Chikiss

RU

Adult contemporary, Background, Baroque Pop, Chamber Pop, Coldwave, Cuddlecore, Easy-list., Electroacoustic, Indie-pop, Instrumental, Jazz fusion, Leftfield, Minimal, New romantic, Pop, Twee

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1013864859
http://www.chikiss.bandcamp.com
http://soundcloud.com/chikissecrets
http://www.last.fm/music/Chikiss
http://www.myspace.com/chikissplace
http://chikiss.livejournal.com/
http://www.openspace.ru/music_modern/events/details/14816/?expand=yes#expand

From Kubinka to Omsk: Silver Boy, Chikiss, Milky Toad, and RusZUD

Two labels - from Moscow and Omsk - announce a handful of new releases this week. They all concern some vague, enduring lacuna in modern society and whether Russia's endless expanse offers an alternative.

A Distant Angel: Maygley, Contagi0us, and Cosmic Weather Forecast

New shoegaze compositions from three Russian cities focus on absent objects of desire. Since these musicians are attracted by things ineffable, it makes sense that they'd abandon language. And they do.

Love Songs as Correspondence: Sansara, Dolphin, and Chaos in Heathrow

New recordings from Dolphin, Sansara, and Chaos In Heathrow all use the symbolism of correspondence or "dialogs" as a thematic constant. Love, in other words, is faced with a geographic and communicative challenge.

Audible Distance: Chikiss, Alexei De Bronhe, Kompakt-Katya, and Remotely

Four artists from Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Minsk all make recourse to metaphors of distance in their new recordings. Various sound effects help to evoke the appeal of other, faraway places.

Acquiescence, Not Acquisition: Ned Hoper, Zazazone, and Aerofall

Ned Hoper, Aerofall, and Zazazone are all connected to other ensembles or collaborative endeavors. These bands all ponder various alternatives to haughty, self-assured creativity through humbling and social enterprise.

Gothic Romance and Black Holes: Sistra, Chikiss, MAKE, and NGC 1365

Various aspects of a gothic tradition are evident in some recent Russian recordings that tag themselves as "shoegaze," "witchstep" and "apocalyptic R&B." Expect tales of cursed monasteries, black dogs... and death in general

Rok-Gryzuny, Bajinda behind the Enemy Lines, and Harajiev Smokes Virginia!

These three ensembles, from St Petersburg, Samara, and Kazan, form a telling snapshot of rock's significance in Russia. Not as a tool of adult protest, but as an opportunity to celebrate the present - before actuality sets in

Lyricism in a Very Large Country: Denis Taiga and Alexander Xuman

Two stylistically different releases draw upon the idea of some premodern "golden age" in order to speak about the future of Russian music-making. One turns to Siberia, the other to the equally green suburbs of Moscow!

Easy Does It: Poostosh, Chikiss, and the New 56 Stuff Compilation

Three new recordings combine in order to show the appeal of peace, quiet, and nostalgia in urban Russia. They use metaphors of winter and city wastelands to ponder thoughts of a fresh start

Big Cars, Coke Bottles, and Surfboards: The Songs of Sablia and Luau

St Petersburg duo Sablia have just managed to produce a seven-track EP. Many of the songs are dedicated to issues of daily drudgery and its ability to stifle all forms of romance. Moscow duo Luau play a similar game - without recourse to words

Chikiss: Mortgages, Babies, and a Very Hot Summer (eng/рус)

Galia Chikiss, one of Russia's finest singer-songwriters, speaks about various challenges and pressures in her recent material, be they financial, familial - or the fault of Mother Nature

Chikiss: "Emerald Spring" and the Importance of Breathing

Late in 2007, Galia Chikiss released a mini-album with the title of "Zoloto oseni" (Autumn Gold); at the time, we said: "Autumn Gold is part of an ongoing four-part project, with the remaining three sections - understandably enough - being dedicated to the other seasons. If they’re as good a...

Chikiss: Dreams of Southern Seashores from a Frozen Pond

In the realm of East European music - and far beyond - one will always encounter occasions when unsatisfying performers insist on releasing unwise amounts of material. The cause of such productivity may be a well-hidden sponsor; it might also be a misplaced sense of "talent." The occasions, howe...

Sablia: The Difficult Choice between a Mortgage and "Miniature Music"

"Sablia," the Russian word for "Sabre," might suggest that we're dealing with a loud, hirsute and aesthetically challenged ensemble. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth. We turn immediately to Mr. Oleg Nesterov, owner and spiritual guru at Moscow's Snegiri Records. He has the follo...

Zmitser von Holzman: The Worldview of Russian Electronica... Unplugged

Zmitser von Holzman, perhaps not surprisingly, is not the real name of the bearded young man shown on this page. Were we to rummage through his pockets, somewhere would be official proof of his parallel existence in dull reality - as Dmitrii Gol'tsman, a resident of St Petersburg. This evidently...

Chikiss: A "Springtime EP" and the Romance of Vanishing into the 1930s

The trio known as Chikiss - named after front-woman Galia Chikiss - has released just a wonderful new EP. It marks an evolutionary stage between the handful of top-notch tracks released online over the last couple of years and an album, promised in the near future. The four-track package can be...

Sensiva: "Draught"

One of the more intriguing new releases of 2009, straight after the holidays, will be "Draught," a new album from St. Petersburg's Sensiva. The band consists of three young men: Aleksander Belkov (drums), Aleksander Dubrovin (guitar), and founding member, Artem Galukhin (aka "Sensiva"), who is...

Chikiss: "Autumn Gold"

We were lucky enough to be given a pre-release copy of the new mini-album from Galia Chikiss (above, center). It's called "Autum Gold" (Zoloto oseni) and is quite possibly one of the best - and quietest! - things we've heard for a while. We've written about Ms. Chikiss before, offering...

Chikiss: "Untitled Vitamin"

Several months ago, a very quiet album appeared from the small northern town of Primorsk, not far from the border with Finland. That's not a locale to inspire noisy music. The recording came from a trio known as Chikiss after its vocalist, Galia Chikiss. The other two members were -...