Юрий ЧЕРНАВСКИЙ  Beyond The Banana Islands

Ten years after recording his famous album "Banana islands" Yuri Tchernavsky decided to make a step "beyond" those islands. I doubt he has found anything new there.

"Banana Islands", recorded by Youri Tchernavsky and Vladimir Matetzky in 1983, was one of the most remarkable pop-projects of that time. Their song "Bananan Boy" became extremely famous in 1988 after appearing in the soundtrack to the last great Soviet movie "ASSA". According to the legend, "Banana Islands" were recorded in a half-professional studio. Its sequel, "Beyond the Banana Islands", was recorded beyond all this - in Berlin, where Yuri Tchernavsky has lived since 1990. Maybe that's why this work has not become very popular.

"And now for something completely different", as sarcastic voice says in the most sarcastic song of the album. Electro-pop has changed during past ten years, leaning towards electro-rap, but the main things remained invariable: skilled schizophrenia, transmogrified music quotations, well-mastered sound, perfect arrangements. Some oddity is balanced by sense of humor, and even inadequate and primitive design of the booklet looks like just a funny trick.

The album is attracting, decoying, deranging, but it is almost impossible to call it "pop-music". It is "beyond". Probably that's why today Tchernavsky prefers writing songs for Russian pop-star Valery Leontiev. Far away from Banana Islands.