Kazakh singer Kirill Li, whose songs "Karina," "Rain" and "Milashka-maloletka" became part of Almaty's musical history in the 1990s, has died in Kazakhstan. Tanirbergen Berdongarov announced the artist's death, the website infohub.kz reports.
Tanirbergen Berdongarov spoke about Kirill Li's death on his Instagram. He recalled the artist's work, whose songs were popular in Almaty in the 1990s.
"The voice that all of Alma-Ata danced to in the '90s. 'Karina,' 'Rain,' 'Milashka-maloletka' — that was our youth," Berdongarov wrote.
He also shared the story of the musician's career. Even in his school years, Kirill Li dreamed of playing the drums and repeatedly tried to get into the Palace of Pioneers, but was turned away.
The start of his musical career came during his military service. Li ended up at the Moscow Military Theater, where he met musicians from Gnesinka and received his first lessons in playing the bass guitar. He later graduated from a music college with a degree in double bass. He performed in restaurants, toured the Caucasus and Ukraine, and worked at the philharmonic in Grozny.
After returning, Kirill Li decided to try his hand as a singer. He began writing songs together with his friend and keyboardist Alexei Minenko, with whom he traveled a significant part of his creative path.
Berdongarov noted that the artist was nicknamed "the general of the Kazakh stage."
"For us Almaty residents, this is an entire era. Talented, one of the first. Rest in peace," he wrote.