In the spring, the first concerts of the group “PNEVMOSLON” were held in St. Petersburg and Moscow - this is a new project of the anonymous St. Petersburg musician Neuromonk Feofan, where he sings with obscenities about theft and domestic violence and shoots videos with rapper Pasha Technik.
Why does PNEUMOSLON share an audience with Sergei Shnurov, why should modern musicians make memes rather than songs, how do the members of the new group earn money, and what do they say about life in Kupchin? « » I talked with the band’s vocalists Lord Pneumoslon (aka Neuromonk Feofan) and Boris Butkeev (the pseudonym taken from Vysotsky’s song).
Boris Butkeev (left) and Lord Pneumoslon (right)
How did Pneumoslon appear in the life of Neuromonk Feofan?
Lord Pneumoslon: It is necessary to separate two different Air Elephants. The group "PNEUMOSLON" appeared quite recently, but under the pseudonym Lord Pneumoslon I have been writing songs for a long time - it appeared even before Neuromonk Feofan.
In 2008–2009, I tried to record something and sent sketches to Kremov and Khrustalev’s show on Radio Record in the “Farshmak” section - in it the presenters played a wide variety of music. Each time I signed with a new name, but then they began to recognize me by my voice and only call me Lord Pneumoslon.
I didn’t invent this name, but simply borrowed it from the stories of [journalist and writer] Dani Shepovalov - there was such a popular character at one time.
It so happened that at one fine moment I, like many young people, decided to delete my real page from VKontakte. Those were the times when you could change your name as many times as you wanted without any documents or confirmation. I erased all the data and just put "Lord Pneumoslon". I sat under it on VKontakte, listened to music and so on. That’s how it remained, because when I wanted to change my name back, I already had to tinker with the documents. And I scored.
What genre does what your band does fit into?
Boris Butkeev: It's a mixture of ska-punk and electronica. It so happens that Lord and I both like this kind of music.
LP: I wouldn't call it anything. If I say that this is a ska-punk band, then what, will I have to play only ska-punk all my life? For what?
In general, the original idea was different. I went to concerts of Russian bands quite a lot and every time I was simply furious at how crappy their live sound was. They play like they did 20 years ago and don’t take into account that acoustics have come a long way. Nowadays you can put such speakers in your car that you will rock, and they play as if everyone still listens to music only through ancient earbud headphones. Accordingly, I decided that it would be cool to do something with such a fat, fat sound.
BB: Our idea is for a person to get into a car, turn on our music, and from the first chord ********* [play] so that the hood shakes.
What about the texts? You simultaneously sing about domestic violence and theft and about “a princess in panties from AliExpress”, “waving ***** [penises] in an alcoholic pit” and “a hellish hell on the back and front”.
LP: I didn't have a general concept. It cannot be said that we sing about any one topic. Each song has its own creation story. It all happens very simply - I notice something in myself or other people that I can laugh at, and I sing about it.
For example, the song “If I could, then ****** [stole].” I wrote it when I noticed that many people who seem to be very good and against all kinds of theft themselves begin to steal and save money as soon as they have the opportunity.
When I worked in a construction company (Lord Pneumoslon, from the age of 13 to 18, he worked on a construction site every summer, then he was the commercial director of a construction company - approx. " Papers"), there were many similar people around me. I think that in other areas there is also a lot of this - people want, if not to steal, then to get it for free. Many will understand me.
Similar stories with all the other songs. In general, the group’s lyrics and, in principle, “PNEUMOSLON” are very different from Feofan. If there is a myth about ancient Russian drum’n’bass and immersion in some artificially created reality, then everything is different here. You listened, recognized yourself or other people in the song, laughed and moved on.
BB: We don’t have any mission or higher goal; we don’t want to impose our position on anyone or burden anyone with anything. Lord just calls me and says: “Let’s make a song about shit?” And I answer: “Hmm, interesting idea. Why not really make a song about shit.”
These are just little life stories that you can laugh at. For example, we have a new song “Cultural Workers,” which is about artists who on stage are all such professionals and love each other, but behind the scenes they drink, take drugs and ***** [hit] each other hard.
And there is an even more intelligent song called “Zhukhly”. It's just about a person who is a *******[bad person] and a ***** [total] ****** [fool].
Why are there so many swear words in the songs?
LP: Is there a lot of it? I do not think so. It seems to me that he is in the right place everywhere. Well, how, for example, can you replace the word ***** [complete failure] without losing meaning and capacity? Or ***** [stolen]. If you replace it with simply “stole” it won’t be the same at all.
BB: *** [male genital organ] and ****** [female genital organ] are not the main thing in the song. The main thing is the message and meaning. And you can convey it in any language. Someone sings in Chinese, someone in English, and we sing in Russian with obscenities.
Feofan said in an interview with Dudu that his wife helped a lot with this project and even danced on stage in a bear costume at first. Does it help with PNEUMOSLEON? Doesn't the songs bother her?
LP: Certainly. She is my first listener. Moreover, she doesn’t just say that everything is fine, but she can also criticize and give advice. Overall she likes what I do and helps a lot. And with songs, and with some kind of financial accounting, and with the development of concepts for shows and concerts. We are fine.
From the outside it seems that there is a kind and sweet Feofan, and there is an angry and foul-mouthed Lord Pneumoslon. Which one of them is like you in everyday life?
LP: It’s difficult to talk about this and even compare. Feofan is a completely fictitious story, and “PNEUMOSLON” does not need any myth around it at all. We just sing songs.
Of course, there is some percentage of me in the projects. We are somewhat similar, but not one hundred percent.
When Lord Pneumoslon had just appeared and there was no Feofan yet, did you try to fit your songs somewhere? Start performing?
LP: Of course not. Moreover, I have never tried to place my music anywhere. I didn’t want or dream of big venues. I don't want to become a fucking rock star. If it were up to me, I would perform twice a year and that’s it.
Why then did you form a group and start giving concerts, provided that you already have Feofan?
