With an artist name that means Lebanese Cedar in Russian, 25-year-old Kedr Livanskiy was born and raised in Moscow on a diet of The Cure and major cultural change. While studying film at Moscow’s school of New Cinema, she discovered electronic music and a friend group that bonded over Death Grips. The squad formed its own art collective and label, John’s Kingdom. Now a shining gem in Russia’s burgeoning underground electronic music scene, she describes her sound as inspired by Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada, with the lyrics and mood of Mazzy Star.
Completely enchanted, we are pleased to premiere the first single from her debut EP (January Sun – out Feb 19 on 2MR), “Razrushitelniy Krug.” Meaning “destructive cycle” in English, the track is about “self-reflection becoming self-destructive in a vicious cycle.” She goes on to explain that it follows the winter of other EP tracks and is “not all doom and gloom; April is almost tropical in its celebration of the arrival of spring. It’s for exploring the Russian countryside after the sun has unlocked the trees, debris and dilapidated buildings frozen in time.” Sounds dreamy to us. And while we don’t understand the lyrics, what’s lost in translation is made up for in a shroud of ethereal charm.