Neuromonakh Feofan () is a musical project from

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, combining

drum 'n' bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

and Russian folk music. Neuromonakh Feofan's performances are styled after traditional

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

festivals. The group members perform in

bast shoes Bast shoes are shoes made primarily from bast — fiber taken from the bark of trees such as linden. They are a kind of basket, woven and fitted to the shape of a foot. Bast shoes are a traditional footwear of the forest areas of Northern ...

kosovorotka A kosovorotka ( rus, косоворо́тка, p=kəsəvɐˈrotkə), also known in the West as a Russian peasant shirt or Tolstoy shirt (''tolstovka''). The name comes from the Russian language, Russian phrase ''kosoy vorot'' (косой воро ...

s and sarafans. One member performs dressed as a bear. The group's lyrics incorporate

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Herzeg ...

and obsolete Russian words, and they play

balalaika The balalaika (russian: link=no, балала́йка, ) is a Russian stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the thir ...

over the drum 'n' bass beats.

Members

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. In a 2018 interview, Neuromonakh Feofan revealed that his real name is Oleg Stepanov.

History

In an interview with

Afisha ''Afisha'' ''( rus, link=no, Афиша — "Poster")'' was a Russian entertainment and lifestyle magazine published from April 1999 to December 2015 in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and 12 other Russia's major cities. In its peak years ''Afishas re ...

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. The group's debut album, ''Drum in the Soul, Bright Rus' in the Heart'' (), 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 iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. Neuromonakh Feofan has performed at Russian music festivals such as Kubana,

Nashestvie Nashestvie (russian: Нашествие) was the largest open-air festival of Russian rock, organized by Nashe Radio station. It was held annually during the first weekend of July (first weekend of August until 2006) in the environs of Moscow, Rus ...

(), Dikaya Myata (), and VK Fest. 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.

Critical reception

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 and

Ivan Kupala Kupala Night ( be, Купалле, pl, Noc Kupały, russian: Иван-Купала, uk, Івана Купала, Купайла), also called Ivanа Kupala, is a traditional Slavic holiday that was originally celebrated on the shortest night of ...

. In an interview,

Sergey Shnurov Sergey Vladimirovich Shnurov (russian: Серге́й Влади́мирович Шну́ров; born 13 April 1973) is a Russian musician and songwriter, best known as ''Shnur'' (lit. cord), of the ska-punk band Leningrad which he formed in ...

said that Neuromonakh Feofan is “a combination of the incompatible, they are Orthodox atheists, they are believing communists”. Shnurov also approved Neuromonakh Feofan's activities in social networks. 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.

Discography

Studio albums

* 2015 — ''Drum in the Soul, Bright Rus' in the Heart'' () * 2016 — ''Great Forces of Goodness'' () * 2017 — ''To Dance. To Sing'' () * 2022 – ''Old Russian Rave'' ()

EPs

* 2018 — * 2018 — ) * 2018 — * 2018 — * 2019 —

Singles

* 2015 — "To Trample Down" * 2015 — "Now I Want to Dance!" * 2016 — "The Hut is Walking with Staggering" * 2016 — "Old Russian Drum" * 2017 — "And Now the Bear is Singing" * 2017 — "Old Russian Soul" (feat.

Slot Slot, the slot or Slots may refer to: People * Arne Slot (born 1978), Dutch footballer * Gerrie Slot (born 1954), Dutch cyclist * Hanke Bruins Slot (born 1977), Dutch politician * Tonny Bruins Slot (born 1947), Dutch association football coach wh ...

) * 2018 — "Viski" (feat.

Bi-2 Bi-2 (russian: Би-2 ''Bi-dva'') is a Belarusian alternative rock band, formed in the 1980s in Bobruisk, Belarus. It was one of the most successful with many sales and chart-hits in Russia. Bi-2 was awarded MTV Russian Music Awards for Best Roc ...

)

Videos

References

External links

Neuromonakh Feofan discography
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

Interview with Neuromonk Feofan (Russian)

vDud pres. Neuromonk Feofan (Russian)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russian Music Russian electronic musicians Alternative dance musical groups Russian techno musicians Musical groups from Saint Petersburg Musical groups established in 2009 Masked musicians