Group "Plazma": where is it now and how is your personal life?

Nowadays you won’t surprise anyone with male duets on the Russian stage, and such groups sing not only in Russian. And about twenty years ago, young people, listening to the idols of those years “Modern Talking” and “A-Ha”, did not suspect that a worthy male group was about to appear in our country, no worse, even better. Who would have thought that a simple guy from Volgograd, together with his school friend, started singing songs in English, would soon “break” the Russian stage? Roman Chernitsyn and Maxim Postelny, members of the Plazma group, are now again at the peak of popularity, but “again”, if we talk about them, is relative: they have not lost their position since the beginning of their musical career, except that they went into the shadows for a moment.

An army of fans wiped hundreds of keyboards into dust, trying to find interesting facts about them on the Internet. There are rumors that Max Postelny has been married for a long time, but Roman is currently single, and this arouses keen interest among the singer’s fans in his personal life. What intriguing things do we know about Chernitsyn, why did the duo not go abroad (they say they were called), what keeps Roman and his friend on the Russian stage?

A little about the childhood of Roman Chernitsyn

The singer’s mother and father, when their boy was born on November 7, 1972, hardly suspected their son’s “star” career in the future. A simple Volgograd secondary school, a lot of music and even more passion for cars - that’s what can be said in a nutshell about Roman’s childhood. Passion for music will soon turn into a matter of life, and love for rare cars... More on this a little later, now - about how Chernitsyn began to seriously study singing.

Romance in childhood...

At the school where Roma studied, there was an amateur group called “Reflection”. The “wild 90s” had not yet arrived; Soviet schools (for now) received substantial funds for equipment, including musical instruments. Fifteen-year-old boys had the opportunity to play “adult” guitars and rehearse in the school assembly hall. And then, to the delight of their classmates, they performed at discos.

Childhood and youth

Roman Vladislavovich Chernitsyn was born on November 7, 1972 in Volgograd, RSFSR. While still studying at a simple Volgograd school, I became interested in music and cars. Both passions lasted a lifetime.

The parents of the future star were ordinary workers, and they hardly suspected that their son would become famous throughout the world, and the hits of his group would become hits for many years.

In the Soviet school where little Roma studied, the group “Reflection” was created on an independent basis. It had no permanent participants, and everyone could try their hand at playing musical instruments. When Roman tried to play an “adult” guitar for the first time, it changed his life. The boy began to literally disappear during rehearsals in the school assembly hall. Together with a group of fifteen-year-old boys, Roman began performing at school discos.

It was in those years that a significant moment came - Chernitsyn met Maxim Postelny, who would become his colleague in the Plazma group in the future. Then they had another comrade - Andrei Tryasuchev. The friends decided to organize their own disco group. Even then, friends came up with the idea of singing in English, which at that time was nonsense. However, for several years, plans remained plans, Andrei Tryasuchev left the team, and Maxim and Roman were left alone.

Beginning of a musical career

A significant moment has arrived: three school friends (Chernitsyn, Postelny and Tryasuchev) decided to organize something like a disco group. The band’s “trick” was to make songs in English, just at that time in discos the main “influx” of music was in this direction. The group, alas, did not even “grow up” to the name - Andrei Tryasuchev left it. And Roman and Max went further and started singing a duet, calling it “Slow Motion”.

The group performed in a city club, popularity and first fans appeared. It is extremely rare that Roman and his friend sang other people’s songs - this is very important! Even then, they themselves wrote the words in English (mostly Roman did this), then together they came up with an arrangement. School is over, and what lies ahead: not only did Roma and Maxim not know, no one knew anymore - perestroika, if it was wrong, and after it the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was necessary to somehow earn a living, because it had become impossible to feed on music alone, and Chernitsyn went to Volgograd.

Roman Chernitsyn in his youth. Photo https://www.instagram.com/romanplazma/

And somewhere far away “over the hill” George Michael, Björk, “Depeche Mode” sang... Friends dreamed of the same fame, especially since they felt that they could sing no worse! A new way to make money was invented - recording songs on cassettes and selling them. One of them accidentally ended up with local businessman Sergei Oleynik, and he was so delighted with the songs that he himself found the young people and offered them financial support. They also found a producer, Anatoly Abolikhin. He organized the first serious performances for the duo and provided them with advertising.

