“We came from the underground and became popular with our pop-culture parodies. One day to my horror I realized that our group has become similar to the objects of our parodies and mockery. We were starting to merge with all those pop-star crowd, but I’m not one of them and never wanted to be,” - Sergey Mikhalok, the band’s leader says. He admits that it wasn’t so easy to give up the show business game and become independent once again.
According to him, “it was very difficult to get our true essence back on top. And the thing wasn’t about any contracts. We had to overcome public opinion and, most importantly, set our own minds free. At first, my internal discomfort from the gap between the authentic “Lyapis Trubetskoy” and its public image was relieved by hard drinking and other stuff, but when my weight peaked at 110 kilograms and my mind was about to collapse, I gave up everything, lost 25 kilograms and started to play the music I like.”
“Capital” is the second independent album by “Lyapis Trubetskoy” after the “Zoloty’ye yaytsy” (“Golden Balls”) created in 2004 under heavy reggae and ska influence. “While working on “Zoloty’ye yaytsy” we didn’t understand what to do with our independence. As a result there were some reflex attempts to score a radio hit with “Rain’ka” or “Pochtal’iony” (“Postmen”), - Sergey Mikhalok says. – But this wasn’t the biggest problem. The whole album was overproduced, we tried to mix too many styles, musical instruments and sounds in it. So, we paid too much attention to the form instead of the essence. We were in need of a real professional who could tell us what was good and what was too much.”
That is why searching for a sound producer was one of the main tasks while working on “Capital”. At some point the band wanted to record their album in London, in the hometown the legendary British ska-band “Madness” (one of Mihalok’s favourites). When almost everything was ready for that, a chance interfered. At a concert in Kiev “Lyapis Trubetskoy” met a famous Ukrainian sound producer Vitaliy Telezin. He worked with “Okean El’zi”, “Brat’ia Grim” and other top Ukrainian/Russian artists. But it wasn’t the thing that attracted Mikhalok and his friends.
“We are from the same generation with him, we had common world outlook, we liked the same music. And it was the music we wanted to record on our new album. I don’t want to offend anyone, but, roughly speaking, for our band he is the first studio guy who didn’t need explanations about what is California wave or how “Green Day” and “Offspring” make their sound,” - Mikhalok says.
And this combination has worked perfectly well. Now it’s already clear that the new album will mean to the band and its fans no less than the legendary “Ty kinula” (“You Gave Me Up”) in 1998 and will give a rise to the new popularity wave for “Lyapis Trubetskoy”. Still, according to Sergey Mikhalok, the ideology of both the new album and the present group is different from what used to be in the years between these two landmarks. He says: “When I started my career I used to write songs that changed me and the world around me, but later I began to create stuff, that didn’t have influence either on me or the world around. At best those songs could be a soundtrack for some wedding or birthday. And what is horrible at some point I even used to be proud of that. But now I have come back to what everything started from – to a mix of biting satire and powerful chords.”
Video clips have played an important role in the album presentation. The first clip for the song “Hare” (“Enough”), a cheerful wedding trash-video, was filmed by a famous actor and new wave director Vladimir Epifantsev. The second clip, animation video “Capital”, which has become a real Internet sensation, was made by Aleksey Terekhov, co-author of the legendary “Au” (1998) and “Rozochka” (1999) videos. "Capital" has hardly appeared on TV, but has already won several prizes and got a lot of nominations on the different video & music festivals in Russia, Belarus, Portugal and so on.
Frontman Siarhei Mikhalok anounced mid-March 2014 that the group would ceased to exist the next 1 September.
offical website
www.lyapis.com
myspace page
www.myspace.com/lyapis
Государство
Ляпис Трубецкой Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Сладкий пряник засох давно
Сапогом моего народа
Старшина тормозит говно
Запрятанный за углом
Убитый помойным ведром
Добровольно ушедший в подвал
Я убил в себе государство!
Бессловесные в мире брани
Зрячие в мире пустых глазниц
Балансирующие на грани
Меж параллелью густых ресниц
Забытые за углом
Немые помойным ведром
Задроченные в подвал
Заранее обречённые на полный провал
Мы убили в себе государство!
