Nochniye Snaiperi
Encyclopedia
Nochnyie Snaipery is a Russian rock
Russian rock
Russian rock refers to rock music made in Russia or in the Russian language. Rock and roll became known in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and quickly broke free from its western roots. According to many music critics, its "golden age" years were the 1980s , when the Soviet underground rock bands...

 group. It was founded in 1993 as an acoustic female duo of Diana Arbenina  and Svetlana Surganova
Svetlana Surganova
Svetlana Yakovlevna Surganova is a Russian rock musician, singer and poet. She was a founding member of the popular Russian rock band Nochnye Snaipery, vocalling and playing violin....

 . The ladies played guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

 and violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 respectively, sharing the vocal and songwriting duties evenly, eventually adding amplification to the band. Since its inception the band has participated in a variety of Russian musical festivals — from the underground (such as Babye Leto and Moguchaya Kuchka) to the major events (Nashestvie
Nashestvie
Nashestvie is one of the largest open-air festival of Russian rock, organized by Nashe Radio station. It is held annually during the first weekend of August somewhere in the environs of Moscow, Russia, since 1999 to this day with the exception of 2007...

, Maxidrom
Maxidrom
Maxidrom is an annual international musical festival organized by Radio Maximum station.-History:...

, Krylya), as well as touring extensively domestically and abroad.

Night Snipers best known singles are Tridtsatpervaya Vesna ("31st Spring"), Rubezh ("Frontier"), Stolitsa ("Capital"), Asfalt ("Asphalt"), and Aktrisa ("Actress"). The majority of the songs in the band's repertoire is written by Arbenina and Surganova, but some use the poetry of such famous authors as Joseph Brodsky
Joseph Brodsky
Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky , was a Russian poet and essayist.In 1964, 23-year-old Brodsky was arrested and charged with the crime of "social parasitism" He was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1972 and settled in America with the help of W. H. Auden and other supporters...

, Anna Akhmatova
Anna Akhmatova
Anna Andreyevna Gorenko , better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova , was a Russian and Soviet modernist poet, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Russian canon.Harrington p11...

, and Federico Garcia Lorca
Federico García Lorca
Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...

.

In 2002 Svetlana Surganova left the band to create her own group Surganova i Orkestr ("Surganova and Orchestra"), and Diana remained the headliner of Night Snipers.

Diana Arbenina and Svetlana Surganova have been considered Russian lesbian icons
Gay icon
A gay icon is a public figure who is embraced by many within :lesbian, :gay, :bisexual and :transgender communities...

 for a long time. Several songs, performed by them with Night Snipers or solo, hint of intimacy between women and are considered lesbian
Gay anthem
A gay anthem is a song that has become widely popular among, or has become identified with, the LGBT community; usually with gay men. The lyrics of gay anthems are often marked with hope against the odds, pride, unity, or defiance...

 and feminist anthems of Russophone
Russophone
A Russophone is literally a speaker of the Russian language either natively or by preference. At the same time the term is used in a more specialized meaning to describe the category of people whose cultural background is associated with Russian language regardless of ethnic and territorial...

 world. However, these days Diana Arbenina is moving away from the lesbian theme to more philosophical lyrics, and it is harder to tell if her love songs are about a same-sex relationship. In 2010, Diana gave birth to two children, and at the present moment it is not known if she is in a relationship with a woman.

Early history

The official date of Night Snipers creation can be considered August 19, 1993 when Diana Arbenina and Svetlana Surganova met in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

. Soon afterwards they performed as an acoustic duo at the Second All-Russian Bard Song Festival, after which Diana returned to her home city of Magadan
Magadan
Magadan is a port town on the Sea of Okhotsk and gateway to the Kolyma region. It is the administrative center of Magadan Oblast , in the Russian Far East. Founded in 1929 on the site of an earlier settlement from the 1920s, it was granted the status of town in 1939...

, and the creative project was placed on hiatus.

In November 1993 Surganova moved to Magadan, and for the remainder of the academic year the duo gave concerts at a local casino "Imperial" and at the Magadan University where Diana was a student at the time. They also recorded a series of home concerts, given for the benefit of friends and relatives. These early recordings are quite sought out by the fans of the band. It is anecdotally accepted that the name Night Snipers was chosen after Diana and Svetlana were walking to public transportation after a gig, carrying a guitar and a violin in their cases, and were accosted by a man wanting to know if they were walking "to hunt or from a hunt," thinking their instruments were shotguns.

In May 1994 Snipers had won a regional round of the All-Russian Musical Competition "Student Spring" and tripped west to Samara
Samara, Russia
Samara , is the sixth largest city in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia at the confluence of the Volga and Samara Rivers. Samara is the administrative center of Samara Oblast. Population: . The metropolitan area of Samara-Tolyatti-Syzran within Samara Oblast...

 for the finals, eventually moving back to St. Petersburg. While based there, the duo continued an active life of gigs, songwriting, underground performances etc., building a loyal following. 1996 sees Snipers in their first trip outside of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 to attend a student festival in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

. Two books of their texts are published in the same year - Цель ("Goal") and Дрянь (Rotter) (called "anti-songs" by the authors.)

