Alexander Valerievich Shulgin is a fairly famous Soviet and Russian composer and producer. He also heads a group that operates in the media, entertainment and publishing industries. However, producer Shulgin is popular not only for his musical talent, but also for the scandals and life stories that haunt him throughout his life.
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Childhood
Composer Alexander Shulgin, and then an unknown boy Sasha, was born on August 25, 1964 in the city of Irkutsk. 3 years after his birth, probably the first truly significant event occurred in the boy’s life. The grandfather decided to give his grandson a compact music player and became the one who awakened in the little child a great love for art in general and music in particular. The kid sat near the record player for whole days, listening to melodies from the records.
Biography of Alexander Shulgin
He was born on August 25, 1964 in Irkutsk. From childhood he began to write poetry, and in adolescence, music became one of his hobbies. It all started with collecting audio recordings, but after a while he was already playing guitar as part of a school ensemble. The Prom marked his debut as a lyricist. Only with musical instruments there was a big problem. While the group was able to purchase guitars from the school budget, the boys built the amplifier themselves from a megaphone stolen in the park. The loss was quickly discovered and the young performers were brought to justice. Alexander was saved by the fact that at that time he was only 14 years old. The rest of the guys received 2 years probation.
After graduating from school, he entered IGLU, but then was transferred to a technical university, and then to the University of Economics and Law. Music studies interfered with his normal studies, so at the age of 19 he decided to focus on his favorite activity. At this time, the group “Carnival” was on tour in Irkutsk. The musicians became interested in the young promising poet and composer. An offer was received to go with them to Moscow. Alexander did not miss this chance.
How did it all begin?
Already in the sixth grade, the future producer Shulgin enrolled in the school ensemble. He began to devote all his free time to frequent rehearsals and popular songs at that time. In addition, the teenager learned to play the guitar, picking out the motifs of Western hits and Russian songs. A couple of years later, a small ensemble, performing at lights and school events, tried to play songs composed by the future composer.
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It wasn’t easy for the young team in those years. There was a catastrophic lack of high-quality equipment. Parents were able to provide their heirs only with guitars, but amplifiers had to be made literally from improvised means. The same story happened with the speakers. Soon the teenagers realized that in order to get better sound they needed to acquire at least some kind of equipment, and not something made on their knees in a garage, but real equipment bought in a professional music store. But in order to buy something you need, you first need to sell something unnecessary... One of the group members’ older brother turned out to be an employee of a second-hand store, and the young talents earned as much as 800 rubles for old homemade equipment. But the older “comrades” of the future producer Shulgin turned out to be traitors and decided to divide the proceeds among three, not taking into account 13-year-old Alexander.
Youth
After graduating from school, Alexander Valerievich Shulgin entered IGLU (Irkutsk State Linguistic University). A little later, he moves to NI ISTU (National Research Irkutsk State Technical University), and from there he once again goes to BGUEP (Baikal State University of Economics and Law). Such a frequent change of educational institutions is directly related to the young man’s desire to devote himself completely to music.
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Shulgin Artemy Alexandrovich
Producer. Son of pop singer Valeria.
Artemy Shulgin was born in Moscow on August 25, 1994 into a musical family. His mother, Alla Yurievna Perfilova, better known by her stage name Valeria, is a popular singer, Honored Artist of Russia. Father, author and composer Alexander Shulgin. The boy's parents divorced in February 2002. Subsequently, producer Joseph Prigozhin became Artemy's stepfather. The guy grew up in the company of his older sister Anna, who chose a career as an actress and TV presenter, and his younger brother Arseny, who became a successful pianist. In early childhood, he often visited his grandmother in the Saratov region.
At the age of ten, Artemy’s parents sent Artemy to a summer camp-school abroad in Switzerland for a month and a half, where he liked it so much that the young man expressed a desire to continue his studies there. As a result, Valeria’s eldest son lived in this country for eleven years. Further, in 2020, he successfully graduated from Webster University in Geneva, receiving a bachelor’s degree in IT technology and finance, after which he decided to get comfortable in music production and entered Berklee College of Music in London.
At the beginning of 2020, Artemy came to Moscow and began to make professional plans related specifically to the field of music. In July of the same year, Shulgin got a job: he became an employee of a recording company in Montreux. The young man received an invitation to this position from an Arab family that owns The Hana Road Studios and hotels both in Switzerland and around the world. Shulgin’s areas of responsibility in the labor field included production, management and financial issues.
On August 18, 2020, Artemy Alexandrovich officially registered his relationship with his longtime girlfriend: Natalya Korennaya from Novokuznetsk. The son told his mother the good news the day before the wedding. Since he has lived in Switzerland for a long time, he communicates with his family mostly by phone.
Since Valeria’s tour schedule is scheduled months in advance, the singer was unable to fly to the wedding. However, in any case, no magnificent celebrations were planned. Artem has a firm position on this matter: the guy believes that there is no point in having a luxurious wedding yet, because he has not saved his own money yet, and it is indecent to take from his parents. The newlyweds plan to celebrate this event a little later, after five years of marriage.
