The 25-Year Career of Zemfira
Anyone who wants to present Russian music cannot ignore Zemfira. Popular and mainstream – millions of records sold – but also distinctly idiosyncratic. The music is usually accessible (we categorize it under Pop), but the attitude is rock.
We start with music, for a change from old to new.
25 Years
Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova (1976, in Tatar: Земфира Тәлгать кызы Рамазанова) made her debut in the last century (1999), under not overly creative creative but perhaps strategic title Zemfira.
“The group enjoyed popularity from the start,” tells us Wikipedia, “in part because of heavy rotation on radio and television, and in part because a female rocker is a fairly rare and unusual concept for the Russian music scene.”*
A single titled СПИД (AIDS), with Aриведерчи (below) and Ракеты, was also fairly rare and unusual in Russia at that time. Zemfira’s name was instantly a known one.
Aриведерчи (1999)
PMML
The real breakthrough came the following year (2000), with successor PMML/ПММЛ (Прости Меня Моя Любовь). Highlights like Искала, Хочешь?, Не отпускай (below) and Прости Меня, Моя Любовь can all be found on this one album.
Не отпускай (2000)
Borderline
From those first two records to the latest work, it could only be done with giant steps that don’t do justice to artist and work. Links below for compensation.
The latest full album– soundtracks to Северный ветер (2021) and Cactus (2023) excluded – is бордерлайн (borderline) from 2021 (deluxe edition 2022). From this record пальто, with lyrics on screen, also here.
пальто (2021)
Singles
After that, new Zemfira’s were relased as singles, like Мяco (2022) and PODNHA (2023). The most recent one (and only one from 2024) is Colette, of which no video was made. A new channel named Music in Russian came to the rescue.
Colette (2024)
More
(from new to old)
- Когда же Вы наконец поймёте? / When will you ever learn? (2022)
- Злой человек (2021)
- Северный ветер (2021)
- остин (2021)
- Мечтой (2016)
- Жить в твоей голове (2013)
- Снег начнётся (2008)
- Возьми меня (2007)
- Мы разбиваемся (2007), also check Земфира. О съёмках клипа of that time, and the brand new version by Live Russian
- Итоги (2006)
- Самолёт (2005)
- Блюз (2005)
- Прогулка (2004)
- Мачо (2002)
- Сказки (2002)
- Бесконечность (2002)
- Лондон / Небо Лондона (2000)
- Почему (1999)
Playlists
- Top Songs (61)
- All the best (26)
Inoagent
Support for Ukraine and criticism of the СВО (special military operation, or war) landed Zemfira on the list of foreign agents (see: Russian foreign agent law.)
A decision she contested, without success.
See Земфира против войны: почему певица прервала молчание и за что ее признали «иноагентом» (TV Rain, 2023, 14 m) and Земфиру признали иноагентом (SUNSET, 2023, 1 m); read (EN/RU)
-
Zemfira filed a lawsuit against Russia’s Justice Ministry (Eastern Herald, 12-05-2024)
-
Popular Singer Zemfira Among Several Russians Declared Foreign Agents (rferl.org, 11-02-2023)
-
Popular Russian singer Zemfira declared foreign agent by government (Reuters, 10-02-2023)
- Russian Rock Star Zemfira Releases Anti-War Music Video (The Moscow Times, 21-03-2022)
- Земфира обжаловала в Верховном суде отказ исключить её из реестра иноагентов (RT, 15-09-2024)
- Земфиру внесли в список иноагентов (Boom.ms, 13-02-2023)
- Минюст включил в список иноагентов Земфиру и Дмитрия Гудкова (rtvi.com, 10-02-2023)
Tour 2024
What doesn’t happen often, is happening now: Zemfira on tour. With stops in Berlin (November 1st), Amsterdam (November 4), Zürich (November 7), London (November 12) and Paris (November 17), Zemfira’s current city of residence.
Buy tickets
here – and no, prices are not in rubles.
The author of this piece will attend in Amsterdam, and will report back.
YouTube offers impressions of previous stops:
The Последний концерт в России (last/latest concert in Russia) is of February 26, 2022.
BIO
PORTRAIT
- Как Земфира пришла и победила (БРОКЕН ДЭНС, 2023, 14 m)
- Земфира – Как Живет Рок-Легенда и Самая Таинственная Певица России (MixShow, 2022, 27 m)
- To love Zemfira: Земфира, начало, 1999-2009. часть 1 (1999, 9 m) – also see part 3, part 4, part 5; drop a mail if you find part 2
- Земфира “До 16 и старше” часть1 – also see part 2, part 3 (or here) and part 4
INTERVIEW
- Вечерний Ургант В гостях у Ивана (2016, 17 m)
- Земфира VK Live Chat (2015, 57 m)
- Земфира – Интервью с Ренатой Литвиновой (2008, 7 m)
- Земфира – «Детали» на СТС | Интервью (СТС, 2007, 26 m)
- Земфира – «Школа Злословия» | Интервью (2005, 45 m)
- Земфира - Намедни (интервью в машине) (2001, 4 m)
- Земфира | Программа «А» (1999, 9 m)
Most of the music here is also in a
R1 playlist on YouTube (in order of publication).
See also
Best Russian Music and
Russian Song Lyrics.
*) Of course, “is” should have been “was” – it has/had to be noted.
More
Music
Anyone who wants to present Russian music cannot ignore Zemfira. Popular and mainstream – millions of records sold – but also distinctly idiosyncratic. The music is usually accessible (we categorize it under Pop), but the attitude is rock.
Raw Anti-Putin punk from
Nizhny Novgorod /
Нижний Новгород. Loosely based on ‘Maggie’ by The Exploited.
The Retuses 3x
Music
From the green city of
Zelenograd /
Зеленоград. Dreamy indie-folk with a melancholic undertone. Created by
Mikhail Rodionov (1992).
The alarm blares (Ревёт тревога), the road awaits (ждёт дорога). They are many (Их немало), we are few (нас немного). We are in an unjust world (Мы в несправедливом мире) tin wolves in the shooting range (Жестяные волки в тире).
The word offret is Swedish and means ‘sacrifice’; the band Offret is Russian and makes heavy music. The link between the word and the band: a
1986 film in Swedish by the Russian Andrei Tarkovsky.
A band from Saint Petersburg that makes a kind of post-punk/indie-pop. Not for long yet, so not much material yet. However, they already have a few very successful tracks with original music videos. До свиданья, дорогая is the
Russian title for the film
The Goodbye Girl (1977), but it has nothing to do with it.
