Mashina Vremeni is a Russian rock band founded in 1969. Mashina Vremeni was a pioneer of Soviet rock music and remains one of the oldest still-active rock bands in Russia. The band's music incorporates elements of classic rock, blues, and bard's song. Mashina Vremeni's best known members are Andrey Makarevich (founder, principal singer-songwriter, public face of the band), Alexander Kutikov (bass player and producer/sound engineer), and Evgeny Margulis (guitarist/songwriter).

History

Andrey Makarevich's musical career can be traced to a school band called The Kids, which was made up of two male guitarists and two female vocalists. The group sang mostly English-language folk songs and performed primarily at talent shows put on in Moscow schools. According to Makarevich, the momentous event in his musical career came when the Soviet group VIA Atlanty visited his school and allowed him to play a couple of songs on their equipment during a break in the performance. On the heels of this experience, Makarevich joined with other musically talented students from his school and another school to form Mashiny Vremeni ( – in plural form imitating The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, etc.). The most significant founding members included Sergey Kawagoe and Andrey Makarevich. The band's repertoire consisted of eleven songs in English, now lost. Mashina Vremeni started playing during the last years of the Brezhnev era, but could not get official bookings as a professional band. In 1979 Makarevich signed the band up with Rosconcert, becoming legitimate in the State music system.

Timeline

Musical style

Mashina Vremeni's sound is eclectic and incorporates multiple different genres. Contributions to song composition have been made by almost every band member, and often reflect each member's particular stylistic preferences. Makarevich is a fan of The Beatles, and many of his songs reflect the Beatles' influence. He is also influenced by blues music and Soviet singer-songwriters, the so-called "bards". Kutikov is a quintessential rocker, he composes guitar-oriented hard rock. Margulis is one of the Russia's best known bluesmen, and his songs are usually blues rock ballads. The majority of the band's lyrics are written by Makarevich.

Albums

Line-up

Current line-up

Former members

Timeline

Involvement in public debate

During the Russo-Ukrainian War frontman Andrey Makarevich denounced Russian military intervention in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Other people associated with the band kept a low profile in the matter through 2014, but in 2015 it became known that at least Kutikov was against Russian policy in Ukraine, while Derzhavin and director/manager Vladimir Sapunov sided with President Vladimir Putin's policies.