Alexander Barykin

Alexander Barykin was a Russian folk singer-songwriter noted for his songs of various styles and influences, including new wave, glam rock, rhythm and blues, and reggae. He is considered by many as a father of Russian reggae. He was born on February 18, 1952, in Beryozovo, in Khanty-Mansia. He attended musical school and then earned a degree in the classical vocal program at the Gnesins Musical College. In the 1970s, he was a member of the VIA bands Moskvichi, Vesiolie Rebiata, Samotsvety and Jemchug. In 1979, he collaborated with the guitarist of Samotsvety, Vladimir Kuzmin to organize a new band called Carnaval. It was considered to be the first Russian band to embrace new wave. Carnaval combined a range of styles and influences, including glam rock, rhythm and blues, and white reggae on the base of Russian melodic. In 1982, Kuzmin left the band and Barykin became the single leader of Carnaval. In 1985, the band experimented with pop rock and later released a pure rock album Hey, Look! in 1989. They broke up soon thereafter. As a member of Carnaval, Barykin released 15 albums, including 3 releases with the Soviet recording monopolist Melodiya. In 1990, Barykin started a successful solo career and subsequently released 13 albums. He had a repertoire of nearly 300 songs, of which some became hits and classics of Russian pop music. He sang in a hoarse voice styled after the Russian bard Vladimir Vysotsky, self-accompanied on guitar, or occasionally a synthesizer. He died on March 26, 2011 at the age of 59 from a heart attack during a concert in Orenburg. The cause of his death and the location of his resting place are unknown.