LP: We just at some point talked with Boris, who had liked this project of mine for a long time, and decided to try to do something with it.
BB: Outside of PNEUMOSLON, I organize concerts. From performances in small clubs to stadium tours. We met Lord through the Neuromonk Feofan project. Gradually they began to work together, and then they simply decided that his Lord Pneumoelephant could grow into a good project. It’s great when a hobby becomes something big, some serious, professional matter.
We immediately agreed that we would do it together: I used to play in several small punk bands. As a result, in 2017, two songs were recorded and released for testing. We saw how people would react to them. Everyone seemed to like it, and we decided to record a full-length album - it was released in 2018. We are currently writing new songs for the second part of the album. We make all recordings with our own money.
For me, the main motivation to engage in a group is the opportunity to earn money. This is a commercial project. This is not a hobby. Although, of course, I love the music and performances, the stage is a huge rush of adrenaline. Roughly speaking, this is work that brings pleasure.
LP: Partly, of course, this is done for the sake of making money. We are not 23 years old (both musicians are over 30 years old - approx. “ Papers") and we can't just play for ourselves. Of course we want to make money, but that doesn't mean we don't like the band.
I don’t understand at all why in Russia there is such an idea that musicians don’t need to be paid and only poor artists work. It seems to me that this is some kind of relic of the Soviet Union.
Music is hard work that needs to be paid. If this does not happen, everything will come to the state of a sluggish hobby.
- Why do you sing in a mask again in the group?
LP: For the same reasons as Feofan. I’m not singing about myself in this project.
BB: All other participants (at concerts there are six people in the group - approx. " Papers") also with substitutes. Either in masks or in makeup. This is more logical than if only the Lord was wearing a mask.
Why did you reveal that this is Feofan’s project?
Your album “Counter-evolution. Part 1" - are these old songs of Lord Pneumoelephant? Or was everything written specifically for the new project?
LP: These are songs that I have been slowly writing for years since 2014 in parallel with Feofan.
BB: New songs will be on the second album, which we want to release by the end of summer. The entire first one consists of reworkings of old Lorde songs. Once upon a time it was just a sketch, but now these are full-fledged songs with good sound. We worked on the sound for a very long time, about eight months. As a result, we came to the conclusion that the sound included winds - five pipes, drums and electronics.
At the beginning of May you had your first concerts. How did they go?
What kind of people came to the concerts?
BB: Partially those who listen to Feofan, but the majority are new listeners. It's actually difficult to say. An ordinary concert, ordinary people. Our audience is young people 25+ who get drunk at concerts. Great audience.
Who are you competing with for it? What groups does it overlap with?
BB: With Leningrad, of course. It's stupid to deny it.
LP: Perhaps with the audience of that old Leningrad, before the Louboutins. Maybe “PNEUMOSLON” appeared because something was missing when that “Leningrad” disappeared.
But I wouldn’t say that we compete with anyone. It doesn’t happen that people listen to “Leningrad” and that’s it. They can listen to both Leningrad and us.
BB: It seems to me that such comparisons should not exist. Yes, we also have pipes. Yes, we also have swear words. But based on this principle, we can say that all groups that use wind instruments copied it from Leningrad.
We want to experiment. On the new album the sound will be very different from what it was - there will be pump, and dubstep, and everything else.
Nowadays there is a popular opinion that young musicians, on the contrary, shoot without any resources or analysis. Only on social networks and YouTube. This is true?
BB: It is a myth. Nothing happens by chance. Most often, everything happens according to one scenario: they take some Western celebrity in a popular genre in the West, for example, cloud rap, and simply copy it.
Then you need a huge resource, including money, to promote this artist. So that the public and media write about him. Otherwise, no one will need the artist. Without money and connections, unfortunately, it’s unlikely that anything will work out.
Don’t you think that musicians now make memes, not songs, for the sake of popularity? Even Kirkorov with his “The color of mood is blue.”
LP: I've been watching football since childhood. And, naturally, I root for Zenit, because in St. Petersburg there is no one else to root for. I went to Petrovsky and was at Virazh.
I always liked the way the fans sing, how they support the team, how crazy they are, the performances they put on. And I had a dream to do a performance at “Virazh”.
BB: It so happens that I have been in football circles for a long time. I went to Virazh and knew many people from there. A couple of months ago, the leader of “Virazh” listened to our song “Domestic Violence” and suggested that we remake it together into “Peter, shizi on “Virazh””. To the same beat, just with words about Zenit and the fans. We, of course, agreed.
LP: Posted a song. The fans liked it and we were offered to do a performance at the match with SKA-Khabarovsk on May 13. We came to Virazh and together with the fans sang the song twice, stretched out in the stands
The musical direction of drum and bass, which originated in England, first conquered Europe and America, and then conquered the whole world. With the release of the first album, the Neuromonk Feofan collective confidently declared itself as the leader of the genre in Russia. Who he is and who is the lead singer of this mysterious group is one of the most pressing questions in modern Russian music.
The birth of the genre
Drum and bass (DnB or simply drum) as a movement of electronic music originated in the UK in the early 90s. The sound is characterized by a ragged rhythm and frantic tempo. “Real” musical instruments are practically absent - electronics completely replace them, with the most important components being powerful bass and drums. Subsequently, vocals began to be mixed into the drama.
The popularization of the trend was also facilitated by the fact that drum compositions were actively used as soundtracks in the cult trilogy “The Matrix”.
The tracks are intended to be performed mainly in nightclubs and other establishments with powerful acoustics, since drum and bass uses the entire frequency range, which is not possible to experience on cheap and low-power equipment. Despite this, live performances by drum groups with bass guitars, synthesizers and drums have also become quite popular.
Over the 20-odd years of its existence, drama has managed to crumble into many movements and subgenres, the most significant of which are:
- Liquid funk;
- Jazz step;
- Jump-up;
- Neurofunk;
- Dubstep;
- Drum-funk;
- Experimental jungle.
