Margarita Pushkina
Encyclopedia
Margarita Anatolyevna Pushkina (born 1952) is a Russian lyricist, singer, and writer. She has written lyrics for several Soviet and Russian rock groups, including Aria
and Kipelov
.
, Georgia. Her father, Anatoly Ivanovitch Pushkin, was made a Hero of the Soviet Union
for his service as a bomber pilot. Her sister Tamara Anatolyevna Pushkina, who holds a Ph.D. equivalent in archaeology, was a strong influence on her early life and development.
Pushkina has an advanced education and has worked as a lecturer
of English and Spanish. She is a very close friend of Alexander Gradsky
.
Pushkina was interested in rock music and bardic poetry from a young age. She wrote her first song lyric in 1970, Everyone Must Fish The Sun Out Of The Water Once for Alexander Kutikov
. In 1976, Kutikov introduced Pushkina to the rock group Leap Summer, and this began her career of writing for rock musicians.
and its later offshoot Kipelov
, and with Master
, Catharsis
, Autograph
, and other bands.
Pushkina wrote the book The Legend Of The Dinosaur about Aria, and later published a book about the drafts and lyrics of Aria's songs.
In 1992, Pushkina founded the music magazine Zabriskie Rider, dedicated to the alternative underground scene
in Europe, the United States, and Russia. The name of the magazine was derived by combining the titles of two movies, Zabriskie Point
and Easy Rider
.
Pushkina prefers writing lyrics for heavy metal
bands but also works with musicians in other genres. She is the author of the famous Soviet song Locking The Circle. Pushkina's lyrics are very sophisticated and intelligent, touching on many historical and philosophical issues. Her verses are sometimes written in English or Spanish as well as Russian.
The band Margenta was founded in 2003 with the support of many other creative musicians, singers, and other people. In 2006 Pushkina and others released the concept album
On The Other Side Of The Dream.
In 2007 Pushkina started her own musical project (under the aegis of the Margenta project) named "The Dynasty of the Adherents", which included participation from Arthur Berkut
, Valery Kipelov
, Sergey Mavrin
, Sergey Terentyev, Sergey Skripnikov, and others.
In 2009 the Margenta project released two albums: The Dynasty Of The Adherents: Savonarolas’s Children and Against Despair. On April 6, 2010, Pushkina released the single The Flower Of Marjoram which will be part of the forthcoming third album by The Dynasty of the Adherents.
Aria (band)
Aria is a Russian heavy metal band that was formed in 1985 in Moscow. Although it was not the first Soviet band to play Heavy music, Aria was the first to break through to mainstream media and commercial success. According to several public polls, Aria ranks among top 10 most popular Russian rock...
and Kipelov
Kipelov
Kipelov is a Russian heavy metal band formed and led by former Aria vocalist Valery Kipelov.-Origins:In 2002, dissension in the heavy metal band Aria led to Aria members Valery Kipelov , Sergey Terentyev and Alexander Maniakin leaving that band and joining with former Aria member Sergey Mavrin...
.
Early life and career
Pushkina was born on January 22, 1952, in TbilisiTbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, Georgia. Her father, Anatoly Ivanovitch Pushkin, was made a Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
for his service as a bomber pilot. Her sister Tamara Anatolyevna Pushkina, who holds a Ph.D. equivalent in archaeology, was a strong influence on her early life and development.
Pushkina has an advanced education and has worked as a lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
of English and Spanish. She is a very close friend of Alexander Gradsky
Alexander Gradsky
Alexander Borisovich Gradsky is a Russian rock singer, bard, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was one of the earliest performers of rock music in Russia. His diverse repertoire includes rock 'n' roll, traditional folk songs performed with a rock twist, and operatic arias...
.
Pushkina was interested in rock music and bardic poetry from a young age. She wrote her first song lyric in 1970, Everyone Must Fish The Sun Out Of The Water Once for Alexander Kutikov
Alexander Kutikov
Alexander Kutikov is a Soviet/Russian musician, producer, and businessman, of Jewish background. He was an avid fan of groups such as the Beatles during his secondary school years. He later became the bass-guitarist and one of the singers of the Soviet rock band Mashina Vremeni, from 1971-1976...
. In 1976, Kutikov introduced Pushkina to the rock group Leap Summer, and this began her career of writing for rock musicians.