Family of Artemy Shulgin
Family of Artemy Shulgin
Father - Shulgin Alexander Valerievich, producer; Mother - Perfilova Alla Yuryevna, pop singer; Stepfather - Prigozhin Joseph Igorevich;
Sister - Anna - actress, TV presenter; Brother - Arseny - pianist.
Wife: Natalya Korennaya.
21.08.2019
First musical steps
Once Alexander met members of the Carnival group, who invited him to Moscow with them. There, at the age of 19, he begins working as part of the popular Soviet group “Cruise”. Cooperation with her opened the way for the future producer Shulgin to Germany, and “Cruise” became the first group to travel abroad. It was there that Alexander became acquainted with recording trends and learned to understand the complex system of show business.
Shulgin himself says that they lived in Germany for 4 years, then “Cruise” broke up - the ambitious musicians began to quarrel and the relationship came to naught. Warner took one look at what was happening to the group and gave up. Each of the artists believed that the company would sign a contract with them, but this did not happen. Shulgin remained in Germany to work in a studio and began to learn the show business system.
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Creative path
Having said goodbye to Germany, Shulgin returns to his homeland, where he begins his production activities, simultaneously opening several of his own companies. In 1998 he founded. She is still involved in media, business and entertainment to this day. Very soon, producer Alexander Shulgin also becomes known as a composer. More than 50 songs of his compositions become real hits and capture only the top lines of the charts and hit parades. Throughout the 90s, he collaborated with singer Valeria and the group “Dream”. Later, he undertakes to produce the Jazz album of the rock group “Alice”, and promotes Mumiy Troll and Ivanushki International through the career ladder. Leading artists begin to collaborate with Shulgin.
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In the early 2000s, producer Shulgin became the author and musical director of such popular shows for young talents as “Star Factory” and “Become a Star.” As a result, the group “Other Rules” is born, the participants of which are the finalists of this project. In 2005, Shulgin released the album “Performance”, where he seriously discusses the struggle between good and evil.
A year later, he becomes a columnist and writes his own column in the newspaper Vzglyad. Later, in 2010, Alexander begins composing for the music portal Newsmusic. In 2011, he decided to give a gift to his native land (Alexander Valerievich Shulgin is Russian by nationality) and writes an anthem for Irkutsk: “Siberia, Baikal, Irkutsk.” Very soon this gift became legendary, and the recording acquired various interpretations.
Family
The personal life of Alexander Valerievich Shulgin has long ceased to be only personal and has become a public property. His first wife was the famous singer Valeria, whom he met in one of the nightclubs, where his future wife had a small solo performance. This meeting was not love at first sight. Initially, the producer just wanted to work with Valeria, but later their relationship grew into something more. And even the singer’s official husband, musician Leonid Yaroshevsky, could not prevent the future couple from finding, as it seemed then, happiness.
What and who is Valeria’s ex-husband Alexander Shulgin interested in after the divorce?
The story of Alla Perfilova’s acquaintance with Alexander Shulgin became fateful for the little-known singer. The meeting in a nightclub with her second husband was the starting point on the path to Valeria’s enormous popularity. The singer’s first husband, musician Leonid Yaroshevsky, still recalls the divorce as a big and unexpected blow in his life.
Alexander Shulgin, who became the second husband and producer of his newly-made wife, made the unknown singer Valeria out of the unknown Alla Perfilova. Pretty soon the first daughter was born in the family, followed by two more sons. However, the more successful and rapid the artist’s career became, the more the situation with the family life of the producer and singer worsened. The announcement of divorce from Alla herself sounded like a bolt from the blue. Valeria took the children and left her second husband. Somewhat later, the details of the couple’s family life became clear, and the singer named aggression and assault as the main reason for leaving her husband. Alexander still does not comment on the reasons for the divorce.
Shulgin’s subsequent most famous and scandalous affair was with his ward, a participant in the “Star Factory” project, Yulia Mikhalchik. However, the romance was very short-lived, which gave rise to rumors that it was a poorly constructed PR stunt.
At this time, Shulgin is hiding his personal life and relationships, but makes statements that he has not yet met the only woman who could become his wife.
Now Alexander is interested in religious teachings, but it cannot be said that he is a very devout person. The church helps Shulgin get to know himself better, and also gives him the opportunity to realize his creative potential: the former producer wrote music and lyrics for the Orthodox channel “Spas.”
Alexander Shulgin harmoniously combines with a genuine interest in religion his desire to study modern technologies and economics. He actively sponsors and invests in high-tech projects, and is deeply convinced that complete “roboticization” will come in the near future. Alexander even gives lectures on this topic.
Only time will tell how truthful Shulgin is in his predictions. At the moment, he is 54 years old, he is an experienced bachelor, and the children are not eager to communicate with their father. It is fair to note that Alexander himself does not show fatherly feelings and is not interested in their lives.
Do you think Alexander Shulgin “got into” religion and modern technology (which surprisingly complements one another) to compensate for the absence of a family?
"Happy" family life
After a short time, Alexander Shulgin and Valeria announce their marriage. Married in 1993, they have their first child - a girl, Anya. A little later, beautiful boys are born - Artem and Arseny. Being pregnant with her third child, Valeria had already filed for divorce, but her husband was able to convince her to save the family for the child. Later, the couple divorced, and the matter was not without a loud scandal.