Scandal: “Plasma” decided to sue Dmitry Malikov

14.01.2005 13:07

Culture

Dmitry Malikov's first experience in the field of producing ended with his former wards suing him. The five-year contract between the Plazma group and Mr. Malikov ended last summer. Members of the English-language duo Roman Chernitsyn and Maxim Postelny were pleased with the newfound freedom: at first, Dmitry’s tutelage helped the young group from Volgograd to develop, but the level of its popularity left much to be desired.

Scandal: “Plasma” decided to sue Dmitry Malikov

According to the Plazma participants, producer Malikov did not really help them in the last years of cooperation, although he received part of the team’s income under the contract. There were fewer concerts than they wanted, and Maxim and Roman did not acquire much wealth (they still rent apartments in Moscow). Therefore, the Plazma musicians had high hopes for independent work.

However, they are not yet destined to come true, since Dmitry Malikov did not want to “let go” of the artists in an amicable way. He offered them to extend the contract, and having been refused, announced that the name 'Plazma' was registered in his name, and forbade Roman Chernitsyn and Maxim Postelny to perform under their own name (by which they were known back in Volgograd).

To confirm the seriousness of his intentions, the ex-producer sent official letters to radio stations asking them to take off the air the songs 'Plasma' performed by Chernitsyn and Postelny. Some radio stations removed the group's old hits from the air, but even after that the musicians still hoped to resolve the conflict peacefully, without washing dirty linen in public.

Dmitry Malikov, meanwhile, announced that he would recruit new people who would work under the Plazma brand instead of the current soloists. The last straw was the message that appeared on the website www.plazma.ru that Dmitry Malikov's production project 'Plasma' was currently preparing to record new singles with an updated line-up.

After this, Chernitsyn and Postelny were forced to appeal to the Meshchansky Court with a demand to confirm their right to use the name 'Plasma'. According to Roman and Maxim, the former producer is simply behaving dishonestly, which greatly contrasts with his established image of a correct and romantic young man.

According to Dmitry Malikov’s press attache Natalya Klyueva, there is no conflict. As Natalya told an InterMedia correspondent, they learned about Chernitsyn and Postelny’s appeal to the court from the press. 'It's their right to sue, but they have little chance of winning. All legal rights are on our side. The name 'Plasma' is registered by government agencies, so Roma and Maxim, if they want to sue, should rather sue the state. According to the agreement, the trademark belongs to Dmitry, 'Plasma' is his production project, and these contracts bear the signatures of Chernitsyn and Postelny. So it will be very difficult for them to prove that Malikov owns the name illegally.'

Dmitry Malikov’s side views the current situation as a working moment related to the departure of two hired soloists from the production project. “Many groups changed their composition, and not everyone made a scandal out of it - just remember how many soloists worked in the Blestyashchiye group,” says Natalya Klyueva.

According to her, Dmitry has already finished casting new members of the Plazma group, and the invited people have begun rehearsals. It is still unknown whose music the new 'Plasma' will perform - let us recall that the authors of the entire repertoire of the group so far have been Roman Chernitsyn and Maxim Postelny. However, the rights to the old songs also belong to Malikov.

Discuss (1)

Before Plasma

There is money, a reputable and experienced producer is available, God has not offended you with talent - promotion and success lie ahead? Everything was going towards this: the group “Slow Motion” successfully performed in Volgograd, their tapes had already begun to “walk” around the country. In 1992, Roman and Max recorded two compositions to participate in the Voice of Asia competition, where they were also noticed and praised in the press.

Roman Chernitsyn in his youth. Photo https://www.instagram.com/romanplazma/

By the way, then the friends sang in a completely different style than they perform now. Their idol, especially Roman’s, was Sting. When Chernitsyn was later asked in an interview why he was the one, the singer said: “Minimum movements while singing, the most modest clothing, on stage he sits on a chair most often, and the audience tears up!” The surviving recordings show the influence of this brilliant singer on Roman: he sits calmly, no unnecessary movements, but the performance is full of hidden strength and emotion. And the artist’s old fans remember that back then he had a completely different hairstyle: not with a short brutal haircut, as he does now, but with shoulder-length hair. Surely, Roman was influenced by another of his idols of those years - Thomas Anders from Modern Talking.