Later work
Pushkina has worked with the rock band AriaAria (band)
Aria is a Russian heavy metal band that was formed in 1985 in Moscow. Although it was not the first Soviet band to play Heavy music, Aria was the first to break through to mainstream media and commercial success. According to several public polls, Aria ranks among top 10 most popular Russian rock...
and its later offshoot Kipelov
Kipelov
Kipelov is a Russian heavy metal band formed and led by former Aria vocalist Valery Kipelov.-Origins:In 2002, dissension in the heavy metal band Aria led to Aria members Valery Kipelov , Sergey Terentyev and Alexander Maniakin leaving that band and joining with former Aria member Sergey Mavrin...
, and with Master
Master (Russian band)
This article is about the Russian thrash metal band. For the American death metal band, see Master .Master is a thrash metal band from Russia, founded in 1987 by former members of Aria.-Biography:...
, Catharsis
Catharsis (Russian band)
Catharsis is a Russian symphonic power metal band founded in 1996.-Biography:The band was founded in Moscow in 1996 by guitarist Igor Polakov and vocalist Sergey Bendrikov. In its demo albums the band played a kind of death doom metal, but since their second album, "Febris Erotica", they turned to...
, Autograph
Autograph (Russian band)
Autograph was a Soviet Russian art rock band, considered a pioneer of progressive rock music in Russia.The group was founded in 1979 by Alexander "Sasha" Sitkovetsky, and achieved a considerable success at the first Soviet state-sanctioned rock festival held in Tbilisi, Georgia with Sitkovetsky's...
, and other bands.
Pushkina wrote the book The Legend Of The Dinosaur about Aria, and later published a book about the drafts and lyrics of Aria's songs.
In 1992, Pushkina founded the music magazine Zabriskie Rider, dedicated to the alternative underground scene
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
in Europe, the United States, and Russia. The name of the magazine was derived by combining the titles of two movies, Zabriskie Point
Zabriskie Point
Zabriskie Point is a part of Amargosa Range located in east of Death Valley in Death Valley National Park in the United States noted for its erosional landscape...
and Easy Rider
Easy Rider
Easy Rider is a 1969 American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom...
.
Pushkina prefers writing lyrics for heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
bands but also works with musicians in other genres. She is the author of the famous Soviet song Locking The Circle. Pushkina's lyrics are very sophisticated and intelligent, touching on many historical and philosophical issues. Her verses are sometimes written in English or Spanish as well as Russian.
The Margenta project
Pushkina has created or headed several projects, but all under the aegis of a larger project named "Margenta" (this being Pushkina's nickname). A common theme of these projects is that the lyrics are written first and the music developed for the lyrics, rather than the other way round as is done by many musicians.The band Margenta was founded in 2003 with the support of many other creative musicians, singers, and other people. In 2006 Pushkina and others released the concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
On The Other Side Of The Dream.
In 2007 Pushkina started her own musical project (under the aegis of the Margenta project) named "The Dynasty of the Adherents", which included participation from Arthur Berkut
Arthur Berkut
Artur Vyacheslavovich Mikheev , better known under his stage name Arthur Berkut , is a Russian singer. Through his career he participated in numerous bands, most notable are Autograph, Mavrik, and Aria....
, Valery Kipelov
Valery Kipelov
Valery Alexandrovich Kipelov Valery Alexandrovich Kipelov Valery Alexandrovich Kipelov (Валерий Александрович Кипелов (born July 12, 1958), is a Russian music artist and composer, who was the vocalist of heavy metal band Aria. Since 2002, Valery leads his own heavy metal band Kipelov.-Early...
, Sergey Mavrin
Sergey Mavrin
Sergey Konstantinovich Mavrin , nicknamed 'Mavrick' is a Russian musician and composer, who is credited as one of the best guitarists of Russian metal scene...
, Sergey Terentyev, Sergey Skripnikov, and others.
In 2009 the Margenta project released two albums: The Dynasty Of The Adherents: Savonarolas’s Children and Against Despair. On April 6, 2010, Pushkina released the single The Flower Of Marjoram which will be part of the forthcoming third album by The Dynasty of the Adherents.
Albums
- They Stopped Flying (Otletalis) (2003)
- On The Other Side Of The Dream (2006) – Master & Margenta
- The Dynasty of the Adherents (2007)
- The Dynasty Of The Adherents: Savonarolas’s Children” (2009)
- Against Despair (2009)