Drum and bass in Russia
The drum and bass style has become especially popular in the Nordic countries, especially Estonia and Russia. The largest drama festivals in Europe are held in St. Petersburg. Among the most significant Russian performers:
- Enei;
- Engage;
- Paperclip;
- Dj Gvozd;
- complex;
Since 2003, a specialized festival “Pirate Station” has been held in many Russian cities.
However, despite the massive scale of some events and the long history of Russian drama, for a long time it remained music for a very narrow, mainly club, audience. What made it truly popular in Russia was the Neuromonk Feofan group, which amazed the audience with its extraordinary manner of performance, high-quality arrangements and expressive performances on stage.
“There is drama in the soul, bright Rus' in the heart”
Neuromonk Feofan's debut album was released in 2015, although some of the songs included in it were published long before that. The album instantly gained wild popularity. Positive reviews from critics, interviews in leading music publications, a huge army of fans - all this fell on the heads of the newly minted musicians from St. Petersburg. Even Sergei Shnurov, who was stingy with praise, noted the quality of the team’s performance. That's why Neuromonk won the title of performer of the year according to the Yandex music service.
The group performs as follows:
- Feofan - vocals, author of poetry;
- Nikodim - DJ;
- At some performances and videos, a third participant appears - a man in a bear costume.
The first two members wear fake beards.
Soon after the album's release, the group went on tour throughout Russia and performed at the Kubana festival.
Group style
The music of Neuromonk Feofan is at the intersection of Slavic folk and neurofunk. The word “neuromonk” itself is a derivative of “neurofunk” and “hieromonk”. On album covers it is stylized to resemble the ancient Slavic alphabet. Drum and bass motifs in the group’s work actively intersect with the sounds of Russian folk music, most often with balalaika tunes. The video clips feature round dances, folk dances and ancient Russian attire.
Neuromonk’s speech at his performances is distinguished by the use of outdated vocabulary and a characteristic “okanya” (which is attributed to the common people, in contrast to the Central Russian “akanya”). The themes of the songs are extremely diverse - from ancient Russian Olympic competitions to dances with a bear, but there are two topics that Neuromonk fundamentally does not touch upon - religion and politics.
The group members hide behind a mask of anonymity. This is a fairly effective technique that allows you to stir up the interest of the audience, although, according to Neuromonk himself, this was done on purpose so as not to distract people from their musical creativity.
Who is Neuromonk Feofan?
Nothing is officially known about who is hiding under the pseudonym Neuromonk. The only thing that can be said for sure is that he is a St. Petersburg electronic musician who at one time moved in the vocal drum and bass environment. In the vastness of the Russian segment of the World Wide Web, you can find several versions regarding the real personality of Neuromonk.
It has been suggested that Feofan was somehow connected with the vocal drum project Stim Axel. It was founded in 2005 and immediately took over the airwaves of genre radio stations. In 2007, the second album was released, which also enjoyed considerable success and was sold throughout Russia. After 2010, the group's activity faded away.
According to other information, under the name Neuromonk is none other than DJ Poison (real name - Mikhail Fofanov), an “Orthodox” St. Petersburg disc jockey who recorded his first tape back in 1999. In the late 2000s, he became a permanent member of the DA BASS team, and then joined the hip-hop movement.
There is other, unconfirmed information, according to which Neuromonk Feofan was born in 1955 in Leningrad, graduated from the Institute of Cultural Programs, and now lives in Bolshie Barsuki.
One of the most significant representatives of the modern Russian music industry is the group Neuromonk Feofan. Nobody knows for sure who this really is. You can argue as much as you like about their music, but one thing can be said without a doubt - they know how to maintain anonymity.
Video about Neuromonk Feofan
In 2015, a video clip for the song “Trample” spread across the Internet. Its performer was a certain Neuromonk Feofan. "Who is this really?" - netizens asked each other. However, there was no accompanying information. Two years have passed, and the musical project is still continuing its work. Who is Neuromonk Feofan really and what is he famous for?
Compound
It is known that behind the pseudonym there is not one, but at least two people. This is the soloist and DJ Nikodim. The first is a tall guy with a false beard. In public, he always appears in a robe reminiscent of a schema, with patterns along the edging and in bast shoes. His face is hidden by a hood, and in his hands he usually holds a staff in which a laser pointer is hidden. Neuromonk Feofan sings songs with a characteristic voice and the use of Slavicisms and outdated words. The musical project comes from St. Petersburg.
Story
Who is this really - Neuromonk Feofan? The group still maintains anonymity from the intrusive media. But, despite this, the Afisha magazine managed to lift the veil a little and interview DJ Nikodim, the second member of the group. He talked about himself and the history of the creation of the group. Nicodemus has a higher education. For a long time he studied music professionally. And when he met Feofan (who is a self-taught musician), he told him many interesting things. The guys became friends based on common interests.
Feofan was actively recording songs even before the formation of the group (since about 2008). The idea to join forces into an original musical project arose during a walk in the forest.
Style
The uniqueness of the new group's style was not only in its stylization of Russian folk festivals, but also in the combination of the balalaika with drum and bass (electronic music). The lyrics of the songs of the group “Neuromonk Feofan” depict the life of Ancient Rus', Russian nature and peasant labor, and they are not without irony. This makes the perception of creativity easy and interesting.
Criticism
Who is this really - Neuromonk Feofan? Critics of the group's work puzzled their brains for a long time and painfully. But they were not interested in the true names of the participants, but in what they wanted to say with their songs. So, he called the guys “Orthodox atheists” and “believing Komsomol members.” But it was a positive assessment. The leader of the Leningrad group approved the style and creativity in general of the newly minted artists, as well as their active activities on social networks.
Other music critics also noted the freshness and originality of the combination of Russian folk motifs and electronic dance music. They compared the St. Petersburg musical project with the already widely known “MC Vspyshkin” and “Ivan Kupala”. According to experts, the group focuses on the visual component, and the musical part is unpretentious, too simple.