Ржавый бункер — твоя свобода
Заколочена дверь крестом
Полну яму врагов народа
Я укрою сухим листом
Запрятанный за углом
Убитый помойным ведром
Добровольно забытый в подвал
Заранее обречённый на полнейший провал
Убей в себе государство!
The lyrics of Государство by Ляпис Трубецкой speak to the frustrations and disillusionment of the singer with their government and societal system. The first verse describes the singer's sense of freedom in their "rusty bunker," in contrast to the dry and tasteless state-sanctioned treats of their society. The imagery of a military boot stomping out dissent reinforces the idea of an oppressive government. The second verse speaks to the idea of those who are forgotten or pushed to the margins of society, who are ultimately doomed to failure. However, in the final verse, the singer proposes a solution - to "kill the state" within oneself and take back one's own freedom.
Overall, the song speaks to the common human desire for freedom and autonomy, and the anger and frustration that arise when those things are taken away by an oppressive government or societal system.
Line by Line Meaning
Ржавый бункер — моя свобода
The old rusty bunker symbolizes my freedom
Сладкий пряник засох давно
The sweetness of life has long gone
Сапогом моего народа, Старшина тормозит говно
The leaders of the country are corrupt and hindering progress
Запрятанный за углом, Убитый помойным ведром
People who are hidden and neglected by society
Добровольно ушедший в подвал, Заранее обречённый на полнейший провал
Those who willingly went to the basement, knowing they are doomed to fail
Я убил в себе государство!
I have killed the idea of a nation-state in myself
Бессловесные в мире брани, Зрячие в мире пустых глазниц
People who are mindlessly involved in conflict, seeing only empty eyes around them
Балансирующие на грани, Меж параллелью густых ресниц
Living on the edge, balancing between two worlds
Забытые за углом, Немые помойным ведром
Forgotten people in the corner, silenced by society
Задроченные в подвал, Заранее обречённые на полный провал
Those who are restricted to the basement and doomed to complete failure
Мы убили в себе государство!
We have killed the concept of the nation-state inside ourselves
Ржавый бункер — твоя свобода, Заколочена дверь крестом
The old rusty bunker represents your freedom, but the door is locked with a cross
Полну яму врагов народа, Я укрою сухим листом
I will bury the enemies of the nation under dry leaves
Добровольно забытый в подвал, Заранее обречённый на полнейший провал
Those who willingly forgot themselves in the basement, knowing they are doomed to complete failure
Убей в себе государство!
Kill the idea of a nation-state inside yourself
Writer(s): и. ф. летов
Contributed by Kennedy J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ice good
Спасибо за Летова ! Хорошо получилось. И я верю что Серега еще споёт в России, будем ждать... Ведь после тьмы всегда приходит свет на утро
sergio sergio
"Однажды ученик спросил у Мастера:
- Долго ли ждать перемен к лучшему?
- Если ждать, то долго! - Ответил Мастер..."
Украинцы не стали ждать...
Леонид Макаренко
В России не приходит свет на утро.
TheRussianEvil
@Леонид Макаренко на утро, ближе к пяти часам утра, в России приходят менты со шмоном к тем кто позволяет себе перечить политике партии.
Дмитрий PunkOff
Хватит говорить что вся Россия в чём то виновата, ей просто не дают проснуться те кто хорошо в ней живёт! Заткнули нас полицией и росгвардейцами! И главный аппогей государство!
Ser Sash
@sergio sergio Украина была свободная страна до 14 года, теперь там режим и диктатура меньшинства. Плохой пример.
SashOK90BY
Жгите Мужики!!! Мы все едины!!!
Poleopulo Oleksandr
Точно едины? Аль вместо питина-пудара и луки, ахматовича с кожугетовичем себе в цари себе назначите?
Bistimian Bookin
но платить за это единство догадайтесь кто будет
-arm-
Серёга красавец, старые добрые песни продвигает тогда - когда в них больше всего сейчас нуждаются в братских странах.