In February 1997 Diana and Svetlana added amplification to the acoustic guitar and violin, and collaborated with the drummers from the St. Petersburg band Soyuz Kommertcheskogo Avangarda ("The Union of Commercial Avant-Guard") Yura Degtyaryov and Alexei Ivanov, as well as with the guitar soloist Denis Doulitsky from the Vacuum band.

In June 1997 "Night Snipers" debuted on the Internet. Getting more notoriety, Diana and Svetlana sought help from the bands Ulme and Kuzya-band in recording some of their songs, which later would make up the album Detskiy Lepet ("Child's Babble"), published in 1999.

After graduating from university, Diana and Svetlana devote all of their attention to professional music. In the summer of 1998 the women use an auditorium at the St Petersburg Zoo to record their first official album Kaplya Diogtia/V Botchke Meda ("Drop of tar/In a barrel of honey"), which is sold on audio tapes. They also acquire a manager (Svetlana Loseva) who organized the band's participation at the "Sirin" festival of female vocalists held in Tyumen
Tyumen
Tyumen is the largest city and the administrative center of Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located on the Tura River east of Moscow. Population: Tyumen is the oldest Russian settlement in Siberia. Founded in 16th century to support Russia's eastward expansion, the city has remained one of the most...

. Loseva also introduces the Snipers to the former musicians from an iconic Russian rock group Nautilus Pompilius
Nautilus Pompilius (band)
Nautilus Pompilius , sometimes nicknamed Nau , was a prominent Soviet/Russian rock band formed by the lead singer Vyacheslav Butusov and bassist Dmitry Umetsky while the two studied in Sverdlovsk Institute of Architecture . The band, with its various incarnations, was active between the years 1983...

 - bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...

 Igor Kopylov and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...

 Albert Potapkin, who begin to perform with the band. By early 1999, Snipers are in rotation on radio and television in St Petersburg, and in May 1999 they have their first performance in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

. Their first official website makes debut that spring as well.

The sound of the early Snipers is quite unusual in its choice of violin (and sometimes flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

) layered on the guitar riffs and rhythms, growing out of the acoustic traditions of Russian bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...

s, and evoking some traditions of gypsy music, as well as some parallels with country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

. The song content concerns mostly love and loss, and could be compared to early Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...

 without the political overtones.

Popularity

In 2000 Albert Potapkin leaves the group, to be replaced by Ivan Ivolga and Sergei Sandovsky. Night Snipers give their first real international concerts in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, where the group's popularity is assured by the large numbers of immigrant youth. After recording the album Rubezh ("Frontier"), their single Tridtsatpervaya Vesna ("31st Spring") enters rotation at one of the best known Russian radio stations "Nashe Radio", and by the fall of 2000, everyone in Russia has heard of the Night Snipers. By December 2000 the ladies are signed by Real Records.

2001 is spent in touring around Russia and the Former Soviet Union. Dmitry Gorelov joins the band as the new drummer, and the Zhyvoi ("Alive") album is recorded during a Christmas concert at "Barmalei" Club.

The recording for Tsunami begins in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

 in 2002, and proves to be fatal to the duo. A couple of days after the official release of the album in December 2002 Svetlana Surganova leaves the group, to later start a solo career with Surganova i Orkestr. Other events of note in 2002 include two tours of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 and two large acoustic concerts - in Moscow Art Theatre
Moscow Art Theatre
The Moscow Art Theatre is a theatre company in Moscow that the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Constantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright and director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, founded in 1898. It was conceived as a venue for naturalistic theatre, in contrast to the melodramas...

 and St. Petersburg's Lensovet Palace of Culture. Dmitry Chestnykh joins the group as the new bassist, and another book of Surganova/Arbenina poetry is published - Patrontash.

The Frontier/Tsunami period is much more grown up in its sound and structure. Political themes and questions about meaning of life make appearances in the lyrics; "Tridtsatpervaya Vesna" is to day possibly being the best known single of the group. The vocal structure is more dominated by Diana Arbenina, while in the early years the women sang about 50 percent of the repertoire in turn. The sound becomes harsher, more rock-oriented, with hard-driving drum lines and stylistic experiments.

New Millennium

The departure of Svetlana called for a radical change in the musical style of the band - instead of replacing the string instruments with another musician, Snipers acquired a keyboardist (first Alexei Samarin, then Airat Sadykov). February 2003 saw the band give their largest yet concert at the famous Moscow sports arena Luzhniki
Luzhniki
Luzhniki may refer to:*Luzhniki , a village in Moscow Oblast, Russia*Luzhniki Olympic Complex, sport complex in Moscow, Russia.**Luzhniki Palace of Sports, an arena in Luzhniki Olympic Complex...