Journalist of the Zvuki.ru portal Victoria Bazoeva dedicated a short article to the group, where she positively assessed the level of stylization of the group. However, she expressed doubts about the mixing of modern words and historicisms and the good perception of this by connoisseurs of historical reconstruction.
On the question of who it really is, “Neuromonk Feofan,” many agreed that the group represents the direction of conceptual postmodernism. Although her work is in many ways opposed to the activities of apologists of modern art, for example, Vladimir Sorokin.
Albums
The group has three albums in total. The first “There is drama in the soul, and bright Rus' in the heart” was presented in 2015. According to the musicians themselves, it was the first attempt to combine Russian song, balalaika, the breadth of the Russian soul and the direction of drum and bass. The experiment was a success. The album consisted of 17 tracks, which were positively assessed by music observer Alexey Mazhaev (InterMedia). The word "dram" was often used in the lyrics. However, this did not stop the critic from defining the group's style as electropop with folk elements. The album clearly conveys the propaganda of cultural revival and the accompanying irony about it. The original themes of the compositions about the Old Russian Olympic Games and open airs do not let you get bored.
The second collection, “Great are the forces of good,” was released in 2016. No less success awaited him. Within two weeks, the album entered the iTunes chart as one of the most frequently listened to. Neuromonk Feofan did not change his sound. However, some critics did not appreciate such dedication to style. For example, Stanislav Sorochinsky, a REF News blogger, called the sound of the new record predictable and monotonous. And Alexey Mazhaev, in a review of the album, expressed the opinion that the performer becomes hostage to one image, which has no development. In addition, some tracks (for example, “I’m dancing everywhere”), in their sound, are closer not to drum and bass, but to Soviet music. Critics also noted the lack of a clear style of the collection. Every now and then you can feel the influence of Russian rock and folk.
The second album included 9 compositions. The last of them - “Stepson of the Rules” - is reminiscent in style of the work of the “Technology” group.
At the beginning of 2017, Neuromonk Feofan released his third album “Dance. Sing,” which was immediately highlighted by Stanislav Sorochinsky. According to him, the collection “sounds like one big song.” Although the team’s task now is not to surprise listeners (“the bicycle has already been invented by them”), but to entertain people working hard in stuffy offices.
Six compositions became the group's singles. From the last album, this list included the tracks “And Now the Bear Sings” and “Old Russian Soul”.
Video clips
The group has only shot two videos so far. The first one, for the song “Trample,” received almost seven million views on the YouTube channel. The second video clip, “The hut is shaking,” is less popular. Today it has only collected about two million views.
In the videos, the musician traditionally, as on stage, appears in his stage schema. Who he really is, Neuromonk Feofan, and what his name is in everyday life, it’s impossible to understand. And comments from fans and simply curious users remain unanswered.
The musician himself, when asked why he does not reveal himself, answers simply. Neuromonk Feofan is the image with which the style and creativity of the group is associated. Its acceptance and approval should not be associated with the identity of the true performer.
Concerts
The beginning of 2015 was significant for the group. After all, her debut album was released then. A concert tour was dedicated to this event. The tour took place in cities of Russia and Belarus. The program had the original name “Yadren Zador”, and the collection entered the “golden ten” of iTunes.
Also, the group “Neuromonk Feofan” took part in the festivals “Kubana”, “Invasion”, VK Fest, “Wild Mint” and “Epic Coast”.
Today, musicians often perform in joint concerts with other stars: Basta, Marcel, Noize MC, etc.
- The wife of Neuromonk Feofan danced in a bear costume in the video “The Hut Is Shaking.” Her name is unknown.
- In 2016, a musical project from St. Petersburg received the status of a popular Internet meme.
- A year after the release of his debut album, the Yandex. Music service recognized Neuromonk Feofan as an independent artist of the year.
- At a concert in Moscow, one of the fans apparently decided to reveal to everyone who he really is - Neuromonk Feofan. During the mass dancing and fun, he reached out to the musician and wanted to pull off his hood. However, he was stopped in time.
- On September 19, 2017, the mysterious performer of the group gave an interview to Yuri Dudu. The conversation turned out to be very frank for the artist. He talked about how his work began. How did the idea of combining balalaika and drum and bass come about? But, most importantly, the artist answered the question that torments all his fans: “Who is he really - Neuromonk Feofan, what’s his name?” The musician called the name “Oleg” without any hesitation. He also said that he is 30 years old, he grew up in Kupchino (St. Petersburg) and graduated from the State University of Aerospace Instrumentation with honors.
In 2009. The group's performances are stylized as Russian folk dances and songs with balalaika, but mixed with electronic rhythmic music in the drum-n-bass style. Initially, the project was perceived as a joke, and quickly spread across the Internet with hits about “Nuclearity is a way of life,” where Neuromonk, deliberately cursing, sings about the breadth of the Russian soul to a frantic party rhythm.
7 years have passed, and now Feofan is touring the cities of Russia, where he gathers fans. With him are DJ Nikodim and Bear. The team does not reveal their faces, believing that their images distract from the main thing - music and emotions.
Three people come to my office noisily, which is not surprising - where have you seen such characters not attract attention? Ahead of everyone is a Bear, with his belly sticking out, you want to touch him right away. The bear is warm - it’s very hot inside the suit. Clubfoot practically does not communicate with us, and what should we say to a forest animal? He sits next to him in his own mind, occasionally jokes and perks up only when it comes to talking about Chicoy pine nuts, which I promised to treat him to.
Nikodim strums the balalaika whatever comes into his head. He is the most fashionable in the team - he wears a blouse, a scraggly beard and trendy Ray Ban glasses. Feofan - will be taller than his friend, stately with a bass voice. His face is not visible behind the thick hood, only a lush beard peeks out from under the material. In the hands of the monk is a staff that he made himself at the beginning of his musical career. He said that he was luring suitors to the girls, and gave it to me to hold.
- Why does Feofan hide his face?
It’s not a principled position, but it’s not necessary to show faces and know names, because this can distract listeners from the music. Because music is the main thing. Then, maybe in the spring, we will think differently, and we will start giving interviews to everyone who wants to, showing our faces. For now, this is not important to us.
