Ex-producer of "TATU" to promote a "Shakhid"

Saturday, September 11th 2004 will mark the third anniversary of the terrorist act in New York. On this day, Moscow’s Dom Soyuzov will host the first concert of a new pupil of former producer of famous music band “TATU”. Her name is NATO.

The singer all dressed in black military-like gown, with her face cloaked in veil will sing songs in Eastern languages. “Al-Jazeera’s” newscast in the background provokes quite obvious associations. Music producer Ivan Shapovalov exploits a topic of current importance i.e. terrorism to the fullest extent. For instance, admission tickets resemble airline tickets. And a press-release dedicated to the concert reads: “this will be a terror-concert—musical terrorist operation.” The Beslan tragedy did not affect Shapovalov’s creativity. “NATO is merely a female singer with a headscarf and a veil. If our society is afraid of a woman in a black headscarf, that means only one thing: the society is sick and needs to seek treatment,” explains the producer.

Musical debut of this unknown singer with rather strange nickname NATO is intended to shock people. According to Ivan Shapovalov, the effect will resemble that of a detonated bomb. Its power will not be measured in trotyl equivalent though. Our main intention here is to make sensation, to make public talk about her. The master of scandals has already developed an entire advertising campaign. Flickering images of the Middle East in her new music video are intertwined with flashing words such as “Al-Qaeda,” “oil,” “Iraq,” “Nasdaq.”
 
The concert will be hosted by Dom Soyuzov located on Bolshaya Dmitrovka street. Tickets will be designed as airline tickets where the final destination will be labeled as “Moscow. Bolshaya Dmitrovka, Dom Soyuzov,” and time of departure- 20:00. Concert posters that are planned to be sold at the door will depict a woman’s face with a headscarf and a veil.

-If a woman puts on a headscarf it does not mean that she is a Shakhid,” stated Shapovalov to “Izvestia”. “”Shakhid”, “Eastern woman” and “fear” have all become synonyms these days. Society began to fear women in black headscarf. I am not trying to promote this. I promote music. We’ve recorded an album this summer, before any terrorist acts. Nowadays, we are facing difficult times. Some organize protests; some give blood; some pray. I just simply offer people a new kind of music.

-Normal people do not profit off of someone’s grief.

-Normal people will react normally. Every conflict springs from fear. We need to conquer this fear. Why fear a woman in black or a mere tape? Music—is just an hour of common suffering. This is an alternative to loneliness. The project’s main goal is music.

-You wittingly use such painful subject as terrorism. Can’t you understand that this is simply immoral?? Perhaps, you are sick?!

-If society stops listening to music, then it will need to seek help. It will be the one that will be in need of medical treatment; otherwise it will simply die. Our nuthouses and prisons are overcrowded; this is indicative of the fact that something is really wrong with our society.

Very little is known about the new singer NATO. According to the Shapovalov’s legend, he got acquainted with her over the Internet. The girl is from Chelyabinks, supposedly. Her stage name NATO has nothing to do with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. As for the singer herself, she refuses to speak to the press. 

-I don’t care if she is Russian or not, says Shapovalov. This is a girl from the Internet. I can’t even determine the exact style of her music. She sings in Tadjik, Georgian and Pharsi languages. Her songs are about love, about life.

Shapovalov does not give out the details of the upcoming concert. He is certain that his “terror-concert” will not be cancelled.

Bogdan Stepovoi