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Deti Picasso

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Deti Picasso
Gaya and Karen Arutyunyan performing with Wattican Punk Ballet in 2013
Gaya and Karen Arutyunyan performing with Wattican Punk Ballet in 2013
Background information
OriginMoscow, Russia
Genres
Years active
  • 1999–2011
  • 2014–present
Labels
  • Deep Music
  • Trottel Records
  • A38
Spinoffs
  • Wattican Punk Ballet
  • Gaya
Members
  • Gayane Arutyunyan
  • Karen Arutyunyan
  • Anastasia Razvalyaeva
  • Áron Porteleki
Websitedetipicasso.com

Deti Picasso (Russian: Дети Picasso, lit. 'Picasso's Children') is a Russian-Armenian music band formed in Moscow by siblings Gayane "Gaya" Arutyunyan and Karen Arutyunyan. The group combines rock, art rock, experimental arrangements, and Armenian folk material, with songs in Armenian and Russian.[1][2][3][4]

The band emerged on the Moscow alternative scene in the early 2000s, released the albums Mesyats ulybok and Ethnic Experiments, toured in Europe, and later moved its center of activity to Budapest.[5][6][7][4] After a break in the early 2010s, Deti Picasso returned in 2014 with a new lineup and released the album Motherland in 2015.[8][9][10]

History

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Formation and early years

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Deti Picasso was formed in 1999 by Gayane and Karen Arutyunyan. The band's early work combined contemporary rock with Armenian-language material and was connected with Moscow's club and alternative music scene.[11][12][6] Before adopting the name Deti Picasso, the group was connected with an earlier project called Chadosti.[13][4]

The band's first widely discussed album, Mesyats ulybok (Russian: Месяц улыбок), was released in 2002. Its early public history included appearances at the Nashestvie festival and airplay for the group's cover of "Pesnya Krasnoy Shapochki" ("Little Red Riding Hood's Song").[5][13] In 2003, Deti Picasso received the FUZZ magazine award for best new group.[14]

Ethnic Experiments and European touring

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In 2003, Deti Picasso prepared a concert program titled Ethnic Experiments, built around Armenian musical material.[12][11] Its Moscow presentation included visual material connected with Armenian architecture, ornaments, cultural symbols, and Sergei Parajanov's film The Color of Pomegranates.[11] The album Ethnic Experiments followed in 2004 and developed the band's Armenian-language rock direction.[6][15]

The group performed in Armenia for the first time in December 2004, with concerts in Yerevan connected with the anniversary of Radio VAN.[16] Hungarian saxophonist István Grencsó appeared with the band during this period, after meeting the musicians through their performance at the Sziget Festival.[16]

During the mid-2000s, Deti Picasso toured in Europe and performed in Croatia, Hungary, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.[7] The band was also associated with Armenian rock circles beyond Russia; in 2011, Karen Arutyunyan took part in a jam session in Yerevan with Armenian musician and entertainer Garik Papoyan.[17]

Budapest and Wattican Punk Ballet

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Gaya and Karen Arutyunyan moved from Moscow to Budapest in the late 2000s.[1][4] After the albums Gerda and Kay, the original members were divided between different countries and regular group activity became difficult.[1][13] By 2011, Deti Picasso had paused its activity, although Karen Arutyunyan stated that the group had not broken up.[17]

Gaya and Karen Arutyunyan then developed Wattican Punk Ballet, a theatrical and psychedelic rock project connected with their Budapest period.[18][4]

Reunion and Motherland

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Deti Picasso returned in 2014 with an updated lineup. Gaya and Karen Arutyunyan were joined by harpist Anastasia Razvalyaeva and Hungarian drummer and violist Áron Porteleki.[8][9][10][2] The band launched a crowdfunding campaign before recording its next album.[9][10]

Motherland was released in 2015 on Trottel Records and A38. The album was based on Armenian folk melodies and family musical memory, and was recorded after the band's four-year break.[10][9][19] The group presented the album in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Budapest.[20][21][22] The album was also covered by Zvuki.ru as a reunion-era record by a band whose founders had settled in Hungary.[23]

The 2015 video for "Es Gisher" was based on an Armenian folk song about a moonlit night and used low-poly visual imagery linked with Armenian history and memory.[24] The updated lineup also performed in Yerevan during the same period.[25]

Later work

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In 2019, Deti Picasso marked its twentieth anniversary with concerts in Russia.[26][13][4] The band's history was later summarized in a retrospective by Afisha Daily, structured around Gaya Arutyunyan's comments on each album.[13]

Gaya Arutyunyan also worked under the name Gaya. In 2018, she released the EP Moskva-reka, recorded in Moscow and Budapest with musicians including Karen Arutyunyan, Ellina Khachaturyan, Diana Kemelman, Roman Shilepin, and Tina Kuznetsova.[27] In 2025, she launched the educational project Derzkiy likbez.[28]

Musical style

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Deti Picasso's music combines rock with Armenian folk material, art-rock arrangements, theatrical vocal delivery, and elements of world music.[1][2][3][4] The group's early sound moved between Russian-language alternative rock and Armenian-language folk-rock, while Ethnic Experiments concentrated on Armenian songs and rock arrangements.[6][13][11] After the 2014 reunion, the band's sound became more transparent and acoustic, with a stronger role for harp, percussion, and Armenian folk sources.[9][24][21]

