5'nizza
| 5'Nizza | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Kharkiv, Ukraine |
| Genres | Acoustic, author's song, reggae |
| Years active | 2000–2007, 2015-present |
| Associated acts | SunSay, Lюk, Serhiy Babkin (solo) |
| Website | http://5nizzamusic.com/ |
| Members | Sergey Babkin, Andrey Zaporozhets |
5'nizza (pronounced [pjat nɪtsa], meaning “Friday” in Russian and Ukrainian was an acoustic group formed in 2000 in Kharkiv, Ukraine that disbanded in 2007 and reunited in 2015. It was made up of two friends: Sergey Babkin (Сергей Бабкин, guitar), and Andrey “Sun” Zaporozhets (Андрей Запорожец, vocals).
The band's music has a combination of influences: reggae, Latin, rock and hip hop, which is performed in a minimalistic folk style limited to vocals, beatboxing, and acoustic guitar. Despite lack of support from large labels, the group attracted cult following in much of Central and Eastern Europe,[1] notably Ukraine, Russia, Poland and Germany.[2]
Background
The duo started working together as early as in 1998.[2] 5'nizza's demo album, Unplugged, was bootlegged and spread all over the C.I.S. countries in 2002. The demo was well received by fans as well as online critics. Some even say that, in 2002, Unplugged was the top seller in Russia.
Their official debut album, Pyatnitsa, was produced in 2003 and consisted mostly of songs from Unplugged.
The second album O'5 (meaning Again in Russian) was released in 2005.
Both Babkin and Zaporozhets have released other musical projects in addition to their work together. Babkin (a solo artist since 2004) has recorded three solo albums: Ura, SN. G, Bis! and Motor; and Zaporozhets appeared as a backing vocalist in Lюk (Luk), a lounge group. Babkin is also an actor in the Kharkiv theater group Theater 19. Andriy Zaporozhets is currently completing his university degree in pediatrics.
Tour and disbanding
5'nizza toured Russia and visited Minsk, Belarus, as well. 5'nizza also visited Lithuania, the band was one of the main guests at the open-air festival Cote of Culture (Kultūros Tvartas) in 2004. . The band recorded its third album in 2007, with guest appearances from Lюk and Маркшайдер Кунст (Markscheider Kunst), among others. In September 2007, Babkin and Zaporozhets decided to disband. Their last two concerts took place on June 15 and 16, 2007 in Warsaw and Kraków, respectively.[2]
The third album was instead released as Zaporozhets' new project SunSay. Following the group's disbandment, artists that originally were meant to be guests now became the core of a new group. This added to the overwhelming change in sound direction, with new ideas and instruments coming from, what seemed to be, everywhere. The few tracks with Babkin's presence (guitar and backing vocals) that reached final production also made the final cut.
Reunion
In March 2015 Sergey Babkin and Andrey Zaporozhets announced their reunion and in April the song "I Believe In You" was released, followed by "Vperyod" and "Ale".
Notes and references
- ↑ Łukasz Kamiński (April 2008). "Polsko-afrykańsko-ukraińska Kapela". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish) (2008-04-16). Retrieved 2009-11-26.
- 1 2 3 Michał Gwiazdowski (June 2007). "5'nizza kończy w Polsce". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish) (2007-06-18). Retrieved 2009-11-26.