Ногу свело!

Nogu Svelo! (Russian: Ногу свело!, lit. 'Leg has cramped!') is a contemporary Russian rock band. The group was founded by Maxim Pokrovsky, the only consistent member and author of nearly all of the band's work. The band's work is diverse and influenced by a variety of styles, including alternative rock, pop punk, punk rock, art punk, experimental rock and others. Later works also include elements of electronic music. Lyrically, they are characterised by frequent use of humor and parody. While some of their albums include English lyrics, the majority of their work is in Russian. While originally from Moscow, the band relocated to the US in 2016 and for political reasons no longer performs in Russia. The group Nogu Svelo! was founded in 1987 by singer and bass player Maxim Pokrovsky, together with guitarist Vitaly Akshevsky and later drummer Anton Yakomulsky. At the beginning Nogu Svelo! was a member of Moscow Rock Laboratory, an organization which supported both well-known and promising independent groups. In 1989, they performed at the Moscow Rock Laboratory's annual "Festival of Hope", where their performance was noted positively by critics. When Moscow Rock Laboratory broke up in 1992, Nogu Svelo! had already recorded two albums, participated in several festivals and were well-known even outside Moscow. The band's first two albums are difficult to find, even in Russia. The debut (recorded first, but released second), 1:0 v pol'zu devochek (Russian: «1:0 в пользу девочек», lit. 'The Girls Lead 1:0') was recorded in 1990 but released in 1993. Several of the songs were re-recorded by the band on their later albums. The band's second album (recorded second, but released first), Kaprizy manekenschits (Russian: «Капризы манекенщиц», lit. 'The Capriciousness of Supermodels') was recorded in 1991 and released on vinyl in 1992. Three songs were later re-recorded: "Haru Mamburu" (Russian: «Хару Мамбуру») (1993), "Golaya koroleva" (Russian: «Голая королева», lit. 'The Naked Queen') and "Hrustal'naya vaza" (Russian: «Хрустальная ваза», lit. 'The Crystal Vase'), which appears on 1999's Kally (Russian: «Каллы», lit. 'Calla Lilies'). The song "Haru Mamburu" (Russian: Хару Мамбуру), whose lyrics are a nonsense phonetic play on English, became widely known in 1993 after winning a first prize at the festival Generation-93. It is regarded as greatly influential in the development of Russian pop-rock culture. Increased interest in the band's work due to the song "Haru Mamburu" led to the release of their 1990 album 1:0 v pol'zu devochek as a studio album in 1993. In the same year, the album Haru Mamburu (Russian: «Хару Мамбуру») was also released. 1993's Haru Mamburu provided the majority of the material for 1995's Sibirskaya lyubov' (Russian: Сибирская любовь, lit. 'Siberian love'), a compilation of re-recorded songs from the band's first three albums and some new tracks. The 1995 release contained two new songs: the title track "Sibirskaya lyubov'", with which the band attempted to enter the Eurovision Song Contest and won the second place in the national selection in 1994, and "Rojdestvenskaya kolybel'naya" (Russian: «Рождественская колыбельная», lit. 'Christmas Lullaby'). Having gained popularity (they even appeared with Russian mega-star Alla Pugachova in a concert), the band spent the next two years maturing their sound. Wind and horn sections received additional attention, synth parts became more colorful, bass became more subdued. The vocals of Maxim Pokrovsky changed significantly, from a lack of melodic nuance and subtlety in conveying the humorous and parodic aspects of the lyrics to having a wide emotional range, an almost crooning quality in the slower or melodic passages and a serious tone even in the most ridiculous songs. For example, in a song describing the romance between a lady and a soldier, he proclaims: "...save our women from the anti-war rabble of the world"!). The band recorded two albums between 1997 and 1999: Schastliva, potomu chto beremenna: Siniy al'bom (Russian: «Счастлива, потому что беременна: Cиний альбом», lit. 