TEMA (group)

Infobox musical artist
Name = TEMA
Img_capt = Currently Casting
Background = group_or_band
Birth_name = Anya Zubko
Alias = TEMA
Born = December 1st
Died =
Origin = Russia
Instrument =
Genre = Electronica
Occupation =
Years_active = 2004 – present
Label = CPG TEMA
Associated_acts =
URL = http://supertema.ru/
Current_members = Anya Zubko
Past_members = Sasha Anohina Nastia Kotova Alia Mary Asya "Asia" Arhipova

Original TEMA

TEMA (Russian "ТЕМА") was created by Maugly Jr. (Russian Маугли Jr.), a former rapper turned music producer in May 2004. The two members were Sasha Anohina (Russian "Саша Анохина") and Nastia Kotova (Russian "Настя Котова.") Their debut album, released on July 27, 2005, on "Nikitin Records" was titled "Просто Я Фанатка" (Prosto Ya Fanatka), meaning "I'm Just A Fan." Two official music videos were released for the album, for the song titled "Это Тема!" (Eto Tema!, or What An Idea!), and "Lyubov Vnutrivenno" (Love Introvenously) which shows Sasha and Nastia being rejected by their idols. In the video for "Это Тема!", Ivan Shapovalov (t.A.T.u.'s former producer) acts with Sasha, and the two appear to be having sex. A third video was made, but never commercially released, because Sasha Anohina, and Nastia Kotova were kicked out of TEMA.

Their first song "Kto Esli Ne Ya?" caused many t.A.T.u. fans to think it was them, because TEMA's vocals sounded almost identicle to t.A.T.u.'s. This rumor was later confirmed by t.A.T.u.'s management that the song was not by t.A.T.u. TEMA's management quickly capatalized by this PR move, which landed the TEMA girls (Anohina and Kotova) on MUZ-TV, talking about their song. In all truth, TEMA quite often gets a lot of criticism for being "too much" like t.A.T.u., because both groups were an all girl duet, both sang about powerful themes, and both released cutting edge pop music throughout Russia.

During the year of 2005, tension grew between the ТЕМА girls, their producer (Maugly Jr.) and the company. On an unknown date, Sasha and Nastia decided to leave the studio, and went along with their PR manager, Natalia Kulesh. They attempted to negotiate contracts behind Maugly Jr.'s back, which forced him to take action. He denied them allowance to the name "ТЕМА", and restricted them from singing any of the songs that were produced under his name. This was a devastating blow, due mainly to the fact that almost all of TEMA's music was created by Maugly Jr.

After this, the former TEMA girls (Anohina and Kotova) struggled to regain their fame. They changed their name too many times to count... OXI, DNK, TE MA, TE MY, and more were created, but never trademarked, or even used for that matter. The ex TEMA girls (still under Natalia Kulesh at this time) recorded one song called "Za Proschayu." The music was made by the late Alexander Kuroedov (the musician behind TEMA's hits "Eto TEMA, and Radiatsia) though this song was never released, because Natalia Kulesh realized she did not have the resources to be the producer of the project.

The girls then went to Alexander Bondarev... A relatively unknown Russian PR man. He promised the girls that he could once again get them on the radio, and more. He released a statement on Russian news sources that TEMA would be back in the fall with a new song "Devochka Problema," though this song was never even recorded. The girls (Anohina and Kotova) soon realized that all of their "so-called" producers did not have the resources, or the know how to produce them.

For a long time, it was silence for these girls. Although, in 2007, it was definite that the old TEMA girls would not be back in TEMA. In their words, TEMA's producer "refused to accept the fact that we had changed" but it was actually apparent that no change was present. The girls were still fame driven, and imature. They demanded things that were not reasonable, such as a live band to accompany them, even though they were not known enough in the Russian music scene to demand such things. Now, they plan to record new songs under a new group name "COM'MA" and are gathering material for a new album.

Discography

* 2005 Просто Я Фанатка (Prosto Ya Fanatka)

Non-Album Tracks

* Menya Vstavlyaet (Appears on the "Kto, Esli Ne Ya?" Digital Single)
* Davai Splusuyemsa (Appears on the "Kto, Esli Ne Ya?" Digital Single)
* Radiatsia (Unreleased)
* Kak Zhit? / Pomogi (Unreleased)
* Ya Pogibayu Bez Tebya
* Fanatka 2004
* Lyubov' Vnutrivenno (Demo Version)
* Obmimat, Tselovat, Gladit (Unreleased)

More songs were recorded, but not released as "TEMA." Therefore, they will not be listed here, so fans won't become confused.

