“A HUNGRY WOLF RUNNING ACROSS THE FROZEN STEPPE AT NIGHT COULD ONLY UNDERSTAND ME…”
"Yuriy Morozov. Biography" by Andrey Burlaka
        Yuri Morozov from Saint-Petersburg has been taking up a special place in native Rock sphere for last three decades as a multifaceted musician, a composer, a singer, a sound producer, a producer and as a literary man for the last period of his life. Though of course he is well-known for numerous and different albums including almost all of the musical trends and genres of modern music. So there is an impressive list of his works as a sound producer. But the most important in his biography is the fact of being as Andrey Tropillo , Morozov dealt with sound producing not as with the process of mechanical fixation of the sounds during the concert, but as to the creative act. His attitude to the album was not by an accident but it was like to the creation of the finished art work.
        Yuri Morozov was born on the 6th of March in 1948 in Belogorsk, Krymskaya region. Later he moved to Ordjonikidze (currently Vladikavkaz) and he was keen on rock-music when he was a schoolboy. After school he entered the Mining Northern Caucasus Technical College. In 1968 he became a student of the Mining Northern Caucasus Institute in Ordjonokidze. In autumn of 1969 Yuri Morozov created his first band BOSYAKI. This band played as western standard kind of music so some of his songs the rhythm had been taken from the Beatles.
        At that time Morozov fixed on the tape the results of his musical experiences. As the result this process became one of his main techniques of his art method.
        In 1971 he moved to Leningrad and became a correspondence student of the Polytechnic Institute. As the result of studying he was able to equip his own home studio where he began to make the tests with sound overlapping and later with multichanel device. He used some kind of music trying to play instrumental and vocal parts himself. In autumn of 1972 he was given a job of an engineer in Leningrad Record Studio. He had worked there for the rest period of his life with a break of joining the army from 1974 to 1975.
        The opportunity of dealing with professional studio equipment allowed him to put early musical samples and concert records in proper view and keep them for history. This part of his discography might be called “prehistorically” made. They were “Retroscop”(1968-1971), “ Apokriphy”(1972-1973)and “ Bosiaky” (1971). The last one was a record of the concert of his North-Caucasus band.
        When he made a record of a psychedelic album “Cherry Garden of Jim Hendriks” in 1973, his works became widely demanded in musical area. Day by day he began the cooperation with other groups from Saint –Petersburg and singers, for example, such as Yuri Berendukov, now this band is called APPLE and later he started to give concerts with them. From 1975 to 1976 he played music in popular art-jazz rock band as NU POGODI. It was its last membership. They were Gennadiy Anisimov (key-driven, vocal), Michael Kudryavtscev (bass singer), Genadiy Buganov (drums), and Vladimir Ermakov (vocal). Their concert records are in the album “ The band of memory of Michael Kudryavtscev” by Morozov. In spring of 1976 he tried to join Kudryavtscev and Igor Golubev (a drummer ) the last one became Jonathan Livingston later. In spring of 1977 he united an ephemeral trio. Kudryavtscev and Sergey Petrov, a drummer (ex-Myths) were in this trio.
        But after the first and the only concert of trio (“Session”77”) Morozov realized the lack of opportunity to put into practice his musical studio ideas on the stage. It happened because of poor technical equipment of underfloor concerts. He lost interest in alive sound for a long period of time. Morozov hid himself in Capella and very seldom he presented his new works to the listeners addressing as to the Philosophy of Ancient India (“Brahma Astra” 1979) so to the culture of medieval China (‘Chinese poetry” 1980). Also he tried to take interest in biblical plots (“ The Gospel from Mathew “ 1980) and Russian folklore ( “ Three Russian Songs” 1980) . The last one brought him to the cooperation with a folk-rock band APPLE for many years. This and recorded a number of his songs and Mary Kapuro sang songs for some of his albums.
        As a rule, Morozov played the principal instrumental part himself though Michael Kudryavtscev, Vladimir Ermakov ( the guitar), sound director of “ Melody’ Victor Dinov (key –driven), Sergey Ludinov ( the violin), Victor Christosov ( the alt), Sergey Lusin (the accordion, the flute), Leonid Ecelson ( ex- NU POGODY), Evgeniy Pavlov ( BAROQUE, THE RUSSIANS), Yiru Nikolaev ( TRILISTNIK), Vladimir Yakovlev and others took part in the recordings.
        Thousands of his records were sold out all over the country. Sometimes they had an art design. As a rule his wife, Nina Morozova, was the author of it. Some of her images were put on records and CD discs when the reissue of Morozov’s archives took place.
