Producer Lityagin spoke about the legacy of the Mirage group: “Galkin made a dirty trick”

— Andrey, first of all I would like to congratulate you on your upcoming birthday. True, it falls in the middle of the week, how will you celebrate?

— I have a lot of work in the studio. I live in Europe, and people here don’t like slackers. Therefore, you have to constantly do something. And if I take on some small work—advertising soundtracks or films—I have to stick to a schedule. So on my birthday I will be at work.

— It’s no secret that you were at the origins of show business in the 80s and 90s, and you still remember how birthdays were celebrated then. Probably, it was possible to waste money…

– In fact, we earned a lot of money, but there was practically nothing to buy with it: neither an apartment, nor a car; and clothes, equipment and equipment – only from speculators. Then some square meters per person were calculated, some limits were set. It was very difficult to get a foreign car. Nothing was for sale. Yes, we lived in grand style, yes, it was fun, but miserable. It was a cry from the soul of people who did not have that kind of money and suddenly they had it. And they needed to spend some of this money in order to get used to these large fees and not become dependent. So, actually, we got used to it. We lived happily, but I remember those years without emotion. It’s better to forget about it.

— Why did you decide to move to Europe?

— I loved the Soviet audience very much, and I continue to love the Russian listener. I have made wonderful projects – “Mirage” and “The Little Prince”, and the third generation of listeners is growing up listening to my music. I am sincerely pleased that my music has already become a classic and, in fact, a style icon. But by analogy with sports, I will answer this way: any athlete wants to win the world championship. This is normal, healthy vanity. I was already the first in my country, now I want to announce myself to the world. To feel the market, you need to study it from the inside. That’s why I try to be here. There is also a purely material reason. They pay good money here, which is enough for me to live a prosperous life and to maintain a studio where I can work on the project that I dream of realizing.

I’ve been here for seven years now. Of course, there is no ideal place where you like absolutely everything! The whole question is whether it is comfortable to work or uncomfortable. I am comfortable. I have a wonderful studio in a wonderful location by the sea. I speak several languages: I speak English perfectly, I speak a little Spanish, a little Estonian, a little Finnish. I lived in the USA, Panama, and Latin America. Knowing English makes me feel at home everywhere. I am a person of peace, I perceive our planet as a single home and I quickly and easily establish contact with all people.

— Don’t you miss Russia?

– I miss you, of course. I come, though not so often, I visit family and friends. But I am where my music is, my studio, my work.

— What creative plans do you have now?

— I want to launch an English-language project that will really take off. But this is not so simple and not so fast, including because of the selection of soloists – we need to make sure that this suits everyone, so that there is mutual understanding and one vision of the future. My work is divided into two parts. The first one is what I do, as they say, to maintain my pants. This allows me to live normally in Europe, and I am not particularly strapped for money. The main project is more difficult. I am well aware that people like me are a dime a dozen here. The competition is wild. We need to invent something that will beat their card. I can do it, but it’s slow and difficult. With great effort. I know which direction to go, but it won’t be fast. You need to feel the English-language music market with your soul and make the right decision. I can say one thing: this will definitely not be dance music, it will be serious pop-rock.

— Do you often spend time with your family?

— I don’t really like all these family stories, because it’s personal. Everything is fine. I communicate with my family. I don’t want to be married yet, but my personal life is fine. I travel to different countries, I know a lot of girls who actively support my interest in this life!

– It’s understandable: you look good, by the way. How do you keep fit?

– You know, a man of art feeds on art. I believe that if a person minds his own business, he is always in shape. Because as soon as he stops doing his job, he develops a belly and swells up. What keeps me in good shape is my determination and desire to once again try to conquer this difficult world of show business.

— What is your favorite European pastime?

— I like to go to clubs. You should always know what kind of music they listen to. I try to follow trends: what people are dancing to and how it can be used. I try to attend events where there are a lot of people, to monitor their reactions and emotions.

– Let’s talk about your brainchild – the Mirage group. Moreover, recently there have been a lot of rumors and even legal proceedings surrounding him. How did you get acquainted with Margarita Sukhankina and Natalya Gulkina? Why did they take two soloists?

