Almaty, November 7. Kazakh singer Kirill Li, known as the “general of the Kazakh stage,” has died, Tanirbergen Berdongarov wrote on Instagram on November 7, Bes.media reports.
Berdongarov called Li the voice “to which all of Alma-Ata danced” in the 1990s and recalled the songs “Karina,” “Dozhd” and “Milashka-malolyetka”: “that was our youth.” He also told how the artist’s path began. Li dreamed for years of playing drums, but the Palace of Pioneers did not take him; in the army he ended up in a Moscow military theatre and took his first bass guitar lessons there. Then came a music school, a double-bass class, tours of the Caucasus and Ukraine, and work at the philharmonic in Grozny. On his return he began performing as a singer and writing songs with his friend, keyboardist Alexei Minenko.
In his songs Li imitated the manner of the group Laskovy May, and the abundance of hits earned him the nickname “general of the Kazakh stage,” Nur.kz wrote. Many believed the singer left the big stage after taking offence at criticism of his videos on Russia’s MTV. In fact the reason was health problems that prevented him from performing; afterwards he went into advertising and production. From 2002 he appeared less on television, and later he married, with his wife performing alongside him on stage, Bes.media cites Last.fm data.
What we know now: The information is based on Berdongarov’s post; Bes.media does not cite a statement from the family or the artist’s representatives. The date and cause of death and the place and time of the farewell are not given in the report.
Background: Laskovy May was a Soviet pop group popular in the late 1980s; Li, by his own words in an interview, took its manner of performance as his basis.
