Zemfira, that well-known girl who contributed into Russian rock its zest, light, journalists gave it a name - "female rock". Her songs are still played on radio stations, and for young people, Zemfira's work is a source of inspiration, melancholy and sadness.
The little future singer was born in the city of Ufa, in a family of high moral views. Father Talgat Talkhovich was a history teacher, and mother Florida Khakievna was a specialist in physical therapy.
Zemfira was not the only child in the family, the elder brother Ramil doted on his sister and between them there was always a trusting, very warm relationship. Sometimes, a girl could tell her secret to her brother and not be afraid that she would be judged, scolded or laughed at.
Since childhood, the girl was drawn to music. At such an early age of 5, Zemfira already took piano lessons at a music school, and soloed in the choir. And at the age of 7, without anyone's help, she wrote her first song and did not hesitate to perform it in front of her mother's colleagues.
Musical activity was a great pleasure, it was much more than just a hobby.
At school, Zemfira became interested in basketball, but she was not very tall, and this spurred her even more to achieve something. The efforts were not in vain and she became the captain of the Russian junior team. Sports so pulled the girl hard that stood on a par with the music, which was very important.
Therefore, in high school, a huge problem was what to devote your life to, who to become. Thinking a lot on this topic, Zemfira put musical activity at the forefront and applied to art school in your hometown.
In order to have her own money, and not to ask her parents, Zemfira began to look for a part-time job and got a job at a local restaurant, where she performed various popular compositions in the evenings.
This way of life got a little fed up, I wanted to change my occupation, and now the girl works at a radio station, recording commercials. At this time, Zemfira starts recording songs own composition on cassettes.
At the end of the 90s, Zemfira's life abruptly turns 180 degrees. Her songs, recorded on a cassette, through acquaintances, in a completely random way are in the hands of the producer known at that time group "Mumiy Troll".
He appreciates musical compositions, seeing truly real talent. Leonid Burlakov gives Zefmira the opportunity to advance in her activities, and she records her first album, which she calls “Zemfira”.
Zemfira did not even expect such a success, because the album sold like hot cakes, and there were always a lot of people at concerts who were delighted with her music.
Work began on the second album called "Forgive me, my love", which became the most popular in early 2000. This album is to this day the most popular among the singer's projects. One song even became the soundtrack in the movie "Brother 2".
Later, Zemfira received a very large and serious offer, director Renata Litvinova called her to her team so that the girl would compose music for the film “Goddess: How I Loved”.
Musical activity brought Zemfira such success that she was included in the list of "One Hundred Most Influential Women in Russia".
There were always a lot of rumors about Zemfira's personal life, but she was in no hurry to refute them and clarify them.
Moreover, the singer herself misled journalists and her fans, saying that she was marrying the leader of the Dancing Minus group, but it was just an attempt draw attention to yourself.
Someone said that Zemfira had a relationship with a woman and she was engaged to Renata Litvinova. But both girls prefer not to talk about this topic, bypassing it in an interview.
In 2010, misfortune befell Zemfira, his beloved brother died, drowned in the river. His father died of illness, and then his mother. This shattered state of mind singers. From that time on, she decided that the main task was to take care of her nephews. Therefore, while the singer does not have her own children, and her personal life remains under seven locks.
Although Zemfira, in an interview with reporters, mentions her status as “In Love”, she does not reveal all the secrets of her personal life.
Zemfira's huge tour "Little Man" has started, in which she visited 20 cities in Russia and several foreign countries. Driving around the cities, the singer announced the sad news that her music career ended, thereby insanely upsetting the loyal fans who were inspired by her music.
But the singer does not stop spreading her songs. A in 2016 even recorded a new song"Come back home". Loyal fans are still waiting for Zemfira to return to music and do not lose hope.
Beloved and adored by many, Zemfira, whose biography will be described in this article, grew up on the music of such legendary performers as Viktor Tsoi, and the groups Queen, Aquarium, Nautilus Pompilius, Black Sabbath. Her older brother introduced her to rock. It can be said that thanks to him the world learned about who she is.