. A new acoustic album Trigonometriya ("Trigonometry") is recorded during a concert at Moscow Art Theatre in May 2003. The band's 10th anniversary is celebrated with a large concert and a party at the B2 club.

In the summer of 2004 Snaipery perform at the "Russian Rock Night" festival in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, and soon thereafter release a new electric album SMS. However, they carry on the acoustic tradition during concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg titled Superakustika ("Superacoustics").

In 2005 Diana Arbenina received a prestigious independent Russian award Triumph "for achievements in literature and the arts". In that same year Night Snipers collaborated with two very different musicians - Japanese pop musician Kazufumi Miyazawa and Russian rock group B-2. The collaboration with Miyazawa was titled Simauta and let to the band's participation in Fuji Rock Festival
Fuji Rock Festival
Fuji Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The 3 day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japan...

, the first Russian group to do so.

Another acoustic album Trigonometriya 2 is released in 2005 after a recording of a May 2005 concert at the Moscow Art Theatre, and the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese version of Koshika album is published. In the fall of 2005 Night Snipers travel to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, kicking off a tradition of yearly tours outside of Russia. Diana also published another book of lyrics and anti-songs Katastroficheski.
In early 2006 Koshika album is released in Russia, and the band tours United States and Israel. Diana Arbenina performed in multiple memorial concerts as an acoustic solo musician, including Svoya Koleya ("Own Track"), commemorating Vladimir Vysotsky
Vladimir Vysotsky
Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky was a Soviet singer, songwriter, poet, and actor whose career had an immense and enduring effect on Russian culture. He became widely known for his unique singing style and for his lyrics, which featured social and political commentary in often humorous street...

 and In Memoriam Bulat Okudjava in Peredelkino
Peredelkino
Peredelkino is a dacha complex situated just to the southwest of Moscow, Russia.-History:The settlement originated as the estate of Peredeltsy, owned by the Leontievs , then by Princes Dolgorukov and by the Samarins. After a railway passed through the village in the 19th century, it was renamed...

. In early 2007 Nochnye Snaipery released their newest album Bonni i Klaid ("Bonnie & Clyde"), which includes some collaborative tracks with B-2 and draws inspiration from Western themes.

Discography

  • 1993
    1993 in music
    This is a summary of significant events in music in 1993.-January–February:*January 8 – The U.S. Postal Service issues an Elvis Presley stamp. The design was voted on in February 1992....

     Pervaya Pulia, Первая пуля ("First Bullet") (not published)
  • 1995
    1995 in music
    This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1995.- January–February :*January 18 – Jerry Garcia crashes his rented BMW into a guard rail near Mill Valley, California, USA, but is not injured in the accident....

     Vtoraya Pulia, Вторая пуля ("Second bullet") (unofficial)
  • 1998
    1998 in music
    This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...

     Kaplya Diogtia/V Botchke Meda, Капля дегтя/В бочке меда ("Drop of tar/In a barrel of honey") (Сaravan Records)
  • 1999
    1999 in music
    -Events:*January 7**After eight years of marriage, Rod Stewart and supermodel wife Rachel Hunter announce their separation.**Paul McCartney attends the first of his stepdaughter Heather's first housewares collection in Georgia....

    • Britanets, Британец ("Briton")
    • Detskiy Lepet, Детский лепет ("Child's Babble") (Manchester Files)
    • Kanarskiy, Канарский ("Canarian") (not published)
  • 2001
    2001 in music
    See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....

     Rubezh, Рубеж ("Frontier") (Real Records)
  • 2002
    2002 in music
    This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI...

    • Zhivoi, Живой ("Alive") (Real Records)
    • Kaplya Diogtia/V Botchke Meda, Капля дегтя/В бочке меда ("Drop of tar/In a barrel of honey") (Real Records)
    • Tsunami, Цунами (Real Records)
  • 2003
    2003 in music
    -January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...

     Trigonometriya, Тригонометрия ("Trigonometry") (Real Records)
  • 2004
    2004 in music
    See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol....

     SMS, (Real Records)
  • 2005
    2005 in music
    -Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...

    • Simauta (together with Kazufumi Miyazawa)
    • Koshika (Japanese release, together with Kazufumi Miyazawa)
    • Trigonometriya 2, Тригонометрия 2 ("Trigonometry 2") (Real Records)
  • 2006
    2006 in music
    This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....

     Koshika (together with Kazufumi Miyazawa) (Russian release)
  • 2007
    2007 in music
    This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...

    Bonni i Klaid, Бонни & Клайд ("Bonnie & Clyde")

Videography


External links

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