Pyotr Mamonov is a Soviet and Russian musician, actor, director and poet. Gained fame thanks to the original sound of the songs of his group "Sounds of Mu", and real popularity came with the film "The Island".
Petr Mamonov became famous as a rock musician, the creator of the cult group "Sounds of Mu". An extravagant and bright artist played on the stages of leading theaters in Russia, created solo performances, acted in films. His talent has been rewarded with numerous awards and the love of his fans.
Childhood and youth
Pyotr Mamonov was born on April 14, 1951 into a family of Moscow intellectuals. The childhood spent in the center of the capital, among the creative and intellectual elite, influenced the character of the future musician. He early began to show eccentricity and rebellious disposition. For non-standard behavior, Peter was expelled from school twice.
While still studying, he became interested in music and, together with his classmates, organized an amateur group "Express". The ensemble performed songs of popular Western rock bands.
At the Moscow Polygraphic College and Institute, the artist studied editing. After graduating from his studies, Mamonov was engaged in translations from Norwegian and English, worked in a printing house, and, like many dissident intellectuals of that time, was engaged in unskilled labor - he served as a bath attendant, loader, elevator operator. For ten years, Peter did not study music, changing different jobs.
Since the early 1980s, Mamonov has been experiencing a life crisis caused by failures in his personal life and disorder. At the same time, he begins to write the first poems and songs. Mamonov's longtime friend, well-known music critic Artem Troitsky, having heard the work of Peter, advised him to form a group.
The beginning of a musical career
At first, Mamonov rehearsed with his younger brother Alexei Bortnichuk. Then the group grew to four people - the musician invited old friends, keyboard player Pavel Khotin and bass player Alexander Lipnitsky.
The name "Sounds of Mu" was invented by Mamonov himself, who later could not explain how he came up with such an idea. The first performances of the musicians took place at home. Despite the small number of the public, Peter and his friends managed to become famous first in Moscow, and then in Russia. In the same period, in 1982, the artist got married, and soon the couple had a son.
The first big performance took place in 1984. A successful start to a career was almost ruined by the musicians' addiction to alcohol. The group was joined - and soon left - by new members.
Glory and success
By the end of the 80s, "Sounds of Mu" toured the USSR, played as an opening act for popular groups. The musicians won critical acclaim and were featured in official and underground newspapers.
In 1988, Mamonov recorded two studio albums, and in the fall the group performed on foreign tours in Hungary and Italy. Here, partly thanks to the influence of Troitsky, the musicians are noticed by the English producer Brian Eno, who signs a contract for the release of the album and performances in France, Germany, and Great Britain. With success, Peter gives concerts in the United States.
Upon his return from America, at the peak of success, Mamonov disbanded the group, deciding to continue his musical career together with his brother. In the old line-up, Peter goes on tour in the USA, records another album, and only two years later he completely devotes himself to the new project.
The idea with his own recording studio, founded in 1990, failed. The company was closed after two years of existence. The duet with his brother gradually turned into a group again, supplemented by bass player Evgeny Kazantsev and drummer Andrei Nadolsky.
The relationship within the group was not the most rosy. Mamonov's difficult character and his passion for new projects caused conflicts. In 1996, the team broke up.
Zvuki Mu has released several popular albums in different compositions:
- 1988 - Simple things;
- 1988 - Crimea;
- 1989 - Zvuki Mu;
- 1991 - Transferability;
- 1995 - Rough Sunset;
- 1996 - Life of amphibians as it is.
Theatre
Mamonov became interested in theater in the early 1990s. The artist already had acting experience in several films and he wanted to prove himself on stage. Such a chance was given to him by the Stanislavsky Moscow Drama Theater, where the musician staged the play "The Bald Brunette". The second production, Nobody Writes to the Colonel, turned out to be less successful and lasted only a few performances.
In addition to these two titles, Mamonov's performances are on account of:
- Is there life on Mars?;
- Chocolate Pushkin;
- Mice, boy Kai and the Snow Queen;
- Mice plus green;
- Grandfather Peter and the hares.
The seclusion period
In 1995, Mamonov left the capital and moved to the village of Efanovo, where he bought a land plot. Here Peter comes to his senses after the breakup of the group, anew looking for the meaning of life. As a result of his searches, he comes to Orthodox Christianity, becoming a deeply religious person.
The artist expresses his quest in solo performances. The main creative achievement is "Is there life on Mars?" based on the play by Chekhov "The Proposal". Peter performed all the roles himself, in addition, he created a minimalistic musical series. The play ran for 4 years and was released on DVD. At the same time, albums with previously unreleased songs "Sounds of Mu" were released. "Chocolate Pushkin", despite bad criticism, ran for several years.
Return and triumph on movie screens
The creative association SVOI2000 really wanted to see the artist in their films. Finally, director Sergei Loban convinced Mamonov to take part in the filming of the film "Dust". Independent cinema was awarded with awards and returned Peter's taste for acting.
The real success came with the film "The Island" by Pavel Lungin. Mamonov played the mysterious and enlightened elder Anatoly, who for many years has been trying to atone for the sin of killing a friend during the war. It was Pyotr Mamonov's performance that made the film a sensation.
The cinema has won many awards, including the most prestigious Golden Eagle and Nika awards. Mamonov's popularity peaked, the film became a box office hit in cinemas and broke rating records on television. From a musician known only to a narrow circle of Russian rock fans, Peter turned into a national star, a person under discussion. The artist's outrageous behavior at the award ceremonies became the subject of articles in the press.
The next joint project of Mamonov and Lungin is the film "Tsar" about the confrontation between Ivan the Terrible and Metropolitan Philip II. Despite the large budget and powerful cast, including Oleg Yankovsky, it was not possible to repeat the success of Ostrov.
Mamonov has several notable roles in films:
- the drug surgeon at the Needle;
- saxophonist Lech in Taxi Blues;
- Professor Pushkar in "Dust";
- Ivan the Terrible in the film Tsar;
- father in "Chapito-show";
- grandfather Lev in "Ashes".
Present time
Since 2008, Mamonov has been publishing a collection of poetry "Zagoryuchki". The aphorisms that the artist creates are mostly inspired by religion. Peter continues to act in films of the SVOI2000 group, to create performances.
Together with Sergei Loban, he released the video "Mamon + Loban", in which he expressed his opinion about modern life. Attached to the video was the album "One and the Same", with old hits and new recordings in a dirty, amateur manner.
Participated in "Needle Remix", the new version of "Needle". In 2012 he presented a new performance - "Grandfather Peter and the Hares".
The artist continues his musical activity. On May 24, 2013, new songs were presented. And in 2015, the formation of a new group was announced - "Brand New Sounds of Mu". Participants - drummer Hrant Minasyan, bass guitarist Ilya Urezchenko, electronics engineer Alex Gritskevich, keyboard player Slava Losev. The group releases new albums and records unique songs. On April 14, 2016, on the day of his anniversary, Pyotr Mamonov performed with "Completely New Sounds of Mu" on the stage of the Variety Theater.
Filming in films, poetry, and theatrical performances continue.