- How did you meet Medved and Nikodim, how did you decide to create a team?
There is a legend about this; we all met in our native forest. But the story of getting into the forest is a mystery. This is where creativity comes from, where we draw inspiration from the depths. Nature itself gives ideas that you want to convey. Nikodim, in the forest, learned to play the balalaika.
Why did you use a word in the name of the group that is similar to the rank of an Orthodox priest? What does it mean?
The prefix “neuro” indicates a connection with the nervous system, that is, with the senses. And a monk, first of all, is a hermit. I think you can understand when you listen to our songs, there is no need to explain it specifically.
- What do you want to convey to the listener?
The main thing we are trying to convey to our listeners is rhythmic music and bright emotions in it. Nothing more. That's why we don't show our faces - attention shouldn't be distracted.
- For listeners, your image is rather a joke. Is laughter combined with the bright message you carry?
It goes together great! At first we didn’t take it seriously ourselves, we just did what we wanted. And we didn’t think that everything would go on like this, people would start responding, we’d start touring. Last year we took a bus to Irkutsk. It hasn't worked out yet before Chita. We got there for the first time.
So far we like it, there are great positive people here. People are generally welcoming everywhere. Before arriving in a new city, we carefully study its history, its features, and dialect. For example, we already know about your local history museum, the Church of the Decembrists, buuzy, datsan. We even know how high Chita is above the sea.
- Which one?
Somewhere around 670 meters.
- How did you come up with the idea to combine the Russian balalaika and the drum?
For this is the Old Russian Dram, revived from the depths of centuries. The balalaika and the drum are generally very similar in energy, so why not combine them.
You didn’t start performing right away - you first gained fame on the Internet. How did you decide to give concerts? Wasn't it scary?
The decision was easy, it wasn’t scary! Each time it becomes more and more interesting to perform, our concerts are not just a performance on stage, but something similar to a show. We take with us a lot of costumes, equipment, various objects, and a video is projected behind us on the stage. We want the more the better. I have a staff with laser beams - I made it from a tree that dried up near my house back in 2009.
- Do you know about beatmaker Oligarkh (reads prayers to a rhythmic melody - I.Kh.)? Have you thought about working with him or with someone else who promotes the idea of the breadth of the Russian soul?
We rarely think about this at all. Our focus is different, so it’s unlikely to work. Although time will tell.
- What does the word vigor mean? encountered in the title of one of your first hits?
It's a way of life! A state of enthusiasm when energy bursts over the edge. It can manifest itself in everything, in dancing, for example.
- In your songs there are words about demons - Asmodeus, with whom you need to fight. Who are they?
Asmodeus is a collective image, everything negative in human life that destroys energy. There are no specifics here; both the person and his actions can be Asmodeus.
- Is it comfortable to dance in bast shoes?
Convenient, very convenient.
How many concerts are they enough for?
For 15.83 concerts, on average.
-Who weaves them for you?
The masters are special, we order in advance.
- And how does the hood not fall off your face when you dance like that at concerts?
And it is secured securely. (lets you touch with your hand how the hood is held on to something like a hat)
- What do your concerts give you?
Coreness. It would be more correct to say what we give at concerts. And this is also Nuclearness!
People everywhere understand, they themselves help to preserve the unknown.
- Should we expect new albums?
You should definitely look forward to concerts, videos and new albums soon, because we have a lot of inspiration.
Recently, a musical project based in St. Petersburg called Neuromonk Feofan has been gaining immense popularity. The drum and bass music performed by this group is now very relevant and attracts the attention, first of all, of the youth audience. No one has seen the performer’s real face, nor is his true origin known. This project is the most mysterious on the modern scene. This is despite the fact that the time of its existence is very impressive (8 years).
Neuromonk Feofan: the face of the performer
Throughout its existence, the performer of the Neuromonk Feofan group has never shown his true face, diligently hiding it under a hood. The children's creativity won many positive marks. In particular, the famous performer and leader of the Leningrad group Sergei Shnurov called the group “Orthodox atheists.” He approved not only their creativity and style, but also their activities on social networks. Music critics also did not remain indifferent and concluded that the musical activity in the chosen direction is very fresh and original, it perfectly combines folk motifs and electronic dance music.
Over the years of the team’s existence, fans have become increasingly tormented by the question of what “Neuromonk Feofan” looks like without a hood? However, the main performer is in no hurry to reveal his cards and show himself to the viewer. Apparently, he is afraid that interest in the project will begin to subside after this. Viewers may become disappointed in their idol and no longer have such a warm attitude towards his work. After all, part of the audience has already drawn an image of the singer and cherishes it, but what will be their disappointment when expectations do not coincide with reality...
In the photo: Neuromonk Feofan without a hood
Songwriter and performer Oleg Stepanov is a key figure in the team. It is he who keeps the image of the man in the hood. In addition to him, there are also DJs Nikodim (aka Mikhail Grodinsky) and Bear (initially Feofan’s wife, Irina Stepanova, worked in this image).
Neuromonk Feofan: who is he really?
The image of Neuromonk is embodied by a tall man with a false beard and a face covered with a wide hood. The clothes he wears are schema and bast shoes. In his hands, Feofan holds a staff, inside of which a laser pointer is hidden. Who is hiding behind this popular image?
Photos of the performer in real life cannot be found so easily on the Internet, because the artist carefully hides his real appearance. Many have already guessed that the performer Oleg Stepanov is behind him. Only there was no official confirmation. As the performer said, he does not reveal his face only for the reason that he wants to calmly walk among people.
In one of the interviews, Feofan told some facts, by which the audience guessed that behind the image was none other than Oleg Stepanov himself. First of all, the name matched. The guy admitted that he was born in 1987 and studied at St. Petersburg State University of Aviation Administration. From his personal life we learned that he was married. This is exactly what coincided in the biographies of Oleg and Feofan.