Valeria told reporters about quarrels with her ex-husband, because of which the composer’s reputation suffered greatly. In addition, very shocking details of their family life were the stories of the ex-wife that after the birth of their daughter, gentle and caring Alexander became hot-tempered and aggressive, and sometimes even raised his hand to his wife.
The offended Shulgin repaid in kind and left his own children without attention, care and alimony. Moreover, the daughter even stated that she does not consider Alexander her father and does not have any warm feelings for him.
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Later, producer Alexander Shulgin began a close relationship with one of the participants in the Star Factory project, Yulia Mikhalchik. However, this romance ended as quickly as it began. His new girlfriend realized from her own experience that the singer Valeria’s statements were not empty words out of a sense of revenge, and very quickly hurried to leave her lover. Since then, Shulgin has lived the life of an avid bachelor and, it seems, is not going to change anything at all. At least, nothing is known about his new passions at the moment.
Producer and composer Shulgin today
What is Alexander Shulgin doing now? Judging by the list of his merits, he never sits for a day without important tasks. In 2020, he produced a very interesting short film “Checkmate” and is the composer of this film, in which Ornella Muti herself played the main role.
Today Alexander Shulgin is investing in new high-tech projects. He was among the first in Russia to invest money in blockchain, and later joined Elon Musk’s project. A year ago, the composer gave a free lecture in his hometown. He talked about what, how and why is changing in society, where new technologies come from and what kind of education young talents need to have so as not to be left behind in the future.
In 2020, Shulgin was spotted at the Innoprom site. There he also expressed his opinion regarding the future of our country. A well-known producer assures that only robotization can help Russia. Of course, there is a huge risk, because, according to Shulgin himself, production will always compete with foreign competing companies, rather than create worthwhile original products for the needs of the country.
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Alexander Shulgin is a significant figure in the history of Russian show business. He has established himself as a talented, successful producer and composer. His works are performed not only by our compatriots, but also by a number of foreign artists. It is worth noting that Shulgin is a self-made man. Born into an ordinary family, he was able to turn his hobby not only into his life’s work, but also into a decent income.
“Caution, people!”: chemist Shulgin, “father of psychedelia”
When you meet a Russian person abroad who has achieved success, your chest fills with involuntary pride. Even if he is no longer Russian, only his last name and first name remain, but he has achieved success in the field of drug synthesis - so be it!
Still, we will be proud of Alexander Shulgin, a Californian, an outstanding biochemist, the “father of psychedelia,” who died on June 2 at the age of 88.
Alexander Shulgin was born in 1925 in Berkeley, California. Father, Fyodor Shulgin, is Russian, mother Henrietta is American. Both worked as school teachers.
Alexander showed an early talent for natural sciences and at the age of 16 received a scholarship to Harvard University. Two years later, he dropped out of school and went to serve in the navy in 1943.
He was taken to the hospital with a wound. Before the operation, the nurse gave him a glass of orange juice. Shulgin, confident that this was a sleeping pill, anesthesia, drank it and, indeed, fell into a heroic sleep.
After the operation, he was surprised to learn that there was no sleeping pill in the juice at all. It was self-hypnosis, a placebo effect.
This is how Shulgin’s passion for psychopharmacology began. Discharged from military service as a war veteran, he returned to Berkeley and resumed his education. By 1954 he defended his doctoral dissertation.
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“In the late 50s,” Shulgin recalled in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, “I became acquainted with mescaline. 300-400 milligrams taught me a lot about myself.”
He later wrote that the inner insight caused by these milligrams can in no way be explained by the properties of this white matter itself. Such flashes of memory, in general our entire universe, are contained in the mind and spirit of man.
We can refuse this, consider this universe to not exist, but it is inside each of us and some chemical compounds can become catalysts and give us access,” the scientist argued.
Shulgin wrote more than 200 articles and several books. He headed his own biochemical laboratory and had official permission from the US government to work with new narcotic substances.
I tested all the synthesized drugs on myself. He called himself a “psychonaut.” He had his own original views on this.
“Psychedelic drugs,” he said, “by themselves don’t do anything, they just allow the brain to enter a different state. Our brain is an amazing organ, we just don’t know its capabilities.”
Shulgin created 170 psychotropic compounds. Since 1986, he had only synthesized new substances, but could not offer them to anyone.
I would like to immediately assure the listener that I myself have nothing to do with drugs. However, I am aware that humanity and drugs have always existed together. Jelly of the poppy, peyote cactus juice, and magic mushrooms have been used since time immemorial for ritual, religious, or medicinal purposes.
Shulgin's works describe the chemical recipes for the molecular compounds he created.
I can recommend the book PIHKAL A Chemical Love Story.
The book received five stars from readers on Amazon.
“The world seems to have become smaller without Shulgin,” writes a man from Dublin. “In his book, he takes on a topic that is taboo in many circles, and reveals it with respect and openness. This is a book about the search for truth, without a politically correct agenda. It's a breath of fresh air."
