History of the group's creation
The founder and ideological inspirer of the A-Studio group was the son of the famous Kazakh opera baritone Ermek Serkebaev Baigali.
While still a student at the conservatory, in 1982 the young man got a job as a keyboard player in Rosa Rymbaeva’s Arai ensemble, which at that time brought together the best musicians of Kazakhstan. Over the years of working in the team, Baigali toured the entire Soviet Union and the countries of Eastern Europe, more than once became a laureate of prestigious music competitions and gained invaluable experience. In the end, he felt cramped within the framework of “Araya”; his soul demanded different music, and for this he needed a new group.
A'Studio at the beginning of its creative journey
He began to look for like-minded people, and the first person he turned to was guitarist Vladimir Miklosic. The guys had known each other for a long time, together they were “fans” of The Beatles and exchanged scarce records.
Batyrkhan Shukenov became the first soloist of the A'Studio group
Guitarist Bulat Sydzykov moved from the old lineup of "Aray" to the new group, Sagnay Abdulin played the drums, and Nadzhib Vildanov performed the vocal parts. Later they were joined by a young singer and musician Batyrkhan Shukenov, and in 1987 the group began independent performances under the name “Alma-Ata Studio”, which over time transformed into “A-Studio”. In 1988, the debut album “The Path Without Stops” was released, which included 8 songs in Russian and Kazakh.
Compound
Current lineup
- Baygali Serkebaev - keyboards, vocals (1987-present)
- Vladimir Miklosic - bass guitar (1987-present)
- Keti Topuria - vocals (2005–present)
Former members
- Najib Vildanov - vocals (1987-1989)
- Batyrkhan Shukenov - vocals, saxophone (1987-2000, 2007, 2012; died 2020)
- Bulat Syzdykov - guitar (1987-1989; died in 2020)
- Sagnay Abdulin - drums (1987-1990)
- Baglan Sadvakasov - guitar (1989-2006; died 2006)
- Polina Griffis - vocals (2001-2004, 2007)
- Tamerlan Sadvakasov - guitar (2006-2007)
- Fedor Dosumov - guitar (2007-2012)
Session musicians
- Evgeny Dalsky - drums, bass drum
- Sergey Kumin - leader and acoustic guitars
- Andrey Kosinsky - keyboards, backing vocals
Timeline
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The main stages of creativity
It is unknown how the creative fate of the newly formed group would have developed if Philip Kirkorov had not heard their song “Julia” at one of the national concerts. He showed it to Alla Pugacheva, and the Diva wanted to personally meet the talented Kazakh musicians. Soon they met in Moscow, and two months later the group was already touring the country as part of the Pugacheva Theater.
A-Studio at Pugacheva’s Christmas meetings (1990)
In 1990, “A-Studio” first appeared on television in Alla Borisovna’s legendary “Christmas Meetings” and from that moment firmly established itself among the best domestic pop groups. A'Studio - Julia In the same year, their album "Julia" was released (according to fans, this is A'Studio's best album), but rather the musicians went to London at the invitation of producer Greg Walsh, who offered them long-term cooperation with his record company.
Greg Walsh (left) helped A'Studio with recording albums
The band met the new millennium at the peak of its popularity, with six successful albums, about a dozen video clips and many prestigious music awards in its creative baggage. Therefore, the sudden departure of Batyrkhan Shukenov in the fall of 2000 came as a complete surprise to the remaining members of the group. The vocalist decided to pursue a solo career (the ethnic project “Batyr”). Fifteen years later he died untimely from a heart attack.
Batyrkhan Shukenov left A-Studio in 2000
In 2001, he was replaced by Polina Griffis, whom the musicians met during a trip to America. The girl fit perfectly into the team, adding a peculiar touch of “Westernness”. “A-Studio” became a welcome guest at foreign club parties; London’s leading DJs became interested in their work and began making remixes of the group’s popular songs.
The next soloist was Polina Griffis
Having received wide recognition in Europe and America, the team reached a new level, but at that moment Polina fell in love with the leader of the Nevergreen group and decided to create a joint project with him. A'Studio - Such things The place did not remain vacant for long: soon the seventeen-year-old Georgian singer Keti Topuria burst into the group like a powerful hurricane. Her arrival in March 2005 was a breath of fresh air for the group: the musicians were captivated by her talent, temperament and incredible charm, and they themselves seemed to have shed a couple of decades.
