author: Olga Gernakova, republic weekly newspaper “Shans”, Khakasia №22 (940) 4-1, 2009
Translated by Irina Sergienko

On 28th May, in the official web site of the International festival of ethnic music “Sayang ring” was published list of the music bands that pretended to the Siberian award “Zolotaya Iriya” 2009. It’s pleasant, there are bands from Khakasia and Krasnoyarsk region in the list of nominees. They are Abakan folklore ensemble “Zvony” (leader is Gennady Lashkin), young ethno-rock band “Telengit” (newspaper “Chance” written about it recently) but it is performing to republic of Altai and, certainly, famous Minusinsk band “Allegoriya”, that awarded prize “Zolotaya Iriya” in 2007.

“Telengit” and “Allegoriya” will compete in a nomination “Vocal and instrumental ensemble” (experiment). As for mean advantage, experience or debut, the jury of the festival will decide themselves. The leader of “Allegoria” reported to “Shans” the band would sing “Song of spirits”, Russian folk song “The birch in the field...”, “Freedom” and, perhaps, the new song. Yegor Kosolapov replied to the question “what is the experimentalism of the band?”:

– we take as a basis Slavic musical holdover in the form that we imagine or can draw from creation of other bands, that are working in ethnographic style, and combine it with traditions of other ethnic cultures. This fusion is mixing with modern styles: rock, jazz, blues, funk and so on. In Russia this style is called “folk-rock” or “ethno-rock”. Now there are many different bands like our one, therefore I can’t call us to be unique. Part of ethno-rock bands uses folk material processing it to modern msical traditions, but others including “Allegoriya” create authorial material stylizing it as folklore of one or another ethnic cultures. The lineament of our band is attachment to one culture.

The band “Allegoriya” uses instruments, sounds and musical harmonies of different cultures. At the moment it has Russian kalukas and jaleykas, Khakas hobrah, Australian didjeridoo, percussion: African djembe, Cuban congo and bongo. Moreover the band easily uses an overdriven guitar sound and the modern CPU processing.