After analyzing the pages on the social networks of the team members, all doubts were practically dispelled. Not only are they all in the “friends” category, but they also have a common friend - the concert director of the group, Mikhail Kostrov. Having compared the voice on the video recordings, there was no longer any doubt. As a result, Oleg Stepanov admitted that he is the Neuromonk.
It is not yet known how the fate of the team will develop in the future. The main intrigue has been revealed, but public interest in Neuromonk has not cooled down. Fans are still interested in the work of the man in the hood. Only now they don’t have to invent and complete his face. Although there are not so many photos of the performer without a hood on the Internet, and it is not easy to find them, it is possible.
Many people are interested in the question what Neuromonk Feofan looks like without a hood and here you will find out the answer to it.
A short introduction: Feofan is a musical project in the style of Drum-n-Bass and Slavic folk. A killer and original combination helped make many thousands fall in love with his work.
Who is Neuromonk Feofan - face
The main feature of the image is to keep the performer incognito. The trick is not new, but it worked and got the audience interested. Here we will analyze the real personality of the soloist and prove everything with ironclad facts.
It is difficult to remain non-public and undisclosed in our era; this did not work out for Neuromonk Feofan, or rather Oleg Stepanov (real name). He is 30 years old, he is married, he studied at St. Petersburg State University of Aviation Administration. Oleg himself provided all this information, except for his last name, on Yura Dud’s show. The rest is a matter of technique and here is what evidence was discovered:
1. A certain Oleg Stepanov, born in 1987, was found in the VK, all other characteristics also coincided.
2. His wife was found, who regularly reposts videos from the backstage of Feofan’s concerts.
3. In the description of the official video “Drown for Feofan” Oleg’s first and last name were indicated in the script column.
4. He also has another group member, Mikhail Grodinsky (DJ Mogwali), as friends, who also posts photos from the stage.
There are also several more connections with less significant people, but which also prove the true personality.
Now you know which one without a hood Neuromonk Feofan, what is his name his, Who and what he lives with in everyday life.
Photo © Evgeniy Petrushansky
Nobody knows the name or face of this man, although he gives concerts and has already written two albums: “There is drama in the soul, bright Rus' in the heart” and “Great are the forces of good.” The first impression from listening to the ancient Russian drama of the neuromonk Feofan may be a feeling of irony. And the very name of the project is “Neuromonk Feofan”, and the name of the first album (“ There is drama in the soul, bright Rus' in the heart"), and the texts themselves may partly lead to such an impression. However, we would be greatly mistaken if we see in the project “Neuromonk Feofan” only irony over Russian religiosity, leavened patriotism and Russian life in general. There is, perhaps, the least irony here.
We will be greatly mistaken if we see in the project “Neuromonk Feofan” only irony over Russian religiosity, leavened patriotism and Russian life in general
What is here then, if not irony? - you ask me, insightful reader. I believe that here we are dealing with very good work with the soil, with the material, which is why the project of the neuromonk Feofan turns out to be so original. Indeed, if I’m not mistaken, something like this has never appeared in our music before. Working with the soil, with native material is what our musical field has long needed. What do I mean by working with the soil? For example, if I do, say, rap, and at the same time I want my rap to be original, not like Western, authentic, then I must put original meanings into it, I must imbue it with the philosophy of my father’s land, the juices of my native land. Naturally, I also have to work on the form. However, if we look at our national music today, which is Russian rap, we will see that rap made, say, in the city of Chita is not fundamentally different from rap made, for example, in the city of Voronezh. Why is that? Yes, because there are the same themes, the same meanings, plots, problems, and even the beat was made by the same beatmaker... As a result, we have what we have, namely the overproduction of the same type of gray rap, imitative and extremely unoriginal, but at the same time confident in its incredibly originality.
It’s not at all the same with the neuromonk Feofan, who composed a wonderful legend, and chose the best company for himself (Bear and beatmaker Nikodim), and sings songs with enthusiasm. And he came up with his own dictionary, or rather he didn’t come up with it, but he adopted some Old Russian words, filling them with his own connotations. Updated, in a word. For example, “Verociousness” is, according to Feofan, a way of life that manifests itself in the fact that a person literally exudes positive energy, starts dancing for or without reason, and is generally inclined to have fun. And so on. Neuromonk Feofan also encourages people to come to his concerts in shirts and bast shoes, which is why bast weaving masters have received more orders before the neuromonk’s concerts. Now a way of life is taking shape...
I repeat that in no case should the work of the neuromonk Feofan be perceived as irony or as mockery of the Russian Orthodox way of life. This is precisely a project (yes, albeit a commercial one, but where would we be without it nowadays?) that works with authentic material and, moreover, works with it brilliantly! Anyone who saw here the irony of Russian Orthodoxy and patriotism simply did not understand anything.
Every word of the album “Great are the forces of good” is very kind, warm, bright, friendly, and the whole album comes out like this
Some may be offended by the phrase “Old Russian dram”. Well, this is where the irony comes in. Moreover, the irony is rather about drama as a genre. Because the neuromonk Feofan also gives the word “dram” some additional meanings. This very ancient Russian drama is also ironic because, as those meticulous about defining the label have already noticed, oh - cross it out! - That is, the genre, music critics, this is not drama at all, but simply electropop with folk elements. So be it, it doesn't change the matter.
Let’s also say a few words about the latest album by the neuromonk Feofan “ Great are the forces of good" I can’t resist and say on my own that the album is wonderful! And I’ll add: very wonderful!
“A lot of dirty, useless words,” Feofan sings. We can say with confidence that there is not a single such useless word in the neuromonk’s album. Every word of the album is very kind, warm, bright, friendly, and the whole album comes out like that. The album, in essence, tells the story of how Feofan, together with his friends Medved and Nikodim, leave the noisy city behind (the song “Come with Me”) and go to the village to play ancient Russian drama and have fun. Actually, they don’t need anything else, except that they would like us to have fun with them, so they invite us with them.
Neuromonk sees only goodness around and invites everyone to have fun on such a wonderful occasion. It really is true that “all is pure to the pure”!
