Aquarium (group)

Aquarium (Аквариум)
Aquarium live (2004)
Background information
Origin	Soviet Union, Russia
Genres	Folk rock, art rock, psychedelic folk, new wave, reggae, fusion, experimental rock, psychedelic rock, indie rock
Years active	1972–present
Labels	Magnitizdat by Andrei Tropillo, Melodia, Solyd, Soyuz
Website	www.aquarium.ru

Aquarium or Akvarium (Russian: Аква́риум) is a Russian rock group formed in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg, Russia) in 1972. The band had many member changes over its 40-year history, and at the end the only remaining original member was lead singer and founder Boris Grebenshikov. Former band members have included Anatoly Gunitsky, Dyusha Romanov, Sergey Kuryokhin, and Vsevolod Gackel.

Aquarium was formed in 1972 by two friends: Boris Grebenshikov, then a student of Applied Mathematics at Leningrad State University, and Anatoly (George) Gunitsky, a playwright and absurdist poet. The founding members were Grebenshikov, George (drums), Tsatsanidi Alexander (bass), Alexander Vasilyev (keyboards), Valery warmed (sound).

The popular story behind the name "Aquarium" is that it was inspired by the Budapest street Leningrad pub "The Aquarium" and suggested by one of the band members. However, Grebenshikov has given differing stories in interviews, suggesting alternately that it came through band word association sessions or was inspired a glass aquarium-like building.

In late 1972, guitarist Edmund Shkliarsky (later the leader of "Picnic" band) was briefly a member of the band. Bass player Michael Feinstein-Vasiliev (Fan), the first professional musician in the "Aquarium", joined in January 1973. In the same year keyboardist Andrew "Dyusha" Romanov also joined the band, and, inspired by rock-flautists Richard Meier and Ian Anderson, retrained as a flautist.

Reports vary as to their first performance. Some sources suggest that it was in 1972 at a small country venue, while others place it at the Leningrad restaurant "Hold" at Central Park of Culture and Recreation, for which they were paid 50 rubles in cash.

In the 1970s and early 1980s, rock and roll was strictly regulated in the Soviet Union, and only a few artists managed to be approved and signed by the government record label Melodiya. Aquarium's usual concert venues were private apartments and they faced many years of fierce competition to land a spot on the label. These "apartment concerts" (квартирники) were a unique Soviet phenomenon created by underground musicians. They were usually acoustic, as noise could cause the neighbors to call the Militsiya, but the limited space fostered an atmosphere of intimacy between the group and its audience, who listened with bated breath, perhaps with someone recording the concert on a simple tape recorder. This was similar to the concept of the Russian bards.