Lev Gankine aka Levgan
View Lev's ratings:
Email Lev
Homepages:
Geographical location: Moscow, Russia
Other contact information: levgan@gmail.com ICQ - 224557020
DOB: 08/19/1984
Enjoy these Styles and musical qualities: Beat, Canterbury, Difficult, Folk, Kosmiche or Kraut Rock, Modern Classical, Noise/Industrial/Urban, RIO, Mainstream/Accessible/Pop, Symphonic, Traditional, Space, Flamenco, Psychedelic, Zeuhl, Theatrical
Other styles/genres/qualities of music that I like not listed above: First off, I love everything that is quirky and self-ironical. I mean, the music that doesn't take itself too serious. Besides, I always have a soft spot for bands who are trying to offer something new instead of following the existing models. So everything that is off the beaten track is likely to grow on me. That said, I still enjoy some clone-bands, because I'm absolutely sure that "talented imitation" is not an oxymoron. I also like proto-prog, acid-folk and chamber music. My favorite instrument is acoustic piano.
Favorite or well-respected bands/artists In no particular order: The Beatles, Gentle Giant, Caravan, Comus, Deblie Menthol / L'Ensemble Raye, Flat Earth Society (from Belgium, not from USA), Soft Machine (circa "Third"), Supersister, Jethro Tull, Gracious!, Opus Avantra, Dr. Dopo Jam, Culpeper's Orchard (their first album), Carmen, Rare Bird, Circus (Swiss band), Colosseum, early Brian Eno, Samla / Zamla / Von Zamla, early Brian Eno, Flower Travellin' Band, some Zappa, some Sergey Kuryokhin, Marsupilami, Jan Dukes de Grey, various Belgian bands (Shampoo / Mad Curry / Recreation), Tea & Symphony, Komintern, 2066 & Then, the early stuff Univers Zero / Present, Procol Harum, Arbete och Fritid / Archimedes Badkar, some old Italian bands (Banco / Il Balletto di Bronzo / Jumbo / RRR, to name but a few), The Kinks, Blossom Toes, Curved Air, various zeuhl bands (Dun / Eskaton / Eider Stellaire / MBF), Frumpy, Horrific Child, Catherine Ribeiro & Alpes, Scrooge, Solar Plexus (from Sweden, not from USA), Ougenweide... and many many others.
Dislike these Styles and musical qualities: Heavy Metal, Blues
Musical styles or qualities that I do not like: Everything that is too serious and self-indulgent. Overtly predictable stuff. Digital synths. Overblown music. Heavy metal. Roger Dean's artwork. Most of neo-prog (though there are exceptions). Most of those countless garage-psych basement recordings from the 1960s (though there are exceptions). Most of blatant clone-bands (though there are exceptions). Most of Christian prog (though there are exceptions). Overproduction. Dungeons and dragons. Classic jazz. Smooth jazz. Cold fusion. Albums that are too heavy on political and/or social issues. Cheesy lyrics. Bad vocals. Amateurism. Commonplaces.
Occupation(s): I've just graduated from Moscow State University with a degree in history of art. Not surprisingly, 1960-1970s album artwork was the topic of my paper, and I'm going to continue my research in this field. Besides, I work as a freelance writer and part-time as a radio DJ.
Other musical activities: My previous entry humbly stated "occasionally playing keyboards in the local band", but now I'm a full-time member of the prog-rock band Uphill Work, handling piano, keyboards and (occasional) vocals. We're in desperate search of a good drummer who likes playing in odd time signatures. Gotta get the first album out soon!
Hobbies / obsessions: Obviously, music. I'm into collecting original LPs and CDs, but enjoy trading obscure albums on CD-Rs too. If music is my hobby, then cover artwork is definitely my main obsession - for some reason, it is absolutely necessary for me to see the coverart while playing my music. Besides, I love cinema (mostly independent or, as they call it, "art" films), reading books (mostly modern fiction), playing/watching football (a.k.a. soccer), hanging out with friends, travelling, practicing silly jokes (I'm real good at it), and of course, spending time with my wonderful girlfriend.
Other comments: Goo Goo Goo Joob.