The Total Sound Of The Undergound

Lelahel Metal

In this interview, the Siberian metal artist "Olya Manevskaya" delves into the inspiration behind her latest song, "In Altai Land," exploring the legends of Biya and Katun' and the cultural richness of Siberia. She discusses her creative process, the challenges of merging folklore with metal, and her hopes for connecting global audiences with the myths of her homeland. The artist also shares upcoming plans, hinting at an album dedicated to Siberian myths and legends, and reflects on the unique blend of metal and Siberian folklore that defines her identity as a musician.


1. Can you share the inspiration behind your latest metal song, "In Altai Land"? How did the

legend of Biya and Katun' influence the creation of this powerful piece of music?

This is a very interesting question, thank you very much for it. The most unusual thing is that the

inspiration to write about the myths and legends of Siberia came from a small creative crisis. Once I

started thinking about what I wanted to write about in my songs. I wanted to find myself. And

suddenly I realized that the topic of Siberia interests many people, that there is not much known

about Siberia, especially for those living far away, in other countries. And even I, a person who was

born and has lived her whole life in Siberia, do not know everything about it. And the topic of

myths and legends has always fascinated me since childhood. There are many myths and legends in

Siberia, both from indigenous peoples and the modern history is shrouded in a multitude of secrets

and legends. I started studying this topic and got really engrossed in it. And that's how the idea to

talk about the myths and legends of Siberia came about.

The first "trial" music video we made was for the song "Siberia". I had long dreamed of visiting

Lake Baikal, seeing the unique Baikal ice. And in March of this year, my dream came true, I was

able to go to Baikal and see that same ice. Baikal is unbelievably beautiful in winter, I recommend

everyone to go there. It was there that we filmed the music video for the song "Siberia", in which

the guys who filmed the video and I tried to talk about the culture of Eastern Siberia. The same

story happened with the song "In Altai land". I really wanted to go to the Altai Mountains, see the

Altai mountains, glaciers in Kurai. And then I learned about one of the most famous legends of the

Altai Mountains - the legend of Biya and Katun - two lovers who turned into rivers and merged into

the Ob River, as a symbol of eternal love. And that's how the idea to tell this legend and visualize it

came about. We traveled almost the entire Altai Mountains. During 5 shooting days, we saw 4

seasons (from hot weather at +20 degrees to snowfall). The atmosphere of the Altai Mountains

conquered everyone who participated in the filming of the music video, and we tried to convey this

atmosphere in the video and combine it with the atmosphere of the legend. I hope we succeeded :)

 

2. Your music is deeply rooted in the myths and legends of Siberia. What draws you to these

stories, and how do you incorporate them into your songwriting process?

What attracts me to myths and legends is the mystery: you don't know if it actually was in real life

or not, because often myths and legends are hundreds of years old, they originate in the cultures of

indigenous peoples, in their everyday life. It's great that through myths and legends, you can feel the

culture of the peoples who tell them. When you read a legend, images are born in your head (images

of heroes, images of places where the action takes place in the legend). And when you come to the

places where the legend originated and see them with your own eyes, the legend comes alive. And

it's a great feeling when you become as a character in the story. The most important thing for me is

not just to tell myths and legends, but through music and videos, try to convey this atmosphere to

others, so that people also become heroes of legends and feel the full power of legends through

music. It's also great if, after listening to the song, people have a desire to visit the places I talk

about, or have a desire to learn more about the places they live, as well as learn about the myths and

legends of their homeland. After all, in our world, there are so many amazing places that hide many

secrets and stories.


 

3. "In Altai Land" specifically references the transformation of lovers into the Siberian river

Ob'. What aspects of this legend resonated with you, and how did you translate these themes

into musical elements?

Probably what I see every day the Ob River, it is located in the city in which I live (Novosibirsk),

and before I didn't think much about the history and greatness of this river. It was ordinary. But after

the legend, the perception becomes different. Now, when I come to the waterfront and look at the

Ob, I imagine the Biya and Katun and their confluence into a single river. And it also helped me

learn more information from a historical point of view: where Biya and Katun' rivers originate,

where the Biya and Katun' rivers merge into the Ob, etc.

And this happens with many things. When you, for example, visit a city as a tourist, knowing its

history, you begin to look at things differently, searching for fragments of this history in every

detail. The same goes for legends, when you know myths and legends, you start looking for

fragments of legends in every detail. This things are resonatung in my songs. The fact that myths

and legends, essentially, surround us in every detail. Sometimes we don't think about the secrets that

everyday things, places that we see every day can hold. And I want to talk about this in songs, so

that we pay more attention to all the beauty that surrounds us.

 

4. The combination of powerful vocals and heavy guitar riffs is a hallmark of your musical

style. How do you balance these elements to create a sound that effectively conveys the

emotion and narrative of your songs?

Thank you so much, it's very nice! Probably, the desire to experiment, create something new, and

simply do what I like helps me the most in creating songs. To some extent, I am afraid of becoming

a «hostage» to a specific style, I want to develop and add something new from song to song, tell

something new. That's why sometimes, in search of experiments, I try to combine the incompatible.

And I don't think about how the song should sound, but rather think about the idea, what I want to

talk about in the song. It is important for me that the song has a specific story that will be

understood by listeners. As for the stylistics of the song, as I mentioned earlier, sometimes I try to

combine the incompatible, and guitarist Oleg Izotov, with whom we have been working together for

a long time, helps me a lot in literally bringing all my crazy ideas to life :) Therefore, teamwork and

love for what I do help create songs as they are.

