#7 t.A.T.u., the best Russian group
Hi there!
Today was just the usual weekend day! Because I was feeling very gloomy for the past few days, it was very hard for me to create art and even think about architecture in general. It’s not like I don’t like them anymore (I LOVE THEM, IN FACT), but my job was so stressful lately and I needed some break. (ᗒᗣᗕ)՞
So, for now, I’m going to write a blog.
Listening to music was always my hobby! (*⌒▽⌒*)θ～♪ Whenever I’m in the mood to draw visual arts or do architectural-related tasks, listening to music helps me keep focused and less stressed. Last week, my favorite girl group, BLACKPINK, dropped their debut album! I was so happy because the songs are perfect. But before I became a fan of that Korean group, there was a Russian duo that I liked which was called “t.A.T.u.”.
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| Volkova (left) and Katina (right) in 2003 |
However, they were not very popular in my country. I was only six when I first saw the music video for “All The Things She Said” in 2002. It was aired on MYX TV Channel and back then, I couldn’t read very fast so I did not know the song title, but their voices and the music had stuck in my mind for so many years! I only heard it once and believed me or not, I could not forget it at all! (Julia’s high-pitched line; “This is not enough!” has embedded my brain cells!)
After several years, I was still wondering about the title of that musical piece - there were two girls under the rain; the image was still somehow clear in my head. In 2006, my father had an iPod and he stored so many tracks. He also owned several music books because he's a guitarist. One time, I was scanning the book pages, and I accidentally stumbled on this picture of t.A.T.u.
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| Image from VK |
I was like, “OMG! This looks so familiar!” The page showed the song chords for “All The Things She Said”, and the artist's name. I quickly grabbed the iPod and luckily, I found some of their tracks!
That’s how I knew them, and I remembered how I screamed, ”THIS IS WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR!”
My father has kept two other t.A.T.u. tracks on his iPod namely, “Not Gonna Get Us” and “How Soon Is Now?”. And I got hooked after listening because their genre was quite different and they had powerful vocals, especially Julia’s.
I’m already 24, and I still own digital copies of their albums, in English and Russian. Well, their genre has reminded me of stars and the cosmos! ★彡★彡★彡 I love t.A.T.u. because of their music, and I couldn’t care less about their lesbian image. They looked like anime girls as well which has not surprised me because of their fame in Japan.
Sorry for the long narrative, here are my artworks of them.
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| Artwork based on their photoshoot for 200 По Встречной! |
Julia Volkova
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| Let’s begin with Julia Volkova |
Born as Yulia Olegovna Volkova (Юлия Олеговна Волкова), she was known by her stage name Julia Volkova. For me, she had a unique voice, and she was so beautiful when she was younger. If not for her high-pitched voice, probably, my six-year-old brain will not remember their song at all! I even thought Julia was the leader of the group because she usually sang the chorus part of t.A.T.u.'s songs. And her 2000s look; her pixie dark hair and petite figure suited her very much.
Volkova was only 18 during their peak of popularity. She was an only child of middle-class parents with a musical background and was a classically trained musician who studied singing and piano at Moscow State Music School.
Lena Katina
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| Second, Lena Katina |
Born as Elena Sergeevna Katina (Елена Сергеевна Катина), she was better known as Lena Katina. She was one of the gorgeous red-haired women of our time, period! And she was getting more beautiful as she grows older. Although her voice was not as strong as Julia’s, her soft voice blended so well with her bandmate. However, Lena rarely sang the chorus part of t.A.T.u. songs.
She was only 17 during t.A.T.u.’s peak and the youngest daughter of Sergei Katin (a successful Russian musician). She studied Psychology at Moscow State University while being an international celebrity.
t.A.T.u.
