Just Russian Around
Russian Dolls
“Dangerous and Moving is about dangerous people, dangerous feelings, dangerous characters. Every song is about some kind of danger.”
They’re hot, and they’ve made out with each other in music videos like “All the Things She Said” — but they’re not hot for each other. Sadly, the love between the girls of Russia’s t.A.T.u. is just platonic. Still, when redheaded Lena Katina told us, “I’m kissing with my friends, always — not only with girls, but with boys also,” we began to consider: Are pseudo-lesbians hotter than the real thing? Perhaps. With Richard Carpenter (yes, of the Carpenters) and Sting both guesting on their new record, Dangerous and Moving, we’re not sure who these “boys” are. We just hope they don’t get between Lena and her childhood friend Julia Volkova.
What was it like recording at the Village in L.A.? The Doors, the Rolling Stones, and Madonna have all recorded there.
Lena: It was great. They had thisnew room for recording, just for us.
Did you get homesick when you were in California?
Lena: I was flying home everymonth or month and a half formaybe one week when we had freetime. It was really great to see my mom and my friends. When I’m working, I miss them. It’s terrible when you’re very far away from everybody, but it’s our work and we love that, so it’s life. Julia: I like London, I like Spain.… I like so many cities, but my favorite is Moscow.
Was it neat to see so many countries on your first tour?
Lena: Yes, but mostly we wanted toget some rest.
What do you do when you’re home?
Julia: I play with my daughter. I’mwith my friends and my parents.
Do you go out partying?
Julia: Sometimes. I don’t like clubs. My friends go to clubs and bars every day. I go to clubs maybe one time a month. I like romantic things. I like restaurants, maybe going around Moscow.
Julia, we’ve got to know — are you single?
Julia: I have a boyfriend. [He] lives in L.A. He’s Russian, but he’s lived in America maybe 11 or 12 years. Are fans in the U.S. different from fans elsewhere?
Lena: I can’t say that in Europe people are more crazy, or in America people are more crazy. It wouldn’t be right. It’s just different people everywhere.
Really? You don’t have a place you visit that has the craziest fans?
Lena: Actually, the most crazy fans are in Japan. They are too emotional. They scream and touch you.
Didn’t you have to put an apology song on your new record for them?
Lena: It’s not really an apology for Japan. It’s for everybody because lots of people sometimes have trouble.“Obeyzanka Nol” means “I’m sorry.”
We like how this word sounds, and the song is really pretty and calm.
When you released your first record, you said you didn’t want to grow up yet.
Julia: When we came for the first time to the U.S.A., we were 16. Our hearts and our bodies were like girls.
Do you want to grow up yet?
Julia: No.
Why is the Russian name of the record different from the American version?
Lena: When you say something in Russian, in English it wouldn’t mean the same. The Russian name of the album is People Invalids, but if you said that in America, they wouldn’t understand because it’s not about physical things. It’s more about moral things. The American name[Dangerous and Moving] is about dangerous people, dangerous feelings,dangerous characters. Every song on our album is about some kind of danger.
This album feels more hands-on than your debut.
Lena: We don’t have a producer because we wanted to do it ourselves and be more involved in the process. We chose the songs and the vocals. We just want to be able to do more things ourselves.
Do you want to write songs in the future?
Lena: Maybe. All of the [songwriters]know us really well, so they can understand what we feel, so it’s about us. It’s an expression of our feelings.
What was it like to work with Wonderland director James Cox?
Julia: He was very professional. He was very funny [and had] a lot of energy. We did two videos in three days. We were always smiling because he had so much energy, and he’s [telling us], “Girls! Girls! Wake up!”
Lena: It was really funny to work with him. He really understood what we wanted. “All About Us” is really different than all the other videos.
How so?
Lena: Julia and I have a problem between us and we quarrel. She goes away and I’m driving a car, thinking about what’s going on, and I’m really sad. She gets in trouble with a boy because this boy wants to hit her. She kills this boy and calls me, and I’m driving to her and taking her from there.
Do you two ever fight in real life?
Lena: Not really. It’s just about simple things when you get tired of each other, when you’re together for a very long time.
You have shows and interviews and you get tired, and it’s, “Why did you put your bag there? I want to put mine here.”
Have you always wanted a career in music?
Lena: Music is my life. I wouldn’t be alive without music. My dad is a musician, but he wasn’t involved when I was trying to do something. He was always telling me, “Lena, I don’t want you to be a musician. It’s very hard, and I don’t want to help you. You have to do everything yourself.” I was telling him, “Father, let’s do something. Give me a song I want to sing.” He says, “You’re too young.” Then t.A.T.u. starts, and he’s happy.
Julia: When I was a little girl, I go to play tennis and go swimming and go to dance and go to sports, but I like music. I start to play piano when I was five years old, then I go to music school.
What do you like playing on the piano?
Julia: I like Beethoven, “Moon [sic] Sonata.” I don’t like Bach — it’s so difficult. I like Mozart, but my favorite is Beethoven.
What do you do to prepare before you go onstage?
Lena: Nothing. The most important thing when you’re doing shows is not to wait before you go onstage. Just come dressed up and go. When you go someplace [and] you have to wait to come on, it’s unbelievably hard. Your emotions start to calm, and you get tired of waiting.
I heard you filmed a reality show during the recording of this album.
Lena: Yes, that’s true. We were doing that in Moscow, but it wasn’t good. It was more about Ivan [Shapovalov, their former manager], and he was talking, and I dunno.… I don’t think it was a good idea. We broke up with Ivan when we had this reality show, actually.
You two had to audition for t.A.T.u. Were you nervous?
Lena: I’m always nervous. When we’re doing something like recording the album, I’m nervous if people will like it or not. Julia is always like, “Lena, calm down. Everything will be all right. Don’t worry, be happy.” And so on and so forth.
Did you know you’d have to make out with each other when you auditioned?
Lena: It wasn’t about lesbians. It was about love between two girls. For example, I have friends, and I love them. And Julia is my friend, and I love her. It doesn’t mean we are lesbians. We were just kissing. I’m kissing with all my friends, always — not only with girls, but with boys also. We didn’t pretend to be lesbians. We were just singing about love between two girls, but we always had boyfriends.