Biography of the artist: childhood
The future singer was born on August 26, 1976 in the city of Ufa. The girl showed her ability to music from an early age. At five I went to a music school for the first time, at seven I already wrote my first song. Zemfira was born in her father taught history, her mother worked as a doctor. The daughter pleased her parents - she was an excellent student at school and achieved considerable success in sports: in 1990 she became the captain of the Russian women's basketball team. Despite the fact that the monotony at the music school began to get on Zemfira's nerves, at the insistence of her mother, she nevertheless completed her studies, moreover, with
Zemfira: biography - education and early career
At first, the future singer planned to enter the Faculty of Philology, but accidentally saw an announcement about entrance examinations at a music school - she decided to try. She was immediately admitted to the second year, but after a year Zemfira becomes bored, she regrets her choice and hardly finishes the school that has become disgusting to her. In 1996, he worked as an operator at radio Europe + (branch in Ufa) during the day, and at night he recorded his first songs on the computer, which later became real hits: Weatherman, Snow, Why, etc.
In 1998, the singer creates her own group Zemfira. At that time, the singer's arsenal had already accumulated a lot of material, which she decides to transfer through her friend Leonid Burlakov (producer of the Mumiy Troll group). Leonid does not doubt for a minute that Zemfira is a real nugget and immediately invites her to the capital to record an album. On March 24 of the same year, the new singer Zemfira was presented to the public for the first time at a press conference of the Utekay Zvukozapis company. The biography of an extraordinary artist, of course, contains information that not everyone accepted her work, and there was criticism. Vladimir Polupanov, in a review of the album, wrote that Zemfira's lyrics are illogical, "do not bring truth to the world" and have philological flaws. But this did not stop the singer from capturing the hearts of millions of fans.
Zemfira: biography - on the wave of fame
In 2000, the country heard the artist's second album, which was sold in a crazy circulation (more than one and a half million copies). The album became one of the most successful in the history of Russian show business. 2002 gave fans the third copy of which sold more than one hundred and eighty thousand on the first day. In 2003, Zemfira became the winner of the Triumph youth award. And in 2004, her biggest dream came true - she sang the song "We are the Champions" in a duet with the Queen group at the MTV Russia Awards.
Zemfira: biography - personal life
It is known that the singer is not married. Rumors of a romance with musician Petkun in the late 1990s turned out to be just a well-thought-out marketing ploy to promote her first album. The press contains unconfirmed information about Zemfira's unconventional orientation and her special attitude towards actress Renata Litvinova.
It's hard to believe, but today, August 26, Zemfira Ramazanova will be 40 years old. The presentation of her first album took place in 1999. During this time, she turned into a musical legend, and her life was overgrown with all sorts of speculation. StarHit chose five myths and tested them.
Myth 1. The Uchpochmack fell apart, and the singer's nephews went abroad (True)
After the death of her parents and brothers, Zemfira has no one closer than her nephews, 26-year-old Arthur and Artem Ramazanov. Three years ago, she sang with them in The Uchpochmack. “Their album First and Last was the only one,” Dmitry Emelyanov, the band’s guitarist, told StarHit. - We performed together, but the group did not last long. The last time I saw the guys was in 2014.”
Having traveled for a year on tour with an aunt, the nephews returned to their native Ufa. “Artem and Arthur are still making music, they write songs in their studio, but few people are allowed to listen to them,” Yevgenia Ostapenko, cousin of the Ramazanovs, shared with StarHit. - They sing for friends or for relatives at home gatherings. They don’t think about getting married yet, although there are many fans. Yes, and the thoughts of the guys now are about something else. At the end of August they fly to London, they will study at the pop vocal faculty. A few years ago they were already in England, just mastering the directing business. Then Zemfira helped them.”
