Batyrkhan Shukenov - biography, photo, personal life, songs, cause of death

On April 28, 2020, musician, singer, one of the founders of the A-Studio group Batyrkhan Shukenov passed away. His death became a common tragedy for all Kazakhstanis - it was a huge loss for the whole country. On the 5th anniversary of Batyr’s death, Vox Populi invited TV and radio presenter Noel Shayakhmetov to reconstruct the events associated with the name of Batyr and talk about them in the column “The History of One Photograph.”

Noel Shayakhmetov, Batyrkhan Shukenov and Baglan Sadvakasov

Photo: from the personal archive of Noel Shayakhmetov

Noel Shayakhmetov:

— This photograph was taken in the fall of 1995 in the studio of radio “RIK”, where I then worked as a music presenter and broadcast live. In the photo there are three of us sitting: me, A-Studio guitarist Baglan Sadvakasov and Batyrkhan Shukenov - vocalist, saxophonist, percussionist.

Shortly before this, my friend Esetzhan Kosubaev , the future Minister of Culture of Kazakhstan, called me and said: “There is an idea for you to do an interview with A-Studio.” Of course, I immediately agreed. Yesetzhan and I have a long-standing relationship; we met when I was 12 and he was 17 years old. Kosubaev studied at school No. 25, I studied at school No. 120, and at our school, in the assembly hall, rehearsals were held for the group in which Esetzhan played, he is a wonderful drummer. And I played in a school ensemble, so we ended up on the same stage.

And so Esetzhan says to me: “Let’s do an interview with A-Studio.” The group was then super popular in Moscow, in Russia, throughout the CIS, and here especially: 95, it was the peak of popularity, they were simply national heroes here. We agreed to meet, the interview was scheduled for 10 pm. Eset said that he would give the guys a lift himself. Broadcasting was then based on a television tower on Mount Kok-Tobe.

I went out to meet them on the steps of the television tower, and they pulled into the parking lot in a beautiful blue Cadillac limousine. They came out, we all hugged, they had just arrived from Moscow: I don’t remember what kind of concert they had in Almaty.

We went up to our studio, sat down to drink tea and began to discuss what we would talk about. Batyr suggested: “Let’s talk about jazz.” They are all - Batyr Shukenov, Baygali Serkebaev , Volodya Miklosic - advanced, educated musicians. I believe that their success was largely due to the fact that they were competent and immersed professionals in their work, listened to a lot of different music, understood it and were extremely erudite musically. They knew classical music well, almost everyone had a classical education. But they were all in tune with the jazz wave. And so Batyr suggests: “Let’s talk about jazz.” I protested: “Let’s better talk about you, what you are doing, what you are writing now, what your plans are.” The guys agreed that this was more important, but the conversation still turned to jazz. And we remembered how Batyr gave me to listen to the “Havana Jam” record with tracks that were played at the festival in Havana in 1979.

Biography of Batyrkhan Shukenov

Batyrkhan Shukenov is a talented Kazakh singer. He managed to become famous thanks to his long participation in the A-studio group. Maybe no one would have recognized him as a gifted boy from Kazakhstan if Alla Pugacheva herself had not taken him under her wing.

Ex-soloist of the group A'Studio Batyrkhan Shukenov

After leaving the popular group in 2000, he began a solo career.

Childhood and family of Batyrkhan Shukenov

The future famous performer was born on May 18, 1962 in the small town of Kzyl-Orda, Kazakhstan. Despite the fact that the performer’s family is quite large (Batyrkhan had two more brothers and a sister), all children were treated equally - with love and warmth. Dad often disappeared at work, as he held a leadership position, and mother kept house and raised children.

Batyrkhan Shukenov (left) with his brother as a child

From an early age, Batyr was interested in music, and when he was 12 years old, his hobby grew into something more. At first, the young man could not decide which instrument to master, but over time he gave preference to the guitar.

Having received the certificate, the guy decided to move to Leningrad. Thanks to his impressive musical practice, it was not difficult for him to impress the selection committee of the University of Culture. N.K. Krupskaya. Having joined the ranks of students, Shukenov mastered a second instrument - the saxophone. For two years the guy improved his skills, and in 1981 he entered the Conservatory. Kurmangazy in Almaty.

Despite the fact that the young man already had experience studying at a specialized university, the conservatory program turned out to be much more difficult. Subsequently, Batyr admitted to journalists that in those days the classrooms were filled with students who were eager to gain new knowledge, which is why teachers simply overwhelmed their students with tasks - in order to weed out those who were not serious. The guy had no time for entertainment, because he had to study almost for days.

Young Batyrkhan Shukenov

Despite being very busy, the guy still found time to earn a little extra money in local cafes and restaurants. One day, Shukenov was lucky enough to meet the famous jazz performer Georgy Metaksa in the Soviet Union. The singer was impressed by the young man’s talent, and he offered to perform a duet. Thanks to a chance meeting, the world of real “adult” jazz opened up to Shukenov.