— I am sure that the group should have two soloists. Yes, perhaps in the dressing room they will scratch each other’s eyes out, but on stage they will compete, and in the end the project will look more attractive. I met Margarita at a student disco, and I met Natasha at the House of Culture for Public Utilities Workers on Kaluzhskaya. One of my friends said that there are many singers involved in amateur performances and I can come and listen to them all at once. I came and listened. By the way, Svetlana Razina was there too. The girls went on stage and sang some folk songs. And Natasha came out and sang something. I liked her sonorous voice. By the way, in fact, when Sukhankina sang three songs in the first album, and then said that there would be no more, saying, “I’m a conservatory,” Natasha perfectly replaced her and sang the remaining five. A great opportunity to remind you that no one is irreplaceable. Including among vocalists!

— What else did you pay attention to when choosing soloists for the team?

— When I chose soloists, I first of all paid attention to the vocals. The Soviet vocals were immediately dismissed. Bleating in the style of “Morning Mail” with soviet squealing, all this gypsy stuff – it all had nothing to do with world music. Therefore, I tried to take people whose voices were not spoiled by vocal production. The best candidates were people who had gone through the school of folk singing. Including Natalya Gulkina and Margarita Sukhankina. Like Ekaterina Boldysheva, who graduated from the conducting and choral department of the Music College named after. October revolution.

— There was a lot of talk about the departure of the soloists from the group. The singers themselves also periodically spoke out, for example they said that they were kicked out…

— The initiators of the change of soloists were always the soloists themselves. I don’t remember a single case where I took someone and kicked them out. It’s just that they are all not used to working under some kind of rigid agreement. There were no contracts then, but there were agreements. And the soloists were constantly trying to throw out some kind of pretzel. But you understand that the project must function like clockwork, otherwise everything will fall apart.

— You and Margarita worked together for so many years. How did it happen that you not only quarreled, but also ended up in court?

– We didn’t quarrel. Our trial is a matter of settling the licensing relationship between two legal entities: the company that deals with Margarita’s affairs, and the company that manages my copyrights. I am the author of all the music of the Mirage group and twenty-five percent of the lyrics. In order to perform my songs, Margarita Sukhankina (her official representatives) must buy a license from me and receive the right to sing them. Copyright is the same property as an apartment or land. The law must be respected.

— Did you try to come to an agreement first before going to court? Still, she is not a stranger to you…

– An outsider or not, I don’t know. Of course, we are creatively connected, but in order for the project to work, strict agreements are needed. These are not conceptual agreements. Firms must negotiate. And Margarita, as far as I understand, does not have a decisive vote, and she does what her directors or producers decide.

— Margarita once said that you demand millions for performing songs. What is it really like?

“In six and a half years, she sang for millions.” According to my calculations, about 30 million, which needs to be paid and the work calmly continued.

— Not everyone knows what happened after Gulkina and Sukhankina left Mirage. How did the events unfold?

— Natasha, Rita, and I worked on the project for ten years. As soon as the obligations began to come apart at the seams and were no longer fulfilled, the integrity of the project was lost. I said that this did not suit me, and we started working with Alexei Gorbashov and Katya Boldysheva. We started working because I am interested in the project living and delighting its fans at concerts.

– Yes, I see, it’s not easy to work in show business… And making friends is probably even more difficult. By the way, are you friends with someone?

— I’m not friends with anyone in Russian show business and never have been. I communicate with some producers, arrangers and sound engineers – people on whom show business technology depends. These people are interesting to me all over the world. Communication with them brings additional experience. I draw experience from them and share mine with them. It’s definitely productive. And I don’t want to compare oneself with show-offs… Disgusting.

— Has anyone really made a mean out of famous show business figures?

— There is such a character Maxim Galkin (recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation). He knows very well that I am the author and creator of the Mirage group; we have attended his program several times. And then he conducted two programs with Margarita Sukhankina, introduced her as the group “Mirage”, and let her perform the song “Music Has Connected Us,” which she has no right to sing. He completely ignored me as a director, producer and composer, knowing that I was the copyright holder. I think this is a real scam. Now there are lawsuits going on regarding the fact that Margarita Sukhankina appears in television programs. And this will continue until the issue of violation of my copyrights is resolved.

— There are rumors that Alla Pugacheva should return next year. Have you heard anything about this?

“I don’t participate in the rat race.” I absolutely don’t care who left and who stayed. The artists who left are partly a scoop that makes me sick, partly dissidents. What they do there, I don’t care at all. I left so as not to hear about them. So this question is not for me.

— Should Dana Milokhin, who returned and left again, serve in the army, in your opinion?

– Fortunately, I don’t know who this is. And therefore I have no opinion on this matter.

“Didn’t you serve yourself?”

– Didn’t serve. I graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute. We had a military department, and we left the institute as lieutenants. So military service passed me by.