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Avant Fest 2013: CocoRosie (USA), Maxixe (UK)
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July 27-28
Muzeon 
In 2004, Avant exposed the Moscow audience to the new young Russian music and set a higher-level standard of festival movement. For ten years Avant Fest has won a reputation of a trendsetter perfectly independent on radio stations' policy, sponsors, crisis and competition. Festival's eclectic musical format covers various genres and styles. Whatever rhythms, melodies and songs are played on Avant stage, all the participants share the same passion for experiment, true creativity, new trends and the same concept of modern music as a true art. Avant Fest managed to form no the less but a musical stream - permanently expanding Avant Community, people with a taste for everything new and progressive. Avant Fest 2013 is headlined by the CocoRosie (USA) and Maxixe (UK). The festival also features about bands from Russia (Gods Against Zombies, Jet Plane, Pozor Machine, Silence Kit, Ambidextrous Live Band, Kira Lao) and Ukraine (Kakaxa, Singleton, Zapaska).
Avant Fest Featured Guests
CocoRosie (USA)
 The luminously lovely indie folk-tronic duo CocoRosie consists of the Casady sisters, vocalist/guitarist/harpist Sierra and vocalist/percussionist Bianca. Both sisters had an early love of music that they pursued as they grew up, albeit in different ways: Sierra began operatic vocal training while she was in high school, while Bianca sang and wrote songs but kept them to herself. That is, until she reconnected with Sierra, who joined Bianca at her Paris apartment, and they started playing and recording songs together. The fruits of their labor, La Maison de Mon Reve, was released in spring 2004 by Touch & Go and was predated by a string of dates in New York with Devendra Banhart, the Gena Rowlands Band, Battles, and Ratatat. Their second album, Noah's Ark, which featured cameos by Devendra Banhart and Antony of Antony & the Johnsons, arrived in fall 2005. 2007's The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn was a more polished but still eclectic effort. The following year they released the single God Has a Voice, She Speaks Through Me, which also appeared on 2010's Grey Oceans. Inspired by the sisters' travels through Europe, Australia, and South America, the album was released by Sub Pop. In 2012, CocoRosie choreographed a dance production, Nightshift, and an opera, Soul Life, for the Donau Festival in Krems, and performed at the Meltdown Festival curated by their longtime friend Antony. For 2013's Tales of a Grass Widow, one of the duo's most focused set of songs, the Casadys worked with producer Valgeir Sigurðsson and collaborators including Antony.
Maxixe (UK)
Maxixe is a new side project from drummer/producer Marc Pell (Micachu & The Shapes) and singer/musician Darren Bancroft (We Have Band). They met when Pell toured as a drummer with We Have Band a year or so ago. What began as an experiment with Bancroft’s vocals over Pell’s beats evolved into a fully fledged musical being with a bewitchingly percussive pulse. What Would Make You Happy? is their first pop missive, wrapped up in its charmingly melancholic video. It's warm and intriguing and very, very catchy. They also just dropped this live recording of a second track Ice On The Belly, which works its way into the affection in as stealthily a manner.
Silence Kit (RU)
 Silence Kit (SK) was formed in April, 2002 when Andrey Gavrilov (keyboards) and Sergey Bogatov (bass) joined to the brit-pop band of Boris Belov, Grigoriy Alexanyan and Fedor Dmitriev. In February, 2003 Grigoriy Alexanyan (drums) left the band. Sergei Ledovski from "Lumeny" replaced him. At the end of 2002 the band released its first album Silence kit which was distributed free of charge. In summer 2003 professional violoncellist Yaroslav Kovalev joined the team, Andrey Gavrilov left it in autumn. In May, 2004 the band released its second album Pieonear by own strength. During 2004-2005 SK had active concert activity: the band opened the first Avant festival, went on tours (Nizhiy Novgorod, Tver, Saint-Petersburg), performed with Spanish Mus, Czech Ravelin 7, with Piano Magic, Red Sparowes and Skin from Skunk Anansie, took part in such international festivals as "Stop The Silence" and "Piknik Afisha". After release their last CD, The Great Red Spot", the Moscow press declared that Silence Kit "had not added extra noise for this release, so much as they'd increased the depth and meditative sides of their sound," and that "the new album had made Silence Kit the best Russian indie band since 2000." The band has a different take on their position within the post-rock canon when asked about the newly-found uniqueness of their sound: "It has absolutely nothing to do with our equipment. You could take all of our gear, right down to the diameter of our guitar strings, play all our songs with the precision of a computer, all you'd still end up with a totally different group."