Batyrkhan Shukenov and the group “A-studio”

At the age of 20, Batyr met such famous personalities as Baygali Serkebaev, Bulat Syzdykov and Vladimir Miklosic. All these guys had the same hobby - they couldn’t live without music. On the fateful day, when the guy was offered to become a member of the Arai musical group, his life changed. Firstly, he gained his first serious experience in performing on stage, and secondly, the following year he earned the title of Laureate of the Seventh All-Union Variety Artists Competition.

Batyrkhan Shukenov and the group “A-studio”

As soon as the guy turned 23, he was officially recognized as fit, and he went to serve in the Central Asian Military District. For one year, Batyr played in a military orchestra so as not to lose his skills. Upon returning home, the young man first met with his parents, and then decided to visit friends from the Arai group. After some consultation, the guys decided to create a new group called “Almaty”. After some time, their name seemed banal to them, and they renamed the group “Almaty Studio” and recorded the first album “The Path Without Stops.”

A few months later, the singers again decided to change the name of the group, this time to “A-studio”. The group became famous thanks to the world famous composition “Julia”. Initially, Philip Kirkorov worked on its recording, but then his future wife Alla Pugacheva literally snatched the song from a friend and gave it to Batyr, thanks to which the singer had his first major success.

In total, Shukenov performed with A'studio for 13 long years, until he left the team in 2000. As he later stated: “I simply exhausted myself, so I went free swimming.” Among other things, there were strained relations between the guys, since Batyr was supervised by Pugacheva herself. Often the singer was the face of the group, while everyone else played the role of minor assistants. The guys had to endure all this, because they understood that without the tutelage of the Diva they would not be able to fly to the musical Olympus.

Batyrkhan Shukenov and Alla Pugacheva

In the fall of 2002, the famous performer presented his solo album “Otan Ana” to the world, which was performed in his native language. The album includes 10 tracks and one wonderful video for the composition “Otan Ana”, filmed with the help of Moscow director Dina Makhamatdinova.

The batyr did not let go of the instrument from his hands

— When Batyr moved to live in Alma-Ata after St. Petersburg, he stayed with Bibigul Akhmetovna Tulegenova , they are like relatives to each other. The singer had a huge apartment on Kirov (now Bogenbay Batyr - editor's note) - Karl Marx (now Kunaev - editor's note), there were only six apartments in this house. Nurgisa Tlendiev , Academician Sokolsky , Olzhas Suleimenov lived there - I don’t remember who else. And Batyr rented one room from Bibigul Akhmetovna. It was 82-83, when Batyr was already invited to play in the Arai ensemble. During this period, Batyr and I saw each other almost every day, because I was very close friends with Bibigul Akhmetovna’s son Tulegen and hung out at their house all the time. I myself played guitar in a group at a theater institute, it was called “Asia”. I came to the Tulegenovs and saw Batyr, who sat endlessly at the piano and practiced, practiced, without raising his head. Or warmed up on the saxophone.

Tulegen and I were terribly frivolous then, I had just returned from the army, there was a wind in my head, nothing limited me, we went for a walk and invited Batyr with us. But he refused and always found various excuses not to go with us: he was very purposeful.

The 20-year-old boy who came to Alma-Ata to study was a student like us, but he didn’t go out at all! All he did was study, he took a composition and rubbed it into holes until he got it perfect.

He sang a lot, but what’s interesting is that at that time he didn’t see himself as a professional vocalist, he sang just like that. Where Batyr really put his strength was into the tools, he did not let them out of his hands. He was extremely efficient, extremely hardworking - this is very etched in my memory.

Personal life of Batyrkhan Shukenov

The performer met his first lover in 1998. For almost 2 years the man courted a girl named Ekaterina and only in 2000 proposed to her. For several years, the couple could not have children, but one fine day a real miracle happened - Catherine became pregnant. After the firstborn was born, Batyr was in seventh heaven. Alas, the joy was short-lived - on the 40th day of life, the baby died from an intrauterine infection. It was difficult to survive such a concussion. This fact also played a role in leaving A'studio.

Batyrkhan Shukenov with his wife Ekaterina and son Maksut

In 2002, the couple had another child - son Maksut. Unfortunately, even the baby was unable to correct the consequences of the stress his parents experienced. The relationship between once loved ones has changed irreparably, so they decided to leave. After the divorce, Katya and her son moved to America. Despite the distance, the father visited his son very often and maintained a warm relationship with his ex-wife.

In 2008, the singer met his second chosen one - a beauty named Aigerim. The fateful meeting took place in St. Petersburg. Autumn is soon, the newly-made couple played a wedding according to all Kazakh customs. A few years later they separated, citing a large age difference: Aigerim was 16 years younger than Batyr.

To the Green Bazaar in Batyr's new sneakers

— I have a story, I told it only once for television: in 1983, Japanese Roland equipment was purchased for the Arai ensemble - it was fantastic at that time, a real sensation, no one had such equipment then. It was bought for foreign currency, with the permission of Kunaev - he allowed it, since the Arai ensemble was created for Roza Rymbaeva , and the authorities expected great success from this union. It was expensive, luxurious equipment: acoustic speakers, Japanese tama drums, a guitar for Bulat Syzdykov , a bass guitar for Volodya Miklosic. In general, they were so packed that the whole city was buzzing like a beehive, everyone was waiting for the concert and wanted to see what kind of equipment it was and how it sounded. Batyr took me to the Lenin Palace (now the Palace of the Republic - editor's note) several times at their rehearsals, I sat backstage and listened to them play. It was very cool, I was delighted, but due to my frequent presence at rehearsals, this anticipation of something grandiose was slightly erased for me.

