A Cappella Group Jukebox Make Good on Own

Like all popular music groups, the Jukebox Trio has its own successful formula. Presenting a rich mix of classic covers and original material in an open, friendly, accessible style – with two singers and a human beatbox – it’s hard not to enjoy the experience of seeing them play.

“I don’t know any other a cappella bands with only three people,” says lead singer Vladimir Ivanov. “Usually they have six, but we cut it down to the main things: bass, rhythm and melody. And actually, that’s all you really need in music.” Clever live sampling techniques are also often used to create layered, harmonised soundscapes that give the impression of more voices.

The group formed in 2004, when brothers Vladimir and Ilya Ivanov met Kirill Sharafutdinov at a vocal studio where they learned jazz and funk fundamentals. “We had mutual interests, we were listening to a lot of the same music – Bobby McFerrin, Take 6, Queen, The Beatles. It’s different music but we like it all,” explains Vladimir.

At live shows, this diversity is evident. Reworked Elvis Presley hits, silky Bossa Nova ballads and sermonising soulful serenades are all on the agenda. The penultimate track on the Trio’s debut album, Acappellipsis, features a list of influential artists: names as varied as Ozzy Ozbourne, John Coltrane, Jimi Hendrix and the Chemical Brothers are recited in comically exaggerated Russian accents.

However, copies of the CD are somewhat hard to come by. “We decided not to sell the album in shops, it’s only available at our concerts,” says Vladimir. Why? “It’s a big problem to make a good production with Russian record labels. They are really down now.” He also cites the mercenary nature of the country’s music industry as something the group wants to avoid. “Radio stations and TV channels play everything just for money, apart from maybe Western musicians – mainstream stuff. If you want to be big in Russia, you have to pay.

“The most important thing with Jukebox Trio is that, at first, it wasn’t for money – simply for pleasure. When we started to earn money with the music, it was a bonus. And that’s still the order of priorities.”

The fickle nature of the scene in their home city, Kazan, was another obstacle the group strove to overcome. “The funny thing about Kazan is that, as it’s the capital of Tatarstan, the Tatar public tend to like mostly Tatar singers. We were like some kind of circus for them. Breaking onto Moscow stages in 2006 was a really big step for us – people started to say we were musicians and not just a circus, we were getting real respect,” says Vladimir.

A subsequent string of gigs around Russia earned Jukebox many fine reviews, as well as a prize from pop heroine Alla Pugacheva and the chance to open Elton John’s show in Rostov-on-Don. They are already writing for a third CD, which will come after an album comprising cover versions of well-known Russian rock songs.

Ilya Ivanov, the Trio’s rhythmic engine, is optimistic about future prospects. “We’re hoping to collaborate with a suitable record label, which can help us produce great albums.” And in the long term, he makes no secret of lofty ambitions: “We want to become famous and be like rock stars all over the world – at least like The Beatles! I want to travel and perform in many different countries. And I think it is really possible, because I believe in the power of music.”

The Jukebox Trio take music down to its basic elements, focusing on the purity and versatility of the human voice – no instruments required. An online video for their song ‘So… Let Me Know’ emphatically illustrates this concept, as the group are shown smashing guitars into splinters at the tune’s climax. Don’t expect that to happen at every show, but, as Vladimir says, “you’ll be put in a good mood”.


Published in The Moscow Times, 9/6/09 - click here for original.

Brazilian culture at a high temperature in Russia

A close circle of people is singing and chanting under Pushkinsky Most early Sunday evening. In the centre, two at a time duck, dive, feint and sway in hypnotising fashion, while enchanting vocal drones, drums and bow-like berimbaus provide the perfect musical accompaniment. It’s a weekly gathering of Moscow’s capoeira enthusiasts, disciples of the Afro-Brazilian dance that has witnessed growing international popularity in recent years.

Russia is part of the trend. In 1995, two instructors from the INBI world culture organisation were travelling the globe on a quest for knowledge; it was in San Francisco that they first encountered capoeira. Absorbed by the vibrancy of the art, they conceived a plan to invite Brazilian gurus to Moscow and returned home with instruments, information and an iron will to make it happen.

Fast-forward three years and the Capoeira Federation of Russia was officially registered. The first All-Russian seminar on capoeira took place in Moscow: masters from Santos, Sao Paulo and Guarujá were joined by eager participants from all over Russia for the four-day event. They came from St Petersburg, Bryansk, Krasnodar, Ufa and even the Ukrainian cities of Kiev and Dnipropetrovsk.

Since then, interest has blossomed. All-Russian seminars are a yearly event every May, with talented students selected to train with leading teachers in Brazil. Schools have been established in several cities.

Moscow’s Grupo Axe Capoeira centre, located in an anonymous sports hall on a police compound in the heart of the capital, has expanded to include a wide cultural programme. Wandering in there any day of the week, one is equally likely to find Portuguese language lessons, percussion workshops or rehearsing bossa nova groups – in addition to ju-jitsu classes for all ages and abilities.

Yan Yurievich Shastitko, the school’s founder and chief coach, says it is his mission to help students become “excellent capoeiristas and, most of all, good people.”

“Capoeira is an instrument people can use for personal development and self-discovery. It is my personal responsibility to help people become free. And every person must decide for themselves what they want to do; it must be a free choice.”

“Capoeira is communication between two people through body language. People play in the circle and get acquainted with each other – in a hard, physical, beautiful way, with a lot of emotion. They express emotions through their bodies and movement.”

And he believes study of the martial art must be partnered with full cultural engagement. “I really love music. It is the universal language that can be understood by all people, all races. In Russia, for example, there are many people who engage in physical training without music – I think this is very bad. It’s capoeira castration!”

“Without music it doesn’t have energy; when you start learning capoeira your body becomes very tired. But after six months, for example, you will feel rhythm. And when your body feels rhythm, you don’t get tired as quickly – you want to carry on, to play. The songs in capoeira have information – about art, life, love, relationships, freedom, about everything! It’s a very important part of education. People must study the Portuguese language with the music and the dancing.”

Ekaterina Beresneva, a journalist and art gallery assistant, takes capoeira classes at her local fitness club. “The sports centre offers a few different things, but I wanted to try capoeira because it sounded exotic. I think it’s popular because it’s a very dynamic dance, with the sounds of great Brazilian music. It’s a mix of movements from nature – you move like some kind of animal, like a monkey perhaps, it’s really fun. And I think it’s very good exercise.”

“In Russia we have such a culture that all others can become part of it,” she continues. “Everybody loves everything. Capoeira is popular because Russians are very open to all cultures. It’s very easy to fall in love with.” Part of the boom in popularity is attributed by Yan Yurievich to the film Only The Strong, first shown on TV around ten years ago.

Yurievich, who been to Brazil five times, says another main aspect of his mission is to cheer people up: “There is not much sun in Russia – it is very cold. I wanted to bring some warm Brazilian life to the country.”


Published in Russia Now (Brazilian edition), June 2009.