May 15 2013
  |   Permalink

Lena Katina on “Party Zone”

We were used to hearing the branded voice of this singer in our time- in the world-famous duet, t.A.T.u.. Now, Lena Katina has been working on her solo album for a while and we are enjoying her as a solo artist. Lena, thank you for coming to see us. You have become very thin, what has happened to you?

Nothing, I just exercise and try not to eat after 7 P.M.

You, out of a few, if not counting Julia Volkova, know how the public of Russia differs from the one in the West. How do they differ? 

The public here is a little more spoiled, especially in Moscow. Recently I had a concert at Central Station, it went great, the public was amazing, they gave me so much energy that I was astounded. But this is a rarity because usually they say, “So, what else do you have to show us?”. In the West [it’s different], not mentioning the big cities…in L.A. the same thing happens. It all depends on how much the public loves the artist.

Why are you writing your album in L.A.?

Well, my musicians are there and we are not just writing the album, we are writing music, lyrics, and everything else…I am singing my own songs now and it makes me very happy. It’s more convenient, there are four people over there and an incredible amount of authors, talented people, both famous and not. My whole band lives in L.A. so I am there too.

All the artists on the upcoming Muz-TV awards will be singing live. Out of all the Russian artists, who do you consider to be the closest to the type that are in the Western music industry? 

I will say the obvious thing and don’t think I am saying this because I have known them from childhood, but I think Sergey Lazarev is a professional of a very high standard. He’s the type of person who loves his work and wants to do it and does it well. But I think more and more artists are appearing that sing live well. I was in awe after The Voice. 

Mar 23 2013
  |   Permalink

Lena Katina Interview on Maximonline.ru

Lena Katina was interviewed for maximonline.ru, the only new thing she had to share regarding her project was about pledgemusic.com: 

“You begin a presale of the album, meaning you start selling it before it is finished. People donate money for you to do this album and then they receive it…Right now I want to release the presale of a triple album which will contain all of my solo work from the past 3 years, and then the people who acquire it through Pledge Music will vote for the final album which will be released to the masses.”

image

(Source: maximonline.ru)

Dec 25 2012
  |   Permalink

Lena Katina- White Christmas

Dec 25 2012
  |   Permalink

Dec 23 2012
  |   Permalink
Lena Katina’s interview on the radio program “Moscow’s Echo” Will t.A.T.u. start performing again?We are not making any long-term plans. We were on The Voice where we sang 2 songs in support of the release of the 10th anniversary edition of our album.  Why did you perform in Romania and not here?Well, we were invited in Romania, here we have not been invited yet…We never had a fight, we just have not seen each other in a long time, have not performed in almost 4 years. We talked about it and maybe we will do something in the future, we will see. Yulia had an operation so she has to heal, we will see.  Do you have nostalgia about the t.A.T.u. times?Yes, it was an era…I miss those times, I don’t even know how to describe it. Sometimes I cannot even believe it- that I was in all these cities, in all these photographs…fans screaming, singing to our songs, it was an adrenalin rush. I do not need to drive 200km/hr in the wrong lane, going on stage is enough…The success was a big surprise, for all of us. When you get older you begin to think about it and realize it all, but back then it was just this huge boom. You said that there people don’t really recognize you.Well, I need to remind them of me. When I say “Hi, I’m Lena Katina” they say, “Hi”, when I say I am Lena Katina from t.A.T.u. then they remember.  Your style, the melodies, the way you sing is very different than before…Are you targeting the American public?No, I am not targeting any specific part of the world, I am focusing on myself and on what I want to sing…I am also recording songs in Russian, I am translating them from English…well not me, but there is someone who does this. But, I have an English team, I have 4 musicians with whom we write songs as well as other authors who are not Russian, so we write in English…I performed a song in Russian already, and I have already recorded 2 or 3 more. They are being mixed now. I even recorded a song in Spanish- “Never Forget”, and I have 2 more songs ready with Spanish lyrics which I will record.  Does Japan still remember you?Japan is very difficult story since they were very much upset with us, unfortunately. Of course I want to go to Asia, there are people who still remember…There was a very scandalous moment- right before we were scheduled to go on a live broadcast of a big show Ivan prohibited us from going on stage…so we lost this market.  Are you trying to do something different from t.A.T.u. or are you okay with it if it turns out similarly? I am okay with it because t.A.T.u. is also me, in t.A.T.u. I was half and now I am Lena Katina- solo artist. If Yulia and I agree to something, I will gladly once again become a half, the most important thing is that there is good material and quality. I am not saying I am trying to do something similar to t.A.T.u. or something completely different. I have a song that is in a very t.A.T.u.- style…right now I am finding myself and have not determined a specific style, there are many styles I am working with.  How do you participate in the creative process?I help with the melodies and the words. I do not take part in arrangements. I can say, “I like this, I don’t like that”, but to create something completely on my own is not my thing. I write lyrics, but again, not from scratch. When the words are being written I can correct them, take away or put in certain phrases.  In your video for Never Forget, there was a burial. …I still have the gravestones in my garage, I see them every time I walk in there.

