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Mirage («Мираж») is a Soviet and Russian pop group founded in Moscow in 1986 by composer Andrey Lityagin and lyricist Valery Sokolov. It became one of the best-known dance-pop projects of the late Soviet era. The group’s sound was built around electronic pop music, synth-pop and disco, with programmed rhythms, synthesizers and distinctive guitar parts. Mirage’s best-known songs include «Музыка нас связала» (Music Brought Us Together), «Видео» (Video), «Звёзды нас ждут» (The Stars Are Waiting for Us), «Наступает ночь» (Night Is Falling), «Новый герой» (New Hero), «Я больше не прошу» (I Ask No More), «Солнечное лето» (Sunny Summer) and «Снова вместе» (Together Again).
Mirage’s history is unusual above all because studio work and live performance were often separated. At different times, the group’s songs were recorded by one set of vocalists and presented onstage by others. As a result, Mirage is associated with the names of Margarita Sukhankina, Natalia Gulkina, Svetlana Razina, Natalia Vetlitskaya, Irina Saltykova, Tatiana Ovsienko and Ekaterina Boldysheva. This system became one of the most widely discussed features of the project and led to long-running debates over whose voice can actually be heard on its best-known recordings.
From «Зона активности» to Mirage
Before Mirage, Andrey Lityagin took part in several student music projects. One of them was a mid-1980s group called «Зона активности» (Zone of Activity), where he experimented with electronic music. Margarita Sukhankina was also connected with the project and performed one of Lityagin’s early compositions.
By 1986, the composer had focused on creating a new female pop project. An important collaborator on the early repertoire was lyricist Valery Sokolov, who wrote the words to many songs that would later become Mirage classics.
Margarita Sukhankina was invited to record the first studio material. A classically trained singer, she later chose an operatic career and declined to become a permanent touring member of a pop group. The search for a live line-up therefore continued.
«Звёзды нас ждут»
In 1987, Mirage released its first tape album, «Звёзды нас ждут» (The Stars Are Waiting for Us), after which the group quickly gained popularity across the Soviet Union. The album was recorded using two principal female voices.
Margarita Sukhankina performed «Звёзды нас ждут», «Видео» and «Эта ночь» (This Night). The other five songs — «Безумный мир» (Crazy World), «Я не хочу» (I Don’t Want To), «Солнечное лето», «Волшебный мир» (Magic World) and «Электричество» (Electricity) — were recorded by Natalia Gulkina.
Gulkina became one of Mirage’s first concert soloists. She was joined onstage by Svetlana Razina, who not only performed with the group but also contributed to its material as a lyricist. Mirage toured extensively, while its recordings spread on cassette tapes far beyond Moscow.
The group’s basic musical identity was already in place: fast electronic rhythms, bright synthesizer lines, romantic lyrics and high female vocals. For Soviet mainstream pop in the second half of the 1980s, this sounded exceptionally modern.
«Снова вместе» and «Музыка нас связала»
In 1988, Natalia Gulkina left Mirage and began a solo career. Svetlana Razina also departed and formed the group «Фея» (Feya).
For the second album, Andrey Lityagin once again turned to Margarita Sukhankina. This time, her voice can be heard on all of the main vocal parts of «Снова вместе» (Together Again). During this period, guitarist Alexey Gorbashov joined Mirage, and his playing became an important element of the group’s new sound.
The second album produced some of Mirage’s biggest late-1980s hits: «Музыка нас связала», «Наступает ночь», «Новый герой», «Снова вместе» and «Я больше не прошу». The synth-driven disco became harder and more dynamic thanks to Gorbashov’s electric guitar, especially in instrumental passages and solos.
Sukhankina, however, did not become the group’s permanent live singer. She continued her professional classical career, so other performers appeared onstage to songs featuring her recorded vocals.
Vetlitskaya, Saltykova and Ovsienko
The late 1980s were marked by especially frequent changes in the live line-up. After Gulkina’s departure, Natalia Vetlitskaya performed with Mirage for a short period. Her time in the group was brief, but it became one of the first steps toward her later solo career.
