For many Israelis, the collaboration between Neta Barzilai and Little Big in the song "Mustache" was the first time they got to know the colorful Russian band.
But savvy people have long marked this collective of musicians and artists (which is much more than a band soup) as one of the most original and interesting phenomena in world pop.
The band from St. Petersburg combines infectious music and silly lyrics, fighting together styles like pop, dub-stap, techno and sometimes even metal, and presents their artistic wares in beautifully designed and stylish clips, full of images that are hard to remain indifferent to.
As expected of such a band without restraint, they also thread beneath all the madness also subversive messages and poignant social criticism.
What started as a April 1, 2013 joke became a huge phenomenon within a few years.
A cultural act on the face of a satanic (but in practice - very musically and visually invested), which is gaining immense popularity in Europe.
They have also visited Israel (the last time was in 2019, just before the corona crisis began), and even plan to visit again.
When the world really comes back to itself.
"We've performed in Israel twice and it's a paradise for you," says Little Big singer and leader Ilya Prusikin.
"We were in Tel Aviv and it is amazing. The people, the weather, the beaches. We really want to come back. As soon as the plague is over we will come back and give you an amazing show."
The extended Little Big family also includes
Organite, an Israeli lineup.
Together with Neta, it turns out that you have an interesting connection with Israeli musicians.
"I don't think it's a matter of nationality. All the artists in the world are united by this madness. A crazy connection between style, music, music videos, photography, etc. We think artists really have no nationalism. We call them 'obsessive' and we are all part of the same obsessed family." .
Obsessive.
Little Big, Photo: PR
How was "
Mustache
" and the collaboration with Neta born
?
Did you know her work before?
"We first met Neta during the 'Atlas' festival in Kiev and since then we have continued to talk to her on Instagram. Neta really loves our music and we love her too, because her songs are phenomenal and her vocal abilities are insane. So when our producer introduced us to the instrumental demo of the song "We immediately sent him to Neta and she quickly wrote the words and also came up with his concept."
When looking at Barzilai's, "Bassa Sabba" or "Nana Banana" clips, it's hard not to find Little Art's artistic influences on the Israeli musician.
She herself told in an interview with "Israel Today" that this is a group of musicians, designers and art directors that she dreamed of working with and who inspired her.
In this respect, the connection between Neta and the Russian band is almost self-evident.
And just like her, they too were supposed to represent their country at the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest.
But some pandemic had other intentions, and the following year Ilya and his friends gave up the honor - mainly because they felt they did not need more exposure, and to give others the opportunity to break out in a big way.
"A lot of people claimed we've traded and become mainstream because we're going to the Eurovision Song Contest, but that did not happen in the end. So hey, hitters. We're still punk!", Laughs Prussikin.
As much as your songs are catchy, you are known for your very distinctive clips. Is your art necessarily a combination of sound and visuals?
"Our music is hybrid, it can not be limited to the genre. We do punk, pop, rock, rave, metal, anything you want. We wanted to record a metal song, so we released 'We are Little Big'. We wanted to do a pop song, So we released 'Mustache' with Neta. Same goes for clips.
Our songs and music videos are one entity.
You can not watch our clips without listening to music, or listen to our music without watching the video.
And that's because the characters we create in the songs are brought to life in the clips. "
Gloom through comedy.
Little Big, Photo: PR
Some of your early substances, like "Everyday I Drink" and "From Russia in Love" are considered darker and more critical. What made you make the transition to content called "more sociable"?
"To be honest we never created social content for the whole family, just at some point we realized there was too much negative energy here. So we started bringing all our dark ideas to form by comedy because it was hard for us to produce those dark materials you were talking about.
"Our messages are still dark, what has changed is the way we communicate them. For example, 'Skibidi' which has become popular and people think it is for children. It is not. The clip and song are about a man who is almost an alcoholic, and he goes home to sleep with his wife and then gets into a fight. "It's not a story for children, but because everything in the clip is so bright, sparkling and colorful, children can not see the real message behind it. To be honest, quite a few adults do not notice it either."
This is not the only time they have not fully understood what you are trying to say.
"In Russia, when we released our first single 'Everyday I'm Drinking', a lot of people accused us of rosophobia, hatred of Russians. All in all we laughed at the stereotypes that exist around the world. Etc. We just laughed about it. It was weird that people were angry at us, because these stereotypes are not true. But later people realized that overall we laughed at these stereotypes, and from there everything changed. We do not want to offend people, hurt or annoy them.
"That artists really have no nationalism."
Little Big with Neta Barzilai, Photo: PR
"We're just laughing at the stereotypes, not trying to prove something to someone. If a person does not like Russia, you can not prove him wrong. If a person does not like America, you will not be able to make him realize he is wrong. The only thing that can change his mind. This person is physically reaching a country he does not like and seeing for himself whether he likes the place or not. "
What do you think most people do not understand about Russia and the Russian people?
"I think Russians are very kind and compassionate. There is a perception about 'Russian soul'. It is a somewhat complex concept to understand, and only Russians understand it."
