Yuri Morosov: “Everything wasn’t in vain”

Yuri Morozov is more than famous musician and a sound director who began to play music in 1968. He composed so many things. All of his albums are the same. However, I think Yura’s creative power has not been valued yet. Somebody thinks him to sing well, others think some-thing yet. I don’t want to argue with anybody. But I am sure many musicians will find to be taught.
As I understand you go on reediting your old albums.

Morozov: Yes, I do. But it isn’t so easy to do…Andrew Tropillo agrees to edit everything what I have, but he has not got any distributors. That’s why it is a very good offer but it isn’t very inter-esting.

I understand it won’t bring any benefit because Tropillo doesn’t pay to people whose albums he releases.

Morozov: The benefit is one thing. But as I know these discs will be kept on Tropillo’s store or somewhere yet. People won’t be able to get them.

You are right. Tropillo doesn’t care about the spreading of …

Morozov: It is difficult to explain. I have one acquaintance that I may address as for my albums. He lives in Moscow. I am finishing now such packets of offers. I make up them, restore them and I am doing another big job. I have almost finished all of my albums. Though there are a lot of instrumental albums. There are more than 10. But I have left them now.

Are these old or ancient recordings?

Morozov: Some of them are ancient. For example, I have restored one of the concert’s recordings of 1973…But others I made up in 80s, 90s. I have recorded them on analogue mediums. Now I am transforming them on CD format. The digital technique has come to us too late. But “Melody” was analogue. It was famous because of it.

Are you going to do anything new?

Morozov: I am making up a new album now. As usually, I work at new material. Everything de-pends here on inspiration. More than a half I have finished, but the rest work may take 3 days yet.

Do you work at new album alone? It was many years ago.

Morozov: I do it almost alone. But some of the parts, for example, the bass-guitar I don’t want to play and invite others. Nail Kadyrov played for me, Chij played something on the keyboard.I don’t refuse of the collaboration. One of the bluesman from Moscow wants a lot to play in my album. He is a real fan of my creative power. I’ ll invite him.

But you have not got a lot of concerts.

Morozov: (smiling) You are right. Nobody needs and old rocker. There are a lot of people who want to listen to me. But it is difficult to gather them because of different reasons. I usually do it because of my concerts. The advertisement hasn’t brought any success. It is obvious only great projects are promoted very much. But such concerts as Morozov’s ones what they are.


It may have sense to play in some clubs the places where the promotion works automatically. It is like a club program which is made up for some period of time.

Morozov: Do you know such clubs?

RED CLUB, “ Moloko”and some others.

Morozov: They don’t attract me. There is a crowd of people. Should I do it? I was offered to give concerts regularly in “ Orlandina”. I was interested at the beginning but than …It is a very big work. I have not given the concerts. I should have gathered all of the material. It is impossible to give the concert alone. You need somebody’s help. The work is enormous but without any feedbacks. I don’t even speak about the finance. It is without any moral support. So I have not got any ideas of doing it, honestly to say.

Except of your musical activity as I know you go on playing and studying literature.

Morozov: I have composed one novel, three more are written. But I have transformed it into the digital format. But I haven’t found an editor yet. I want to have a qualified edition and somebody will sell them out.
Do you often listen to music of other musicians? A lot of Russian musicians, I don’t know any of the western ones. They don’t know what their colleagues do. They have known for many years.

Morozov: I go to the concerts very seldom. Though while I was going with Chisj. For many years Yuri Morozov was working as a sound director of the band Chij &Co, the note of George. He visited different concerts and was on line. But now as I am busy with my matters I listen to the recordings. I don’t try to find them and I don’t seek them. People bring them. Young composers or young bands want me to tell the last word. My old friends –musicians , Vadik Kurylev, Nail do it. So I listen to constantly.

Do you find anything interesting in the things young men create?

Morozov: It so happens. There is something bright or rather interesting. It may be music or an arrangement. But somewhere only is. Something may surprise me but I can’t speak here about
disk or special creative work. My old friend Plant releases the album but I can’t tell I like it.

Well, there is everything on its place.

Morozov: There is an own conception, your idea about the world. And when you come in you can see everything to be on their places. We have the following: people have found their own but it is not so bright and natural, original. It is like a repetition, borrowings. They quote themselves in old things. The things have already been created. So to speak about somebody who could have astonished me I can’t.

How many albums you have I don’t ask you about. I know there are more than 60 and it is not the end.
Morozov: Yes, it does. It is without any words.


I understand them not to be the same.

Morozov: They are different. I change the style of music in each album. There is folk or jazz, or there may be some ethnic elements or mystical ones. So the albums can’t be the same.

What stage have you got now?

Morozov: I have been interested in huge elements of ethnic music. So I include them into my new songs. They are more acoustics. I add the elements of eastern music. It was difficult to do before. Now with the appearance of PC it is possible to bring the parts together rather easy. I make the experiments and sometimes I manage to create rather unusual and interesting things.
It was my dream to bring everything together. Sometimes I was able to do it. But now I am going to do my best. It is more PC gives an opportunity to shorten, to change, to widespread music in other words to do what you’d like to.

If you begin to do your creative power again what mistakes have you tried to avoid?

Morozov: When I was young but the rock-n-roll was difficult to apply here. I dreamt to leave the country and played where it was necessary. Rock-n-roll was played in 60s, 70s in our country but it didn’t make me laugh. That time my dream was to play really heavy rock. I think if I have used all of my energy, illusions, optimism, I would have won America. The blues areas were mine, for example, in Memphis. I was able to touch the origin rock. After that I may have returned back with all of this. Before there were many experiments, self-made works with amateurish arrangements, compositions and even sounds. For many years we thought ,”How can they do it? What special things they use. “ It wasn’t a miracle it was only the work of hands, nothing more. All this has arrived but it was too late. So much time has been lost. It was because of lack of information. The iron curtain and other similar things…


When you went abroad with Chij were you able to hear talented singers or musicians?

Morozov: Well, of course. I visited some clubs in Greenwich Village. I filmed many concerts. By the way the people were different…They play without any money. You may take beer and listen to them. It strikes you. You may hear rather cool musicians.

And there is such kind of life in the clubs…We have such kind of clubs… well, you know ….We have the clubs in Saint-Petersburg.

Morozov: I know this. I could see many clubs while I was giving the concerts with Chij all over the country. I had worked in very prestigious clubs in the Far-East and at other places. I avoid speaking about the clubs in London or Israel. They have the same atmosphere. These are Russian kind of clubs. But the elite club, of course, present something special. You get into the fairy- tale. You can hear such a miracle in a full of smoke club. It’s horrible.


At that time you realize it would be better to leave Russia. But it is impossible to change any-thing. If I could return everything back, N years back.

Morozov: I think it should have done earlier before.

I say in this case I have got under the illusion of perestroika.

Morozov: You are right. Completely I agree with you. I am a victim of perestroika too.


I don’t think we should speak about it now…Everything had to have been done in its time.

Morozov: Yes, all of us. All of us would like to do our best or change something. But life is moving its own way. At last the feelings about your activity at that time appear. And you under-stand it hasn’t been in vain. One of the achievements is age. Though a lot of people use bad lan-guage towards the age. I had never done it because I was in such tension of my mind and illusion in my youth period. But now I am free of all this stuff. I fell well now.

George Gunitsckiy, specially for Rockmusic.tu