I-D magazine shared music and stories of queer musicians from Russia - as part of the material, the premiere of Augustine's video for the song "Papa North" took place. A non-binary singer (uses the pronoun "she") from Norilsk released the video thanks to the support and crowdfunding campaign of the queer magazine "Otkrytye". The necessary funds for filming were collected in four days.
The publication drew attention to the mutual support in the Russian LGBT + community, the need for representation and the creation of safe spaces for self-expression. The co-founder of the magazine Dmitry Kozachenko told i-D about the work of queer musicians in Russia: “It is important for them to be very open with their audience. The main themes of Russian LGBT + musicians are love, intimacy and feelings. When society and the state declare that your love is 'not normal' and you cannot show it in any way, it turns into a quiet protest."
Singers Khristina (HRISTINA) and Slava Rusova (SVRNY) told i-D about the importance of non-binary in their work, and Shortparis and Sado Opera talked about theatricality. Nikita Egorov-Kirillov, the founder of the queer rave Popoff Kitchen, summed up: “I would not call the Russian queer music scene big yet, but it is definitely growing. LGBT + artists are starting to emerge and they are young and open-minded. A few years ago it would have been hard to even imagine."
cover: Augustine