Jet Plane (RU)
Jet Plane is a band from Bryansk, who excel at exposing strings-based drama behind Post Rock crescendos and emotions. The stripped-down sound of this Russian band isn't due to a lack of imagination. Rather, their approach to songwriting is focused and restrained without being dull or uninspired. Their languid sound simmers with evocative movement, and their inspired playing manages to channel an amazing amount of violence into a fairly low-key album. Their use of spoken-word samples and melancholy piano adds a worldly air, and their vacillation between thick, industrial fuzz and jazzy clean tones calls up images of fresh rain falling in a city of industry. The band is Dmitry on vocal, Sergeyon drums, Max and Constantine on guitars, Set-l on bass.
uSSSy (RU)
Moscow band USSSY was formed in 2007 by guitarists Artem Galkin and Pavel Eremeev. USSSY originally played noise-rock with elements of blues, techno and black-metal. By the third album of the band they became a duo with Pavel Eremeev on drums, and development of the band went in the direction of Eastern music (Middle East). The unique sound of the band is the result of use of a specially modified baritone guitar, which were mounted additional quarter-tone frets, just as those made by Middle Eastern instruments. Incredible style and technique, developed by Artem Galkin refer us to great masters of Middle Eastern traditional music. USSSY use odd Middle Eastern rhythms with clever drum patterns. Compositions of USSSY can be associated with Turkish psychedelic music of the 60-70es, when local hippies started to use experience of Western bands combining with their own traditional music. Recently USSSY released an album of cover versions of traditional songs (Russia, Ukraine, Yemen, Egypt, Iran, Afghanistan, Cambodia), and preparing the fourth studio album in the spirit of quarter tones punk / noise rock.
Singleton (Ukraine)
Singleton is an indie rock band from Kiev, Ukraine. Its music is characterised by a raw guitar-driven sound and heartfelt, emotional vocals. Being in the avant-garde of Ukrainian indie music since 2004, Singleton has an extensive touring experience, with numerous shows in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus. At the end of 2008, the band got its first airplay on a German FM radio station. In 2009, the band released its debut EP "Storms" through Go Loud Records. Singleton played its first show in Germany in 2010 and finished the year with the release of their long-awaited debut album, "The High Seas", under the Creative Commons license. Since then, Singleton has got more than 250K listens on Jamendo and lots of positive reviews in international blogs. Welcoming on board a second guitar player, the band is working on a new LP which is planned to be released in early 2013. The new album is being mixed by Barny Barnicott (Kasabian, Arctic Monkeys). In November 2012 Singleton got the 1st place at the Eurock Marathon Festival in Berlin. In June 2013 Singleton released the first single "Drown" of the upcoming album "Uncovered".
Badda Boo (Moscow)
It is impossible to tell certainly what is more important - words, sounds, or what you will feel when they got into you. You completely plunge into the waves of those emotions, that energy which is slightly opens here and now. Fingers touch strings, lips utter words, eyes are closed - heart opens. The space is poured with light, everything becomes closer. Someone smiles, someone is silent, but everyone is involved. Badda boo sings her bright gentle songs in Russian and in English. Pianica makes a mixture of neoclassic and dub, percussion and ambient guitar are flavoured with the bass pulse. So breathes Happy Band! But only you will hear something for yourself. After all nothing will replace you your emotions. Let's rejoice and be surprised together.
Lineup:
July 27 (Entrance Free)
14:00 - Jet Plane (Bryansk)
15:00 - Badda Boo (Moscow)
16:00 - Gods Against Zombies (Moscow)
17:00 - Weo (S.-Petersburg)
18:00 - Anton Maskeliade (Moscow)
19:00 - Naadya (Moscow)
20:00 - uSSSy (Moscow)
21:00 - Lemonday (S.-Petersburg)
22:00 - Silence Kit (Moscow)
July 28 (Entrance Free)
14:00 - Singleton (Ukraine)
15:00 - Zapaska / BeBoBul (Ukraine)
16:00 - Pozor Machine (Moscow/S.-Petersburg)
17:00 - Kira Lao (Moscow)
July 28 (Entrance Fee)
18:30 - EU (S.-Petersburg)
19:30 - MAXIXE (UK)
21:00 - CocoRosie (USA)
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