Comments for IFK, IFK2004

I.F.K., which stands for Insect Flyin’ Killa is probably the most adequate and well-known alternative band in Russia nowadays. It was formed in Moscow in late 1994. The music itself was a mixture of heavy guitars, rap-oriented vocals and fast rhythms mostly influenced by such artists as Rage Against The Machine and Faith No More. I.F.K. were playing shows everywhere they could, including numerous clubs, open-air events, music festivals. Pretty soon they became famous for their uncompromising stage appearance and massive sound, based on the extended line-up of two vocalists and two bass-guitarists. In 1996 the band documented their sound by recording their first album called “Mosquito Man”, mostly consisting of brutal and fast rapcore numbers. All the lyrics were sung in English. Video for the song “Moscow City” won a prize at the International video festival in France. In 1996-1997 I.F.K. supported several world-famous bands in their Moscow concerts, namely Motorhead, Rage Against The Machine, Clawfinger and Biohazard. They also constantly toured most of the Russian cities and played massive open-air festivals in Moldavia and Estonia. A big break for the band came in July of 1997 when they started to incorporate electronic effects into their music, recorded various remixes on their songs. They also started to sing in Russian, which enlarged their audience. Music became more melodic, though it still remained brutal and heavy. In 1998 I.F.K. recorded their second album, entitled "Absolute” («Àáñîëþò»). This work is much more experimental than the debut album, which marks their musical and lyrical growth. Styles range from straightforward rock assault to trip-hop, from raw punk to loop-driven rave epics. Video for the first single "The sky" («Íåáî»), immediately received heavy rotation and viewers' love on the local MTV channel. In 1999 the band supported Red Hot Chili Peppers at MTV party near Kremlin. Later I.F.K. took part in many open-air festivals (“InCòàíöèÿ” and “ÍÀØÅñòâèå”, to name a few), supported Soulfly, and made an acoustic set, based on old and new material, in order to present the audience with more subtle and comprehensive sound. The third album, entitled “The life of a radical” («Æèçíü Ðàäèêàëà») was released in 2000. Again, I.F.K. took another direction, the record was more guitar-oriented and stylistically diverse than previous efforts. Album tracks varied from hardcore to surf-punk, post-grunge and disco. It also included a cover of Faith No More 1984’s classic “We care a lot”, transformed into dance floor social protest anthem. Video for this song was also rotated widely on TV. The third album was presented in Moscow on the gig with The Soulfly in December 2000. In 2001 I.F.K organized their first own extreme music festival named “I.F.K.-FEST”. The most outstanding young bands from Moscow and St.Petersburg took part in it. For some of them the festival became “the stairway” to big stage. CD and Live video of “I.F.K.-FEST” released in early 2002 is the latest by I.F.K., including some new demo and live tracks by IFK as well as tracks by other bands. Later in 2001 the band were invited to support Rammstein during their concerts in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg with help from hip Moscow D.J.s. During 2002-2003 I.F.K. continued playing festivals and clubs in Moscow and other cities. The band is in the permanent process of writing new songs for the 4th album, still trying to break new grounds for their music. Recent material (already consisting of more than 20 songs) is more complex and daring. There are more keyboards and melodies, but the sound remains as solid and aggressive as it has always been. The lyrics are thought provoking, full of sharp humor and off-kilter romantic imagery. Though in their own country IFK sings mostly in Russian, most of the lyrics have English equivalents, which is the result of the singers having their poetical roots in Western rock poetry tradition. Nowadays the band members describe their style as “Nouvo-core” – the mixture of different influences (alternative, hard-core, hip-hop, emo-core, punk, IDM, etc.) which always has the distinctive character of I.F.K. sound, vision and state of mind. In April 2004, I.F.K. recorded their fourth album, entitled IFK2004. And celebrated 10 years on alternative stage in Russia. BAND MEMBERS: Chicka-Dee – vocals, keyboards Tikhon Kubov - vocals Max "Boroda" Galstyan – guitar Schwanz – bass Vadya – fuzz bass P.J. - drums Official site: www.ifk.ru