The concert line-up later included Irina Saltykova and Tatiana Ovsienko. Ovsienko in particular became one of Mirage’s most recognizable stage personalities around the turn of the 1980s and 1990s and appeared in the group’s television performances.
This created a paradox that became characteristic of Mirage’s history: the voice on a backing track could belong to Margarita Sukhankina, while audiences associated the song with the performer they saw onstage or on television. The practice later became one of the central subjects of discussion surrounding the group.
Ekaterina Boldysheva and the move toward live vocals
Around 1990–1991, Ekaterina Boldysheva became the group’s lead singer. Unlike many previous live line-ups, she performed the repertoire with her own voice and gradually became the group’s permanent vocalist.
Boldysheva is closely associated with Mirage’s third studio album, «Не в первый раз» (Not for the First Time). The original vocal parts for the new material had been recorded by Margarita Sukhankina in 1989–1990, but that version was not released at the time. After Boldysheva joined in 1991, the songs were re-recorded with her vocals, while Alexey Gorbashov recorded the guitar parts. By 1992, the album was largely complete, but this version did not receive an official release until 2008.
After the collapse of the Soviet concert system, the group went through different periods of activity. During the 1990s, Boldysheva and Gorbashov continued to perform, including outside Russia. At the same time, other projects and line-ups appeared using the Mirage repertoire or name.
Reunions and the «golden voices»
On December 1, 2004, a major anniversary concert took place at Moscow’s Olimpiysky Sports Complex, bringing together many participants from different periods of the group’s history.
Around the same time, Margarita Sukhankina and Natalia Gulkina began performing together. Their duo initially appeared under the name «Золотые голоса группы „Мираж“» (The Golden Voices of Mirage), and after agreements with the relevant rights holders, it began working directly under the Mirage brand.
Gulkina left this line-up in early 2011. Svetlana Razina briefly returned to perform alongside Sukhankina, after which Sukhankina continued as the main singer of the project.
This chapter came to an end in 2016. Andrey Lityagin resumed his collaboration with Ekaterina Boldysheva and Alexey Gorbashov, and the live Mirage project subsequently developed around musicians who had worked with the group from the late 1980s into the early 1990s.
Mirage today
Ekaterina Boldysheva remains the group’s lead singer, while Alexey Gorbashov is its guitarist and one of its key musicians. The current Mirage performs as a live band, with Boldysheva’s vocals accompanied by guitar, keyboards and drums.
The concert line-up in recent years has also included drummer Elizaveta Volkova and keyboardists Sergey Krylov and Dmitry Savari. Andrey Lityagin remains connected with the project as its founder and the composer of a major part of its repertoire.
A new wave of interest in Mirage emerged in the 2020s. The group’s songs once again became prominent in films and television series, including Слово пацана. Кровь на асфальте (The Boy’s Word: Blood on the Asphalt), which featured «Новый герой», «Я не шучу» (I’m Not Joking), «Музыка нас связала», «Снова вместе» and «Солнечное лето». At the same time, the group’s older recordings found a new audience on digital platforms.
Mirage discography
The Mirage discography includes the group’s classic studio albums, later versions of previously unreleased material, records featuring new repertoire, remix albums and live releases. Because the same recordings have been reissued numerous times, some releases exist in several different versions and with different mastering.
Studio albums
- «Звёзды нас ждут» (The Stars Are Waiting for Us) (1987) — the debut album. The vocal parts were recorded by Margarita Sukhankina and Natalia Gulkina. The album includes «Звёзды нас ждут», «Видео» (Video), «Эта ночь» (This Night), «Безумный мир» (Crazy World), «Солнечное лето» (Sunny Summer), «Электричество» (Electricity) and other songs.
