Neuromonakh Feofan (Russian: Нейромонáх Феофáн, romanized: Nejromonah Feofan, lit. 'Neuromonk Theophanes') is a musical project from St. Petersburg, Russia, combining drum 'n' bass and Russian folk music.
Neuromonakh Feofan Нейромонах Феофан | |
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![]() Neuromonakh Feofan performing at ANABUK Festival, 2016 | |
Background information | |
Origin | St Petersburg, Russia |
Genres |
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Years active | 2009—present |
Website | http://neurofeofan.ru |
Neuromonakh Feofan's performances are styled after traditional Russian festivals. The group members perform in bast shoes, kosovorotkas and sarafans.[1] One member performs dressed as a bear.[2] The group's lyrics incorporate Church Slavonic and obsolete Russian words, and they play balalaika over the drum 'n' bass beats.
The project's main members are songwriter and performer Neuromonakh Feofan, DJ Nikodim, and the Bear. The group members remain anonymous, and Neuromonakh Feofan appears on stage with his face covered by an Eastern Orthodox-style hood.[3]
In a 2018 interview, Neuromonakh Feofan revealed that his real name is Oleg Stepanov.[4]
In an interview with Afisha magazine, Nikodim stated that he professionally studied music before meeting Feofan. Neuromonakh Feofan had started recording songs in 2009. Feofan and Nikodim came up with the idea to start a new musical project during their forest walks.[5]
The group's debut album, Drum in the Soul, Bright Rus' in the Heart (Russian: «В душе драм, в сердце светлая Русь»), was released in early 2015. The group toured cities in Russia and Belarus to promote the album. The album was warmly received by listeners and critics and entered the top 10 of Russian iTunes.[6][7][8]
Neuromonakh Feofan has performed at Russian music festivals such as Kubana,[5] Nashestvie (Russian: Нашествие),[9] Dikaya Myata (Russian: Дикая Мята, lit. 'Wild Mint'),[10] and VK Fest.[11]
Neuromonakh Feofan was listed as the Russian Independent Performer of the Year on the Yandex Music's 2015 year-end list, based on the streaming service's listening statistics.[12]
Musical critics have noted the novelty of the fusion of Russian folk motifs with electronic dance music in Neuromonakh's music, comparing the project with some legendary Russian performers like MC Vspyshkin[13][14] and Ivan Kupala.[15][16]
In an interview, Sergey Shnurov said that Neuromonakh Feofan is “a combination of the incompatible, they are Orthodox atheists, they are believing communists”.[17][1] Shnurov also approved Neuromonakh Feofan's activities in social networks.[14][13]
The lyrics of Neuromonakh's songs abound with references to the life of Ancient Rus and are devoted to Russian nature and physical labor, but they contain a bit of irony. The main distinguishing feature of the project is their image and visual component. In her article at Zvuki.ru, Victoria Bazoeva pointed to a good level of stylization, and noted that the use of modern words along with historicism can somewhat disappoint some true connoisseurs of reliable historical reconstruction.[citation needed] After the first album release many people were unconcerned about Feofan, but the touring success and the performance at "Cubana" Festival forced many critics to reconsider their opinion.
The creativity of the project is sometimes called conceptual, postmodernist, while contrasting, however, with representatives of contemporary Russian art like Vladimir Sorokin.
According to The Calvert Journal, Neuromonakh Feofan were part of a 2010s trend in Russian music of combining western electronic sounds with Russian Orthodox and folk musical traditions.[2]
Year | Title | Director | Album |
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2015 | "To Trample Down" on YouTube | BazavaProduction[19] | Single |
2016 | "The Hut is Walking with Staggering" on YouTube | Vitaliy Kapitonov | Single |
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: CS1 maint: url-status (link)На десятое место попала необычная пластинка от Нейромонаха Феофана «В душе драм, в сердце светлая Pусь!». По словам исполнителя, его новая работа — попытка совместить широту русской души, русскую песню, балалайку и стиль Drum 'n' Bass.
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