Ilya Lagutenko

Ilya Lagutenko was born in Vladivostok, where the Trans-Siberian railway ends. "People there do have this feeling that they live on the edge of the world". He had his first addictive taste of touring as a child in a proper propaganda-style Soviet choir, singing songs about Lenin in Siberian factories. After studying in the Far Eastern University he moved to London and flung himself into Camden Town at Brit-pop's height. It was here that Lagutenko formed his band Mumiy Troll. His first album Morskaya went to number one in Russia and was called a cult record that has changed pop and rock music in Russia. Mumiy Troll was the first to appear on Russian MTV. Since then, they have played gigs across the globe: from Siberia to the Baltics, Mongolia to Greenland, Shanghai open-airs to St Petersburg's Palace Square. Despite being a globally successful band, they are still fresh, hungry, and in search of new musical discoveries. In 2013 they released their 1st album both English and Russian versions (the 11th numerous album in Russian) as Ilya being fluent in English and Mandarin - it was recorded in-between the bands relentless world touring schedule. Ilya and his colleagues have played at many festivals and conferences around the globe (SXSW, Culture Collide, Zandari, Sound City, etc.). Ilya Lagutenko is actively involved in charitable, social and environmental activities, and has been cooperating with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for many years.