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Rok-AteleRock band
Country:
 Russia |
Content:
- Rock Atelier: A Musical Journey
- Joining the Lenkom Theater
- Debut and Tragedy
- Theater Collaborations and Performances
- Commercial Aspirations
- Lineup Changes and Departures
- Post-Lenkom Era
- Later Years
Rock Atelier: A Musical Journey
The GenesisRock Atelier, a musical collective that served as a platform for the artistic visions of its steadfast leader, singer-songwriter Chris Kelmi, emerged from a series of musical collaborations. In the early 1970s, Kelmi performed with the amateur band "Aeroport," which evolved into "Visokosnoe Leto" upon the arrival of guitarist Alexander Sitkovetskiy in 1972. In 1979, "Leto" dissolved, prompting Sitkovetskiy and Kelmi to establish the more stylistically cohesive art-rock group "Avtograf."
Joining the Lenkom Theater
Following the Tbilisi Rock Festival in March 1980, Kelmi left "Avtograf" to accept an invitation from Lenkom Theater's director, Mark Zakharov, to assemble a band for theatrical productions. This led to the formation of "Rock Atelier," comprising Kelmi (keyboards, vocals), Pavel Smeyan (flute, vocals), Alexander Smeyan (bass, vocals), Sergey Berezkin (guitar), Boris Oppenheim (keyboards, synthesizers), and Yuri Titov (drums). The Smeyan brothers, Berezkin, and Titov previously played in the similar-style band "Viktoria," while Oppenheim joined from the avant-garde outfit "Dissonans."
Debut and Tragedy
The band debuted at Lenkom in September 1980 and recorded a mini-album, "Raspashni Okno," at the Moscow Melodiya studio two months later. However, tragedy struck in December of that year when Alexander Smeyan died tragically, depriving the group of its most potent songwriter. Kamill Chalaev, also from "Dissonans," replaced Smeyan on bass.
Theater Collaborations and Performances
For the next three years, Rock Atelier accompanied Lenkom's existing productions ("Avtograd XXI," "Til," "Zvezda i Smert Khoakina Muryety") and participated in new ones, including "Lyudi i Ptitsy" (1981) and "Yunona and Avos" (1982). They also contributed music to the animated films "Paradoksy v Stile Roka" and "Pes v Sapogah" (both in 1981). Despite frequent tours with the theater, the band continued to perform independently, giving a solo concert in Leningrad in May 1981.
Commercial Aspirations
The band's lineup remained relatively stable for several years, although Alexander Sado (flute, vocals) and former "Viktoria" leader Andrey Davidian occasionally performed as vocalists. In the mid-1980s, in pursuit of wider popularity, Kelmi began writing more lightweight, pop-oriented songs ("Rok-Pryg-Skok," "Kubik Rubika").
Lineup Changes and Departures
In 1984, Titov left the band, replaced by renowned drummer Anatoly Abramov. During a tour of France, the group experienced a major crisis: Smeyan, Chalaev, and Oppenheim departed. Kelmi, Berezkin, and Abramov promptly reconstituted Rock Atelier with Sado and skilled bassist Valentin Lezov. In March 1985, Kelmi invited former "Karnaval" leader Alexander Barykin to join, but the planned tour abroad was canceled, leading Barykin to reunite "Karnaval." Nikolay Parfenyuk (ex-"Feniks") took his place on vocals. Later, veteran Lenkom and "Araks" keyboardist Sergey Rudnitskiy joined.
Post-Lenkom Era
In 1987, Rock Atelier parted ways with the Lenkom Theater. Rudnitskiy remained and revived "Araks" while the band, now in a revamped lineup, performed in Ovanes Melik-Pashaev's program "V Edinom Ritme," often as the opening act for "Cherny Kofe." Despite a string of hits, including the popular "Nochnoe Randevo na Bulvare Roz," Rock Atelier had essentially become "Kelmi plus whoever." In 1987, Kelmi recorded "Zamykaya Krug" with many stars of philanthropic rock, a response to "We Are The World USA FOR AFRICA."
Later Years
Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Rock Atelier continued to tour, release albums, and evolve its lineup. In the 1990s, the group comprised Kelmi, Alexander Yarish (guitar), Valery Lipets (bass), Illarion Davydov (saxophone), Sergey Kokurin (keyboards), Vyacheslav Zakharov (drums), and Valery Karimov (vocals).
