НОМ (Russian experimental rock band)

N.O.M. (also, NOM: Neformálnoye objedinénie molodiózhi, The Informal Youth Association) is a Soviet/Russian experimental rock band, formed in 1987 in Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad), known for its mix of art rock, ska, folklore, classical influences (including occasional bouts of operatic singing) and eccentric theatrical stage shows. N.O.M.'s national breakthrough came in the late 1980s when LenTV started playing the band's controversial videos. Short-time heroes of post-Perestroika alternative culture, N.O.M. have never been accepted neither by the massive pop/rock audiences, nor by the mainstream Russian media, but gathered a strong cult following. The band split into two in 1997, but the 2000s saw NOM-Zhir and NOM-Euro gradually reintegrating, the official reunion concert held on 20 April 2007 in the Saint Petersburg's "Port" Club. The band was formed in Pushkin, Saint Petersburg in 1986 by a group of friends, then students of technical colleges and young engineers, who shared the same interests in music, literature and theatre. The name Neformalnoye objedinenie molodyozhi came from the Perestroika media lexicon and referred to the (generally derided) umbrella term by which the "reforming" Communist party tried to "organize" (and this way control) whatever youth communities they deemed "informal" (and therefore potentially dangerous). N.O.M.'s founding members were: Sergey Kagadeyev (vocals), Andrey Kagadeyev (bass guitar), Alexander Liver (pseudonym of Dmitry Tikhonov; keyboards, vocals), Sergey Butuzov (guitar) and Nikolai Rodionov (drums, flute). Exotic monikers, used by the musicians later became their stage alter egos. In February 1987 N.O.M. released their debut demo. Initially intended as a musical and theatrical illustration to Andrey Kagadeyev's short story Протез ("Prosthetic"), it was recorded at his home on the primitive Soviet Astra tape-recorder and reminded the absurdist rock of Zvuki Mu. Soon after that N.O.M. took part in the TV musical competition, performed there Ламца-Дрица humorous couplets and were surprised to find themselves among the laureates. The band decided to become professional and defined their artistic credo as "the idiotization of all the dramatic sides of our everyday and cultural life, as well as over-dramatizaton of [life's] most idiotic aspects". In the late 1987 N.O.M. joined the alternative rock association Мост ("The Bridge"), then, in January 1988, the Leningrad Rock Club. In October 1988 Rodionov left to be replaced by Vladimir Postnichenko (alias Starikan/Gotlib Ulrich Tuzeast; ex-Orkestr Deda Mazaja, Bratja Gadiukiny) who used to jam with the band in his student years. Rodionov continued to occasionally appear with the band on stage playing flute, but retired after his health deteriorated (he died in the 1990s). After the band's appearance at the Sixth Leningrad Rock Club Rock Festival, critics classified them as the followers of AVIA, at this point a well-established conceptual art rock band. The parallel proved to be flawed, but the two bands bonded together. They embarked on the nationwide tour and signed the humorously worded Molotov–Ribbentrop-type "non-aggression pact". In 1989 the percussionist and performance artist Yuri Saltykov (aka Ivan Turist) joined the band, thus completing what is considered to be its classic line-up. With him the debut Брутто (Gross) album was recorded in the Dvoretz Molodiozhy Studios by producers Sergey Yelistratov and Andrey Novozhilov. Released two years later on the Leningrad Melodyia record label, it became an underground hit and made the band one of the most original phenomena of Peter[sburg]'s new rock scene. By this time N.O.M.'s musical language, initially fashioned in a rudimentary folk rock/cabaret style, started to harden and quickly evolved into a totally integral post-punk meets rhythm and blues kind of sound. After the Petersburg - Channel 5 and the nascent Moscow Vzglyad TV show started playing the band's videos, its popularity grew rapidly. In 1990 N.O.M. toured Spain and France; in the course of the next five years they played in many European countries and performed at the Seventh Leningrad Rock Club Rock Festival. By the time the sophomore К Чортям Собачьим (K Chortyam Sobachjim, To Dog's Hell) was recorded and self-released in 1990 (three years later Melodiya followed suit), Sergey Butuzov departed, leaving a certain gap in the overall sound, which AVIA's Alexey Rakhov as a guest guitarist struggled to fill. The album received rave reviews. Anatoly Gunitzkiy wrote in Roxy Express (1990): At the background of N.O.M.'s every single opus some kind of an absurd plot can be found. Music – a set of multi-coloured stylizations – is nothing more than a brilliant, expressive background for these short stories. Noticeable is the progress: everything here [compared to the debut] is perfectly constructed, worked out and honed down; nothing is superfluous, everything's meaningful – from vocal equilibristic to tricky arrangements… What specific rock genre this belongs to, I wouldn't venture to guess, but it is still heartening to think that it was rock culture that's been able to give haven to all of these incongruous – Odlopez, Airman Kamyshin, Samba Hopkins and other inhabitants of the N.O.M. panopticon... Finally, vocal artistry should be mentioned: the concept of "theatricality" is very much central to the group's aesthetics… and vocals here are of the most sophisticated quality. Whether it's N.O.M.'s solo vocal performances (and every member of the group does indeed sing) or their choruses – everything sounds wildly grotesque. All this brings to mind an idea of some inside-out kind of punk, processed through the mental absurdist machine. Andrey Kagadeyev reminisced in July 2009: "The second album, 'К Чортям Собачьим', is my all-time [N.O.M.] favourite. This was the band's finest hour. There was real understanding between the band members. No one was trying 'pull the quilt' as it were, there were no superstardom ambitions. We were just bursting with new ideas and felt so easy, so good… It was little later that this unity cracked and the troubles started." In February 1991 N.O.M. played at the Leningrad Rock Club 10th Anniversary concert; "Samba Hopkins" with A. Liver on vocals later made its way onto the compilation album. In May the band performed in Novosibirsk with, among others, The Shamen. Due to AVIA's temporary inactivity, Rakhov became the band's semi-official member and played sax on the band's third album Супердиск (Superdisc), featuring such N.O.M. classics as Чорт Иваныч, Город, Душа и Череп. Of the opener, "Nina" (by this time a live favourite), A. Gunitzkiy wrote: "…combining cool electro sound with fragments of delightfully crass phrases… [it] never fails to throw every possible kind of audience into the state of deep mental prostration." It was in those days that N.O.M. became residents of the Vasileostrovsky Youth Center (later – TaMtAm Club). According to critic and Russian rock historian Andrey Burlaka, the band's style of self-promotion was consistent with their image: they regularly decorated the city walls with self-published quasi-sotsart posters, mostly teaching fans the code of behavior at the self-proclaimed "Kings of St.-Petersburg"'s concerts, but also spreading jovial or misleading information about the band. Сенька-Мосгаз (Senhka-MosGaz, the band's fourth vinyl LP and first CD) was shelved due to the economic crisis and released in November 1996. Video for the controversial track "7 %" was filmed in France. The album proved to be the last one for A. Liver as a full-time member, who pursued a solo career in 1995. The latter took him to France (where he married) and Geneva Opera (where he continued to sing throughout the next decade). Several musicians tried to fill Liver's shoes, among them jazz musician Yuri Sobolev (ex-Pangei) and Ivan Sokolovski (ex-Nochnoi Prospekt, Miagkie Zveri). In 1995 N.O.M. relocated to the Wild