Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Нейромонах Феофан - "Лапти разбить об пол" [2012-2014]

Artist: Нейромонах Феофан
Title: Лапти разбить об пол
Genre: Drum and Bass, Neurofunk, Electro-Folk
Country: Russia
Year: 2012-2014

Track List:
  1. Асмодеев на кол!
  2. Драм для Ивана
  3. Камыш
  4. Козаки (full ver)(Bonus)
  5. Козаки
  6. Лапти разбить об пол
  7. Любите Русь, Любите Драм (Новогодняя)
  8. Мужицкая силушка
  9. Нейромонах Феофан
  10. Пляски с медведем
  11. Посевная
  12. Сильная Воля и Крепкий Дух
  13. Холодно в лесу
  14. Я буду с тобою
  15. Драм и Светлая Русь
  16. Кое-что
  17. Лесные зобавы(ver. 1)
  18. Лесные зобавы(ver. 2)
  19. Мне под Драм легко 
Today, on April Fools' Day, it's the best time to post something which started as a 100% joke project but eventually evolved into something bigger. There isn't much known about Нейромонах Феофан except it's an one-man project which started to produce music circa 2012, combining D'n'B/neurofunk sound with folk metal vocals and imagery. The result turned out to be surprisingly interesting - at least I can't name any other project which sounds like this, especially on our post-USSR scene which rarely produces something really original.


Even though the project wasn't serious by any means and never strived for more or less wide popularity, it suddenly went viral in 2014. I'd compare it to the well-known phenomenon of "Ievan Polkka" by Loituma, when a simplistic folk tune makes an "OMG why I just can't stop listening to this shit"-effect. In the wake of his unexpected popularity, Нейромонах Феофан released a professionally produced 17-track LP a couple of months ago. It consists of his early demo tracks plus one new song which is great too:


Moreover, he gave two live shows (in Moscow and St.Petersburg) just a couple of weeks ago. While he continues to keep his identity strictly anonymous, rumours say he's from St.Petersburg - which I find believable, since that city has enough people with an appropriate sense of humour to produce such kind of music.


If someone wonders how his moniker should sound in English - I believe it should be "Theophanus the Neuromonk" or something like that. Yes, he does maintain a scenic image of a hermit monk whose only entertainment is producing D'n'B/neurofunk. Sounds hilarious, right? His lyrics are based on even more hilarious stereotypes, but I'm afraid I lack appropriate skills to translate it properly. As for the music, it's a bit repetitive but not bad for a self-produced joke project. I'm not a big fan of either traditional folk music or drum'n'bass, but this particular combination of these two genres is awesome. I'd call it "turbofolk", if this term wasn't already in use...

The tracks included in the link below are demo tracks from 2012-2014. If you prefer the professional quality of production, consider buying an album which came out in 2015.

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