 

5. Siberian storytelling is not a common theme in metal music. What motivated you to explore

and share the myths of your homeland through this genre?

As I mentioned earlier, to some extent, a small creative crisis prompted me to start thinking about

what I would like to tell in my songs. At the same time, people who listen to my music, became

interested in Siberia, asked about my hometown, interesting places, local culture, etc. And after it I

realized, that it would be great to tell more about my homeland... Because often people imagine

Siberia as something distant, unknown, where it always snows and bears walk the streets, ahaha :)

And myths and legends will help to learn something new about Siberia, because we have a multi-

ethnic region with an interesting history: there is Eastern Siberia, there is Western Siberia, they differ and have their own cultural features, and it's great if people all over the world will know

something new about Siberia.

 

6. Can you take us through your creative process when working on a new song? How do you

approach blending metal with the rich cultural narratives of Siberia?

In fact, this is a quite difficult question because each time everything happens spontaneously. Most

often, it all starts with the words: "Oh, what a cool place, I want to visit it", and that's where the process begins. For example, before writing the song "In Altai land," I had long desired to visit the

Altai Mountains, which are relatively close to Novosibirsk (my hometown), but for some reason, I

couldn't manage to go there before. Then I discovered the Altai legend of Biya and Katun, and

immediately knew that it would be great to tell this legend and, at the same time, shoot a video in

the Altai Mountains to visually showcase the legend. So I started studying the legend. Then, images

began to form in my mind (images of the heroes, images of the places where they lived according to

the legend, where the events described in the legend took place). I started finding locations and

planning the route. After that, the structure of the song began to take shape in my mind. For

example, I wanted the choruses to be quite melodic, and in the video I wanted to show scenes with

nature, running, and create a sense of flight that captures the viewer's breath. The legend also

contains a chase scene. I realized that it would be great to use this moment in a part with a

breakdown. To make the breakdown dynamic, gradually building in intensity, and ending on a

beautiful note to show the moment of the merging of two rivers.

This is how i'm working on a songs: first I collecting all ideas for the structure, searching for the

examples, then gather all the ideas together and pass them to the guitarist. And he helps to complete

the structure, finish all the missing parts, and record the song. It's a team effort, and I am grateful to

Oleg that he is always listening to my ideas and helping to implement them. Writing songs for me is

a complex but very interesting process, and I am very happy that the songs resonate with people and

that the stories I want to convey are understood by the listeners.

 

7. Your music has the potential to introduce Siberian legends to a global audience. How do you

hope your audience, especially those outside of Siberia, will connect with and appreciate the

cultural stories you convey in your songs?

Honestly, I don't have a specific goal, I just want to talk about my homeland because I love Siberia

very much. It would be great if more people could come and visit Siberia. Siberia is awesome :)

Hope it'll become possible in a future again

 

8. What challenges did you face in merging traditional Siberian folklore with the intensity of

metal, and how did you overcome them during the production of "In Altai Land"?

My main difficulty in songwriting is that I start to worry that I won't be able to convey what I want

to say, that something might go wrong, or that something won't be liked. At certain stages, I stop

liking my vocals, I stop liking what I've recorded, it seems like everything is bad. Essentially, it's

just perfectionism and self-criticism, which are my biggest enemies during songwriting :) Another

difficulty is that myths and legends of Siberia are not widely known, so it's hard to find primary

sources. Because of this, you start worrying that you might not tell the legend correctly, that the

meaning might be distorted – it's a huge responsibility. These are the main difficulties in

songwriting that I encounter and try to overcome.

 

9. Do you have any upcoming projects or plans to continue exploring Siberian myths through

your music? Can you give us a sneak peek into what we can expect from your future releases?

Yes, of course! In the nearest plans, I will finish an album that will consist of two parts (2 EP

albums combined into one). The album will be dedicated to the myths and legends of Siberia. I also

plan to shoot several music videos and, if everything goes well, maybe in the future, I will expand

the theme and add myths and legends not only from Siberia but also from the Far East and possibly

from my country as a whole. As for the Far East, some cities were part of Siberia in the past, so they are directly related to the history of Siberia and its myths and legends. And the places in the East are

amazing. I would really like to talk about Kamchatka, Sakhalin, and to visit them. These are my

plans for now :)


10. As a musician from Siberia, how do you think your cultural background has shaped your

identity as an artist, and what message do you hope to convey to your listeners through your unique blend of metal and Siberian folklore?

It is difficult to say exactly how the combination of myths, legends, and metal music shaped me as

an artist. Because i've just started my way. I think I have understood the direction to move in, and it

is great to receive feedback from people regarding my own style in music. While before I tried to

focus only on thrash metal, now I would describe my style as "Siberian metal". It is great if I

managed to mix different styles (folklore and metal music) and create a unique style (Siberian

metal).

And the most important message I want to convey is that there are so many amazing and cool places

around that hold secrets and fragments of history. So, travel more, discover new places, rediscover

the places where you live or were born. There is so much beauty and the unknown around us, and it

is great if each person can discover something new for themselves, learn and explore our world

again.

Thank you so much for such interesting questions. I hope I was able to answer everything and I

apologize if there are mistakes in my English responses. I hope I was able to convey the essence

correctly :)


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(116) Olya Manevskaya - YouTube

Olya Manevskaya (@manevskayaolya) • Photos et vidéos Instagram

Musique | Olya Manevskaya (bandcamp.com)

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