With Keti Topuria the group got a second wind
The very first composition, “Flying Away,” recorded with Keti, became an undisputed hit in 2005, for which the team received many prizes and awards. It became clear that A-Studio had begun a new life, and the group was not going to give up its position. A-Studio - Flying away The joy of conquering a new peak was overshadowed by the death of guitarist and composer Baglan Sadvakasov, who died in a car accident in 2006. Exactly 10 years later, the second guitarist of A'Studio, Bulat Syzdykov from the first line-up of the group, died.
In the photo: Baglan Sadvakasov (left) and Bulat Syzdykov
In 2020, the group solemnly celebrated its 25th anniversary with a grand concert in the Kremlin, which their old friend Greg Walsh helped them organize. The performance was attended by Russian pop stars who performed their best songs. The recording of the performance was released as a separate album, “Concert in the Kremlin. 25 years".
The cause of death of the 52-year-old Kazakh musician was a heart attack
On April 28, at the age of 52, Kazakh musician Batyrkhan Shukenov, a former frontman, died. According to preliminary information, the singer's cause of death was a heart attack. Batyrkhan Shukenov will be buried in Almaty.
On the evening of April 28, the first lead singer of the musical group “A-Studio” Batyrkhan Shukenov died in Moscow. According to preliminary data, the cause of death of the 52-year-old musician was a heart attack. The singer felt ill while he was in his apartment. His director, who lives in the same house, found out about this. An ambulance was called, but the doctors were unable to save Batyrkhan Shukenov.
Batyrkhan’s brother, Baurzhan, took the next flight from Almaty to Moscow. According to him, the funeral issue is currently being resolved. Most likely, the musician will be buried in his homeland - in Kazakhstan.
The artist’s relatives noted that he had been complaining about his health lately. Problems could arise due to a busy work schedule: the musician was a participant in the “One to One” project, where he successfully impersonated the images of Yuri Antonov, Leonid Agutin, Liz Mitchell from Boney M, Vladimir Kuzmin, Cesaria Evora. Colleagues and friends of Batyrkhan Shukenov express their condolences on social networks. “This is truly a huge loss. As a child, I was in love with this incredible voice. I was infinitely lucky to perform a song with Batyr. I can’t believe it,” wrote singer and actress Anastasia Zadorozhnaya. “It’s simply impossible to say anything now!!!! This cannot be expressed in words!!!! RIP Just shocking!!!” - wrote singer Nikolai Baskov. “I am at a loss for words... A talented, intelligent, kind, musical, educated and incredibly bright person has left us. So early. So suddenly. Rest in peace! May your soul find peace and harmony. Batyr! We will always remember! Impossible to believe. My condolences to the family... Strength and courage! RIP,” wrote singer Polina Gagarina, who will represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest this year.
“RiP,” wrote the current soloist of “A-Studio” Keti Topuria.
RiP
Photo published by Keti Topuria (@keti_one_official) Apr 28, 2015 at 2:16 PDT
Boris Barabanov about Batyrkhan Shukenov
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When the A-Studio group was shown in Alla Pugacheva’s “Christmas Meetings” at the very end of the 1980s, the audience was strongly impressed by the powerful non-local groove of the group. Musicians from Kazakhstan were guided by a style that was not the most obvious for the Soviet stage - English funk and jazz-rock in the spirit of Shakatak and Level 42. Music lovers, who were hooked by the A-Studio phenomenon, were seriously surprised by the fact that fashionable music was played by people from the accompanying cast of Roza Rymbaeva, the most quintessential Soviet pop singer, without whom not a single “official” or simply boring television concert can be performed. Since 1982, Batyrkhan Shukenov, a student at the Alma-Ata Conservatory, has played saxophone in this lineup. When the musicians decided to play their material in 1987, he came to the microphone.
The voice of Batyrkhan Shukenov sounds in all the main hits of “A-Studio” - “Soldier of Love”, “Stop, Night”, “White River”, “Julia”, “Unloved”, “These Warm Summer Days”.
In the 1990s, “A-Studio” was needed by everyone - the audience, television, and colleagues at the Alla Pugacheva Song Theater, with whom they often recorded. Of all the group members, the smiling Batyrkhan Shukenov was the most recognizable face in the entire post-Soviet space and at the same time maintained the strongest connection with the Kazakh scene and Kazakh music.