In the meantime, the guys are in Ufa, Artem helps his mother Natalya Vladimirovna. She is a businesswoman and is the founder of Forward CJSC, which supplies products to the supermarket chain.
MYTH 2. ZEMFIRA'S FIRST LOVE IS A MUSICIAN FROM UFA (THE IMAGINATION)
More than once they wrote that the first love of the star was Vladislav Kolchin, they performed in the Ufa restaurant "Jespar" in the mid-90s. In his autobiographical book "Music as a Chance to Beat Multiple Sclerosis" - its presentation will take place on September 14 - Vlad spoke about the fight against the disease and devoted an entire chapter to the singer. In it, he revealed the truth about their relationship - the future star was just a cover for Kolchin. An old friend writes the following: "... The owner of the institution showed interest in me ... Zemfira, just in case, fearing for my safety, played the role of my girlfriend as best she could."
MYTH 3. RAISED A HAND TO A MAN (TRUE)
// Photo: From the personal archive of Leonid Burlakov
“Zemfira was at the center of a scandal...” - such headlines can often be found in the press. Even friends know that it is better not to fall under the hot hand of the singer.
“A slap can be slapped on anyone,” recalls musician Vlad Kolchin. - Bandits often gathered at the Jespar restaurant. One day they got tipsy and started ordering songs. One Zemfira flatly refused to perform. Then one skinhead came up, bent over her and began to whisper something. Zemfira, as usual at such moments, fell silent and listened attentively. When the speech ended, she coolly slapped him in the face and rushed to the back room. In the hall began disassembly, noise, screams. We were protected by the restaurant guards, and in order to hush up the conflict, I had to call the gangsters I knew.
Why the singer behaves this way, her first producer Leonid Burlakov explained: “Insolence and rudeness are the usual defense against people. In fact, Zemfira is a sincere and attentive person. A year and a half ago, she called me to see how things were going. She said that she was in Ufa with her mother. I handed the phone to Florida Khakievna. She thanked me for helping my daughter in her musical career. And I said thank you for Zemfira. She also adores children and next to them she herself turns into a child. Once my daughter Masha and I stopped by to visit her. She not only welcomed us cordially, but also fried delicious cheesecakes.”
MYTH 4. THE SINGER HAS A SERIOUS ILLNESS (THIS IS A FAKE)
“To work like Zemfira, you need a lot of strength,” says producer Leonid Burlakov. - No doping will help, but will only interfere. Zemfira understands this. She has been performing live for almost 20 years."
But the star does have health problems.
“She has a chronic disease, she constantly complained of pain in her left ear,” recalls journalist and producer Alexander Kushnir. - I remember that when she first moved to Moscow, she had no money and no registration. I helped her with the doctors. Among my friends there were specialists of the highest qualification.
A few years ago, an old disease - chronic otitis media - worsened, and the singer even ended up in the hospital.
MYTH 5. LIVES IN AN EMPTY APARTMENT (TRUE)
“If you ever visit her, you will see that the singer uses only three items,” says Leonid Burlakov. - This is a sofa - she sits on it, a table - for work, a piano - for writing music. Zemfira is not a fan of things, and by and large she does not care what she is wearing. And yes, taste is a problem. Outwardly, she was transformed under Nastya Kalmanovich and Renata Litvinova, who had a hand in her style. She cares more about other things. I remember with what enthusiasm Zemfira was looking for an amplifier for bass. I ordered it from London, and when I received it, I was happy as a child.”
By the way, on the cover of the first album of the singer "Zemfira" there is also nothing superfluous - only floral wallpaper from her first rented apartment. “She then lived in Peredelkino,” recalls journalist and producer Alexander Kushnir. - That's where the picture was taken. And when it became clear that the album exploded, they made a witty gift for the insiders - they released a limited edition of CDs, only 999 pieces. A beautiful brown chair was added to the cover, as a sign that there used to be only wallpaper, and now there is money for furniture. Now this record costs unthinkable money, and I have it.
