Mandry

Mandri (Ukrainian: Mandri) - popular Ukrainian folk rock, blues group; the group was formed in 1997 in Kiev, Ukraine. The vocalist of the group and the most recognizable member is Sergey (Foma) Fomenko. The meaning of the word "Mandry" whose translation into Russian sounds approximately like ‘’ Travel ’’. Current members Sergiy "Foma" Fomenko - lead vocals, guitar, sopilka Leonid "Lyonya" White - accordion, synthesizer, backing vocals Sergiy "Chizh" Chekhodaev - bass, backing vocals Andrey Zanko - drums, backing vocals Salman Salmanov Mamed-Ogly - percussion, backing vocals Group "Mandry" songs and albums: Mandras (1998) Romansiero pro nizhnu korolevu (2000, reprinted 2002) Mermaids (2000) "Lehenda pro Ivanka ta Odarku" (2002) "Dorokha" (2006) Mandry was officially formed in 1997 by the already famous singer / songwriter Sergei Foma Fomenko, who made a name for himself on the Kiev underground scene during his creative work with the group Den Vmiraye Rano (Day Dies Early). They initially acted as a three-piece acoustic group, but after changing several members of the group, a new sound was created that made Mandry the parents of what is now called "folk music of the cities." On December 24, 1997, they performed their first concert with this unique sound. In modern Ukrainian youth culture, the group has an original musical niche. Thanks to the stylish variety of their music and the unique combination of traditional Ukrainian folk music with modern rhythms, elements of urban romance and French chanson with a good dose of reggae, blues, rock and punk, they manage to captivate a diverse audience representing all age groups. Mandra's music, despite being a combination of different genres, is well-designed and artistic. Their songs are full of imagery and emotionally charged melodic patterns, making poetic lyrics understandable to people from all walks of life. Mandra's repertoire is still growing, expanding not only with new songs written by the band members, but also providing traditional folk songs with a new interpretation. In October 1997, the accordion Leonid Bilier appeared on the scene, and his contribution to Thomas' songs enriched the melodies. Salman joined the mandrivnykiv (wanderer) contingent with a full complement of percussion instruments. At this time Mandry was probably the only Ukrainian band with a percussionist. The last change in the band's line-up came when MANDRY invited drummer Andrey Zanko and Sergei "Chizh" Chekhodayev, who replaced Alexander Kokhanovsky on bass to join the group. As a result, the band's sound changed radically. Their music was enriched with modern rhythms and began to include French melodic influences. In the months that followed, the band recorded and released their first MC on the Asteroid label. This recording was made in a hurry and thus the quality of the album suffered. Over the next year and a half, the material was constantly reworked. In August 1998, the band released their first video for the song Romansiero Pro Lowu Korolevu, which quickly gained audience acceptance. In September 1998, during the First All-Ukrainian Music Video Contest, MANDRY's video was among the top three, and director Anton Trofimov was also nominated for the award. In 1998, MANDRY played in Lvov, Dnepropetrovsk, Kherson, Donetsk, Minsk and their hometown Kiev. In January 1999, they filmed a second video for their song "Kartata Sorochka" in Lviv, which was broadcast on the national TV channel 1 + 1. The whole 1999 was a very eventful year for them. In the spring, they visited Budapest, the capital of Hungary, to take part in the EU's 50th anniversary festival. In the summer they performed at the festivals "Rock - Kiev", "PEPSI - SZIGET" (Budapest) and "Slavyansky Bazar" (Vitebsk). In late summer they started working on their video for the song Rusalky (Mermaids). In April 2000, they released their first full-length album, Romansero Pro Lowu Korolevu, on Karavan Records and their video for the song Rusalky. In June 2000, MANDRY took part in the International Festival of Ukrainian Culture in Sopot, Poland. In September they took part in the Rock - Existence festival in Kiev. They released their EP Rusalky on Karavan Records in November. From 14th to 26th May 2001 MANDRY undertook a big tour of Poland. Two weeks later, they managed to play 11 concerts in cities such as Wroclaw, Warsaw, Krakow, Szczecin, Gliwice, Bialy. For all fans of the musical creativity of the Mandry group, the site will tell you all the details of the collective's creative cuisine!