After leaving A-Studio in 2000, the first thing he did was record an album of Kazakh songs. In fact, he became the face of modern Kazakh music, and by 2007 he had risen to the position of cultural adviser to the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev.
After Batyrkhan Shukenov left A-Studio, by all indications, a brilliant future awaited him in Russian show business. Almost no one had any doubts that the eastern handsome man radiating kindness with powerful professional training and a unique timbre would soon equal his former colleagues in popularity.
“A-Studio” changed soloists, regularly released armor-piercing hits and remained the leaders of radio rotations. Their position did not shake even after the guitarist and one of the key authors of the group, Baglan Sadvakasov, died in a car accident in 2006.
Batyrkhan Shukenov released albums in Russia and Kazakhstan, but in his solo career he never had a big hit that would prove to everyone that he is not just “that guy from A-Studio.” Batyrkhan Shukenov often joined his colleagues at anniversary concerts and other important events, but never returned to the group on a permanent basis. And in the end, the main thing that news agencies now write about in their obituaries was his participation in the dress-up TV show “One to One.” Discussing the degree of his similarity with Luciano Pavarotti is, to put it mildly, not the result of life that this brilliant musician and kind person deserved.
Boris Barabanov, Yulia Alekseeva
Group "A-studio" now
The band celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in 2020 with a series of large-scale concerts in their homeland, after which they solemnly concluded the festive tour in the capital’s Crocus City Hall.
In 2020, the group celebrated its 30th anniversary
. In 2020, the group worked on new material, and the ambitious Keti Topuria was confident that she and the rest of the group would soon become the owner of the coveted Grammy. At the moment, the main composition of “A-studio” consists of five people: lead singer Katie Topuria, vocalist and keyboardist Baygali Serekbaev and bassist Vladimir Miklosic. They invite drummer Evgeniy Dalsky and guitarist Sergei Kumin as session musicians.
Keti Topuria
Keti Topuria is a Russian singer of Georgian origin, since 2005 the lead singer of the group “A-studio”. The girl began her solo career as a Georgian singer. Producer Keti Nato Dumbadze advised the girl to audition for the A-Studio group. The original timbre of her voice and excellent vocal abilities were appreciated, and the girl became the vocalist of the cult group.
Photo: msn
Keti was credited with romances with football players Dmitry Sychev and Kakha Kaladze, showman Igor Vernik and singer Sergei Amoralov. The girl met Moscow businessman Lev Geykhman in 2010, and in 2013 they celebrated their wedding.
Lev Geykhman was born in Moscow in 1974. After school I entered the Moscow Mining Institute, but dropped out. He later graduated from the Faculty of Higher School of Business at Moscow State University. Geykhman worked at the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, was a mid-level manager in the office of the plenipotentiary representative for the Central District. Today the businessman has interests in banking and investment activities.
Photo: hellomazine
In 2020, Katie gave birth to a daughter, Olivia, at a Los Angeles clinic. But the birth of a daughter did not save the marriage. According to rumors, the reason for the divorce was the singer’s affair with rapper Alexei Dolmatov (Guf). In 2020, the couple officially divorced; for the sake of their daughter they are trying to maintain a good relationship.
Life in Georgia
Ketevan Topuria was born on September 9, 1986 in Tbilisi. Her parents Andro and Natalya not only were not musicians, but were not interested in music at all. The future singer's father was an architect by profession, and her mother was a chemical engineer. However, the family’s neighbor, a school music teacher, noticed the girl’s talent and offered to send her to a music school. In 1998, Keti Topuria successfully graduated and entered the music school the same year. After 5 years, she received a diploma as a vocal teacher.
Over the years, the future soloist of “A-Studio” was able to make a good musical career in her homeland. By 2003, 2 solo albums were recorded and released in Georgian, which quickly became popular. In addition, Katie participated in children's music competitions, and was very successful. So, in 1998 she received the main prize at the “Sea of Friendship” festival of young performers, and in 2000 - the Grand Prix of the international festival “Path to the Stars”.
True, in 2003, Keti Topuria decided to get a “serious” profession and entered the Georgian State University at the Faculty of Psychology. But she was never able to finish it. The girl was unable to combine her participation in the A-Studio group with her studies.
