Sergey had been a member of Aria, Kipelov, Chorny Kofe, Metallachord and Nazad v Budusheye, and founded a band 'Mavrik' (not to be confused with Maverick), though it is considered Mavrin's solo project since its latest albums are released with "Sergey Mavrin", not "Mavrik" title on the covers.
Since 2000, Sergey has his own radio show Iron Curtain on 'Yunost' radio channel. It is dedicated to rock music.
Early life
Sergey was born in Kazan and has been a fan of rock music since his childhood. He mentions Led Zeppelin, Nazareth and Deep Purple as his early favorites. Mavrin studied to play piano and electric guitar, though he never received formal music education. After military service, in 1985 Sergey participated in 'Chornoye Cofe' (Black Coffee), one of the first Soviet metal bands, and then joined 'Metallachord'.
In Aria
After the breakup of Aria's original lineup in 1987, Mavrin was invited to replace Andrej Bolshakov. He participated in three of the band's albums: Geroy Asfalta, Igra s Ogn'om and Krov za Krov, which are considered Aria's 'classical era'. Though Sergey wrote a very few songs for Aria, his guitar solos were one of band's dignities.
After a tour of Germany the band nearly broke up when their vocalist Valery Kipelov tried to quit (Kipelov had to return because of his contract with Moroz Records, though). Protesting against it, Mavrin moved on to record an album with Alexey Bulgakov on vocals and left the band. He was replaced by Sergey Terentyev. Mavrin and Kipelov tried to start a band 'Nazad v Budusheye' (Back to the Future), but this project remained active only for two months. So as not to remain jobless, in 1996 Sergey played in concert troup of pop artist Dmitry Malikov.
Foundation of Mavrik
In 1997, Sergey offered to Kipelov (who was back in Aria) to record together the combined album, which might include their songs which were refused by Aria or did not fit into Aria's style. In 1997 they released the LP entitled Kipelov and Mavrin - Smutnoye Vremia (Time of Troubles), which included 10 tracks.
Songs from this album became the main concert material for Sergey's new project: a band he started in 1998, which was entitled "Mavrik" due to his familiar nickname. Arthur Berkut (ex-Autograph) joined "Mavrik" as vocalist on its first album Skitaletz (Wanderer), where Mavrin played guitars, bass and keyboards. The genre of the album was progressive/heavy metal. Vladimir Holstinin was a guest guitarist on 'Skitaletz'. Shortly after the album's release and subsequent touring, Berkut left the band, to be replaced by classically trained vocalist Stas Vytart.
In 2000, the band released Neformat-1, which took the hard rock sound of Skitaletz in a more experimental direction, while displaying some hints of heavier guitar sound on tracks such as "Staya" ("The Pack"), "Hey Chelovek" ("Hey Man"), and "V Dikom Pole" ("In the Wild Field"). However, Vytart's stage presence did not seem to fit with Mavrin's concept of the band's live show, and shortly after the album's release he was replaced by Berkut, who returned to the band and played assorted shows in support of the album.
During the recording of the third album, Himichesky Son (Chemical Sleep, 2001), Artur Berkut often failed to show up in studio, and finally, Sergey had to fire him. When Berkut once was asked why did he left Mavrik, he replied: "You'd better ask Lena Mavrina about it" (meaning Sergey's wife). Artem Styrov was hired as the new vocalist. The album displayed a much heavier, guitar-oriented sound that was firmly within the heavy metal genre. Some of the songs are still live staples of Mavrin's set as of this writing. Since Chemical Sleep, all following albums are released as by artist 'Sergey Mavrin', not 'Mavrik'. This was done after consulting the IronD record label, which recommended them to take a more serious title.
In Kipelov
After the 'Judgement Day' breakup of Aria in 2002, Valery Kipelov, Sergey Terentyev and Alexander Maniakin formed the band 'Kipelov' and Sergey decided to join it. Mavrik's bassist Alexey Harkov also merged into the new band. Mavrin participated in Kipelov's tour and in recording the 'Put Naverh' live album and then the 'Babylon' single. But seeing Kipelov not hurrying up to record a new album, he departed in the summer of 2004. A song 'Prorok' (Prophet) by Mavrin was included to Kipelov's "Rivers of Time" and Kipelov was given a permission to play some of Mavrin's songs.
Mavrin: "There were artistic differences. This is normally, a common situation for any band, here or in other countries. We were misunderstanding each other. I couldn't understand what he wants, he couldn't understnand why do I compose the songs, what I do. Artistic differences reached the boiling point and led personal relations to a dead end. We could have just been touring and still playing Aria's songs, taking care to nothing. But I longed for creativity. I wished it had been changed anyway. But it happened as it had to happen."
Back to Mavrik
In 2004 Sergey Mavrin reunited his own band. Artem Styrov decided to come back, though Harkov stood with Kipelov. Alexander Shwetz from Russian band Nephilim became the new bass player. The same year Zapreshennaya Realnost (Forbidden Reality) was released, which became the most commercially successful album for Mavrin. The band started touring all over Russia with the new material. In 2005 Styrov was dimissed due to his health problems - he struggled to sing the long 2-hour gigs. His successor was 18-year-old Andrey Lefler. Mavrin and his band participated in Aria's twentieth anniversary gig and the bands toured together in Ukraine in the winter of 2005. After it, Mavrin released a new album Otkrovenie (Revelation).
