About the Artists
Little is known of Artyom's origins. He was born somewhere in the Gulag Archipelago, and is believed to be the love child of none other than Solzhenitsyn himself. As a tiny infant, Artyom was smuggled out of captivity inside a violin case, by a soft-hearted railroad engineer. He was soon adopted by a kind family in Angarsk, Siberia.
Young Artyom refused to sleep anywhere but his case until his torso became too long to fit inside anymore, after which he became severely withdrawn and depressed. Upon discovering an actual violin inside his case at age 6, Artyom believed the instrument to be a long-lost twin brother and formed a special bond with it. A careful observer will note that the violin seems to become part of his body when he plays; Artyom did not understand the difference between a twin and a conjoined or Siamese twin.
Yuriy hails from an unnamed village in Siberia, which was settled solely by the Matveyev family in the early 1500s. Their location was so remote that it lost contact with the rest of humanity until the mid-20th century. At that time, the Matveyev homestead was slated to serve as a nuclear testing site. Fortunately, scientists came out to the area to set up cameras and instruments before conducting the first explosion, and discovered that the land was actually inhabited.
Yuriy's generation was the first to be re-integrated into Russian society. Frustrated by the language barrier (the entire clan spoke an unintelligible, anachronistic dialect), young Yuriy took a vow of silence which he has kept to this day. Generations of consanguinity do not seem to affect him, except for his premature hair loss, his exquisite talent on the guitar, and his predilection for embroidered baseball caps.
Like many great bands, Yuriy and Artyom met in college and started making music while procrastinating on their studies. Their first major performance was at a national folk festival in Novosibirsk. They took first prize for "Best New Band," but were promptly put on probation back at school. The Fine Arts Academy was not thrilled that they were sullying their stern classical training by playing rock and jazz.
The boys created 3 studio CDs and a ballet score, then took their act to Moscow. While performing at a swanky art exhibit, they were discovered by an American music promoter. This ultimately led to an album produced in the US, under the band name "Two Siberians." The boys also released more albums at home, including several film and television soundtracks.
The duet disbanded in 2008 for a well-deserved sabbatical. They reunited on stage for their first live show in 5 years in April, 2012. They are currently touring Russia, with plans for the United States and Australia in the works.