrave also took part in a Pop-Mechanics performance.
References
External links Photo gallery (in Russian) — from Sergey Letov's personal archives Popular Mechanics on Russian Art Archive Network Excerpt from BBC documentary Comrades: All that Jazz