Intentionally absurd and full of effects, Triangle is often compared to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Recording Process

Boris Grebenshchikov*:

When you want something with your whole being, not just consciously, it comes true. In the spring and summer of 1981, we recorded what I had always loved most: an album of pure, irresponsible absurdity, in a studio that quite literally fell from the sky into our laps.

We wrote half the songs on the tram on the way to the studio and rehearsed and arranged them on the steps of the Young Technicians’ Club while waiting for the sound engineer, famous for being hours late. To his credit, he treated our nonsense with total professionalism. He even played the recorder on “Misha” and respected our uncompromising devotion to the illogical. In The Triangle—as it became known; the actual “title” was just the symbol, never spoken aloud—the level of group creativity was unusually high. Everyone seemed to be tuned to the same frequency.

It was during this time that Aquarium first met Sergei Kuryokhin. A friend suggested inviting him to improve our musical and arranging abilities, which was a wise idea. He happily sprinkled his keyboard brilliance across the songs, had everyone play the kazoo on “The Lieutenant,” and stayed with us for years, drifting in and out. Much of Aquarium simply wouldn’t have happened without him.

We already knew Olga Pershina from Vasin’s Beatles’ Birthdays. I don’t recall why we invited her, but she showed up and not only sang backup vocals but also contributed as a composer (“Two Tractor Drivers”). Even Seva sang a solo, which was unusual for him. Sadly, the original recording of “Crookedness,” sung by Dyusha in the style of Ernst Busch, was lost. It slowly morphed into the album version later, while I sat in a side room working on Count Garcia.

I carried this masterpiece to Moscow with a trembling heart, only to be told unanimously by the experts that no one would ever listen to it. History proved them wrong; 85% of Russia came to love Aquarium because of “The Triangle.” Since then, I’ve learned to take criticism with a smile.

Vsevolod Gakkel:

At first, we tried recording some of the songs we were playing at the time. Since we had no idea what the new album was supposed to be, we started recording songs that Bob Grebenshchikov was writing on the spot. We hadn’t heard any of the songs before and had never played them live, so we made the arrangements right there in the studio. That became the album Triangle.

Tropillo had managed to obtain a stereo tape machine from Melodiya, the Soviet state record label, as well as a Studer eight-channel mixing desk. These additions brought us to an entirely new level of recording.

It was probably our most “alive” session—everyone was engaged and eager to play. Friends would drop in.

Reel Tape Cover Art

Andrei Usov designed the artwork, as well as almost all of Aquarium’s albums and several for Zoopark. Triangle was the first attempt by Usov and Grebenshchikov to experiment with design. They wanted to create something mysterious that would intrigue listeners.

The artwork was always created after the album was recorded. Initially, the titles and designs were fairly random, but gradually, they became more closely tied to the music itself.

“Someone gave Grebenshchikov a book like that—30 by 30 centimeters, LP-sized,” Usov recalls. It was a collection of album covers. The level of music was represented by bands like the Grateful Dead. I must have looked through those books dozens of times. Something always stuck in my mind and sparked new ideas. Later, I saw more when I started buying magazines and studying how layouts were designed. And we constantly received records from France—that was a kind of school in itself, a fascinating education. That’s what I was raised on.”

It all culminated in a photo shoot in the courtyard next to the Young Technicians’ Club and inside the studio itself. Vsevolod Gakkel climbed onto a window and hid behind the curtain. Meanwhile, Grebenshchikov put on a broken reflector he found on the floor and began moving toward the window. After considering how it looked through the lens, he said: “Let’s shoot!”

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Full Album

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* From memoirs «A brief report on 16 years of sound recording», 1996

Andrey Usov’s interview © Artur Netsvetaev