// Photo: Personal archive of Leonid Burlakov
Now there is probably no such person in the country who would not hall the singer, composer and poetess Zemfira. Many are interested in her personal life.
Bold, daring, more like a guy than a feminine girl, she became the creator and personification of a new trend in music called "female rock". Her songs are similar to herself: free, bold and daring. Her life will be discussed in the article.
Zemfira Ramazanova is one of those people who hides their personal lives. Her biography began in 1976 in Ufa. The girl was born in a Tatar-Bashkir family. Her parents are intellectuals. My father taught history at school, and my mother was a therapeutic gymnastics coach. Zemfira had an older brother, with whom they were very friendly.
The girl began to study music early. At the age of five, she already attended a music school and was a soloist in a children's choir. Once she even appeared on local television.
At the age of seven, the future celebrity composed her first song. During her school years, the girl was fond of the work of Viktor Tsoi and Thom Yorke. This markedly influenced her further development as a musician.
The future singer learned to play the guitar and performed the songs of the Kino group right on the street.
Zemfira was fond of basketball in parallel with music. She was the leader of the team, despite the fact that her height was shorter than the rest of the girls. This passion for sports was so strong that after graduation, the girl chose her future path between music and sports. Music won!
Zemfira entered the music school at the pop-jazz department. She was accepted immediately into the second course. During her studies, the girl began to earn extra money by singing songs in restaurants in Ufa. She was accompanied by a classmate on the saxophone.
The beginning of a creative career
After receiving a red diploma from the School of Arts, Zemfira went to work as a sound engineer at the Europa Plus radio station. At the same time, she sings in the Spectrum Ace group as the second vocalist.
At night, Zemfira composed her songs and recorded them on a computer. According to her personal words, she went to a friend in Moscow and captured her songs recorded on CDR. Here, for the first time in her life, she showed her songs.
In the capital, she got to the Fili recording studio. But she was refused, saying that they only accept cassettes. Zemfira left, but she left the notes to her friend. A few days later, her friend showed the recordings to the producer of the Mumiy Troll group. He liked Zemfira's songs so much that he called her in Ufa. I had to go back to Moscow.
The singer arrived in the capital with her new band. How she collected it is another story. They rehearsed in the building of a teenage club (Zemfira persuaded the director). The only thing missing from the band was a lead guitarist. They became Yuri Tsaler from Mumiy Troll.
Producer Leonid Burlakov gives the young talented singer to record her first disc, which was called Zemfira.
In her personal words: “There is so much music in my head that there is nowhere to go!” The release of the singer's first disc in the life took place in the 99th year. This album did not include only the song "Do not let go!". She will be on the second album.
It was a real success in the creative biography of the singer! Video clips were filmed for many songs.
Rise of popularity
Shortly after this, a tour of the newly minted group took place. The concerts were full house! Zemfira was simply covered by a wave of sudden popularity.
On March 24, 1999, the singer gave a press conference in a Moscow club. Moreover, she answered questions only in Bashkir. The audience immediately fell in love with the unusual, strange star.
In May, the presentation of the group's album took place. Grass was scattered across the stage. The singer herself wove a chamomile into her hair and during the song "Daisies" she guessed on it. It was unexpected and amazing!
In December of the same year, the group began to prepare for the recording of the second disc. The singer admitted that song titles have always been difficult for her. It's like naming a child!
At the beginning of the new year, stunning news swept through the country. Zemfira and her group won in the OM magazine nominations: "Best Performer of the Year", "Brawler of the Year", "Breakthrough of the Year" and "Album of the Year".
In March, the premiere of the group's second album entitled "Forgive me, my love" took place. He had even more success. The singer gave a big solo concert, which was also sold out. Her song "Looking for" sounded in the new film "Brother 2". But popularity tired the singer more than pleased. Therefore, she took a short vacation, taking part in only one project dedicated to Viktor Tsoi. There she sang his song "Cuckoo".
