tATu: from Russia with love.... (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Ulmer]

Last week I bought a CD on impulse, after hearing it played in store. This isn't something I would normally do, but the tracks I heard were cool, and it was price under $10, which for a new release is unheard of up here, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

The style is sort of Depeche Mode (music) meets ABBA (vocals), with a dark dance vibe. The act is from Russia, and is basically a product of the producers. They do a pretty apt cover of the Smith's "How Soon is Now," along with both English and Russian versions of their other songs.

What makes things even more interesting is their marketing. The two girls who make up the band are 15 and 16. Their debut video (included on the CD and at www.tatugirls.com) features both of them in school uniforms getting drenched in the rain, and centers around them kissing. While this wasn't a factor in my buying decision, and I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it, I can just imagine the strategy meeting for their marketing department. I doubt the video will be playing on MTV soon, though it's a hit on the Russian MTV station.

 

[andrew markworthy]

features both of them in school uniforms getting drenched in the rain, and centers around them kissing. While this wasn't a factor in my buying decision

Of course we all believe you, Jeff.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Of course we all believe you, Jeff.

Good! I wouldn't want my reputation around HTF tarnished.

 

[Martin Fontaine]

I already started a t.A.T.u. (That's how it's spelled) thread a few weeks ago.

I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it, I can just imagine the strategy meeting for their marketing department. I doubt the video will be playing on MTV soon,

Their whole Lesbian Image is what I like and hate at the same time. I have to support the idea of using pop music to convey a positive message about accepting gay people. With a lot of people that I know being homophobic and bashing gay people all the time, I think they are doing a great thing and hopefully, the result will be a more tolerant world.

But the problem could be that they may not actually be lesbians and that the whole thing is a publicity stunt (Unconfirmed rumor) which could bother me as if it turns out they're fake, would kill the whole intention.

As for their music, I usually hate that kind of music, but for some reason, I like them and have played their album a lot since I bought it. I recommend everyone to give them a try, considering the low price of their album there's not much to be lost if you don't like it.

 

[Adam Tyner]

I doubt the video will be playing on MTV soon, though it's a hit on the Russian MTV station.

I've seen the video several times on television. I don't remember if it was on MTV, MuchMusic, or a combination of the two, though.

 

[dave_brogli]

Its also Victoria on WWE Raws Entrance Music. Videos Cool to

 

[Darryl]

I have to support the idea of using pop music to convey a positive message about accepting gay people...hopefully, the result will be a more tolerant world.

This is the second time in just a couple of weeks that tatu has come up on this board, so my curiosity got the best of me and I checked out a couple of fan sites. Let me tell you, these girls have nothing to do with tolerance. They're all about panties and nipples. I have never listened to any of their music, nor have I seen their videos. But the image they present on their own website and on the fan website I looked at had no more to do with acceptance and tolerance than your typical rated R teen skin flick. Any positive message is just wrapper to help keep the guilt factor down.

Feel free to enjoy their music. Just don't call it something it's not.

 

[Camp]

Any positive message is just wrapper to help keep the guilt factor down.

Watching a little girl-on-girl is a positive message for me

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

As I said in the opening post, it was hearing the music that made me buy the disc, and on that alone, I could see these girls having a lot of success.

Their image was discovered after listening to the CD, and even if they are 17 that is still pretty young. Personally, I don't care if they are gay or not, but as I eluded to earlier, the marketing department is obviously exploiting the lesbian angle to draw a male audience.

I just hope it doesn't backfire on them, as the girls do show talent. It doesn't matter if they write their own material or not, as long as the finished product contains well written, well performed and well produced music.

 

[Martin Fontaine]

This is the second time in just a couple of weeks that tatu has come up on this board, so my curiosity got the best of me and I checked out a couple of fan sites. Let me tell you, these girls have nothing to do with tolerance. They're all about panties and nipples. I have never listened to any of their music, nor have I seen their videos. But the image they present on their own website and on the fan website I looked at had no more to do with acceptance and tolerance than your typical rated R teen skin flick. Any positive message is just wrapper to help keep the guilt factor down.

My comment was about the lyrics of their songs, not their image.

 

[Pete_S]

I said it in the other thread, but I'll say it here as well...

If you think that the album sounds good in English, check out the original Russian album. I tend to like the Russian versions of all the songs better than the English counterparts, which aren't even literal translations (much like in a dub for a movie, they worried more about fitting the words into the music than keeping the "original intent" of the lyrics). The Russian language just plain sounds cool.

