When IC3Peak released the last album “Kiss of Death”, this record had all the characteristics of the band as a Russian boogie man, leading the authorities to try a show: Lyrics that were crazy about Death. , Antiju provocation, and BloodCURDLING SCREAMS.
However, the atmosphere has changed significantly on the Russian duo's new album “COMING HOME” released on Friday. The sound of tough electricity and heavy gold genus is almost gone. Instead, Nastya Kreslina, the vocalist of the band, gently cut and whisper the melodic indie rock.
Crerina said that the shift that “all of our lives have changed” has a brief explanation.
Three years ago, Crerina left Moscow a few days after Russia started Ukraine's full -fledged invasion. Since then, Kreslina and her bandmates, Nikolay Kostylev, have been dealing with the emotional and creative fallouts of conflicts.
Crerina said that Russian listeners were shouting to notice her. Now she said that the quiet voice felt like the only way to “noticed in all shouts.”
Since leaving Russia, Clerina has wandered between Paris, Los Angeles, Istanbul, and Turin in Italy. Kostylev is currently living in Berlin. The crerina has an apartment in Riga in Latvia, but she says it doesn't feel like a permanent address. Since she left Russia, she said she hadn't found a place that had “given a house sense” yet.
Exiled Russian musicians are often struggling to rebuild overseas careers. Many people have a distance from the domestic fan base and, in some cases, is designated as a traitor by the government.
This is especially true for mainstream pop acts, but some alternative groups, such as IC3PEAK and death core band massacre, will maintain popularity from abroad despite Russian cultural cockettes. , Further growing.
Kostylev stated that about 70 % of IC3Peak fans live outside of Russia, based on streaming data, and stated that it has not had a significant economic impact on asylum. “In a sense, we are lucky,” he said: “We can make a personal crisis because we have food on the table.”
The unique appearance of the band was an important part of the international attraction, and Michael IDOV, a former GQ Russian editor -in -chief who lives in the United States, said. The band is all black in a white face paint, and the video often looks like a horror movie with zombies and monsters. IDOV stated that these images have appealed to music fans as social media users are searching for rare and rare acts online. “They have always felt ripe crossover,” he said.
In a joint interview with a crerina in a restaurant on the outskirts of Riga, Costile said that the duo intended to maintain a bold fashion sense, even if it was pivoted for a milder music. In the “COMING HOME” album campaign, the duo wears a dress as a track suit Gos Angels.
When KRESLINA and Kostylev were founded in Moscow's university in 2013, IC3PEAK ran with Russian authorities from the beginning. In 2018, Crerina sings that “all Russia is watching /burning everything”, but the band members set themselves in front of a Moscow government building. More “More” has been released.
At that time, according to Kostylev, police officers and security service agents tried to close many IC3PEAK shows. Costile, Costile, added that he and Cresslina were detained and spy. (FSB did not respond to the comment request.)
At first, Costillev said that the pair was “fun”, and all performances felt that the authorities were “showing their middle fingers.” But over time, Paranoia grew, and Costillev left Russia in 2022 before Ukraine's full -fledged invasion began.
The founder of art collective cat riots, Naddy Atroconikova, said that he had a problem with Russian authorities and was still in exile, and said he had seen IC3PEAK for the first time in Moscow around 2018. parallel. “”
Tolokonnikova added that IC3PEAK was an open -minded speech in Russia as “one of the first artists”. “They are more than a band,” she said: “They are building the world.”
“COMING HOME” is not an open and political trajectory, but has a subtle hint of war and exile in Ukraine. For example, in “Where is my house,” crerina sung from the viewpoint of returning from a foreign battlefield and sanging to find what has changed. “I have a house /but where is my house?” She sings.
Kreslina and Kostylev said they wanted to reach Russian audience with new albums and western listeners. Crerina added that she had been struggling to bring music from Russian streaming services, but decided not to maintain a connection with fans opposed to the government.
Kostylev, a long -term IC3PEAK enthusiast, creates a new direction of the band, seemed to be convinced. “Many fans will feel confused,” he said. “But we can't do anything about it. We just do what we feel.”