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| My recreation of t.A.T.u. Paragate poster |
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| Promotional poster for the movie, "Paragate". The project was apparently canceled before its target release of Winter 2004 due to numerous circumstances, including a fallout between the duo and manager Ivan Shapovalov |
ALBUMS
First Release: 200 по встречной / 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane (2002)
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| 200 по встречной (2001) / 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane (2002) | (c.) Interscope, Universal Music Russia |
t.A.T.u.’s debut album and its English counterpart have the most successful songs in the market, but it's not my favorite. It is an electronic album that incorporates elements of pop-rock and lyrically focuses on themes of love, teenage sex, and lesbianism. Many critics praised how catchy it was and its production standards, and I agree with that.
My favorite tracks are:
- “Not Gonna Get Us / Нас не догонят”
- “How Soon Is Now?”
- "Mal'chik Gay / Мальчик гей”
- “Robot / Робот ”
- “Clowns / Клоуны”
- ”A Simple Motion / Простые движения”
- ”Don't Believe, Don't Fear / Не ве́рь, не бо́йся”
- ”Show Me Love"
- “All The Things She Said / Я сошла с ума”
Moreover, I think their mugshot and schoolgirl concept is very cool!
Second Release: Люди инвалиды / Dangerous and Moving
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| Люди инвалиды / Dangerous and Moving (both 2005) | (c.) Interscope, Universal Music Russia |
The girls improved their English pronunciation on their second release, but their songs were less catchy than its predecessor. For me, this is my least favorite t.A.T.u. album because it sounds quite monotonous. But even for that reason, this release has the songs with the best lyrics!
My favorite tracks are:
- “Dangerous and Moving / Люди инвалиды”
- “All About Us”
- “Loves Me Not”
- “Gomenasai”
- “Cosmos / Космос”
- “Sacrifice”
- “Null & Void / Обезьянка ноль”
- “All My Love / Вся моя любовь” — their most emotional song
I also think that the cover arts are a little dull.
Third Release: Весёлые Улыбки / Waste Management
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| Весёлые Улыбки (2008) / Waste Management (2009) | (c.) T.A. Music |
Their last release was the best for me; I love its artistry, the enriched music, the transcendent version, and the English photoshoot concept–all are almost perfect! But it was sad how Julia’s voice sounded weaker because of cancer, but she still did a superb job!
On the other hand, Lena had shined in this album; her voice sounded more angelic, and she sang some choruses of their songs, which she was rarely done before. And oh, she became hotter! (see “White Robe” music video)
Although this was my favorite t.A.T.u. the album, I didn’t like the Russian cover art release. I don't quite understand why they chose that image of an astronaut because it didn’t look pleasing enough! They also titled the Russian release as “Весёлые Улыбки” (Vesyolye Ulybki / Happy Smiles) instead of "Управление Отбросами" (Ypravleniye Otbrosami) which directly translates to "Waste Management", the official English name of their release.
Based on some articles, here is the supposedly cover art of their Russian release, which I find more appealing and more related to its English counterpart.
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| Управление Отбросами (2009) | (c.) T.A. Music |
Despite those issues earlier, my favorite tracks are:
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| Lena Katina and Julia Volkova (2020) |
Due to conflicts between the girls, and they both wanted to pursue solo careers - the duo was officially announced as disbanded in 2011. The girls have released several singles over the past few years but none of them reached the same success as they were in t.A.T.u. Julia Volkova didn't release her debut album yet because she lost her voice while battling cancer, however, the press declared that she was receiving therapy to gain it back.
On the other hand, Lena Katina has already released two studio albums, "This Is Who I Am" (2014) and "Моно / Mono" (2019). She has released several non-album singles, collaboration songs, and even a full Spanish-language version of her debut album. Despite her efforts, she failed to be the global star she wanted to be. With a positive outlook, Lena Katina focused on writing songs in the Russian language and has continued to be successful in her home country. It is unclear when she will release a full-length English album again.
I'm still following Lena Katina's solo career and it was amazing how her music evolved into something that suited her character as a singer. I hope that Julia will recover soon and release her debut album in the near future.
If you’re not familiar with t.A.T.u., you should give it a try! :D