The singer and his companion in “Plasma” never explained what happened when Roman decided to leave for another group, specifically “Casus Belli”. The band was already quite famous at that time, touring all over Russia, and Max and his friend were probably mentally sure that Roman would continue to perform with them. And so it happened: for two years, in 1995 and 1996, Chernitsyn sang with this ensemble. It’s unlikely that the friends quarreled, because in 1997 (again for no apparent reason) they teamed up to form “Slow Motion”. A year later, their disc entitled “Prologue” was released at ORBIS studio.

Ten singles were recorded on the disc, of which Roman Chernitsyn wrote the words for five of them. The music and arrangement are entirely “Slow Motion”. In this album, their all-time hit (and there is no other way to say it) “Take My Love” was released for the first time.

The path to popularity

After finishing school, Chernitsyn got a job as an electrician in Volgograd, but dreams of a musical future did not leave the young man. The duet with Postelny was first called Slow Motion.

In the evenings, the group performed in Volgograd city clubs, and they gained their first fans. The texts in English were written by Roman, and Maxim was involved in the arrangement. Friends dreamed of the fame of George Michael, Bjork, Depeche Mode. The young musicians knew that they could record music that was in no way inferior! And they started recording demos on cassettes.

A fateful meeting was with the famous local entrepreneur Sergei Oleynik, who listened to the recordings and was so delighted that he offered them his financial support. I found a reputable and experienced producer for the guys - Anatoly Abolikhin, who began organizing the first serious performances and advertising for Slow Motion.

Successful performances in Volgograd and the first tapes brought the guys their first success. In 1992, the group recorded two songs for the Voice of Asia competition, where they were noticed and received rave reviews in the press. But then the group did not have quite the same style, thanks to which they became famous throughout Russia and far beyond its borders. Roman's idols were Sting and Thomas Anders from Modern Talking. The surviving video recordings show the influence of these musicians on the young man - modest clothing, shoulder-length hair, a performance full of hidden emotions.

Until now, no one can understand: why Roman left the already gaining popularity of Slow Motion in Casus Belli and sang there for two years? Only Chernitsyn knows this, nevertheless, in 1997 he returned to Slow Motion and a year later their first album Prologue was released at Orbis studio. The disc consisted of ten singles. It was this album that showed the world the stunning super hit Take My Love. The song was a resounding success.

"Plazma", success and wide recognition

The singers felt that Volgograd had become too small for them, especially since the disc, released in a small edition, instantly sold out and became a rarity. We need to look for a serious recording studio, a famous producer - Roman and Maxim decided and turned to Dmitry Malikov. It turns out that Dima has already “taken a pencil” to the duet - he liked the songs of Chernitsyn and Postelny. By that time, the artists had changed their style, and not a trace remained of “Sting’s” calm and restrained manner. Now their compositions looked like a cross between Euro-disco and Cindy-pop.

Malikov suggested changing the name because the group’s songs did not at all resemble “slow movement” (as “Slow Motion” is translated). Rhythmic dance music, interesting lyrics in English, a memorable image of both singers - all this required a more sonorous, bright name. The word “Plazma” was a perfect fit, and Malikov, pleased with the result, offers Max and Roman a five-year contract.

Under the label “Dmitry Malikov Recording Studio,” the single “Take My Love” appeared on the radio in 1999. It was no longer new for fans of the duo, but radio is on a completely different scale, it cannot be compared with several hundred discs. Instantly, Radio FM and several other radio stations took the song to first place in their charts. A video was being filmed where Roman appeared before the audience no longer with long hair, but with a crew cut, and the singer was immediately inundated with enthusiastic letters - it’s better that way!

https://www.instagram.com/romanplazma/

The band’s second hit, “Sweetest Surrender,” also did not remain in the recording stage for long; a video was shot for it almost immediately. The group released its first official album under the Plazma brand in 2000; its name was given from a song that was played on all radio programs almost around the clock - “Take My Love”. The collaboration with Malikov continued until 2006; the discs “607” (2002) and “Black and White” were recorded at the producer’s studio.

