LESSONS OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE / УРОКИ РУССКОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЫ!

Check out our lesson № 1 - 'What is to be done?' / 'Что Делать?'

Dear Friends,
Now more exciting news for you!
Sasha Ilyukevich and his band 'the Highly Skilled Migrants' have started working on a new long-term music project - 'Lessons of Russian Literature'! And here is the first track for you - 'What is to be done?'
A new lesson will be arriving to you approximately every two months. And of course, these creative moments would not continue without your generous support. Thank you!
Best wishes,
Sasha Ilyukevich &
'the Highly Skilled Migrants'




PLEASE SUPPORT 'LESSONS OF RUSSIAN LITERATURE' VIA BANDCAMP!

About 'Lessons of Russian Literature': 

…Why ‘Lessons of Russian Literature’? I wanted to make a collection of songs inspired by, or with direct reference to, literary works of well known Russian writers.
In my experience of reading Russian literature there is a striking continuity in the characters across the entire literary canon. At any given point in history, from the 19th century works of Pushkin to the modernist Pelevin, the cast of players in a Russian literary work seems to be always roughly the same. One can find the drunk, the sage, the shamanic avant-garde joker, the devil, the sinister exploiter, the rich and morally dubious hedonist, the madman with his moments of insight, the witch and the corrupt and politically ambitious man.
Furthermore, these archetypal Russian characters always seem to find themselves projected against the same dramatic backdrop: darkness, weirdness, madness, vivid social injustice set against ferocious political satire and ultimately an overarching Spiritual longing.
For this record, I wanted to offer my own reflections on this literary pattern [that informs the Russian artistic experience to such an extent] through the irreverent and dynamic lens of rock and roll music. Like the Russian works of literature I refer to in my songs, things are not always as they seem on this album. Allegory and surrealism can trip you up at any time but a richly emotional collection of songs is nonetheless guaranteed!
Ladies and gentlemen, this is ‘Lessons of Russian Literature’! Please support us and help us to bring to life this heady mix of Russian heroes and villains for the first time ever on a rock and roll record!