Messer Chups

method77 · August 27, 2005

Probably the best mexicana rock you will find around. Desperado-like music. This one is TOO good. Check it out.

"It's a paradox, but from the very beginning Oleg Gitarkin felt himself squeezed, framed in "Messer fur Frau Muller", which he founded and managed within 10 years, and in 1998, like an alternative, he created "MFFM", new project "Messer Chups". First material, which was recorded together with Slava Amigo, did not go further, then the ears of the close friends, although it gained some interest. In the spring of 1998, promouter-girl from Hamburg Anette Schneider is arriving to Saint-Pete and expresses the wish to meet the musicians from "Messer Fur Frau Muller" personally, the tracks of this group she heard many times in Hamburg clubs, - so she gets acquainted with Oleg Gitarkin. In September,1998 Anette Schneider joins "Nozhik Chups" in Hamburg, and the name varies with German "Messer Chups". Later Oleg returns to the wet Petersburg and receives voice-mail from Anette, and he is using her magnificent voice for the samples. This way, some tracks appeared, which, being remixed, compiles the first album, named "The Beast and the Beast".

In 1999 Oleg Gitarkin invites his old friend Igor Vdovin to play the keyboards, who before that left the position of the vocalist of "Leningrad". They record the compositions, which in the future makes up the basis of the album "Miss Libido 2000" (Solnze Records). In the summer of 2000 Gitarkin records the next album "Bride of the Atom", on some tracks except Vdovin there is also Margarita Lebedkina like the piano player. Besides that, Dan Kalashnik (Net Slov) and Denis Medvedev (Dva Samolyeta (Two Planes), NOM) replace the keyboards on a live concerts, working with the group.

In 2001 on the label "Solnze Records" there comes out the album "Vamp Babes", also with cooperation of Vdovin. The group is going on many tours in Russia and abroad (USA, Finland), the songs of "Messer Chups" are getting in the compilations and radio-rotations, mostly abroad.

Aesthetics of "Messer Chups" music is close to such styles like surf and mondo, but is different from the traditional for "Messer fur Frau Muller" using of sample mosaic. "Messer Chups" is more often choosing live music performance, also not forgetting to input actively in their material the samples from old cinema , mostly from the thrash-horror of 60-s. The vampire aesthetic of the project is getting crystalized. In 2002 the producer and director of Messer Chups Oleg Tarasov invites for cooperation with the group the world famous theremin player Lydia Kavina and in March the recording begins. As a result in May the album "Black Black Magic" comes out. (The united edition of Solnze records and Bad Taste) . Album gets the outstanding approval of the critics all over the world, the proposal for licensing come from Australia and Holland, there come many re-editions of the album. On the respected californian label Asphodel there goes out the remix collection "Tipsy-Remix-Party!", on which the work of Messer Chups eclipses the remixes of many much more famous remixers. Messer Chups gives some concerts: in Petersburg on Stereoleto fest, plays the concert in Central Park of NY and plays more 4 concerts in NY, Chicago, Washington in August, visits Helsinki in September, and finally gets the invitation for a big tour to Switzerland and Germany. Solnze records times to the tour the edition of the collection "The Best of Messer Chups: Cocktail Drakulina" and the sudden retiring of Igor Vdovin from the group practically wrecks the tour. At the last moment Solnze records finds the way-out and invites Oleg Kostrow to take part in tour. As a result the german part of the tour falls apart and the duet of Olegs plays 8 concerts in Switzerland. Lydia Kavina, who, during this period of time is giving the solo concerts and takes part in opera in Luzerne, finds the possibility to join Messer Chups for a few concerts. The unusual duet attracts extraordinary interest and all team gets the invitation to repeat the tour in the spring of 2003. There come plenty of other invitations, from the part of which the group simply refuses."

:good job: