Meet Tsvetochnyui 15 :

Vlad’ : Singer and Composer

Kim : Producer and Artistic Director

Artiom : Electronic and Computer Musician

Kim : Artiom knew Vlad and he introduced us to each other. The first time we met, Vlad came to my flat to talk and fell asleep on the sofa. It was kind of premonitory (Vlad lived on Kim’s sofa for 6 months. At that time the band worked on Kim’s balcony). Few months later, we met again and Vlad showed me the first rush of Tsvetochnyui 15. It was one of his project. I listened and instantly believed in it. Vlad also believed in me whereas I never worked on a music project before. From this moment, we have been working together. This mutual trust created an electrical connection that gave the impulse to the project. It has been 2 years and it feels both like a century and a nano second.

Very quickly we were selected to play at the Usadba Jazz festival and won a competition (Unicum Category). We were invited to play in Moscow, but also in Vilnius, in Portugal. We were lucky, but at the same time we were not ready. For 2 years, we have been working in the construction, the implementation of the project. Now we are ready, the disc is almost finished.

Do you have any special inspiration for this album ?

Vlad : I have been working on this album all my life (Vlad is 26 yo). Every year, I began a file on my computer : “1st album” 2006, 2007… but I never finish it. 2018 is the year when it happens.

How do you work ?

Vlad : We meet, discuss, brainstorm… not everyday, but we are always connected. Ideas come from the discussion, We work together on a concept. Music creates an atmosphere, gives a latent meaning, that Kim develops in video. The first six months I collected sounds everywhere, even from the trash door. Since then we have been working with them. One sound creates 10 new ones and so on to an infinity of sounds. Now we work exclusively with them. At first I compose on my own, then all together at the studio we deconstruct it note by note, play it again and record it. We are lucky to be hosted by Resonant Arts studio. Compositions are mostly done with vocal textures, sounds, guitar and drums. But original sounds are often undetectable because they are too computer modified.

Kim : Even Vlad’s voice is undetectable, he can do whatever he wants with it. People often think that this is a woman’s voice.

Vlad : This is what we want to do : that the public would not know what he is listening to. This is why I had the intuition of singing in a language I don’t even really know. Of course there is no trivial lyrics and every sentence has a meaning. But at the same time it creates a weirdness. Even though I don’t have any accent when I sing, a native English speaker listening to the album will find it strange. To do so I distort the language to create like a new one. Nobody can know where the music comes from. This contributes to the impression of novelty. Our music is the music of tomorrow. It gets into your head like pop music, but the way we present and share it is different. More than the audio, we work a lot on video - for video clips and concerts - and on the way we present our work. Our idea was to be ahead of our time and we think we succeeded. We call it “extra systemic flowers pop”.

How is the music industry organized in Russia?

TV plays a big part, especially in regions. But our project is not in the TV format and none of the musical and entertainment channels will give it a try, particularly because there is some censorship on new extra-ordinary projects.

Otherwise, music scene is mostly about clubs and festival. They welcome newcomers but it is all about network. To play in a club, you have to come with your audience. Unless you are very famous, they don’t spend energy or money for PR. You have to do it on your own. We are getting there… (Tsvetochnyii 15 was playing first part at the concert of Therr Maitz, famous band, on March, 8th in Moscow). The main problem is that nobody is willing to take risks. Now, everybody does rap because it is working, entertainment and money-wise. As a rapper, SLAVA KPSS (слава КПСС), said “Are you talking about new music ? This is just money”.

Uploaded by Tsvetochnyui 15 on 2018-03-22.

In this context, what is your strategy?

Our first priority is to work on the album and finish it. As we have been giving some concerts, the audience is gathering slowly to build a strong community of followers. In Russia, there are not many ways of earning money : copyright and iTunes do not work here. To be paid for a concert you have to be really big. Even major festivals do not offer anything but glory. So our strategy is to begin with Europe. It is easier to organize concerts there. Professionals believe in you faster, they respect the work and the bands. Then we will have some consideration here in Russia, give concerts - on which we earn money on tickets and drinks - and even have some brand partnerships for advertisements. But above all, music is art. We have a true message.

What do you want to share with your music ? What do you want to stand up for ?

Vlad : Music is a quest for me. As I cannot give more than who I am, my responsibility is to be in phase with myself, find my true identity. Influence is a hard thing to control so you have to be mindful. By being so, we want to give people some motivation to find themselves.

What should we wish you for the future?

To be all around the world, maybe on Mars with Elon Musk! We come from nothing and we want to grow up, to complexify our music, to keep experimenting and create new music.

Are you happy?

Yes. Of course. We know what we do, and that makes us happy.

Follow Tsvetochnyui 15 on facebook and instagram.

Pictures by Kala Court. The interview took place at the Resonant Arts studio.