Rauf Faik — Pain and Memories
Classically-trained voices combine poetry with a piano and a drum machine and shatter my heart into a million pieces
Listen. Rauf and Faik just dropped a new album and their millions of views on YouTube are not praise enough for this absolute masterpiece. I rarely praise anything, but this praise is deserved.
The 20-year-old twins, born in Russia of Azerbaijani descent, come from a family of musicians. Their grandfather was an opera singer, and served as the director of an opera house in Baku. Let me just tell you — it’s clear from their music that they’re classically-trained singers. They both have 4.5-octave ranges. And then they rap with melodic precision, choosing perfect octaves over stereotypical harmonies.
If you don’t speak Russian, don’t worry, because:
- This album is bilingual.
- I’ll provide translations of each Russian excerpt.
- You’ll probably decide to start learning it as soon as you listen to this album (like this guy, who has posted dozens of reaction videos in Russian).
Before we get to the new album, though, let’s reminisce. Two of Rauf Faik’s biggest hits, Я люблю тебя (I Love You) and Детство (Childhood), will remain at the top of my playlist forever. I’ve made covers of them (and of all the songs below), but they will never compare to the originals.
“You wanted to know what tomorrow brings, but it’s difficult to predict who will break the shackles first. I love you. I wanted to live my whole life with you. Now I lost you, and I don’t know if I can bring you back.”
“Every time I think back to our childhood, I remember our spot. At 16, we got tired of kissing each other. You took my T-shirt; there’s no point in that. I was the fool. I made a mistake. Why did I fall so deeply in love?”
Second albums rarely live up to their predecessors, but “Pain and Memories” is an exception.
Here are a few highlights.
Из-За Тебя (Because of You)
Go ahead — just rip my heart out of my chest with all of the arteries attached and throw it into a wood chipper. I don’t need it anymore. You destroyed me in just 10 lines (and less than 2 minutes).
Я этой ночью плохо чувствовал себя
Это было только что из-за тебя
Не бросай меня, я так люблю тебя
Люблю тебяI felt bad tonight
It was only because of you
Don’t leave me, I love you so much
I love you
Что Такое Любовь (What is Love?)
My God. First of all, the best time to use autotune is when you don’t need it — like here. I used a lot of autotune back in my audio engineering days, and let me tell you… it’s used purposefully here.
Second, this is bilingualism at its finest. We go from a vaguely familiar melody to rap to clever harmonies — again, with nothing more than a piano, some staccato strings, and a sparse beat. The emphasis is on the voice, and it’s brilliant.
Может ты не знаешь, что такое любовь?
Слышишь эти крики? Ты услышала боль?
Может я не знаю, кто отдал мне любовь.
Ты снова мне расскажешь — я поверю вновьMaybe you don’t know what love is?
Do you hear these screams?
Did you hear all the pain?
Maybe I don’t know who has given me love.
You will tell me again. I will believe it again.
Вальс (Waltz)
This is a 10-line poem with a haunting toy piano melody that pierces my soul and electrocutes me through the depths of my body. I missed my train stop because of this song, and when I got back on in the other direction, I missed the stop again.
Are you TRYING to shred my heart into a million pieces incompatible with life? Well… you’ve succeeded.
Я врал — танцевал этот вальс не с тобою,
а ты танцевала, хохотала не со мною.
Почему? Почему ты ушла от меня?
Почему? Почему ты ушла от меня?I lied — I didn’t dance this waltz with you,
but you danced, laughing not with me.
Why? Why did you leave me?
Why? Why did you leave me?
And when Faik starts with “я болею тобою” and the violin creeps in… I can’t even translate this. Я болею can mean “I’m sick” or “I’m in pain” and тобою means “thee”… so he’s not saying “I’m sick of you”, he’s saying “I’m sick and my illness is you.” But he’s using a very specific form of you that stands out linguistically.
Извини Меня (Forgive Me)
I don’t know if I can forgive anyone after this.
Я люблю тебя,
все равно люблю.
Я так многого боялся.
Прости, прощай, моя любовь.
Солнце светит ярко,
мы идём с тобой по улице.
Улыбаешься и смотришь на меня.
Ты моя нежность, нежность, нежность…I love you,
I still love you.
I was so afraid.
Sorry, farewell, my love.
The sun shines brightly,
We walk down the street together.
You smile and look at me.
You are my tenderness, tenderness, tenderness…
Моя Звезда (My Star)
Just when you start to think that Rauf always takes the bass, here comes the upper end of his vocal range. Operatically. And again with the chilling piano. Each piece on this album flows together as if they were all movements of a larger piece.
Что ты сделал, моя звезда?
Что ты сделал, что сделал?
Прямо в небе, горят суда.
Прямо в небе, ты видишь небо?What did you do, my star?
What did you do? What did you do?
Right in the sky, ships are burning.
Right in the sky, do you see the sky/do you see heaven?
