Group "Mill" - a fairy tale near you!

Who among us did not dream of escaping from the gray routine and getting into a fairy tale? Benefit of the modern world provides many opportunities for this: a variety of films, fantasy literature, role-playing games, theaters, etc. And for the most sophisticated there is an amazing Russian folk band "Mill"!

Group Biography

Once a popular team called "Til Ulenspiegel," which included the current soloist of the band "Melnitsa," broke up in the fall of 1999. However, under the strict guidance of Natalia O'Shei (Helavisa), the collective was rebuilt under a new name and successfully continued her musical career.

In 2005, the songs of the band "Melnitsa" got into the hit parade "Chartova Dozen", well known to fans of the wave "Our Radio". From this moment their creativity not only grows in popularity, but also becomes a frequent guest on the air.

In December 2005, part of the team broke away, organizing a little-known group "Silves". However, they were replaced by new musicians, including the second vocalist Alevtina Leontieva, who is well known for the album "The Call of Blood". However, two years later she also left the group.

Group Toolkit

As already mentioned, the group "Mill" is a very unusual team that plays in the style of folk-rock. It is worth noting that the musicians do not limit themselves to one direction and try to diversify their creativity not only with acoustic but also with electronic music. Separately, it is possible to distinguish non-traditional instruments that make the team unique:

• cello;
• Zhaleyka;
• The Irish harp;
• flute;
• Visp;
• Melodies;
• Acoustic and electric guitar;
• Drums;
• Bas-guitar;
• accordion.

Group members

The group "Mill", like any other collective, changed its composition repeatedly throughout its creative life. Some left the team, others came, introducing fresh ideas for creativity. If you look at the current composition, it looks like this:

• Natalia O'Shei (Helavisa) is a vocalist, author of music and most of the texts. Instruments: percussion, Irish harp, acoustic guitar.
• Alexey Orlov. He joined the team in December 2005. Instruments: electric and acoustic cello, mandolin.
• Alexey Kozhanov. I came to the group together with my namesake. Instruments: bass guitar, acoustic guitar.
• Dmitry Frolov - drummer, also joined the band in December 2005.
• Sergei Vishnyakov - guitarist, solo, backing vocals, appeared in the band in 2010. Instruments: acoustic and electric guitar.
• Dmitry Kargin. He got on the team as one of the last and is responsible for wind instruments. Instruments: flute and others.

Helavisa

Vocalist and author of many songs of the group "Mill" Natalia O'Shey, of course, is the leader of the collective. At 39, she will give odds to many young performers in positive and active ways.

The story of the appearance of an unusual name for a Russian girl is interesting. The fact is that Natalia always had a weakness for Celtic culture and the Irish language. She graduated from the institute and graduate school, and also worked as an assistant to the chair of Irish and Celtic philology in 1999-2004.

During an internship in Ireland, Natalia met with James Cornelius O'Shea, whom she married on August 21, 2004. Since that time, Helavisa lives in Europe with her husband and two charming daughters, and visits Russia only during concerts.

Discography of the group

During his career, the folk-rock band "Mill" released many discs. Among them there are 6 studio albums, 1 concert album, 1 collection of the best songs, 2 mini albums, 1 single and 3 video clips.

The first full-length CD entitled "The Way of Sleep" group "Mill" was released in 2003. This is, perhaps, one of the most popular and favorite by the fans of albums. And in 2004 the team recorded a disc of Master of the Mill, which left no one indifferent. True, it can not be called a full-fledged album, since it contains only 7 songs that were previously released in collections. A special value to this disc was given by the fact that only 1,000 copies were produced specifically for the concert in the Gorbunov Palace of Culture, so it was impossible to find it on sale.

In 2005, the songs of the "Mill" group are gaining popularity, and another disc "Pass" is released, in which male vocals appear (A. Sapkov). Not everyone liked these changes, and the fans split into two camps. However, soon everyone got used to and the passions subsided.

2006 brought listeners a "Call of Blood", along with popular songs to this day "Vorozhy" and "Dragon". In addition, this disc includes two bonus tracks - Rapunzel and White Cat. Although you can meet them only on a gift edition.

After a three-year break, Helavisa and her team rejoice their admirers with a new album called "Wild Grasses". And again many songs appear among the top lines of charts on "Our radio".

Another limited edition of 2000 discs released for the concert in 2011 is called "Christmas songs". It also can not be found on sale. This album contains songs that were never released before.

One of the band's most not-so-successful albums was the album "Angelophrenia" in 2012, which was later released in the live version. However, the group quickly corrected and in 2015 pleased the listener with the new songs of the album "Alchemy", the official release of which was on October 9 this year.