Night session

Video showing is a collective form of watching foreign films, which in the late 1980s conquered the Soviet Union. A scarce video recorder, a color TV, a set of cassettes and a free hall - that's all that was needed for a video show; They instantly strewn the country and brought their owners a considerable income until they were replaced by video rental. You could see anything in the video show - their repertoire was unpredictable. Films with eastern martial arts, militants with Schwarzenegger and Stallone, science fiction, horror, light erotica - those genres that were half -forced in Soviet cinema were popular. But one could stumble upon something more refined-on the films of Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola, Brian de Palma and David Lynch.

Choosing the name Video Salon , a duet of the singer and composer Gali Chikis and the California Electron Brian Economique , who went to Berlin, wakes his hypnotic music with the ghost of the past. The signals sent by them are recognized by those who have been in the video showing: synthesizers like John Carpenter, romanticism of the 80s Dream Pop, experiments of the abstract electronics of the 90s and the mysterious atmosphere of “blue velvet” with Twin Picks. But the main thing is in Video music Salon pulsates the very magic that turned the stuffy room with a faded TV into a portal, moving to an amazing world.

Galya Chikis about Video Salon, Videos and the following projects

In 2014, when the conflict of Russia with Ukraine worsened, I, as a pacifist, was very worried, I wanted to make some kind of statement for the world. Beautiful, delicate and, as they say, to the point. I called my friends in the workshop, Russian and Ukrainian artists - Oksana Zmorovich , Tosyu Chaykin, Nastya Vakuum ( Ladan ), Anya Kutz and Karina Ghazaryan ( Kp Transmission , Fanny Kaplan ), we joined the collection of new female electronics called “She Knows More than She Thinks” , I wrote a manifesto and sent to different labels. To our happiness, my beloved California Not Fun responded almost immediately, a cassette came out, and so our friendship and cooperation began. And to Brian Pyle Britt Brown sent this collection to Mastering. Brian is a master in this matter. By the way, he made the last reprint of Mikael Tariverdiev - a craftswoman - a triple vinyl. This is our favorite composer with him. Brian wrote to me that he was happy to work with our collection and that twice a year he came from his Northern California to Berlin as part of European tour. In general, he came to us in Neukeln-and somehow joint music began by itself. We just began to improvise, and everything began to sign up.

We played and recorded for several such autumn-spring meetings a lot of material. In fact, only its small part came out. He chose Brian, and then he worked with her. I trusted him completely sound, and right. I like what happened. I would like to once let go of control and that someone has worked for you :). He also made mastering. And Britt with Not Not Fun is the cover. That is, we have such a joint work with the label. We correspond and rejoice together with anything, even the smallest, news like a young, beginning group. Today, for example, on his Twitter, the director of the 4ad label wrote that he put our music on NTS Live . A trifle, but nice.

We talked a lot. They remembered stories from childhood as someone grew up. I remember that in our Vitebsk at the dawn of the 90s any new information was valuable. We did not have a video recorder and cable TV. And when the video showing appeared - one was near my school, a rather thyshoi puppet with dull light - I went there to watch everything in a row: from Disney cartoons, anime and Tom and Jerry to science fiction and militants like the Terminator and Star Wars. He liked this story, and when the question arose about the name, he did not have to think for a long time. But here he insisted that the name should be in two words - “Video Salon”, and not in one thing: they say, so symbolic. He and me. Well, why not.

We are both surrealists, abstractionists, avant-garde artists and pop musicians. We love strange, beautiful films and videos. Of course, our beloved David Lynch comes to mind. Well, who else? The series "Wild palm trees" from the 90s is also beautiful. This is from the existing one. But in general, beautiful and surrealistic films full of secrets - this would come, of course. If our music someday gets into such a movie, we will be happy.

Now the main thing for me is that I finally completely finished work on my solo album, it will be released in early autumn on Not Not Fun . Now there is preparations for the release. There is also a collaboration with Canada with Polish roots of Maya grades. This is an amazing and ingenious person, the drummer of the Austra group, half of the Trust pop-douet, its solo project is called Princess of Century . We also live in different countries, as with Brian, which is not very convenient, so so far everything is slow. But we plan meetings in the summer, and if there is a continuation, it will be a new super group, it already has a name- All What We Love -and six recorded demo versions of dance pops. I work with texts, melodies, vocals, it is with sound and rhythm. In fact, this is a curtsy that we love. Nothing new, but completely new and powerful, a lot of bass, a clear rhythm, piercing motifs. The third participant in the collaboration of Emma Tse, aka Magic Island , is also a Canadian with Polish roots and a new pop star in the Berlin musical sky.

Concerts and the DJs are regularly happening, in Berlin it is easy to perform, there is an audience, it is open and grateful, I sing in Russian-with or without subtitles, my music here likes here. On the stage is easy. This is my favorite state - a concert. In fact, I am a Russian expat here, I am not going to change, become a European. In Berlin, no one needs it. And indeed nowhere. Interestingly, if you broadcast your background, your culture. I am often a DJ and put our music, Soviet and modern, I know it well, I know it well, I can tell a lot. And almost always there are questions from someone. We have a lot of cool and beautiful music.