Заклинание
Сергей Маврин Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Воздух - камень,
Свою стихию
Ищи в России!
Люди - звери,
Вера - ересь,
Острог и остров
В спине нож острый.
Ведьма-совесть,
Ветер ловит,
Люби, да помни -
Есть звон церковный.
Сердце - сердцу,
Пепел - пеплу,
Чужой не станет
Себя так ранить...
Научи себя быть светом там, где тьма,
Рекой беги по стонущим пескам...
Но заклинаю я -
Самым чистым и святым -
Ни мира, ни любви
У сильных не проси!
Память - выстрел,
Время - мысли,
Душа - на Север,
Не под прицелом.
Холод - это
Неба эхо,
Горят ладони
Во сне бездонном...
Умер, выжил,
Имя выжег
Лучом от солнца
На дне колодца.
Бросил камень,
Выбрал пламя,
Огонь - стихия
Твоя в России!
А теперь забудь все то, что ты узнал,
Представь себе Небесный Океан,
Там твоя волна -
Вихри света и тепла,
Но разрушает сон
Заклятие мое.
The lyrics of Сергей Маврин's song Заклинание explores the elemental forces of nature and how they affect human behavior. The opening lines "Море - пламя, Воздух - камень" (Sea - flame, Air - stone) represent the paradoxes that exist within our natural world, where seemingly opposite elements coexist and even complement each other. The line "Свою стихию ищи в России!" (Find your element in Russia!) suggests that the search for one's true nature and purpose should take place within one's homeland.
The song also touches on the tension between human nature and religious beliefs with the phrase "Люди - звери, Вера - ересь" (People - beasts, Faith - heresy). The line "Научи себя быть светом там, где тьма" (Teach yourself to be a light in the darkness) encourages self-improvement and becoming a beacon of hope in challenging times. The chorus, "Ни мира, ни любви/У сильных не проси!" (Do not ask for peace or love from the strong!), seems to advocate for self-reliance and a rejection of dependency on others.
Overall, the song's message is one of self-discovery, resilience, and self-reliance in a world full of opposing forces.
Line by Line Meaning
Море - пламя,
The sea is like a flame, constantly in motion and full of life.
Воздух - камень,
The air can be as solid and as unyielding as a stone.
Свою стихию, Ищи в России!
Find your own element, your own nature, in Russia where the vast landscapes inspire awe and reverence.
Люди - звери,
People, at their core, are still animals driven by instinct and primal urges.
Вера - ересь,
Blind faith is dangerous and can lead to heresy and oppression.
Острог и остров В спине нож острый.
Life is full of obstacles and wounds that cut deep, leaving scars that never fully heal.
Ведьма-совесть, Ветер ловит,
Conscience is like a witch, haunting us and causing us to grapple with our choices, like the wind stirs leaves and branches.
Люби, да помни - Есть звон церковный.
Love deeply but remember that the church bells toll for all, and that everything is fleeting and temporary.
Сердце - сердцу,
The heart speaks to the heart, and true understanding comes not from words, but from a deeper, more instinctual connection.
Пепел - пеплу,
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Everything returns to the earth eventually.
Чужой не станет Себя так ранить...
No one can hurt you as deeply as you can hurt yourself, so be true to your own nature and honor your own needs and desires.
Научи себя быть светом там, где тьма, Рекой беги по стонущим пескам...
Learn to be a light in the darkness, and let your strengths and passions guide you like a river flows across a desert.
Но заклинаю я - Самым чистым и святым - Ни мира, ни любви У сильных не проси!
But I beseech you, with the purest and most sacred of intentions, do not ask for peace or love from those who are powerful because they will always seek to maintain their position at any cost.
Память - выстрел, Время - мысли, Душа - на Север,
Memory is like a gunshot, echoing and reverberating through time. Time is fleeting and ethereal, existing only in our thoughts. The soul seeks a true north, a place of constancy and clarity.
Не под прицелом.
We should strive to be free, to live our lives without being targeted or persecuted by those who seek power or control.
Холод - это Неба эхо,
Cold is like the echo of the heavens, a reflection of the vast emptiness and loneliness of the universe.
Горят ладони Во сне бездонном...
Even in dreams, our hands are on fire, full of passion and desire.
Умер, выжил, Имя выжег Лучом от солнца На дне колодца.
I died, I survived, and from the bottom of the well, I burned my name into the world with the searing light of the sun.
Бросил камень, Выбрал пламя, Огонь - стихия Твоя в России!
I let go of the past, embraced the present, and found my true element - fire - in the vast and wild landscapes of Russia.
А теперь забудь все то, что ты узнал, Представь себе Небесный Океан, Там твоя волна - Вихри света и тепла, Но разрушает сон Заклятие мое.
Now forget everything you've learned and imagine a heavenly ocean, where your wave is a swirling vortex of light and warmth. But beware, for my curse will shatter your dreams.
Contributed by Emma S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.