An album about friendship, about fun, about kindness, about love for nature. About the fact that the forces of good are great! And although the neuromonk never seems to utter the word God or the word Church in the album, and in interviews, as they say, he fundamentally refuses to talk about religion, nevertheless, the very mood of the album — bright, kind — cannot be perceived only in a secular way. And the very appeal to the topic of Russian monasticism and Russian life in general speaks for itself. Even if this appeal is only at the level of attributes, the attributes themselves still have value for the listener. However, neuromonasticism can also be perceived as modern holy foolishness, who knows!... The holy fool does not explain to us the dogmas and nuances of this or that theology, but he speaks to us in other ways! (compare the neuromonk Feofan with the St. Petersburg rap holy fool MC Repent, whom you can quite by chance meet on the streets of the northern capital and listen to his Orthodox freestyle).
In any case, it is obvious that the album is strong for its bright and kind mood, first of all, and not for its thought. Neuromonk sees only goodness around and invites everyone to have fun on such a wonderful occasion. It really is true that “all is pure to the pure”! And when there is only negativity, anger and lies around us, how important it is to remember the light of genuine, simple human goodness!
That’s why we thank neuromonk Theophan for this message!
Lubomud Andrey
Archpriest Igor Fomin comments.
Hello! A new character has appeared in the entertainment media space, who quickly gained popularity among the younger generation. There is a musical project that creates original music in the direction of folk with a mixture of electronic music, the so-called Drum and Bass. Everything would be fine, an original and interesting idea, but the lead singer of the group is dressed in a blasphemous semblance of a monastic robe and calls himself “Neuromonk Feofan”. “Current commentary” right now, the guest of the program is Archpriest Igor Fomin.
Father, hello!
Hello!
- How is this possible?
In pursuit of popularity, a person very often forgets the boundaries of what is permitted, the boundaries of his safety, both physical and spiritual. The person you are talking about now has forgotten the boundaries of his spiritual safety. Very often, when you are chasing something, pursuing something, you neglect the rules and step beyond the forbidden lines. This musician stepped beyond the forbidden line of spiritual safety.
- And he leads the youth.
Youth leads. Does this confuse young people? Is this an opportunity to laugh and mock?
You know, I will say that he does not confuse young people. The audience that is at his concerts is (I am not afraid of this word) a raging crowd.
It’s embarrassing not in the sense that young people suddenly began to look away in shame... If that were the case, it would be wonderful. He gives them imaginary freedom from the restrictions of some rules of decency. You cannot ridicule what is dear to another, and you cannot mock it.
- Here the person did not take on the image of a Muslim, a Buddhist, this is an attack specifically on Orthodoxy.
Naturally, you and I understand perfectly well that no matter who it is... One TV presenter put on priestly robes and held a photo shoot, someone danced in an Orthodox church. Although they are blasphemers, they are not completely brainless people; they understand perfectly well that life is the only thing they have, earthly life is the only thing they can go through, and then they have no future after death. Therefore, they want to live this life in such a way that “eh!”, so that everything around them rings. Unfortunately, even this will not work, because when repentance overtakes us, when remorse overtakes us...
- When the hour of death will overtake us, no one knows.
Well, it's far away. When the Father comes to us, He will not tell us anything, He will simply look into our eyes, and we will see His eyes. And then what will be going on in the soul of this person, this “neuromonk,” as he calls himself? The Lord will not punish him directly; he has already punished himself. If the Lord wants to punish, the mind takes away.
Here we see that this musician destroys what, on the contrary, should have been built on. He is destroying his platform of security, his platform of sustainability in this world. Does he think he can stand everywhere? No, he cannot, Russia will not be able to survive without Orthodoxy, Russia will not exist without Orthodoxy. And those who destroy this foundation should first of all think about it. We were formed as Orthodox Christians, we were formed as a society that without God it is not even conceivable to be Russian, as Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky said. Therefore - only regrets.
Let's pray that the Lord will painlessly enlighten and give a person the opportunity to repent. By the way, it very often happens that people who behave like this, after some time come to confession, are reborn and then serve the cause of preaching Christ. Let's not go far and take Saul, who was suddenly reborn into Paul overnight.
Presenter Alexander Kruse
Recorded by Anna Solodnikova
— How do people in small cities like Lipetsk perceive your music?
Feofan: That's the best! Just due to the fact that the city is provincial, usually companies come to performances in which everyone knows each other, so they behave more openly and relaxed. So often in small towns everything happens more energetically. There is a feeling of some kind of great community or something.
Lipetsk is already the fifth city in which you will present your new album. Did you remember anything from concerts in other cities?
Feofan: Every city has something different. In Voronezh, for example, there were double round dances. It was very crowded in Tula. There were a lot of people, but the site was not very big. There was a very frantic slam there. Everyone was jumping there, and it looked very epic.
Nicodemus: In Bryansk, for example, it was very family-like. It's a very low stage and the audience was actually right in front of us.
Feofan: We went to the gym there.
- Weren’t you afraid that you would be discovered?
Feofan: Oh well, people are still adequate. Nobody needs this.
I read that in Bryansk the concert was on the verge of failure due to calls from anonymous people who strongly recommended canceling it.
Feofan: I'll explain now. In fact, there was just a small problem with the organizers, and the concert was simply postponed to another day. But there were no such things there. We don’t have any offensive or provoking texts. Everything is very good.
In your interview with Yuri Dudu, you said that you respect the work of such a performer as Big Russian Boss. When he performed with us in Lipetsk, mostly schoolchildren came to the concert. Can you roughly outline the image of your fan?
Feofan: As for Big Russian Boss, we are for any creativity. We are for maximum diversity and lack of boundaries in creativity. The main thing is that Nikodim just sings less (laughs).
Nicodemus: I’m trying to sing, everything is torn from my soul.