        Musical tests and spiritual selections of the middle of 70s made Yuri Morozov one of the outstanding and powerful men on the stage of Rock in Saint- Petersburg of this decade. Without any exaggerations it is possible to tell that Andrew Tropillo and new appeared bands of Saint –Petersburg were under strong influence of Morozov’s ideas. It happened before Rock Club of “ AnTrop”s studio showed up. He was an authority for the musicians for more than two generations without any doubt. And his creative works without any taboos, genre or ideological restrictions were splendid phenomenon for all tape-recording culture. Also they could predetermine some new tendencies of 80s. Sorry to say but Morozov was out of musical events at the beginning of 80s. Only fans and specialists watched by his new works. He was not interested for the public any more.
        In autumn of 1981 rather big set of songs with Christian trend were released. Yiri Morozov wanted to present them for public that’s why he made up a trio from his old friend and bass-guitar Michael Kudryavtscev, a drummer Sergey Zavialov (ex-the Russians, SASHA- 218). But after rehearsing for the whole winter they split up. And Zavialov organized his own hard-rock band PLUMBUM at soon.
        In May of 1987, after ten years pause, Morozov returned on the stage and gave a concert together with a young band POCHTA during video festival ‘Rock-87” organized by Tropillo. Fruitful cooperation with DDT began the following year. He had recorded more than three of it albums. He gave the concerts all over the country for more than a year and a half and he took part in the VI Festival of Rock-Club (1988). Vadim Kurilev (a bass), Igor Dotscenko (the drums) and sometimes Andrew Muratov (a key-driver) accompanied him. Besides at this period Morozov played the part in a film “The game with Strangers” (1987) by Peter Soldatenko.
        In 1988 “Melody” released the first gramophone record “Predstavlenie” (The performance) of its sound director. It was a retrospective review of his works from the 80s. This studio was able to show the discography of Morozov. According to his own remembrance the conservative soviet art union was against. And only Marina Kapuro’s participation gave him the opportunity. At the beginning of 90s six vinyl discs by the musician were released.
        In September of 1989 Morozov organized a new band “OGPU by Y. Morozov”. It consisted from Alexander Brovko ( the guitar), Viktor Micheev ( the accompanying guitar, bass, vocal), Dmitriy “ Fifa” Ermakov (ex-FOKS-BOKS and others), keyboard, and Sergey Agapov (ex –BURATINO), drums. They made their debut on the 23d of September during the 1st Festival of magazine “Avrora”. Then they gave the concerts in various compositions all over the country. Also they presented themselves, for example, during the Festival “Bdjola 90”in Dnepropetrovsk. They gave the concerts in Saint –Petersburg (The Memorial of the Russian in SKK, the concerts in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Jhon Lenon and the 10th anniversary of the Rock-Club), the exhibition “ Reallia of the Russian Rock” .) The final composition of Morozov’s group was Brovko (the harmonica), Nail Kadyrov ( ex -POCHTA,ZOOPARK) (the guitar), Nick Shandarchuk ( PAUTINA) ( the bass), Kate Sidorova ( ex –SITUATSCIA, THE TIME TO LOVE ) ( the drums). This band gave the concert on the 9th of November in 1992 during the Beatles holiday “A Day in the Life”, It was organized by Nick Vasin in “Ubileiniy”.
        Afterwards Morozov again worked in a studio. Sometimes he played the duet with Micheev and later it was Brovko whom he played with. However, day by day his interests were moving towards the literature. In 70s he became the author of two unpublished life novels. Later his stories and novels were published in different collections and anthologies, even in the magazine “ The Continent” they were published In 1995 a half-autobiographical novel “ Underground Blouse” by Morozov was edited in “ Zero “ in Saint- Petersburg .
        Morozov was engaged in sound producing. Except of DDT and YABLOKO his name is possible to see on the albums of Alexander Lyapin, Vadim Kurilev, the bands such as AQUARIUM, TAMBURIN, AUGUST, THE POST, CLOUDED AREA, STATUS, DELTA- OPERATOR, and many others. Special place in this list Chizz &Co took place. This band is committed to Yuri Morozov. He had recorded all his songs and he provided with the sound many of their concerts. The band owed him with perfect sound. In 1997 this band took part in the record of regular album by Maestro “Illusion” (released by SoLyd Records) and in his presentation at the stage of the Concert Hall “Peterburgskiy”.
        Since the autumn of 2000 Morozov’s records as archives so the new ones to be released with label of his old friend’s company, his colleague, his like- minded person Andrew Tropillo “ AnTrop”.
        Morozov’s discography is another topic for research. Having kept his old works the musician often turned to them. He changed them or recomposed. That’s why as the names so the plot of some albums could be changed. By the way he also released song sets or instrumental extracts. The main approach for their creation was the art unity. So they were overspread in different numbers and sets. At the same time the epoch of embryonic capitalism of the 80s the public could have heard the combinations of music of different period of his life, in different format. Sometimes they were with the same design but with different content.
        In March of 2005 Morozov finished the regular album. “Naked feeling of absence”. Chij&Co, VARIOUS PEOPLE participated in it.

Andrey Burlaka
The site's authors thank Alexei Lyamin & The Beatles forever

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