Several times later, a “canard” flashed through the media that Roman and Max had a strong quarrel with Dmitry, wanted to break the contract and continue recording separately. Allegedly, for the last two years the duo collaborated with Malikov only because Dima forced them to “recoup” the money invested in the group. This information, if you compare simple facts, is complete nonsense. The contract was concluded for five years, and their joint work continued right up to 2006 - a whole year more; and what kind of “recovery of money” can we talk about if “Plazma” brought both the producer and the singers a solid income?

In 2009, Chernitsyn and a friend applied to participate in Eurovision. Their new song “Never Ending Story” was, in their hopes, supposed to represent Russia at the competition, and they predicted real chances of winning - the fans really liked the single. Unfortunately, it was not they who went to Eurovision, but Anastasia Prikhodko. Also in 2009, during a tour around the country, the singers spoke sharply about the principles of selection for the competition: “It’s not those who are really talented who go there, but those who liked Channel One.” This daring idea was voiced by Roman, he also added: “Fans are asking us to try our luck next year, they say they believe in us. If the situation with unfair selection changes, we will come. For now we think that there is no point in wasting energy and nerves.”

Later, Roman and his friend made another attempt: they participated in the Eurovision qualifying round with the single “Mystery”. Alas, this time it was a failure, but passage to Eurovision, as we know, is not always an indicator of popularity and talent. The group continues to create new songs that immediately become top songs, and as before, Chernitsyn writes all the lyrics for them, and his friend does the music and arrangement.

Biography of Roman Chernitsyn

The future musician Roman Chernitsyn was born in the Russian city of Volgograd on November 7, 1972.

Parents, brothers and sisters

Father Vladislav Nikolaevich and mother Albina Sergeevna live in Volgograd. Initially, they wanted their son to master some promising technical profession. But life made its own adjustments, and he threw in his lot with music. To this day, Roman affectionately calls his parents “mama and papa,” like characters from the works of Dostoevsky, his favorite writer. Every year Roman comes to his hometown and spends time with his parents at the dacha.

Roman Chernitsyn has a younger brother Artem. In 2007, he was convicted of selling narcotic drugs on an especially large scale. The guy admitted his guilt and repented of what he had done, so the judges limited their decision to two years of probation.

The singer's childhood and youth

As a child, Roman attended a regular secondary school in Volgograd and was fond of drawing. It is noteworthy that he painted exclusively cars. Chernitsyn’s parents still have their son’s thick school notebooks with many pictures of different cars. Therefore, they were sure that Roman’s future profession would certainly be related to cars.

Education and student years

There is no detailed information about Roman’s student years. It is only known that the soloist has no professional musical education.

Beginning of a musical career

In the 90s, three school friends - Roman Chernitsyn, Maxim Postelny and Andrei Tryasuchev created a disco group that performed English-language songs. Roman wrote the lyrics and music. Soon Andrei Tryasuchev left the team, and the duo continued their work under the name Slow Motion, which translated means “slow movement”. The group performed in city clubs at discos and dreamed of the glory of their Western colleagues. Soon the first fans and popularity appeared. However, music lessons in those days did not bring good income, so Roman got a job in Volgograd.

Before Plasma

Dreaming of the glory of such world celebrities as Depeche Mode, George Michael and others, Roman Chernitsyn and Maxine Postelny found a new type of income for themselves. The guys began recording their songs on audio cassettes and then selling them. It should be noted that this approach was successful for them. One of the copies of the amateur recording ended up in the possession of Volgograd businessman Sergei Oleynik.

He really liked the fashionable music he heard. Therefore, he himself decided to find the musicians and support them financially. Using sponsorship money, they quickly found a producer for the duet Slow Motion - Anatoly Abolikhin provided the musicians with good advertising and began organizing their first large-scale performances.

