Alisa (Алиса, Russian for Alice) is a Russian and Soviet hard rock band, on… Read Full Bio ↴Alisa (Алиса, Russian for Alice) is a Russian and Soviet hard rock band, one of the most influential in the Russian rock movement. Their lyrics, written by vocalist Konstantin Kinchev, are about social problems, rock lifestyle, Slavic culture and, recently, Christian faith. Alisa's music evolved from post punk in the 1980s to heavier metal sound of recent albums.

Alisa was founded in November 1983 by bassist Svetoslav Zadery. The name of the band is borrowed from Lewis Carroll's book "Alice in Wonderland". The band's lineup was finally completed in 1984, when new vocalist Kostya Kinchev (born Konstantin Panfilov) and guitarist Pyotr Samoylov joined Alisa. Their debut album "Energia" (Energy) was released by Melodia, the state publishing monopoly, and was sold in numbers of more than one million.

But the relations between the two leaders, Konstantin and Zadery, were poor, and finally Svetoslav left the band. This occurred just one hour before Alisa was to perform at a concert. Alisa had to ask Кино bassist Igor Tihomirov to replace him for one concert. Later Zadery created his own band 'Nate!' ('Take it!').

The growing popularity of the band created a fan community called the 'Army of Alisa', known for their rough behaviour at concerts. It led to animosity between the band and Soviet officials. In 1987 the newspaper Smena accused Kinchev of Nazi propaganda and worshipping Hitler. Alisa's leader Kinchev filed a suit for calumny and moral loss compensation. After the year-long court process the magazine published the refutation. Alisa's next album was titled Article 206 part 2, a chapter ('Hooliganism') of the USSR Procedural Code, alluding to this process.

There were new lineup changes in 1988, when guitarist Igor 'Chuma' Chumykin joined Alisa. This change was followed by the heavier sound of next albums Shabash and For those Who Fell From the Moon. Alisa toured through Europe and Israel together with Aria. The album Black Mark, 1994, was dedicated to the memory of Chuma, who committed suicide by jumping from the window.

In the new millennium, with albums such as Seychas Pozdnee Chem Ty Dumaesh (It is Later Than You Think, 2003) and Izgoy (Exile, 2005), the sound of Alisa was changed to a heavier one, including elements of nu-metal, industrial and heavy metal. Music critics credited Clawfinger as Kinchev's greatest new music influence. This gave Alisa a new fan base among Russian hard rock fans, and three songs from Izgoy continually reached the top of the NASHE radio chart.

Kinchev was baptised in 1990, and since then Christianity has been the main influence on his alignment and his lyrics. Although early Alisa lyrics were typical for Russian rock - the social protest and rock 'n' roll hype - since the late 1990's their main theme has been ideas of Christianity, Russian patriotism, and Slavic unity.

Konstantin is in good relations with the priests of the Russian Orthodox Church, especially Andrey Kuraev. Alisa has participated in many religion-supporting festivals, such as 'Musicians for the Christ Savior Cathedral'.

Рождество
АлисА Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Ясный месяц-луч
Облаком плыл.
Ночь крылатил день ото дня,
Звезды стелил по дорогам.
В осень уводил
Наш караван,
До зимы звенеть городам.
Встать к рождеству у порога

Дома.

Рождество. снег.

Чистым январем
Духом воспрять.
От всенощной выйти другим.
Снегом скрипеть до рассвета.
Да любовь нести
Прямо к весне
Солнце вместе с нею встречать.
Благодарить песней этой
Слово.

Рождество. снег.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song Рождество by Алиса describe the beauty of the winter season and the anticipation of the festive occasion of Christmas. The first stanza talks about the bright moon shining in the sky and floating like a cloud. It highlights the transition of day to night and how the stars illuminate the path. The caravan was taken away in autumn, and the whole city is preparing to celebrate Christmas as the winter sets in. The last line of the stanza invites everyone to stand by the doorstep of the house for the auspicious occasion of Christmas.

The second stanza talks about the freshness of January and the spiritual elevation it offers. The activity of attending a vigil during the night and then walking on the crisp snow until daybreak is another motif from the Northern Christmas tradition. January is associated with love and warmth, and the lyrics urge to carry that feeling of love and kindness towards the upcoming spring season. The last line of the stanza mentions thanking the world and the universe with the melody of this song.

Overall, Рождество is a lyrically beautiful composition, that highlights the joy and anticipation of the winter season, and the spiritual upliftment that comes with celebrating a festival like Christmas.

Line by Line Meaning

Ясный месяц-луч
The clear moonbeam

Облаком плыл.
Was floating like a cloud.

Ночь крылатил день ото дня,
The night carried away the day, day by day,

Звезды стелил по дорогам.
Strewed stars along the roads.

В осень уводил
Took away in autumn

Наш караван,
Our caravan,

До зимы звенеть городам.
Till winter to ring out to the cities.

Встать к рождеству у порога
To stand at the doorstep by Christmas

Дома.
At home.

Рождество. снег.
Christmas. Snow.

Чистым январем
With clean January