In 2015, a video clip for the song “Trample” was distributed on the Internet. Her performer was a certain Neuromonk Theophanes. "Who is it really?" - network users asked each other. However, there was no accompanying information. Two years have passed, and the musical project still continues its work. Who is this Neuromonk Feofan really and what is famous for?
Structure
It is known that the pseudonym is not one, but at least two people. This is the lead singer and DJ Nicodemus. The first is a tall guy with a false beard. In public, he always appears in a hoodie resembling a schema, with patterns on the edging and in bast shoes. A hood hides his face, and in his hands he usually holds a staff in which a laser pointer is hidden. The neuromonk Feofan sings a song with a distinctive edge and the use of Slavism, outdated words. The musical project hails from St. Petersburg.
History
Who is it really - Neuromonk Theophanes? The group still remains anonymous from annoying media. But, despite this, Afisha magazine was able to slightly open the veil and interview DJ Nikodim, the second member of the group. He told about himself and about the history of the creation of the group. Nicodemus has a college degree. For a long time he studied music professionally. And when he met Feofan (who is a self-taught musician), he prompted him a lot of interesting things. On the basis of common interests, the guys became friends.
Theophanes even before the formation of the group actively recorded songs (since about 2008). The idea to join forces in an original musical project arose while walking through the woods.
Style
The uniqueness of the style of the new group consisted not only of styling as Russian folk festivals, but also of combining balalaika with drum bass bass (electronic music). Lyrics of the group "Neuromonk Feofan" depict the life of Ancient Russia, Russian nature and peasant labor, while they are not without irony. This makes the perception of creativity easy and interesting.
Criticism
Who is it really - Neuromonk Theophanes? Long and painfully puzzled critics of the group. But they were not interested in the true names of the participants, but in what they wanted to say with their songs. So, Sergei Shnurov 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 of the newly-minted artists as a whole, as well as their active work in 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 "MS Vspyshkin" and "Ivan Kupala". According to experts, the collective focuses on the visual component, and the musical part is defined as simple, too simple.
The journalist of the portal “Sounds.ru” Victoria Bazoeva devoted a small article to the group, where she positively assessed the level of stylization of the group. However, she expressed doubt about the confusion 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 largely opposed to the activities of apologists for contemporary art, for example, Vladimir Sorokin.
Albums
In total, the group has three albums. The first “Drama in the soul, and bright Russia in the heart” was presented in 2015. According to the musicians themselves, he was the first attempt to combine the 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 evaluated by music columnist Alexei Mazhaev (InterMedia). In the lyrics often used the word "drum". However, this did not stop the critic from defining the style of the group as an electropop with folk elements. The album clearly perceives the propaganda of cultural revival and the accompanying irony in this regard. The original themes of the compositions about the Old Russian Olympic Games and open-airs do not bore.
The second collection, The Great Forces of Good, was released in 2016. He was expecting no less success. For 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 this devotion to style. So, for example, Stanislav Sorochinsky - REF News blogger - called the sound of the new record predictable, monotonous. And Alexey Mazhaev, in a review of the album, expressed the opinion that the performer becomes hostage to one image that has no development. In addition, some tracks (for example, "Everywhere I dance") in their sound are not close to drum and bass, but to Soviet music. Critics also noted the lack of a clear style of the collection. In it, the influence of Russian rock and folk is felt every now and then.
The second album included 9 tracks. The last of them - “The stepson of the rules” - reminds in style the work of the Technology group.
At the beginning of 2017, Neuromonk Feofan released his third album, “Dance. Sing ”, which was immediately lit by Stanislav Sorochinsky. According to him, the collection "sounds like one big song." Although the task of the collective now is not to surprise the audience (“they have already invented the bicycle”), but to entertain the people who work hard in stuffy offices.
Six songs became the group's singles. From the last album, the tracks “And Now the Bear Sings” and “The Old Russian Soul” were included in this list.
Video clips
The group has shot only two videos so far. The first on the song "Trample" scored on the YouTube channel almost seven million views. The second video clip “Hut walks with a shaker” is less popular. Today it has collected only about two million views.
In the commercials, the musician traditionally, like on stage, appears in his stage schema. It is not possible to understand who this really is, Neuromonk Theophanes, and what his name is in ordinary life. And the comments of fans and just curious users "hang" without an answer.
The musician himself answers the question why he does not reveal himself, answers simply. The neuromonk Feofan is an image with which the style and creativity of the group are associated. Acceptance and approval of it should not be associated with the identity of the true artist.
Concerts
The beginning of 2015 became a landmark for the group. After all, then her debut album was released. A concert tour was dedicated to this event. The tour took place in the cities of Russia and Belarus. The program bore the original name "Core Zador", and the collection was included in the "top ten" iTunes.
Also, the group “Neuromonk Feofan” took part in the festivals “Kuban”, “Invasion”, VK Fest, “Wild Mint” and “Epic Coast”.
Today, musicians often perform in joint concerts with other stars: Bastoy, Marseille, Noize MC, etc.