Especially for this concert, stage costumes were sewn for the Arai group - silver-golden overalls, in the 80s it was very fashionable, they all sparkled, there were lightning bolts everywhere, like astronauts. Sneakers were purchased for the guys' overalls - they were also a rarity back then. I still remember these sneakers: golden Puma, very beautiful. On the day of the concert, Batyr prepared his suit and hung it in the hallway at the exit.

The Tulegenovs' hallway was a whole room with mirrors, a built-in wardrobe, and two armchairs with a coffee table. Batyr hung his golden-silver suit on a hanger on the wall, and placed his sneakers underneath - everything was ready for the premiere.

That morning I came to Tulegen, we were getting ready to leave somewhere. Bibigul Tulegenova came out of the room and said: “Where are you going?” We say: “Yes, on business...” She says: “You know what? Before you go about your business, let’s do something useful for the house!” She gave us nets, money, a list and told us to go to the Green Bazaar to buy food.

We are standing ready at the exit, and I took the sneaker in my hands, twirled it, looked at it and said: “Tulegen! Such cool sneakers, they really shine!” And Tulegen says: “Try it on.” I try it on, and suddenly it turns out that Batyr and I are the same size. I put them on and it was so beautiful, with my banana pants, which were all the rage back then. And Tulegen says: “Well, put them on, there’s a concert in the evening. Go once and nothing will happen.” I doubted that it was inconvenient. And Tulegen says: “Come on! What will happen to them? And we leave the entrance, walk through the park of 28 Panfilov guardsmen, my sneakers are shining - it seemed to me that all the people were looking at me, I was almost bursting with pride. So we walk around the market for two hours, and already in front of the house I see that there is some kind of stain on the sneaker. Tulegen began to reassure me that we would clean it, don’t worry. We enter the apartment, Tulegen opens the door, and I see: Batyr is sitting in a chair in such a tense pose and looking at me with such a reproachful look that I was ready to fall through the ground. Batyr tells me: “Nelik! How could you?! I have a premiere today, I’ve never worn them myself...” And I felt so ashamed, I hugged him and said: “Batyr, dear brother, forgive me, I’ll fix everything now.” He ran to the bathroom, washed the stain, Batyr silently put on his shoes and left.

And only later it turned out that he was waiting for us, that we had really let him down, because of us he was almost forced to be late for the general run-through and was very nervous. But all he said to me was, “How could you?”

The last years of the life of Batyrkhan Shukenov

In 2007, the singer recorded the disc “Batyr Live” and even became an adviser to the President of Kazakhstan on cultural issues. After 3 years, all the artist’s fans had the opportunity to evaluate 2 more albums - “Be careful, dear girl” and “Everything will pass.” In 2013, the album “Soul” was released.

51-year-old Batyr participated in the “Live Sound” show, where he performed the song “I am you.” After 2 years, the man appeared on television again, but now as a parodist in the entertainment show “One to One.” The program was broadcast on the Rossiya 1 TV channel. At that time, Batyr devoted a lot of time to performing excellently, because his rivals were such famous people as Nikita Malinin, Shura, Anzhelika Agurbash and others.

Discography[edit | edit code]

Albums[edit | edit code]

• “The Path Without Stops” - 1988,
• “Julia” - 1990, “Russian Disc”
• “A`STUDIO” - 1993, Jeff Records
• “Soldier of Love” - 1994, Soyuz studio
• “A`STUDIO LIVE” - 1995, Soyuz studio
• “Unloved” - 1996, Soyuz studio
• “The Best” - 1997, Soyuz studio
• “Sinful Passion” - 1998, “ORT-Records”
• "SOS" - 2001, NOX Music
• “Things like this” - 2001, NOX Music
• “I’m Flying Away” - 2005, Veter Entertainment
• “905” - 2007, Veter Entertainment
• "XX" - 2007, Veter Entertainment
• DVD “Total” - 2007, Veter Entertainment
• MP3 “Total” – 2007, Veter Entertainment
• “Waves” - 2010, CD Land Records
• “Concert in the Kremlin 25 years” - 2020, Digital Project

Radio singles[edit | edit code]

"—" the song was not on the chart

Death of Batyrkhan Shukenov

The death of the famous performer shocked the whole world. At the end of April 2015, Batyrkhan was supposed to appear on the stage of the “One to One” project, but on the 28th his life was cut short. According to the official version, the singer died of a myocardial infarction in his Moscow apartment. Perhaps he could have been saved, but no one was there.

After his death, Shukenov’s body was transported to Kazakhstan and buried according to local traditions. More than 10,000 people came to say goodbye to the talented and famous personality. People not only applauded during the funeral, but also sang the hit “Julia” that made him famous.