– On August 11, St. You gave a concert in St. Petersburg, you will perform in Moscow on August 12. Tired of such a busy schedule?
– I think my performance schedule is too light. It’s not about tiring tours and dozens of cities, but more about meeting like-minded people with streetlights. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. I love concerts because people give you an energy that you can’t find anywhere else. It’s nice to be in the same room and on the same wavelength as the audience.
How would you describe the style of your music? Which genre dominates? Does it change over time?
“I keep calling it lo-fi. It is the foundation of my work. A lot of people call it ethnic, but I think it’s a bit different anyway. Yes, ethnic motifs of Asian cultures dominate my pieces, but I focus on the hip-hop component. As for the changes, over time I started to try more. Still, it’s pretty hard to do hip-hop alone for 10 years. Now I like breakbeat, phonk, trap more. But I still do not forget the origins and always do things in my usual, primitive way.
Which musicians inspired you at the beginning of your career? Have you tried to imitate someone or have you just started looking for your own style?
— I often say that I am inspired by artists like Mujo情, Buddah Killah, Lord Beatjitzu. I got the sound from them, my first tracks are very similar to theirs. Later I managed to find my own style: it happened spontaneously, it happened spontaneously, I did not strive for it.
– Whose business attracts you now?
– Now I love Czarfase, MF Doom, Larry June, The Alchemist. Something along these lines.
— Is it possible to hear your music in movies, TV shows, games? Do you receive offers – or do you offer the cooperation of such a scheme yourself?
– I often write to the creators of games, these are not AAA projects, but still. You can often hear my music from autobloggers or fights without rules. I really don’t like being imposed, it is unacceptable for me to write to different publishing houses: “Here is my music, please take it.” But I never reject those who listen, like and want to cooperate.
Which music festivals have you performed at? What was the most memorable part of this experience?
– This is a difficult question, because the festivals with my participation are a wagon and a small car. From Japanese cultural festivals to City Day. I can’t distinguish a single thing. I enjoyed both automotive events and music-themed events – FU-JI for example – equally. Therefore, I will not single out a single thing. I prefer to call again (smiling).
— How do you feel listening to your music on the record? Do you manage to relax and get high – or do you pay more attention to the technical side?
I only listen to my music at concerts. If he comes across me elsewhere – in a taxi, for example, I’d change or ask for a switch right away. I can’t: I only hear about technical flaws. Just as soon as you create a piece, you play it 500 times, and then you play it in concerts. As a result, it becomes unbearable from it.
Not much is known about your biography. Where were you born, how was your childhood?
— I was born in the Udmurt Republic, in the city of Glazov. This is an industrial city with a population of about 100,000. I was born in 1994, so I think my childhood was the happiest. We spent almost all the time on the street, there were consoles from home entertainment – Dendy and Sega. It was the golden age of television: Disney, the first anime, the great Hollywood action movies. After watching, we went out and discussed who Schwarzenegger was and who the Predator was.
— How did you study Asian folklore and how did you realize you wanted to use it in your work?
– I never deliberately studied it, everything flowed by itself – through television, anime, then YouTube and popular culture in general. It came from childhood: even before the anime, there were various films about the ninja, martial arts. And of course Godzilla. It seems that all of this has been accumulating somewhere in the lower cortex for years. And then he leapt in creativity.
– You said in one of the interviews that you drive a Toyota Chaser. Why do you like it – after all, isn’t this the most obvious choice?
— We have two cars in our family — Mercedes E 200 and Toyota Chaser. And my car, of course, is a Mercedes. Toyota is your wife’s car. In the Chaser, the steering wheel is located on the right, as expected. This is an absolutely insane unit that’s imposingly uninteresting to drive – it constantly encourages you to press the accelerator harder. There is a manual transmission, which further encourages the commission of drift and other recklessness. It has become more expensive to take care of it lately. But this is not just because of the current situation in the country, there is a simpler reason: JDM is popular all over the world and parts tend to run out.
As for my Mercedes, many ask: “Why are you choking for it, Japan and you have to comply?” But I just love Mercedes – they are very beautiful, solid and comfortable cars. And one more fact in my excuse: the yakuza prefer exactly this brand.
— Have you been to Japan or other Asian countries?
– It so happened that I have never been to Asian countries. Previously, the financial situation did not allow, now – other circumstances. Hope to go there in the near future.
— Have you studied Japanese? Have you tried martial arts?
— I know some basic things in Japanese. And that’s just because of the anime. It is a very complex language that is only valid in Japan. In my opinion, learning English, with which you can communicate almost anywhere in the world, is better than learning Japanese, which will only work for you in a few situations. The approach is pretty harsh, but it’s a bitter truth.
As for martial arts… As I said before, I was born in a deep city, unfortunately it was not common there. So we went to the most ordinary boxing.
— Have you thought about making pieces with elements of the national music of the peoples of Russia? What do you think about this idea?
– Generally speaking, there are many pieces in my work that I take as an example of Soviet artists. Of the popular ones – “Siberian Flower”, the sample here is taken from the song “Veronica” by Edita Piekha. For a long time I discovered the VIA of the Soviet era – in addition to the banal “Pesnyary” and “Blue Bird”, a large number of artists from the Caucasus and Tajikistan. Meanwhile, in her upcoming solo album, she only sampled Tajik singer Mukaddas Nabiyeva’s song “Falak”. Its demo has been circulating on the internet for a long time, you can listen to it. And there are many. Especially in old Seppuku collections.
How do you promote your art? Are you ready to resort to scandals and provocations for deception? What do you think about such methods?
– As they say, black PR is also PR. But I am not a supporter of this method, I like to do everything honestly. It seems to me that anyone who has made a name for himself in scandals, black PR has the most toxic audience. Men who earn their audience honestly with creativity are much more respected. And I shouldn’t be this popular, this rich, but my conscience will be clear. First of all, in front of yourself.
– Who, in your opinion, is the most talented musician in Russia at the moment?
– Now on the wave of popularity, 52 NGG are very worthy guys. I wish them success in their future endeavours. And another unclear answer is Antokha MS. He’s such an original artist, it’s a pity we underestimate him.
– After February 24, many artists left Russia, and the import of foreign artists almost completely stopped. Do you think this is an opportunity to expand your audience, which reduces the number of concerts you can go to?
“I’ve never said it that way. For me, February 24 is a tragedy, as it is for any decent human being. I think it would be very dirty to profit from it.