Interview with Pompeya

Danya: I don’t remember. It was a long time ago! Three months ago. Russia clears everything!

Sasha: A marvelous month. I also went to New York. Yes, America seems to me to be an amazing country. Though we didn’t play in Los Angeles.

Danya: We are beginning to perform lots; tomorrow we are flying to New York for three concerts!

Danya: The Box, The Grasslands Gallery and The Mercury Lounge

Sasha: We have been thinking about our costumes, we want to re-vamp our image, some make-up…. We will create something interesting, Nairi in sport pantaloons! (laughs)

Danya: This is quite a frequent question that we get asked, which we are used to. To answer briefly, it is largely to be understood and accepted in the West.

Denis: Old music is a big influence on me, funk, disco, garage rock. In America, it’s amazing, because when you’re walking down the street you can see, for example- the Bassist from Cold War Kids, we just bumped into him. He was our neighbor! We even interviewed him. Also I like the groups Rondo, Kino, Ivan Dorn.

Sasha: We’re polyglots in terms of music- today Ivan Dorn, tomorrow Dorn Ivan! (laughs)

Sasha: I would like to live in the Middle Ages, playing medieval music! Silly of course - wanting to live in other eras.

Danya: If we had lived in the 80s we would have wanted to play 50s rock, but really we are not trying to play music from the past, it happens how it happens.

Denis: Kisilev very actively tested us out on camera. He kept taking us to different places…back and forth. It was very interesting working with him. Photographing and filming, and then the time came for the presentation of our album on the web, but the video for the song wasn’t ready! So we rang up Kisilev to cut the clip from the material that he had already taken. That’s how it was!

Danya: With someone who is very popular, so lots of people would come and hear us!

Denis: With cirque de soleil! (laughs)

Nairi: One should have a few aims; one - efficiency, secondly - to have cool parties, to get more acknowledged and lastly to pick up different techniques, something new.

Danya: It doesn't make a difference who you go on tour with, what matters is you shouldn't go with a group of the same style. The worst thing would be a concert where groups had exactly the same sort of sound.

Nairi: Yes, also - by the way- Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Modeselektor is a perfect example of a musical combination.

Denis: Awesome

Sasha: Foursome - 1+4 that’s already five!

Nairi; Кlerah*

Danya: Chris Kelmy?

*"klerah'' is an ancient Armenian word that means everything. If it's for example shitty weather, you can say KLERAH, if something beautiful happens - for example you win the Nobel prize in chemistry or literature you can say KLERAH too. KLERAH doesn't mean anything and at the same time it describes all the things that happen in the world. It could be used like a catch-phrase. You know - it's like when Italian men say "Forget about it" (Sasha)

Interviewers: Alina Ushakova and Sasha Galitzine