Lena Katina’s interview on the radio program “Moscow’s Echo”


Will t.A.T.u. start performing again?
We are not making any long-term plans. We were on The Voice where we sang 2 songs in support of the release of the 10th anniversary edition of our album. 

Why did you perform in Romania and not here?
Well, we were invited in Romania, here we have not been invited yet…We never had a fight, we just have not seen each other in a long time, have not performed in almost 4 years. We talked about it and maybe we will do something in the future, we will see. Yulia had an operation so she has to heal, we will see. 

Do you have nostalgia about the t.A.T.u. times?
Yes, it was an era…I miss those times, I don’t even know how to describe it. Sometimes I cannot even believe it- that I was in all these cities, in all these photographs…fans screaming, singing to our songs, it was an adrenalin rush. I do not need to drive 200km/hr in the wrong lane, going on stage is enough…The success was a big surprise, for all of us. When you get older you begin to think about it and realize it all, but back then it was just this huge boom.

You said that there people don’t really recognize you.
Well, I need to remind them of me. When I say “Hi, I’m Lena Katina” they say, “Hi”, when I say I am Lena Katina from t.A.T.u. then they remember. 

Your style, the melodies, the way you sing is very different than before…Are you targeting the American public?
No, I am not targeting any specific part of the world, I am focusing on myself and on what I want to sing…I am also recording songs in Russian, I am translating them from English…well not me, but there is someone who does this. But, I have an English team, I have 4 musicians with whom we write songs as well as other authors who are not Russian, so we write in English…I performed a song in Russian already, and I have already recorded 2 or 3 more. They are being mixed now. I even recorded a song in Spanish- “Never Forget”, and I have 2 more songs ready with Spanish lyrics which I will record. 

Does Japan still remember you?
Japan is very difficult story since they were very much upset with us, unfortunately. Of course I want to go to Asia, there are people who still remember…There was a very scandalous moment- right before we were scheduled to go on a live broadcast of a big show Ivan prohibited us from going on stage…so we lost this market. 

Are you trying to do something different from t.A.T.u. or are you okay with it if it turns out similarly?
I am okay with it because t.A.T.u. is also me, in t.A.T.u. I was half and now I am Lena Katina- solo artist. If Yulia and I agree to something, I will gladly once again become a half, the most important thing is that there is good material and quality. I am not saying I am trying to do something similar to t.A.T.u. or something completely different. I have a song that is in a very t.A.T.u.- style…right now I am finding myself and have not determined a specific style, there are many styles I am working with. 

How do you participate in the creative process?
I help with the melodies and the words. I do not take part in arrangements. I can say, “I like this, I don’t like that”, but to create something completely on my own is not my thing. I write lyrics, but again, not from scratch. When the words are being written I can correct them, take away or put in certain phrases. 

In your video for Never Forget, there was a burial. 
…I still have the gravestones in my garage, I see them every time I walk in there.