Thanks to talented production and competent promotion, as well as the spectacular appearance of young Roman Chernitsyn, who had long hair and resembled Thomas Anders from Modern Talking, the Slow Motion group gained success and recognition very quickly. The musicians often staged concerts in their native Volgograd, and their recordings were sold in almost all corners of the country.

As part of Plazma

Volgograd became too small for Chernitsyn and Postelny. The musicians wanted more recognition and success, so they began looking for a new producer. It was Dmitry Malikov, who highly appreciated the work of Slow Motion.

The guys started performing energetic Euro-dance music. Due to the change in genre, the name of the group also changed. Plazma was a word that now fit much better. Roman cut off his long hair and appeared before the public with a short, fashionable crew cut.

Malikov liked the new image of the group, and he offered the musicians a five-year contract.

The already well-known single Take My Love was released in a new arrangement at Dmitry Malikov’s recording studio. In 1999, it was heard on all Russian radio stations. In almost all the charts of that time, the song was confidently in the top position. The video clip for this song received a lot of praise from fans.

What is Roman Chernitsyn doing now?

Short breaks in the release of new albums did not in any way affect the popularity of the singer and his bandmate. The next single is received with a bang by the fans of the band, especially since a video is released almost immediately for the most popular songs. The album “Indian Summer”, released in 2005, is still firmly among the top fifty best-selling albums in terms of sales.

https://www.instagram.com/romanplazma/

How often do friends from childhood, having started working together and smelling the “smell” of money, then break up because of despicable valuable papers! This is not about Roman and his comrade. Chernitsyn is generally a low-conflict person, calm and fair. In any interview, he constantly emphasizes that he and Max are not just colleagues in the music department, but close spiritual friends. No amount of financial success (or failure) will ruin their relationship, he says. When the singer is asked whether he considers his career “for the soul” or purely commercial, he replies: “We have invested a lot of effort and money into success, so if I say that no, it doesn’t smell like commercial, it would be a lie. Probably the golden mean.”

https://www.instagram.com/romanplazma/

It is difficult to say which of them is more important in the duet - Roman or Maxim; it is no longer possible to imagine them singing separately or in other groups. They both contributed to the success and look (and listen) absolutely organically. Chernitsyn says about the current popularity:

“We proved to some masters that guys singing in English are not nonsense on our stage. English is an international language, everyone can (and should) sing in it. The fact that now many people sing on it in our country and are becoming popular is our humble merit.”

He is often asked why they focus on the Russian music market and do not seek to expand the scope. And it is all the more surprising that in the biography of Roman and his friend there was a period when difficult times came to them, and they could have tried themselves abroad, and probably would have become successful there, but did not leave. “We don't need this. We have found our niche in Russia, we are popular, it’s stupid to look for the best from goodness,” says Chernitsyn for himself and for Max. Their friendship is so strong that they did not give a single big interview separately.

https://www.instagram.com/romanplazma/

In March 2019, “Plazma”, after a short break, recorded a new single, which was released immediately in digital form – “I Believe in Love”. A video was immediately shot for the song; his friends created it in the “lyric video” style, and this was not the first time they used this style. They took the risk of trying their hand at a “lyric video” four years earlier, filming the song “Tame Your Ghosts.” The word “risk” is appropriate here because this style is many times more expensive in terms of costs, and only artists who know for sure that the resulting material will be profitable decide to shoot such a video.

https://www.instagram.com/romanplazma/

And finally, the continuation of the love story for cars. Even as a schoolboy, Roman could at first glance tell the full details of any car he saw, and he dreamed of owning his own. The first car he got behind the wheel of was his father’s Volga. As the singer’s popularity grew, his cars changed to more interesting and prestigious ones, but can you really blame a person for having a passion for good cars if he earns money from them through hard work? A couple of years ago, Roman’s dream came true - he purchased a Jaguar Xj, which he calls “my perfection.”

About personal life

Until 2004, everything was quiet on the singer’s personal front: he, of course, had romantic relationships with the opposite sex, but his constant companion did not “show up” next to him. A stormy romance with Ira Dubtsova, a prominent figure at the Star Factory, that flared up like a match, became shocking news for Roman’s fans and plunged them into despondency. Live on the project, the singer proposed to his beloved, and she answered “Yes” with tears of happiness in her eyes.

