HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Since his youth Konstantin Kokourov used to listen to bands such as Death, Pantera or Dragon Force. There are a lot of elements related to classical music traditions in his music, but he also uses methods and elements of heavy rock & metal while composing. This is how he achieves his unique style.
Konstantin plays virtuously piano, but he is more interested in composing than in performing. He is keen to invent dramatic concept in music and to observe how they influence listeners.
His debut album “Notes” has been recorded by three-time Grammy winner Tobias Lehmann at Teldex Studios, Berlin and the orchestral pieces were performed by the Scoring Berlin Orchestra conducted by Bernhard Wünsch, who has also conducted at the world’s biggest Metal Festival in Wacken, Germany, already. Making him a perfect fit.
The album consists of 10 tracks which oscillate between powerful pieces such «Flaming Sun», «Voices of Siberia» and «In the Witch House», while pieces like «Elegy Within», «Waltz of Memoirs» and «Whirlwind» are more lyrical.
The solists of The Sveshikov State Academical Russian Chorus conducted by Evgeny Volkov also took part in the recording of some compositions. Evgeny Volkov highly appreciated Konstantin Kokourov’s music: «It’s like a dialogue of a young soul with past and present music. There are so many different reminiscences
in Konstantin’s compositions – from romantic pianism of Charles-Valentin Alkan and Edward MacDowell to fantastic realism of Modest Mussorgsky and the epic mastery of the Glazunov galaxy. There is a whole system of special quotes in this music – from Glazunov’s 5th Symphony to Dmitry Shostakovich’s musical autograph. These compositions are actual and very energetic. For young listeners, the album «Notes» could become a bridge to the world of classical music».
“Air” the first single “of the forthcoming album is a cover version of Jason Becker’s composition from the album «Perpetual Burn», which was released 30 years ago.
Konstantin turned the original guitar composition into a symphonic poem. Jason Becker published the music video of «Air» on his own YouTube Channel and gave his approval: «It’s amazing! It’s hard to find words to say how happy I am to hear such a beautiful version of Air.».