Feofan: Once he starts singing, you can’t stop him. Well, I'm just kidding, of course. As for fans, there is a very wide spectrum. We had a woman, she was 62 years old, she danced in front of the stage the entire concert. I don't know where she gets so much strength. They came in three generations - grandson, mother and grandmother. Even small children like it, but they are unlikely to come to our performances. Shouldn’t they be transported in wheelchairs?!
- YoursDudu's interview will soon gain three million views . Do you somehow monitor comments on social networks, follow what fans write?
Feofan: I sometimes answer on Vkontakte when people ask me something. Nikodim has his own official VKontakte page.
Nicodemus: People write, I try to answer everyone. Mostly they write about musical issues, there are a lot of reviews, everyone likes it. So add yourself and write.
- Won’t the Bear start a page?
Feofan: Yes, he’s a clubfoot.
Nicodemus: He ate the computer.
Surely, you have heard such groups as “Nevid”, “Arkona”, “Butterfly Temple”. Was there a desire to do something similar, to “heavier” your music?
Feofan: Well, it already exists, what's the point of doing something that already happened. We go our own way, our own way and develop in this. For example, we added the Bear.
Feofan: Now turn down the Bear.
Nicodemus: Add protein. You can also make a fish song. We will add animals.
- In your opinion, can folklore and traditional culture live in the postmodern era? And in what form?
Feofan: In the postmodern era, everything can live in any form. This is not the invention of something new, but a combination of the old, so anything can be born. And if you move into post-postmodernity, then there is even more variability and some things created at different poles.
There is a video of your clips being shown to foreigners. They are all delighted, everyone really likes it. Do you think that your work will take root in the minds of foreigners as a stereotype about Russian culture?
Feofan: They have such diversity there that it’s unlikely. There are, of course, groups that “beat” according to stereotypes. For example, Little Big. They are wonderful guys, we know them. They just have pure banter. The same "Arkona" is very popular abroad, for example. Due to the fact that there is such diversity, it is therefore unlikely that they will focus on one thing and build their opinion on the basis of the creativity of one group.
- Fans write that your new album is more serious.
Nicodemus: It's all because the Bear started singing.
Feofan: The album is called “Dance. Sing". That is, there is a more dancing part, and there is one where you can sing along a lot, there are a lot of words, they are very melodic. If you remove the second part, you will get a playful, dancing album; if you remove the first part, you will get a calm album. They could easily be divided into two.
Nicodemus: The main thing is not to mix up the parts and not sing dances or dance songs (laughs).
Feofan: In the future, we will probably release a heavier, tougher version of “Dance,” because within the framework of one album it would be strange for the parts to be very different. They follow a common pattern. So, perhaps, we will release dance songs separately, but with a heavier sound. We are working on this now.
You have probably heard about such a performer as Hieromonk Photius (winner of the show “The Voice”). By the way, he will come to us in a month with a concert. Have you often found yourself confused?
Feofan: Not so often, but more than I would like. Of course, we don’t intersect with him at all, absolutely. There are people who confuse them, but this is all because of the similarity in names only.
Nicodemus: It's probably just some kind of inattention.
Feofan: Well, that's good. This speaks of diversity and the fact that there are so many different groups and performers that there are even small overlaps.
- A post recently appeared on Pikabu about how a guy decided to please his believing parents and buy a ticket to Photius. But I made a mistake and bought a ticket to your concert. My father was delighted, but my mother didn’t really understand.
Feofan: So my father is a very modern person, he is ready for everything new, he is open, and my mother is also a great guy. She probably cooks delicious soup.
Would you like to record a song in Old Church Slavonic? In the comments on YouTube they write that you were offered this, but you seemed to refuse.
Feofan: Who writes? We have not received such offers. If you go out into the street and say: “Offer,” then people, of course, will begin to do it very actively. But we physically cannot do everything that is proposed. What we like is what we do. If we just sat in the studio all the time, we would have so many options... But we don’t always sit in the studio, now there’s a concert, a tour. Then I don’t have enough strength for anything.
- You have a very busy schedule, many concerts as part of the tour. How do you cope with this, how do you rest?
Feofan: It’s not easy at all, there are constant regime failures, physically it’s hard. If we just stood on stage like statues, then that would be one thing, but we are moving actively. Physically it is not easy, you need to be prepared. We are constantly recuperating. We need to do everything in parallel.
Nicodemus: During the tour, everything happens.
Feofan: You should, for example, go for a massage or go to the sauna.
Nicodemus: Put the vertebrae in place after transport.
The next city on the tour is Kyiv. How are you feeling before this concert? Do you think that they will be able to calmly and adequately accept a group with such a traditional Russian orientation?
Feofan: I think it will be cool. All our friends who were there say that the audience there is very good, everyone is very cheerful. Of course, if someone wants to do something, to account for money, then there is nothing we can do about it. But I think that this is unlikely to happen. All people are adequate. This will be our first time in Kyiv. We were in Minsk, in Belarus, and it was generally very cool there. We were also near Minsk at a festival. By the way, there were Ukrainians, Belarusians, and Russians there. We performed there absolutely normally, despite the fact that there were Ukrainian nationalists there. That is, of course, there are some incidents. The people who come to our performances are all very reasonable and sensible; there are, of course, those who behave strangely, but there are only a few of them.
Your group is associated with Slavic, Old Russian culture. How interested are you in all of this in life? Or is this also just an image to a greater extent? Some groups playing in Slavic themes are, for example, directly connected with Rodnoverie and Slavic paganism in real life.
Feofan: This topic is interesting to me. If I didn't know anything about it, where would it come from?! I wonder what it looked like. We visited all the fortresses that exist in the Leningrad region. It’s interesting to delve into some beliefs. Don't even know. Maybe Nicodemus on the sly?!
Nicodemus: And I love all sorts of old instruments and music. Tunes, tunes. There are some very cool things about the art of music if you dig around.
Feofan: I'm crazy about choral singing. Especially “The Wide Steppe”, but not performed by Cossack choirs... This gives me goosebumps, at these moments I really want to sit there (shows the pose of a sage). And all the tunes, they are very nimble and fast, they also sound very cool.