They knew each other, as it turned out, much earlier! Both are from Volgograd, and also studied at the same school. The singer had already tried his hand at a duet with Max, and Irina was a member of the school group “Jam”. Two years after the wedding, the happy parents had a son, Artem. The social networks of Roman and Dubtsova are still full of photos of them together, where they look like an absolutely perfect family. “She is attractive, he is damn attractive,” in the words of Mironov, both are stars, a wonderful son is growing up - what else is needed for happiness?

Roman Chernitsyn with his family. Photo https://www.instagram.com/romanplazma/

Now the artist’s “EX-wife” named the main reason for the divorce as the fact that she gained a lot of weight after giving birth, and her husband lost interest in her. The birth was difficult, after the birth of the baby, Irina’s health was not good in terms of hormones, and she really gained a lot of weight. Roman, with great reluctance, later voiced the reason for the divorce. She turned out to be... Dubtsova’s dentist named Tigran. It was not the excess weight that marked a crack in their relationship. The young woman too often began to complain about problems with her teeth and almost every day when her husband asked who was calling, she answered: “It’s just my doctor.” (writes the website eg.ru).

Chernitsyn later described his state after the divorce as “complete despair.” “I cried as if the person closest to me had died, every day I met and saw off with a bottle” - his words. Is it possible that some lull in the activities of the Plazma group is connected with this unhappy time? The couple broke up after living together for only four years. After “my doctor,” Irina had another admirer, followed by another, and Roman was in no hurry to acquire a companion again.

In 2010, the singer introduced his parents to Diana Younis and introduced her as his bride. They planned to formalize the relationship first with a wedding, which the lovers reported in the media. Roman said that Diana appeared in his life after breaking up with Irina and saved him from depression, and that now he believes that this is a woman who will definitely not betray him. The artist’s mother, Alla Alexandrovna, was happy: “My son has already had a bad family experience, this time marriage, hopefully for life.”

Both said they had tested their feelings enough to get married, and plan to do so after the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. “We’ll cheer for our athletes, rest, and when we return, I’ll walk Diana down the aisle,” Chernitsyn said in an interview. The vacation apparently did not go as planned, because upon arrival from Vancouver the couple was no longer seen together. Statements about a wedding in a temple, about future children have sunk into oblivion...

Now Roman is free from family ties, and he does not want to be frank about whether he has a girlfriend. But he sees his ex-wife Irina often: they managed to overcome their grievances and spend a lot of time together for the sake of their son Artem. Every New Year, the three of them are at the festive table, then photographs appear on social networks where they look as if they had never parted. Fans of Roman and Irina are constantly waiting for their complete reconciliation to be announced, but so far this has not happened.

Interesting facts about Roman Chernitsyn

With a height of 175 cm, he looks thin, but this is not due to ill health: the artist carefully monitors his weight, works out on exercise machines, and his favorite sports activity is roller skating.
The singer does not consider the single “Take My Love” to be his (and Max’s) best creation, although it has the largest number of plays. His favorite song from the Plazma repertoire is “Angel of Snow.”
During one quick interview with tricky questions, when asked to continue the phrase “I never ...”, he said: “I never smoke,” and it’s true.
During his school years, Roman, already performing as a singer, did not plan to study music professionally, but dreamed of becoming a car designer.
When asked what his worst flaw is, the singer first thinks and says: “I don’t even know what’s worse.” And then he adds with a laugh: “If I can’t choose for so long, it means I don’t have them and I’m a good person.”
Max Postelny jokingly says about his friend: “He’s so intelligent! He’s trying to introduce stiffness into “Plasma”: all sorts of ties, suits. And you can’t even say the word “damn” in front of him!”
The video for the song “Take My Love,” which sharply raised the musical rating of Roman and Max, was directed by Philip Yankovsky, a famous actor and director, the son of his equally stellar father Oleg Yankovsky.
Fans of the singer and the band have been arguing for many years which style their work should be classified as. Chernitsyn responds to this: “We ourselves don’t know the exact name, our products can simply be called high-quality music.”