Glory was not without victims and sad incidents. During one of her concerts, a tragic incident occurred. People suffered as a result of a stampede at the stadium where the singer performed. The authorities and the police blamed Zemfira, but she did not understand what her fault was if more tickets were sold than the stadium could accommodate people.
This tragedy greatly upset the singer. She said that fame prevents her from working normally. She would like to abolish her popularity, that she should not be made into a guru or an idol. This prevents her from working.
Creativity of the singer
The creative style of the singer can be called rock or pop-rock. Some have dubbed it "female rock". In this style, there are recognizable different currents that existed at different times in music. This is Choi, and Susan Vega, and Alanis Morissette, and Bjork. Her singing is close to Aguzaros vocals. Sometimes you get the feeling when listening to her songs that they were recorded in the 80s.
The singer owns many musical instruments, which makes it possible to diversify her performances.
As for the lyrics of her songs - this is a separate issue. It raises topical issues of the time. Therefore, they are relevant and find a wide response in the hearts of listeners. For example, sometimes the problems of teenagers are visible in the songs (lack of money, desire for love and self-realization, etc.). Then the singer raises the topic of the terrible scourge of time - AIDS. The conclusion suggests itself as follows - sometimes you have to pay for love with illness and death.
Unusualness, brightness, creativity, courage, audacity - these are, in a few words, a characteristic of the creative direction created by the singer. It cannot be said that no one sang like that before her. But something in it catches, leads to ecstasy, makes you think.
In the late nineties, she became the main pop and rock star in Russia. More than 17 years have passed since the release of Zemfira's first album, and her music is still out of competition. ELLE is about a truly national artist of the country.
Despite comparisons with Pugacheva - not musical, but in terms of the scale and significance of the figures - she does not perceive her older colleague. Zemfira did not listen to the songs of Alla Borisovna even in childhood, and Pugacheva's work never hurt her. Zemfira calls the songs of Viktor Tsoi, one of the most important musicians for her, her real childhood love.
Little is known about Zemfira's personal life. They wrote about a young man named Vlad Kolchin, with whom the future star studied at a music school. Their romance ended when Kolchin went from Ufa to St. Petersburg - to try to succeed there. You can also find references to another man in Zemfira's life - Sergei Anatsky, according to the media, who at that time was the head of the Europe Plus radio station in Ufa.
As for the novels in the “star” era of Zemfira, when everyone’s attention began to be riveted to her, then at first, for the amusement of the public and for PR, a rumor was “thrown” about a relationship with the leader of the “Dancing Minus” group Vyacheslav Petkun. Vague allusions to their romance, sounded from different sides, ended pretty quickly. Then the press began to exaggerate with might and main relations - business, by the way - with Roman Abramovich. The oligarch was among those to whom Zemfira once performed in Courchevel, then unexpectedly appeared at the presentation of the singer's album "Vendetta" in 2005. According to another version, which the tabloids wrote about, the couple knew each other from the very beginning of Zemfira's career in Moscow, and Abramovich helped the young artist with promotion. It is not surprising that when the singer mentioned that the working version of the title of the album "Vendetta" was the word "Oil", the public immediately saw this as confirmation of contacts with the oligarch. Helped Zemfira and Alexander Mamut, who has a reputation as a philanthropist and art connoisseur. Mamut supported the singer financially by paying for the services of Dutch specialists who worked on Zemfira's tour. In addition, being the owner of Euroset, the businessman contributed to a bold project related to the Vendetta album, which was distributed in the stores of this network. Contacts with business people of this level automatically transferred the artist to the rank of an elite one - after all, not every pop and rock singer enjoys the favor of the richest people in the country.
Renata Litvinova began to communicate in the middle of the 2000s. The couple was immediately credited with too close a relationship, and even managed to get married - supposedly this happened during a trip to Stockholm.