 

[Christopher P]

Alright, you guys got my curiousity up. So I started downloading a video (you know...to check out the music ) and it turned out to be one of those songs that I hear from time to time and really like, but never hear who sings it or what the song is called. Awesome for finding out who the artists are. I don't know enough to get too much in to the above discussion, but so far the music sounds pretty cool.

Chris

 

[BrianB]

It doesn't matter if they write their own material or not, as long as the finished product contains well written, well performed and well produced music.

Well, the music being broadcast right now is produced by Trevor Horn, a /very/ experienced UK electro-pop producer from way back in the 80s. I'm not suprised it sounds so polished & well done when he's got a large influence on the sound.

 

[Pete_S]

Well, the music being broadcast right now is produced by Trevor Horn, a /very/ experienced UK electro-pop producer from way back in the 80s. I'm not suprised it sounds so polished & well done when he's got a large influence on the sound.

To be fair, he's mostly just dealt with how the girls sing. (He stated in an interview that his biggest problem was getting them to sound natural in their English pronunciation.) Save for very minor changes to a couple of the tracks and the one new song, all of the music on the English release is exactly what was on the original Russian album. A lot of the work was already done for him. He knew going into production exactly what the songs would basically sound like - he just had to run it through the blender and have it come out in English.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

Trevor and the girls did a good job on the English translation, as they sound pretty natural, though not 100% free of accent.

How many more songs are on the legit Russian only version? The disc I have has a number of songs in Russian, but it looks like there are 17 or 19 songs on the Russian versions on Ebay.

 

[Pete_S]

How many more songs are on the legit Russian only version? The disc I have has a number of songs in Russian, but it looks like there are 17 or 19 songs on the Russian versions on Ebay.

The original Russian release had 9 original songs and 2 remixes (Nas Ne Dogoniat and 30 Minut). A later - also legitimate - release added one song (Klouny) to the original 9, and offered two different remixes (another of 30 Minut and Malchik-gay). Other remixes have popped up along the way, and the CDs you see on Ebay are basically just composites of the original songs along with some remixes.

I've recently picked up one of those 19-song CDs ("Tanceval'nyj Marafon"), and not knowing Russian, it's hard to say whether it's a bootleg (if it's a bootleg, it's very well done). There just isn't enough info out there to give a definitive answer.

Anyway, all of the trouble could have been avoided if Universal/Interscope had just released the original Russian language album in the U.S. either separately or bundled with the English version. CDs with the Russian songs are always selling on Ebay, so obviously there's a demand, and including the two Russian tracks on the English album will only serve to make people more interested in the rest of the Russian material. With no place else to go, they'll get their Russian fix on Ebay. Too bad...

 

[Martin Fontaine]

I ordered the Russian album 2 and a half weeks ago. It shipped on Sunday the 19th and still not received it Argh!

 

[andrew markworthy]

I've listened to the Russian and the English versions of the album, and IMHO their music is slightly above-average Europop (I prefer the English versions, but this is just personal taste, I guess). BTW, to my ears, the production doesn't really sound all that Trevor Horn-ish.

I do have some problems with the image, however. I've no problem with a gay group (of either gender) and being amazed that a group might use sex to sell their product is just naive. However, some of this playing around with a schoolgirl image is just a little unhealthy IMHO.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

However, some of this playing around with a schoolgirl image is just a little unhealthy IMHO.

I completely agree with you. I'm not amazed at using the lesbian image to sell records, but it's their age and the association that I question.

 

[Keith Mickunas]

This group surfaced on fark awhile back before their video first aired on MTV in the US. They had some other links including this site which appears to be their original home page. Check out their about page which mentions they both auditioned along with 500 others to be in the group and were selected individually. When I first saw this stuff I saw a page where they had written a letter stating that they had voluntarily signed a contract with their producer giving him what sounded like complete control over their lives. I figured he probably wrote the letter and had them sign it. Here's another quote from the about page:

The group TATU was formed in 2000 by the script writer and director Ivan Shapovalov who is now producer of the group.

It seems like the group and the relationship have been fabricated by Shapovalov. A few months ago the news on their site said they were getting married to each other. There was something about them getting married in some Scandanavian country under water and they were taking SCUBA lessons. It sounded like a pretty big publicity stunt.