Nürnberg Interview
With their stunning debut album “Skryvaj” (Fleuret Records 2018) the Belarusian Post-Punk duo Nürnberg caught the interest of Hinsides Magazine, and when the second Lp “Paharda” (Death Shadow Records/Sierpien Records 2020) proved to be equally inspired and captivating; we knew that Nürnberg had to be one of our interlocutors at some point. Since then, and given what is happening in the world right now, our interest has nothing but deepened. It is therefore with great pleasure that we now can present to you a longer interview with this sympathetic orchestra. Read further to understand why Nürnberg is to be reckoned with ...
Text:
Hinsides Magazine 2022
Images:
Used with kind permission
Photo by Hanna Surta / Instagram: @kkasssandrra. Edited by Hinsides.
Hello, and welcome to Hinsides Magazine! Please introduce yourself and tell us some interesting facts about the place where you are at right now…
Hi! We are Nürnberg, a post-punk duo from Minsk, Belarus. The band includes two members: Yury Luhautsou (vocal, bass) and Aleh Sautin (guitar). We live in Minsk and enjoy making music together. It’s so cold today, and rainy - a good time to write some coldwave tracks for our new EP.
So, how did the band and concept come together in the beginning? What would you say are the main reasons to why Nürnberg came to be and how would you picture the development of the band thus far?
We were motivated through our acquaintance, close communication and our mutual taste in music. We have known each other for a long time and what unified us in the beginning was the love for bands such as ”Кино" (Kino), ”The Cure”, "The Smiths”, ”The Sound”, ”For Against”, ”French Asylym Party” and German "Stille Hoffnung”. We also enjoy Polish coldwave act called ”Zimna fala”, and bands like ”Madame”, ”1984" and ”Siekera”.
Music from the 80’s currently trends and sounds very modern, fresh and experimental. Many musical groups has adapt to this modern sound, but we wouldn´t say that we make music in the style of the 80’s. We make modern Belarusian music based on traditions. A sound that somehow was dictated to us by our surroundings
The name Nürnberg holds a clear historical connection which can be interpreted in many different ways depending on who you are and what your political viewpoint is. Why did you choose that name and what does it mean to you?
We choose this name because Nürnberg as a city has a connection to Belarusian history, namely the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. When the old duke Vitaut was to be a king and get the full sovereignty of this empire, a special crown was made to his honour and this crown was made in Nürnberg. It was supposed to be an important historical moment for all Europe but unfortunately it didn’t happen for some unknown reason. The crown had disappeared and probably it was stolen somewhere in Poland.
Portrait seal of Grand Duke of Lithuania: Vitaut the Great.
If you were to explain the sound and purpose behind Nürnberg to someone unaware of the music you make, what would you say?
We can tell you about why we are playing post-punk; We like that ”do it yourself” aesthetics of post-punk. It´s simple, noncommercial, has spirit and freedom of thought and expression. We feel that the making of post-punk don't put any borders or restrictions on our creativity. Moreover this dark melancholic aesthetics fits very well as an outlet of sad emotions into the music.
We are very pleased when people find salvation in our music, but we think that the ideal place to listen our music is in Minsk; where the sea of panel houses meets brutalism and constructivist architecture. Somewhere at the subway station “Culture’s Institute” or “Malinaŭka”. Or near the or totalitarian architecture in the center of Minsk.
Many similar bands have emerged in recent years, and many of them originate from the former Soviet Union. How do you relate to this phenomenon and how do you explain it? Do you feel involved in a scene, and if so, what characterizes this scene? Is there a sense of community or competition between these bands?
There’s no phenomenon. The whole world has a dark scene, in each and every country. What about the local scene? Well lately, Belarusian post-punk and the ”dark” scene in general has become more and more popular in the world. The most famous bands from here now is Molchat Doma and Super Besse. We’re so proud to be friends with these guys and also to be working with Roman from Molchat Doma. We can recommend Петля Пристрастия and Akute. These bands are more or less close to our music but also shows a different style closer to progressive rock, post-metal and post-rock.
We believe that the post-soviet life is interesting for people around the world, and at this time people need to hear more fresh and “exotic” music.
Considering the fact that you work together as a duo it would be interesting to know how your creative process looks like? Are you equally involved in every aspect of it or who does what?
In the past we often worked separately. Of course, some great songs appear when jamming but it's normal for us to work alone. To be a duo works fine for us and we are happy to be just the two of us in the band.
For example, the recording process and almost all of the mixing and mastering process of our first EP was made by ourselves. Something that might have been more difficult with more peoples involved. All of our albums include songs from very different periods of our lifes and we had no special plan about the final mood of it. In regard of sound - Skryvaj was fully recorded by ourselves while mixing and mastering was made "fifty-fifty" by ourselves and Roman Komogortsev. In turn, Roman put much more effort in the appearance of ”Paharda” in the sense of sound.
We are so happy to work with Roman from Molchat Doma in the process of recording, mixing and mastering our new music.
Photo by Hanna Surta / Instagram: @kkasssandrra. Edited by Hinsides.
So, let´s talk about inspiration! What inspires you and why? What are the main inspirational sources behind Nürnberg?
The difficulties with the social and economic situation in Eastern European countries makes a good soil for all that dark, depressive music which has been rising here for the past few years. Of course, this is also influenced by soviet architecture, and the soviet way of living which is still canned here. This and probably also current global trends is something that affects us in some way or another.
A quick glance at your feed on social media shows that you are not afraid of taking political stands. Something that the ruling power obviously opposes. What can you tell us about the current situation regarding freedom of speech and the situation in Ukraine? (Based on the information we receive here in Scandinavia, your government and people appears as being put under heavy pressure and that political positions can have very real consequences?) How does all of this affects your daily life right now and how do you reason when you choose not to be silent?
Silence – is death. You can’t be silent when there is something wrong in your country.
Or when your friends in neighbor countries are in danger and at war. Nürnberg band stands against the war and any types of violence. We declare our anti war position and hope our listeners share our views too.
Apart from this rather sad perspective of the current political situation, how would you describe Belarus as a country and its culture?
Belarus have a great culture and we are so happy to be a part of Belarusian culture in the context of European culture. We are also very happy to know about the Belarusian history and want to use it to form a good culture for the future.
Ok then, if we would end this by taking a look into the nearby future; what will happen connected to the activities of Nürnberg?
We’ll start a Mexican tour in December 2022 and we will play a lot of cities around the country. We also want to make a little travel around Europe.
We plan to release an album in 2023. In February we released a new single called “Kaniec” and we also plan to release a second single in the second part of 2022 or in the beginnings of 2023. Simultaneously we are working on our new album. With only a few parts left to write we are happy to announce that it's almost done already. Then the painful work of recording and mastering will begin. Roman from Molchat Doma will help us again. We can't say anything definite about the sound or mood now, but we will do a little experimentation to see where it takes us.
You’ve just read parts of an interview made by Hinsides Magazine, June 2022.
The conversation as a whole will be published in the next physical issue, expected to be out later this year. To order previous issues go here: