Alexander Barykin was born on February 18, 1952, in Beryozovo. He was a young boy when his parents moved to Lybertsy, a suburb near Moscow. While still in school, Barykin sang and played guitar in an amateur band called Allegro. He went to musical school and then earned a degree in the classical vocal program at the Gnesins Musical College. In the 1970s, Barykin was a member of the VIA bands Moskvichi, Vesiolie Rebiata, Samotsvety and Jemchug. In August, 1979, Barykin collaborated with the guitarist of Samotsvety, Vladimir Kuzmin to organize a new band called Carnaval. It was considered to be the first Russian band to embrace new wave. Carnaval combined a range of styles and influences, including glam rock, rhythm and blues, and white reggae on the base of Russian melodic. In 1982, Kuzmin has organized his band Dynamic, and Barykin became the single leader of Carnaval. In 1985, the band experimented with pop rock. In 1989, they released a pure rock album Hey, Look! and broke up soon thereafter. As member of Carnaval, Barykin released 15 albums, including 3 releases with the Soviet recording monopolist Melodiya, 5 compilations, and 1 live album at Moroz Records. In 1990, Barykin started a successful solo career and subsequently released 13 albums. Barykin is considered by many as a father of Russian reggae.. A number of Russian musicians and songwriters were influenced by Barykin. For example, the reggae styled hit of the band ChaifArgentina — Jamaica 5:0 was made in a style reminiscent of Barykin. In 2008 he sang the cover version in the TV show Superstar. Vadim Nikolayev: "I regretted that it isn't Barykin's song almost ten years. But it became his song — at least for me". In the 1990s, Barykin began to experience problems with his vocal chords. After Islands, Barykin did not release any new songs for a period of four years. After that period, he recovered and was able to continue his solo career. Near the end of his life, Barykin had reconstituted Carnaval together with such ex-members as guitarist Andrey Vypov, saxophonist and flutist Valentin Ilyenko, drummer Alexander Filonenko, and bass player Petr Makienko, with whom he played in Jemchug.
Personal life
Barykin had four children: Georgy Byrykin, Kira Byrykina, Yevgeniya Barykina from his second marriage with singer Nelly Barykina, and illegitimate son Timur Sayed-Shah from singer Raisa Sayed-Shah. Barykin died of a heart attack on March 26, 2011, in Orenburg after a concert. He was 59 years old.