The band has been described as an Armenian-Russian ethno-rock group whose music connects rock, pop, and Armenian folk tradition.[2][29][21] Its later material includes adaptations of old Armenian songs and liturgical or folk melodic sources.[3][10][9]

Band members

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Latest documented lineup

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  • Gayane Arutyunyan – vocals, keyboards[2][21]
  • Karen Arutyunyan – guitar[2][21]
  • Anastasia Razvalyaeva – harp[8][2]
  • Áron Porteleki – drums, viola[8][2]

Former and associated musicians

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Former and associated members of the band have included Vadim Kuznetsov, Alexey Filippik, Alexander Kolakovsky, Ellina Khachaturyan, Árpád Vajdovich, and Bogdan Bobrov.[13][30][4]

Discography

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Studio albums

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Year Title Notes
2002 Mesyats ulybok (Russian: Месяц улыбок) First widely reviewed album[5][13]
2004 Ethnic Experiments Armenian-language folk-rock album[6][15][31]
2006 Glubina (Russian: Глубина) Released during the band's mid-2000s Russian and European period[2][13]
2008 Turbo Mairik Armenian-focused album from the Budapest period[2][13]
2010 Gerda (Russian: Герда) Released before the group's early-2010s pause[13]
2010 Kai (Russian: Кай) Companion album to Gerda[13]
2015 Motherland Reunion album released on Trottel Records and A38[10][9][19]

Other releases and videos

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The group's early and minor releases include Inoe veshchestvo (Russian: Иное вещество), the single "Takaya vot zhivopis" with ...I Drug Moy Gruzovik, and the live DVD Deti kak deti.[13] Music videos released by or associated with the band include "More liliy" and "Es Gisher".[32][24]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 "Дети Picasso: «Российская эстрада — пережиток прошлого, как мамонты»". Moskovskij Komsomolets (in Russian). May 14, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Deti Picasso". A38 Ship. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "Armenians Who Rock the World". Aurora Humanitarian Initiative. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Nurabayev, Alexander (August 6, 2019). "Гая Арутюнян из «Детей Picasso»: «Местному Вавилону не хватало только нас — армян-инопланетян»". Colta.ru (in Russian). Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 "«Дети Пикассо» — «Месяц улыбок»". InterMedia (in Russian). October 22, 2002. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Barabanov, Boris (April 22, 2004). "Диски". Kommersant (in Russian). Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "«Дети Пикассо» вернулись из тура и готовятся к записи нового альбома". InterMedia (in Russian). May 15, 2006. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Visszatér a Deti Picasso!". Recorder (in Hungarian). December 14, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "«Занимайся музыкой своих корней»". Meduza (in Russian). October 15, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Премьера альбома группы «Дети Picasso» «Motherland»". Afisha Daily (in Russian). October 7, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "«ՊԻԿԱՍՈՅԻ ԵՐԵԽԱՆԵՐԸ»". Aravot (in Armenian). May 7, 2003. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  12. 1 2 "«Дети Пикассо» поставят армянский эксперимент". InterMedia (in Russian). February 10, 2003. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Ovchinnikov, Nikolai (November 27, 2019). "История группы «Дети Пикассо» словами Гаи Арутюнян". Afisha Daily (in Russian). Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  14. ↑ "На церемонии вручения премии FUZZ Земфира обнималась с Горшком". InterMedia (in Russian). April 6, 2003. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  15. 1 2 "«Сердечко» «Детей Пикассо» научило публику «Б-2» молчать". InterMedia (in Russian). April 20, 2004. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  16. 1 2 "«Дети Пикассо» выступят на исторической родине". InterMedia (in Russian). December 7, 2004. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Карен Арутюнян из группы "Дети Пикассо" и шоумен Гарик Папоян готовят сюрприз любителям армянского рока". PanARMENIAN.Net (in Russian). June 23, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Pink Freud + Wattican Punk Ballet". Recorder (in Hungarian). September 26, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  19. 1 2 "Motherland by Deti Picasso". Apple Music. October 7, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  20. ↑ "ДЕТИ PICASSO — Из дальних странствий воротясь". Zvuki.ru (in Russian). Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 "Pesti Estek: Deti Picasso (AR/H) - Motherland lemezbemutató, Gasmac Gilmore (A)". We Love Budapest (in Hungarian). October 15, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  22. ↑ "ДЕТИ PICASSO — Motherland". Zvuki.ru (in Russian). Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  23. 1 2 3 "Klippremier! Deti Picasso: Es Gisher". Recorder (in Hungarian). October 15, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Deti Picasso խմբի համերգը Երևանում". PanARMENIAN Photo (in Armenian). Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Все новости с тегом: Дети Пикассо". InterMedia (in Russian). Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  26. ↑ "Гаяне Арутюнян отметила день рождения выпуском нового EP". InterMedia (in Russian). November 27, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  27. ↑ Vladislavskaya, A. (March 18, 2025). "«Искусство — не привилегия»: интервью с Гаей Арутюнян". Armenian Museum of Moscow and Culture of Nations (in Russian). Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  28. ↑ "Deti Picasso". A38 Hajó (in Hungarian). Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  29. ↑ "Дети Picasso. Интервью с Гаей Арутюнян". Artifex (in Russian). August 5, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  30. ↑ "Ethnic Experiments by Deti Picasso". Apple Music. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  31. ↑ "«Дети Пикассо» споют о глубоком". InterMedia (in Russian). May 8, 2003. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
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