TEMA, Attempt two

After the complications with the former TEMA girls, producer (Maugly Jr.) promised fans that TEMA would live on, but with new girls. Maugly Jr. let out a casting call to find two new girls through supertema.ru and 1mp.ru. He did in fact find them... The two new girls were Alia and Mary. Alia (A war correspondent for the РИА Новости news agency in Russia) & Mary (A Japanese girl, who sings Japanese in the songs).

Their first (and only) song together was entitled "Pozvonyu" (I'll Call.) This song is about a friendship that was ripped at the seams by betrayal. Music and lyrics were created by Maugly Jr., and this song was said to be about the ex TEMA girls (Anohina and Kotova.) The song strayed from TEMA's standard uptempo fierce pop sound, though it was much more complex, vocally. In fact, it utilized vocal techniques that were never used by the ex TEMA group.

Shortly after the songs release in 2005, Alia had to leave on a business trip with her news agency. This would have been okay, but a horrible incident happened a little bit later... Maugly Jr. was attacked in the streets of Moscow in broad daylight. This worried Mary's father, who already feared about his daughter's safety in Moscow. It came as no surprise when Mary's father forced Mary to return to Japan, which of course ended the 2nd lineup of TEMA.

Non-Album Tracks

* Pozvonu (I'll Call)

Current TEMA... Anya Zubko & Casting For the 2nd Singer

Now that all of the drama has passed, it was time to begin anew. Maugly Jr. let out a 2nd casting call, to find the new "TEMA." Lots of letters came in to Maugly Jr. and Frederick Newton, but only one girl was used... Her name was simply "Asya." Her first song (entitled "Bei Ili Begi" (Hit or Run) was released on January 5, 2007. The song features an uptempo beat, set to a driving guitar rhythm. Music and lyrics were created once again by Maugly Jr. This did not last though, because Asya Arhipova was dropped from TEMA in March, of 2008. The reason for her exit was communication issues.

The casting call remained, and was helped greatly by Tanya Azanova. Tanya has worked with TEMA, Kontakt, tAO, and more. This time, a girl named Anya Zubko answered the call. She is originally from Uzbekistan, but then moved to Ukraine 15 years later. She is now located in Moscow, Russia. She is TEMA's current singer (one half at least, as a casting call is still going out for TEMA's second singer) and has already recorded "Bei ili Begi 2008." This song was originally made for TEMA's ex singer Asya Arhipova, but was re-done for TEMA's current singer. This version is less pop-rock, and more dance-pop. The song was released on September 29th, 2008, and has received a great response from fans so far.

For the first time in years, things are moving for TEMA. Moving indeed! More songs are already in production, including collaborations with Kontakt's composer/arranger "Sunfire" and tAO.

Aside from Maugly Jr., CPG TEMA has the following employees:

Frederick Newton, under the pseudonym tAO. Freddy is a songwriter, and manages TEMA's financial affairs in the west.

Maria Soboleva. Maria handeled PR for the group.

Tatiana Azanova, under the pseudonym "Tanya_mysh", or "m69sh." Tanya handles PR for the current TEMA group, and helped with the casting.

TEMA is a pop group which is rich in talent, and thought. News updates are constantly given on the websites [http://www.supertema.ru superTEMA] , [http://www.myspace.com/supertema TEMA on MySpace] , and [http://www.ultratao.com tAO] .

If you want to be part of TEMA (And LIVE IN/AROUND THE MOSCOW AREA) then apply! TEMA is all about the fans, so why not try out? go to www.supertema.ru and apply. Who knows... YOU might be the next TEMA!

External links

* [http://supertema.ru/ Official Russian Website]
* [http://myspace.com/supertema TEMA's Official MySpace Page]
* [http://ultratao.com tAO Creative Productions]
* [http://youtube.com/supertema TEMA's Channel on YouTube]
* [http://liveinternet.ru/users/1152837/profile TEMA's Page On LI.Ru]