- «Снова вместе» (Together Again) (1988) — Mirage’s second classic album, recorded with vocals by Margarita Sukhankina. It was here that «Музыка нас связала» (Music Brought Us Together), «Наступает ночь» (Night Is Falling), «Новый герой» (New Hero), «Я больше не прошу» (I Ask No More) and «Снова вместе» first appeared.
- «Брось!» (Drop It!) (2003) — a studio version of material originally prepared for the group’s third album in the early 1990s. The songs were re-recorded with Margarita Sukhankina on vocals and with new arrangements.
- «Не в первый раз» (Not for the First Time) (2008) — the officially released version of the third classic album, featuring vocals by Ekaterina Boldysheva. Most of the material had originally been created in the early 1990s. The album includes «Ты словно тень» (You’re Like a Shadow), «Дух ночи» (Spirit of the Night), «Отпусти меня» (Let Me Go), «Скорость» (Speed), «Эхо» (Echo), «Двое нас» (The Two of Us), «Я жду тебя» (I’m Waiting for You) and other tracks.
- «1000 звёзд» (1000 Stars) (2009) — an album from the period of Margarita Sukhankina and Natalia Gulkina’s collaboration. In addition to new material, the release included updated versions of several well-known Mirage songs.
- «Отпусти меня» (Let Me Go) (2013) — another studio version of material originating from the unfinished third album of the early 1990s. Margarita Sukhankina recorded the vocals, while the songs were given new arrangements.
Remix albums and new versions
- Dance Remix (1997) — dance-oriented reworkings of Mirage songs; the album was later reissued.
- «Версия 2000» (Version 2000) (1999) — new arrangements of well-known compositions by the group.
- Dance Remix 2000 (2000) — a reissue and updated version of the remix material.
- «Назад в будущее» (Back to the Future) (2001) — an album featuring reworked versions of songs from Mirage’s early period.
- «Старое по-новому» (The Old in a New Way) (2004) — new versions of the classic repertoire, including «Музыка нас связала», «Наступает ночь», «Звёзды нас ждут», «Снова вместе» and «Новый герой».
Live and anniversary releases
- «Мираж — 18 лет» (Mirage — 18 Years) (2006–2007) — a series of audio and video releases based on the group’s anniversary concerts, featuring musicians and vocalists from different periods of its history. The project included live performances of Mirage songs as well as appearances by guest artists.
- The Best of Greatest Hits Live (2017) — a live album featuring Ekaterina Boldysheva and Alexey Gorbashov. The recordings were made at group performances in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Vancouver in different years.
Compilations and reissues
Since the 1990s, the Mirage catalogue has been reissued repeatedly on CD, cassette, vinyl and digital platforms. Releases have included Greatest Hits, Grand Collection, various best-of compilations and MP3 editions. A significant number of these releases contain no independent new material and consist instead of songs from the first albums, later versions, remixes or live recordings.
Modern reissues of the three classic albums — «Звёзды нас ждут», «Снова вместе» and «Не в первый раз» — occupy a separate place in the catalogue. For new vinyl editions of the first two records, digitized original master tapes from the late 1980s were used.
Sound and place in Soviet pop music
Mirage’s music grew out of European disco and 1980s synth-pop but developed a recognizable identity of its own. Electronic drums and sequenced parts were combined with melodic female vocals, while rock guitar became increasingly important after Alexey Gorbashov joined the group.
The lyrics were another distinctive feature. Unlike much of the Soviet mainstream pop of the time, Mirage songs were built around short phrases, instantly memorable choruses and recurring images of night, stars, movement, anticipation and romantic loneliness. The musical structure was designed primarily for a dance-oriented response.
Mirage became one of the most characteristic pop projects of the final years of the Soviet Union. Its history, however, proved no less unusual than its music: studio voices, constantly changing live singers, parallel line-ups, returning former members and years of disputes over the repertoire turned the name Mirage into a phenomenon of its own within the Russian pop scene. Decades later, the group continues to perform, while songs from its first two albums remain at the core of its repertoire.
