Nautilus Pompilius (band)

Nautilus Pompilius
Nautilus Pompilius in concert, late 1980s.
Background information
Origin	USSR, Russia
Genres	Art rock, post-punk, new wave, gothic rock, alternative rock
Years active	1982–1997, 2003–2004, 2013–2014
Past members	Vyacheslav Butusov Dmitry Umetsky Ilya Kormiltsev† Aleksey Mogilevsky Nikolay Petrov† Albert Potapkin Andrey Sadnov Igor Goncharov Aleksandr Zarubin Anastasiya Poleva Viktor Komarov Vladimir Nazimov Aleksey Khomenko Yegor Belkin Vladimir Yelizarov Igor Dzhavad-Zade Aleksandr Belyayev

Nautilus Pompilius (Template:Lang-ru), sometimes nicknamed Nau (Template:Lang-ru), was an influential Soviet, and later Russian, rock band founded in Sverdlovsk in 1982 by Vyacheslav Butusov and Dmitry Umetsky. Butusov disbanded the group in 1997, after multiple successful albums and several different line-ups of the band.

Name

The band was originally named "Ali-Baba and the Forty Thieves" (Template:Lang-ru). In 1983, at the suggestion of the band's sound director, Andrei Makarov, the band's name was changed to Nautilus. In 1985, under the initiative of Ilya Kormiltsev, the name was lengthened to Nautilus Pompilius to avoid confusion with other Russian rock bands that were also named Nautilus at the time, such as the Moscow group led by Evgeny Margulis.

The band later elaborated on the name, saying "The band is named after the nudibranch mollusc, which is naturally beautiful and charming." Nautilus pompilius is the scientific name of a species of cephalopod (mistakenly called a nudibranch by the band) commonly known as the Chambered Nautilus.

History

Founding

Vyacheslav Butusov and Dmitry Umetsky took the first steps towards forming Nautilus in the late 70's. At first, the band performed at small events, covering songs by foreign performers and famous native performers like Mashina Vremeni and Voskreseniye. The band was formed by Butusov and Umetsky while the two were students in the Sverdlovsk Institute of Architecture (now called Urals Academy of Architecture).

In 1982, the group made its first attempts to record its own songs. The band's first album, Pereyezd (Russian: Переезд), was released in 1983. It included some songs which had been recorded in 1982, as well as new material. The album was strongly influenced by Led Zeppelin.

Later

The band was active in various incarnations from 1983 to 1997. Nautilus was an influential band in the post-punk, new wave wing of Russian rock music and also a landmark of the "Ural rock" style with their philosophical lyrics. Some of their early hits are popularly associated with the Perestroika period.

The band's music was prominently featured in the 1997 movie Brother (Russian: Брат). A version of their popular song, "Bound by One Chain" ("Скованные одной цепью") appeared in the 2008 film Stilyagi. The band hired English guitarist Bill Nelson to produce their 1997 album Yablokitay (Template:Lang-ru), on which Nelson also plays the guitar.

Since the group disbanded, Vyacheslav Butusov has launched a successful solo career.

Even though Butusov composed most of the band's songs and wrote some of their lyrics, poet Ilya Kormiltsev was a key contributor as a songwriter and producer.

Members

Discography

Year	Russian name	English transliteration (translation)
1983	Переезд	Pereyezd (Resettlement (or Highway Crossing))
1985	Невидимка	Nevidimka (The Invisible One)
1986	Разлука	Razluka (Separation), a name of a Russian folk song featuring in the album
1987–1988	Ни Кому Ни Кабельность (LIVE)	Ni Komu Ni Kabel'nost' (pun; nekommunikabel'nost' means 'lack of sociability' (a loanword, from communicate and -able-) and nikomu ni means 'to nobody'
1988	Князь Тишины	Knyaz' Tishiny (Prince of Silence), after a poem by Endre Ady
1988	Отбой (LIVE)	Otboy (Lights-out)
1989	Человек без имени	Chelovek Bez Imeni (Man With No Name)
1992	Чужая земля	Chuzhaya Zemlya (Foreign Land)
1994	Титаник	Titanic
1994	Титаник-LIVE	Titanic-LIVE
1995	Крылья	Kryl'ya (Wings)
1996	Лучшие Песни (LIVE)	Luchshie Pesni (Best Songs)
1997	Яблокитай	Yablokitay (China-apple, Dutch etymologization of Russian apel'sin 'orange fruit')
1997	Атлантида	Atlantida (Atlantis)

Among their most well-known songs are: The Prince of Silence ("Князь тишины"), "Walks on Water" ("Прогулки по воде"), "The Last Letter" ("Последнее письмо", also known as "Goodbye, America"), "The Glance from the Screen" ("Взгляд с экрана"), "Hlop-Hlop" ("Хлоп-хлоп"), "The Khaki Sphere" ("Шар цвета хаки"), "Bound by One Chain" ("Скованные одной цепью"), "I Want to Be with You" ("Я хочу быть с тобой"), "On the Shore of the Nameless River" ("На берегу безымянной реки"), and "Wings" ("Крылья").

External links

• Nautilus Pompilius' history at Allmusic.com
• Nautilus Pompilius at discogs.com
• Discography with Lyrics and English translations
• About the band
• Nautilus Pompilius On-Line - Official web site (in Russian)
• Zvuki.ru - Nautilus pompilius (in Russian)
• Official Website of Butusov & U-Piter Vyacheslav Butusov's current group (Nautilus Pompilius' front man) (in Russian)