'Happy Because I'm Pregnant: The Blue Album') and Schastliva, potomu chto beremenna: Zelyonyi al'bom (Russian: «Счастлива, потому что беременна: Зелёный альбом», lit. 'Happy Because I'm Pregnant: The Green Album'). In 1997 Nogu Svelo! wrote music for Nikulin Moscow Circus. It is still used by Russian circus performers in France, Monte-Carlo, Germany and other European countries. The band had planned the two albums to be released nine months apart. The "Blue" album was released in 1997, but the "Green" album was released in 1999, due to scheduling and other problems. The band continued their commercial success with two hits from the "Blue" album, "Liliputskaya lyubov'" (Russian: «Лилипутская любовь», lit. 'Liliputian Love') and "Moskovskiy romans" (Russian: «Московский романс», lit. 'Moscow Romance'), the latter with an award-winning video presenting Pokrovsky as a Southern Caucasian begging for money on the background of a sweeping Moscow panorama. While songs such as "Nedugi" (Russian: «Недуги», lit. 'Illnesses') still have the loose bass-driven approach of "Haru Mamburu", "Rekviem" (Russian: «Реквием», lit. 'Requiem') and "Chetyre druga" (Russian: «Четыре друга», lit. 'Four Friends') attempt a serious, more subdued style, while "Kitayskiye kolokol'chiki" (Russian: «Китайские колокольчики», lit. 'Chinese Bells') predicts the "Green" album with its use of eclectic instrumentation and bittersweet melodies. The opening track has a retro-style rock and roll guitar riff backed up by a sweeping chord sequence. The bonus tracks include a self-made dance remix of 1993's "Лысая девочка" and a noisy cover of the Russian film music classic "Na Tihoretskuyu" (Russian: «На Тихорецкую», lit. 'To Tihoretskaya'). The "Green" album was a colorfully arranged and instrumented album. Most of the album is mostly humor, with only "Volki" (Russian: «Волки», lit. 'Wolves') and "Reki" (Russian: «Реки», lit. 'Rivers') - recorded with the Russian pop-star Natalya Vetlitskaya - being true pop songs. Only "Jyvaya massa" (Russian: «Живая масса», lit. 'Live Mass') and "Iskusstvo boli" (Russian: «Искусство боли», lit. 'The Art of Pain') have anything less than immediately appealing melody lines. Eastern-tinged "Vlyublyonnye olenevody" (Russian: «Влюблённые оленеводы», lit. 'Reindeer Breeders in Love') and "Lesnaya shkola" (Russian: «Лесная школа», lit. 'The Forest School') are rich in melodies, drawing from folk music - the latter song employs a Ukrainian folk music vocal ensemble. In several songs the band employs guitar effects similar to those of Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing". The acoustic-instrumental "Muj na rabote" (Russian: «Муж на работе», lit. 'Husband at Work') is tasteful and subtle. "Volki" is a slow dance and the Nirvana pastiche "Den' rojdeniya" (Russian: «День рождения», lit. 'Birthday') samples a bass line from that band's "Very Ape". In 1999, the out-takes and non-album tracks compilation Kally (Russian: «Каллы») was released, drawing mostly on their earlier period, to mark the band's tenth anniversary. The album opens with "Kukla" (Russian: «Кукла», lit. 'Doll') which shows the more straightforward style the band had adopted. The other tracks run the full gamut of styles: classical parody "Ave Maria" (Schubert's famous melody interpolated with incongruous guitar noise), covers of two famous Russian film melodies probably originally intended for the "Blue" album, "Myasnoy brudershaft" (Russian: «Мясной брудершафт», lit. 'The Meat Brüderschaft') parodying German popular music, early songs like "I'm Blue" and "Sporting", and drawn-out psychedelic jams "Hrustal'naya vaza" and "Diblopops" (Russian: «Диблопопс»). "Trusiki" (Russian: «Трусики», lit. 'Panties') is a fully worked-out piece of 80s indie music. On the 2000 album Boks (Russian: «Бокс», lit. 'Boxing'), Pokrovskiy and Nogu Svelo! abandon much of what had characterized their