Algabas

by | Dec 9, 2013 | INTERVIEWS

Algabas is a Russian band that was formed in 2007 by Sergey Milyaev. The band is based in Vladimir, close to Moscow. They released their debut album “Angels and Demons” in 2012 as a digital production on the Bandcamp website.

The current incarnation of the band consist of:
– Sergey Milyaev: bass, vocals
– Ilya Frolov: keyboards, guitars
– Vladimir Mikhailov: guitar
– Albert Pogosian: drums

– Can you tell us about when and how the band was formed?

Algabas was founded in Vladimir in 2007. Its founder and leader is a bass guitarist and a vocalist Sergey Milyaev. He came from Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan. This is not the first music project of Sergey. In the 80-90s his band was pretty well known among the complicated music-lovers. At that time Sergey also published two books of poems and created the music for the play “The Mousetrap” by Agatha Christie. Later Sergey came to Russia and published the novel “Petushki- Manhattan” and a book of collected stories. He has also written scripts for documentary and short films.

Algabas has changed its members a few times, and then finally started to record the debut album in 2012. The final membership of band was assembled during the recording:

Sergey Milyaev – bass guitar, vocals, music and lyrics
Ilya Frolov – keyboards, guitar, music
Vladimir Mikhailov – guitar, music
Albert Pogosian – drums

– What inspired your choice of band name?

The word “Algabas” is translated from Kazakh as “thinking ahead”.

– Do you have any funny or interesting episodes related to the early days of the band?

Ilya Frolov (keyboards): I came to Algabas as a guitarist in 2011. And we couldn’t find a keyboard player. But I got some ideas about keyboard parts. So I became a keyboardist! Sounds wild, doesn’t it?

– What can you tell us about your debut album “Angels & Demons” (2012), and if there were any notable events during it’s creation or subsequent promotion?

“Angels & Demons” is a very important event in our band life. Right during the album recording the final membership of band was built. To finish the recording was not an easy job. The members has changed several times, we had some technical problems. Also we all have to work to earn money and families, so we couldn’t devote all the time to the recording. In spite of this the task was completed and we are proud of it. “Angels & Demons” became a reference point in the band story and the start of our creative research in the world of progressive rock.

– What are your ambitions at this stage of your career?

We want the simple happiness of the musician – that our music will make a resonance in people’s hearts. We want to find like-minded persons in other countries who feel what we do. Well, we would like to find the way to earn money with music that would allow us to live only with music and for music. But this seems to be an unrealizable dream.

– Are there any particular artists that the band as a whole or individual band members would cite as influential?

Vladimir Mikhailov (guitar):

I started to play guitar under the impression of Ritchie Blackmore. I loved everything about him – his music, manner to play, his stage performance and difficult nature. On the other hand I liked Bryan May, David Gilmour and Mark Knopfler. Then there were Jimmy Page, Steve Rothery and Jeff Beck. But I have never been a guitar maniac, and I love music in its entirety. I could say that I’m a music lover pretending to be a guitarist. I have a great CD collection at home. There are rock, jazz, classic and a lot of prog-rock. Such giants as Genesis, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Van der Graaf Generator, Camel, King Crimson, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Yes, Marillion, Pendragon, Arena, Rush, Queensryche and many others are often played on my stereo system. I feel they express their life, their thoughts and emotions through the music. As a guitarist and composer I borrow from their music but I hope to express my unique music vision.

Sergey Milyaev (bass):

My favorite bands are King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull, Genesis and Pink Floyd.

Ilya Frolov (keyboards):

When I was a young boy I often listened to Rick Wakeman, Pink Floyd, Eloy, Rush, Deep Purple, Rainbow. I started to play guitar under the impression of Ritchie Blackmore too. And later when I decided to become a keyboardist, I listened to keyboard players from many progressive-rock bands such as Yes, Marillion, Pendragon, Arena etc. And Jon Lord inspired me very much.

– What artists have your music been compared to?

Arena, Manfred Mann. One reviewer heard even strands of IQ, Twelfth Night and Pendragon.

– Are there any albums released this or the last few years that have managed to attract your attention?

Vladimir Mikhailov (guitar):

Well, I’m a certain retrograde person who lives in the past and prefer music approved with time. Nevertheless one of my jobs is to be a music reviewer and I have to follow the news of progressive music. Things that overwhelmed me most this year were the fairytale rock-opera “Alchemy” by Clive Nolan and Fish’s new album “A Feast of Consequences”. They impressed me with a lot of beautiful melodies and true emotions.

– Any thoughts you’d like to share on the music scene where you’re based or the music scene in general?

We do worship the founders of progressive rock from the faraway Albion and we are not ashamed of it. We consider the classics not as some golden cage but as a field of action to create something original in. The original feature of Algabas is keeping changing the rhythm and a kaleidoscope of strongly pronounced melodies. This doesn’t allow the listener to relax but inspires him to follow the music. It’s not a target in itself to make complicated music. It’s something personal for each of us. We don’t want to make some Golem, we want to explore  the true spirit of progressive.

– Do you have anything else you’d like to share with our readers?

Dear readers, we want to present you our music. We tried to give the best of ourselves to create it. And we hope you will like this music world we are living in.

Band websites:
https://algabas.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/ALGABAS/196063767129782
https://www.algabas.ru/