Since then, they have repeatedly worked together - on Zemfira's videos, a concert film about her, and Zemfira herself helped with the music for Litvinova's paintings. What happens inside this couple is unknown to the public - both call each other close people and friends.
By the way, the year before last, Renata Litvinova congratulated Zemfira on her birthday by posting a photo of the romantic singer on her Instagram. The photo was accompanied by a text of personal content: “Weightless, independent of attraction, impossible, unthinkable, unacceptable ... without skin, the only, fearless ... happy birthday, Zemfira!”. The post appeared on the blog at about two in the morning, and, as some media write, the congratulations first contained the word “beloved”, later “withdrawn”.
Zemfira is not burdened by loneliness. The singer has no friends and Zemfira is not attracted to noisy companies. “I have one person, Renata, that’s enough for me,” says the singer.
In 2007, the press wrote about the scandal that happened at the Norilsk airport, when Zemfira allegedly refused to fly on the same plane with the Zveri group. As reported, after learning that she would have to fly on the same side with the "Beasts", the singer said that she would not board the plane. She did not explain the reason for such an increased reaction to the presence of colleagues, she went to the ticket office, where she bought a ticket for the next flight.
At the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Sochi, among other things, Zemfira's song was performed. The artist was outraged that her consent was not asked, and publicly expressed her complaints to the head of Channel One, who was responsible for staging the show, Konstantin Ernst. He, in response, called Zemfira petty: “I think that I did a lot for Zemfira, for her career. And such pettiness, it seems to me, simply shames such an outstanding singer. Ernst also warned that in the event of a lawsuit on her part, a counter one would follow. It turns out that Zemfira at one time violated the terms of the contract with the label Real Records, the head of which was then just Ernst.
In 2008, Zemfira became a participant in the conflict that arose, in general, from scratch, between Ksenia Sobchak and Renata Litvinova. At one of the social events hosted by Sobchak, Litvinova entered into a public skirmish with her. The story continued that evening at The Most club: Sobchak ironically reproached the director for her tactlessness, Renata Litvinova reacted emotionally, and even called Zemfira for help. The latter, as reported by the tabloids, issued a vivid and not devoid of strong expressions monologue.
In 2008, for a question about her personal life, a Muz-TV journalist ran into a blow in the face from Zemfira. It was at a press conference, the question about the relationship was asked by Renata Litvinova, who was also present there, and did not answer. At the end of the press conference, Zemfira hit the journalist, calling her "dirt from under her nails." wrote to the media.
The song “Do you want”, in which famous Soviet artists “sing” instead of Zemfira (almost every word is painstakingly chosen from different films), blew up the Internet last spring. The video for the song became an online hit, garnering over 800,000 views on Vimeo in its first five days.
Zemfira's album "Live in your head", posted on Yandex on February 14, 2013, gained more than a million plays in the first 14 hours.
In October 2013, there was a scandal at a concert in Rostov. Tired of the demands of the public (“Come on“ Daisies ”!), Zemfira expressed in a harsh form what she thinks about this, and in the song “Arivederchi” she sang “I will never return to Rostov”.
She is not a revolutionary, and considers this as much a civic position as any other. “I am for the revolution within us,” said Zemfira. Music, she believes, is stronger than any politics. At the same time, the artist expresses her position on current events in one way or another: in March, a song by the Ukrainian group Okean Elzy, performed by the singer, was posted on Zemfira's website. And this summer, a scandal erupted around Zemfira's act at a concert in Tbilisi, where she, having accepted the flag of Ukraine from the hands of the audience in the hall, waved it from the stage.
In 2011, Zemfira posed for an album of candid photographs taken by Mikhail Korolev.
In old age, he sees himself “definitely” in America.
Quotes
“It seems to me that all girls are feminine, and men are masculine.”
“Too smooth faces confuse me. I can't tell them apart."
"Love is almost the only thing that really exists in this stupid reality."
"I may not be the most accommodating artist, but you have no other."
