I always knew how to write complex lyrics, but at some point I forgot about it: Mukka talked about the new album, the cult of personality and how cool it is to be like everyone else

Seraphim Sidorin, aka Mukka, is a man who has pulled off a trick that very few on the modern Russian stage can pull off. He did not disappear after a high hit, but calmly progressed through other successful songs, albums and also the most successful singles. If you carefully examine his discography, you can see how the musician grows, changes, fails, draws conclusions and grows again.

Therefore, our conversation on the eve of two big summer concerts in both capitals seemed at first to be calm and meaningful. This would have been the case if two adult-sized teenagers had not sat on either side. For this reason, some rebellions took place.

That’s why we present to you Mukka, one of Russia’s most languid rockers.

If we compare your last album “Dead Flowers” ​​and the single “Wings” with your previous works, it seems that you are moving away from rock rhythms and towards a more romantic rock balladeer. Now all your music is more restrained and melancholy. Is this a conscious choice? So can we expect the return of Dinosaur Pajamas?

Absolutely do not expect a response. I argue about quality. Maybe this desire and enthusiasm is not there, I moved away from it. But what remained was the drive. In fact, nothing has changed in the structure, message or mood of the songs, but the structure has not changed. I did it according to my own established templates, so to speak.

What are these built-in templates?

I love sharp jumps in notes when creating melodies. A certain amplitude: hard failure and hard explosion.

Do you think shedding your bad boy image will affect your commercial popularity? As if melancholy wasn’t such a big sell.

Many people try to compare “Dead Flowers” ​​to “Pajamas,” but “Flowers” ​​is the funniest. The most profitable. In the first month, he earned five times more than his pajamas.

Listen, you also have influence and weight in general. When “Dead Flowers” ​​was released, you were already a person with a name.

I was in “Pyjamas” after two pretty successful albums, so that’s not an indication.

So when will the new successful album be released? Lifting the veil of secrecy?

It’s not ready yet, and that’s no secret. (laughing.)

How unprepared?

80 percent are not ready. There are two or three runways. There’s only one good thing I trust completely. I haven’t written the lyrics yet, but it’s just a matter of throwing out a melody and scattering the words roughly around the chorus.

Approximately how long does it take you to work on a song?

We wrote the entire Dead Flowers album very quickly. Also thanks to Booker, probably in a month.

You usually say that the project is – It’s you: the music, the lyrics. And now: “We wrote.” Who are we?

Me, producer Misha Chertishchev, guitarist Ilya Bystrov and Booker. He helped me a lot with the texts. Eventually I got really burned out, I wrote all the choruses, all the main songs. I did “Void” and that was it.

Have you become empty yourself?

Yes. Then I went back to Booker and he helped me with the poems. We sat down and came up with ideas together.

I wanted to praise you by pointing out how the quality of the lyrics has improved from album to album. So it turns out it was Booker’s influence?

I was always able to write complex texts, but at some point I forgot about it and began to suffer. I always tried to improve the texts, but at one point I thought: “They will swallow them anyway.” And so that’s how my two albums came about. After all, they won’t eat it, it doesn’t work that way.

Isn’t the audience stupid?

Unfortunately, the audience is not stupid.

I would really like to hack it. But as I lingered and saw the conclusion that wages had fallen so much, I realized that I wasn’t living a very good lifestyle at that time either, and that I needed to change my approach.

Let’s get back to the album. It’s not ready, but will it be ready in 2024?

When I was writing the last song it was like it would never be ready.

Is this about some kind of internal crisis of yours?

There is such a thing. I have a concept, but I don’t yet understand how to write everything down, collect it all, how to distribute it when there is no textual picture of it yet. I think Booker will help me this time too, even more than last time. The problem is that I set the bar too high. My last song came out and I saw comments like: “Well, it’s just an ordinary song.” And I said, “Is everything alright, man? Half the people on stage have to jump over themselves to write something like that.” People are used to such quality and level tracks that this is already normal for them.

Is it because of your album that you haven’t announced the 2024 tour?

There is no point in touring unless there is material. I think after two years people are tired of the last album. I want something new. I want something new too, by the end of the tour I was already tired of singing the same songs.

Imagine what your life would be like if things didn’t go well with music?

I still had a six-month contract in the army.

Okay, six months – This is a short period of time.

I was going to move on, I thought I would be transferred to a big city or sign a contract somewhere else.

It’s very surprising, I knew he served but this is such a strange story, as if Seraphim had two different sides: on the one hand, the army, harshness, order and on the other – rock and face tattoos.

I always wanted to be different from everyone else. On the contrary, only now do I realize that being like everyone else is exciting. I really don’t like it when people start excluding me so much.

In what context should you emphasize?

It’s not important. In any of them. Praising someone, telling them I’m special. I know everything very well.

How do you know if someone is complimenting you sincerely or just praising you?

I don’t know. I don’t care, I just don’t like it very much.

It’s strange to hear this from someone who performs on stage and cares about his business. – literally receiving praise and love. This is very mild bipolar. So the love of your listeners is important to you, or to you spit?

I love that they like my music, it doesn’t matter to me whether they like me as a character or not. I like my songs to be sung and listened to.

Who do you listen to?

Now it’s really Sergei Trofimov.

Finally, normal music and not all of that. What do you think about Makan?

I listen to Makana and Morgenstern (Alisher Morgenstern is known as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation) I’m listening, it’s great to put them in the car. I understand why they are loved, I understand the environment.

Now all music is as accessible as possible to listeners, and it’s as if true fame has died out because of it. You say that you go to restaurants and bars calmly, but 15 years ago it was impossible to imagine this. As if Kurt Cobain or even Mikhail Gorshenev would never be born again. Because before, to become a star, you had to work really hard, get into rotation, etc. It was necessary, now it is enough to install one part.

Previously, there were much fewer stars and they were of great importance. People used to be prepared to wait decades for albums, but now everything is faster. The value of popularity is perhaps less now than it used to be. Now I want to come to a conclusion.

The Morgenstern legend? Myth. Is the shaman a legend now? Myth. It seems to me that there is still a cult of personality, and that is exactly what you are talking about. There are still people who will listen. It’s just that before the number of such stars was very small, but now there are a lot of them.

Have you already entered musical infinity?

No, I’m not even reaching the top. I may be in “top shape” right now, but I’m not at the top of my game in terms of popularity.