The EP is titled "Избегание проблемы" ("Avoidance of the Issue"), and it nods towards well-known song by Glaxo Babies. While previous album was majorly dedicated to recently perished Mr. Mark E. Smith, this time I was obsessed with Glaxo Babies and especially with Pere Ubu and their theory of "equality of all sounds".
This EP was released just today!! It includes 4 new songs recorded this spring. The cover has been drawn by our friend, young and promising artist Olezha Urzik.
It depicts some alternative reality Sergey Bezrukov playing gangster Sasha Beliy from old TV-series "Brigada" who's dropped another gangster on the rails and is waiting for the train... very bizzare.
This image is connected with title song, named after "Sergey Bezrukov". You see, this brilliant actor has managed to play most of Russian 19th and 20th century famous poets, Tsars from Vladimir the Red Sun to Boris Godunov, as well as policemen and gangsters, and ending with playing Jesus Himself.
So, for us, this is the image of Proteus. Any shape can be obtained, any personality can be assimilated. From the one hand, this is sad, as this is the ultimate victory of depersonalization (the issue we were singing about on previous LP).
From the other hand, it promises vast opportunities, like the story of Zelig teaches us. So this is basically about what makes up our personality.
Another major motive on the record is motive of overall sickness. Illnesses are everywhere, and getting to hospital in modern conditions is almost lethal. So the title songs tell a story of an ill guy Sanya, just like fictional gangster Sanya Beliy, who's suffering at hospital and watches movies via TV where Bezrukov is acting ("All of Sergey Bezrukov's roles have meaning, and you have no meaning at all"); then Sanya gets his leg amputated, and then gets buried alive by the same "guys" who've amputated his leg and "put it close to central heating to make it a little drier".
We didn't want comparisons with Egor Letov, but unfortunately these times are as harsh as times when he was at his best. That's why this cruelty and violence in lyrics is returning. Nobody cares that Sanya is being buried alive: "60% pass by, 12% kick him with the boots". That's much Mamleev-like violence, leading to catharsis.
"The Forests of Zvenigorod" where the story takes place, refer to Russian writer Anton Chekhov who worked in hospital of Zvenigorod.
Angst is a strong emotion, it is mentioned in lyrics. This is what we feel. We also feel "guys" are trying to bury us alive.
Then goes "Паблик со стишками" ("Social Network Page With Poetry"), sarcastic rant against popular poetry widely spread nowadays. It's way closer to The Fall aesthetics, it's topical in some way, and it's very social.
The third track, "Проезд капитана Тарана" ("Captain Taran Street"), goes back to topics of diseases. Captain Taran was an WWII hero, and after him a street in the centre of Murmansk, Northern Russia was named. Coincidentally, "taran" in Russian means "ramming".
So, the character's been just released from hospital, and, while still weak, he returns to Taran Street where he used to live in childhood, and he observes as his house is burning while nobody's trying to stop the fire ("If the house's burning, you can watch football").
The original title of this song — "Saperlipopet" (French swearing mentioning the Devil) was replaced because it's hard to pronounce it, but it remained in lyrics and it's significant for understanding. "Saperlipopet" is a title of book by Viktor Nekrasov, also WWII hero and writer who was forced to leave Soviet Russia because of his views.
In this book, the narrator also returns to streets of his youth in Kiev and Moscow, and his despair which sometimes grows in real anxiety is known to me when I go back to the city I spent most of my years.
This song is also touching upon issues of evil, control freaks, problem of Tick-borne encephalitis in Russia, among others.
Finally, the fourth track, "Не отрекаются" ("Don't Resign"), nods to Alla Pugacheva's song "Lovers Don't Resign". We made sort of parody, but we meant that resigning in general is an undesired thing.
The song tells a story of 4 dead people: a person hit by a train (see album cover), a person died in a car accident, a person who was drown, and a hangman. Each time some servicemen deputies act and perform what they must do according to instructions. Every verse is stone cold description of what happened, and each time it ends with a phrase: "But you wanted me to be the dead one here".
Enough said.
Well, musically, as I've said, I enjoyed Pere Ubu method of "equality of every sound". That's why I made the record less polished. I wanted to be harsh, disturbing and awaking the sleeping. It's like an alert. I wanted to express huge anxiety I feel. I guess I managed to do it.
But it would be totally impossible to achieve alone. Though I wrote all lyrics and sang all lines, did mixing, recordings, remastering, used found objects, played synth, melodica and percussion, the band did great amount of work in writing and arrangement.
Mikhail Alekseev is playing bass here; he also did some recordings, as well as our guitarist and musical advisor Evgeniy Dvoinishnikov, who also played metallophone here. Igor Ezhen provided live drums.
The EP was recorded in Red Moral studio hosted by Vladislav Klikunov who programmed MIDI, did recordings, mixing and mastering (except for track 3, where it was performed by Artyom Bogomolov).
So, I guess that's all. Hope you enjoy the record!
Sincerely yours,
John "Grey Lenses" Grey
