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ALEXEY MEDVEDEV An extremely talented Russian guitarist with a unique, fast percussive finger picking style that has amazed southern Kiwi audiences in Dunedin, the Whare Flat and the Whitestone Folk Festivals, in Christchurch, Oamaru, the West Coast and the top of the South Island. |
Alexey who has recently emigrated from Moscow to New Zealand, not only displays an amazing versatility and combinations of styles and genre that can include piano and balalaika, but also entrances with his impish charm that adds to his colourful speech delivered in an accent not often heard in New Zealand. |
Alexey Medvedev is mostly self taught, beginning with an old guitar with only one string that he found in his grandmother's garage, although he has taken lessons from influential teachers and has attended high ranking Russian music schools. |
| Born in Dubna, an international science city on the northern edge of Moscow, Alexey had a privileged childhood compared to other Russians of the time. From a very early age he was exposed to other cultures and being born on the banks of the Volga River, Russia's cultural heart, he has always felt a strong desire to be creative. | While studying and at times at odds with his own father, a well-respected Soviet scientist, Alexey joined a growing number of young Russians in producing dissident literature and playing western styles of music. By doing so he risked compulsory military service and losing his right to a state funded tertiary education. | |
| However Alexey saw the floodgates open when Mikhail Gorbachev introduced "Perestroika" and personally produced his own music books, his own CDs and composed scores for Russian and Ukrainian television. |
He followed his sister and brother-in-law to Dunedin where they run "Corstorphine House" an up-market restaurant in the hills overlooking the city, Otago Harbour and the Pacific Ocean and where Alexey was employed to entertain the wealthy diners. |
• And he is more than used to playing for important people. One of his last gigs in Russia was at Mikhail Gorbachev's 70th birthday in 2001, where the great man actually danced to Alexey's rhythms while cutting his presumably enormous cake. |
• In 2002, three nights in a row, Alexey was playing and singing The Beatles' songs with Caroll Spinney (voice of Big Bird from Sesame Street).
Click here to see a postcard |
• In 2003 Alexey jammed with Chris Martin (The Coldplay) when he stayed at Corstorphine House together with Gwyneth Paltrow. |
• In 2003 Alexey recorded his first Kiwi album comprising a good mixture of his instrumentals, Russian folk songs and covers of jazz, rock and pop songs.
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• In 2003 Alexey toured the South Island the first time. He gathered good crowds at his concerts and got many reviews in local papers.
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• In 2004 he toured both islands with a great success.
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• In 2005 he performed at Yungaburra Folk Festival, Australia, and met with many brilliant musicians there, like Michael Fix and Fiona Boyes.
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• In 2006 he and percussionist Joe Setefano joined their forces and successfully toured both islands. The tour resulted in their appearance at the TV One’s “Good Morning” show that had great response from the people.
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• Since October 2003 Alexey has been working with different local covers bands. Among the others Charma and, recently, Livewire. The band plays regularly in Dunedin and around the Southern South Island. |
• Alexey teaches guitar, among his students are youngsters keen on playing heavy metal and matured folks interested in developing their finger style, some of his students have been studying 3 years, some of the students came to him after finishing their course at the Otago University. |
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