Anna Gerasimova
Encyclopedia
Anna Gerasimova also known by her nickname Umka , is a Russia
n rock
singer-songwriter
, the leader of the group Umka and Bronevik
. She is also a poet, literary translator, literature researcher, traveler and a significant person in the Russian hippie
movement.
In 1988 she stopped writing songs and switched to philological work and translations; in 1989 she defended her Ph.D. dissertation about OBERIU
literary group. In 1995 she returned to active song-writing and performing. She started to perform with occasional musicians in a number of concerts and recorded several homemade albums. Eventually her band has gained the name Bronevichok ("Small Armored Vehicle"; in 2005 the name was changed to Bronevik, "Armored Vehicle").
The first studio album by Umka & Bronevichok
was released on tapes in 1997; the first compact disc titled The CD was released in 1998. In these years they have been generally considered as 'underground' musicians, though never willing to remain underground.
Since 1998 about 20 albums were released on CDs. Umka and her band travel extensively; they toured in many cities of the former USSR and many countries aboard (USA, United Kingdom, Israel, Germany, Netherlands). The total number of published songs is above 250; many songs were never released.
was Anna Gerasimova's major field during her studies in the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute
. She published translations from German
, English
, French
, but mostly from Lithuanian
.
Her most significant published translations include Jack Kerouac
's The Dharma Bums
(1994) and Big Sur
(2002). She has also translated several autobiographic books and interviews of British and American rock musicians: Keith Richards
, Iggy Pop
, Frank Zappa
, Maureen Tucker
and others.
literature, including the legacy of the OBERIU
members Alexander Vvedensky, Daniil Kharms
and Konstantin Vaginov
. She has edited several publications of their previously unpublished works.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, the leader of the group Umka and Bronevik
Umka and Bronevik
Umka and Bronevik , sometimes abbreviated as Umka & Bro, is a Russian band playing in the American and British guitar rock styles of 1960-1970's, ranging from classic rhythm-and-blues to psychedelic.The present band members are:...
. She is also a poet, literary translator, literature researcher, traveler and a significant person in the Russian hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
movement.
Songs
Songs written and sung by Umka have become well-known among the Soviet hippies since 1986. In 1986-87 she recorded five homemade albums with different musicians, and these albums have been widely spread on tapes in the USSR and abroad.In 1988 she stopped writing songs and switched to philological work and translations; in 1989 she defended her Ph.D. dissertation about OBERIU
Oberiu
OBERIU was a short-lived avant-garde collective of Russian Futurist writers, musicians, and artists in the 1920s and 1930s...
literary group. In 1995 she returned to active song-writing and performing. She started to perform with occasional musicians in a number of concerts and recorded several homemade albums. Eventually her band has gained the name Bronevichok ("Small Armored Vehicle"; in 2005 the name was changed to Bronevik, "Armored Vehicle").
The first studio album by Umka & Bronevichok
Umka and Bronevik
Umka and Bronevik , sometimes abbreviated as Umka & Bro, is a Russian band playing in the American and British guitar rock styles of 1960-1970's, ranging from classic rhythm-and-blues to psychedelic.The present band members are:...
was released on tapes in 1997; the first compact disc titled The CD was released in 1998. In these years they have been generally considered as 'underground' musicians, though never willing to remain underground.
Since 1998 about 20 albums were released on CDs. Umka and her band travel extensively; they toured in many cities of the former USSR and many countries aboard (USA, United Kingdom, Israel, Germany, Netherlands). The total number of published songs is above 250; many songs were never released.
Literary translations
Literary and poetic translationTranslation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
was Anna Gerasimova's major field during her studies in the Maxim Gorky Literature Institute
Maxim Gorky Literature Institute
The Maxim Gorky Literature Institute is a higher education institute in Moscow. It is located at 25 Tver Bulvar in Central Moscow.It was founded in 1933 on the initiative of Maxim Gorky, and received its current name at Gorky's death in 1936....
. She published translations from German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, but mostly from Lithuanian
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
.
Her most significant published translations include Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis "Jack" Lebris de Kerouac was an American novelist and poet. He is considered a literary iconoclast and, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Kerouac is recognized for his spontaneous method of writing, covering topics such as Catholic...
's The Dharma Bums
The Dharma Bums
The Dharma Bums is a 1958 novel by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac. The semi-fictional accounts in the novel are based upon events that occurred years after the events of On the Road...
(1994) and Big Sur
Big Sur (novel)
Big Sur is a 1962 novel by Jack Kerouac. It recounts the events surrounding Kerouac's three brief sojourns to a cabin in Bixby Canyon, Big Sur, owned by Kerouac's friend and Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti...
(2002). She has also translated several autobiographic books and interviews of British and American rock musicians: Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
, Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop
Iggy Pop is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Though considered an innovator of punk rock, Pop's music has encompassed a number of styles over the years, including pop, metal, jazz and blues...
, Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, Maureen Tucker
Maureen Tucker
Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker is a musician best known for having been the drummer for the rock group The Velvet Underground.- The Velvet Underground :...
and others.
Philology and literary criticism
As a professional philologist, Anna Gerasimova published scholarly articles on history of the Russian avant-gardeRussian avant-garde
The Russian avant-garde is an umbrella term used to define the large, influential wave of modern art that flourished in Russia approximately 1890 to 1930 - although some place its beginning as early as 1850 and its end as late as 1960...
literature, including the legacy of the OBERIU
Oberiu
OBERIU was a short-lived avant-garde collective of Russian Futurist writers, musicians, and artists in the 1920s and 1930s...
members Alexander Vvedensky, Daniil Kharms
Daniil Kharms
Daniil Kharms was an early Soviet-era surrealist and absurdist poet, writer and dramatist. One of his pseudonyms, which was signed in Latin alphabet, was Daniel Charms.- Life :...
and Konstantin Vaginov
Konstantin Vaginov
Konstantin Konstantinovich Vaginov was a Russian poet and novelist. In twenties he was a member of almost all the poetic groups of Saint Petersburg. In 1921 he joined Nikolai Gumilyov's Guild of Poets....
. She has edited several publications of their previously unpublished works.
External links
- Official site (English)
- Official site (Russian)
- Autobiography
- Albums released on CDs (with mp3s and self-translations)
- Photo galleries: http://www.umka.ru/english/photo.html http://community.livejournal.com/ru_umka/tag/фото http://www.livejournal.com/tools/memories.bml?user=ru_umka&keyword=%D0%A4%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE
- Audio and video archive
- Umka and Boris. Live session on mastanmusic.com podcast