"Human stupidity is inexhaustible and inscrutable"

"Human stupidity is inexhaustible and inscrutable"



Delfin's (Andrey Lysikov) 12th studio album, Farewell to Arms, was released. After two albums full of forebodings and apocalyptic predictions, "442" (2018) and "Edge" (2019), the musician released an album about love - anyway, so Dolphin described him in an interview Igor Gavrilov.

- When Kray appeared after the 442 album, I remember someone's caustic post appeared on the network: "In 2018, Dolphin turned on the TV and has not turned it off since." I guess a lot of people expected from your new album first of all the continuation of the series of commentary albums.

- Many are always waiting for the continuation. Even when something changes very strongly, they still wait, perceiving the changes as something temporary, hoping for the return of what they are so used to. But that doesn't happen. Any crisis (and unplanned changes are always a crisis), ending, never leads us to the point where it started. I am in a constant, unpredictable crisis that I am trying to get out of. The result of these attempts are new recordings, texts and concerts. They are always imperfect. And if the previous albums were formed more by irritation than inspiration, then the last record is by detachment and understanding of the senselessness of influencing anything external.

- Please tell us about the album cover. Why is this black and white photo of two lovers on the seashore, if you believe it, most fully reflects the content of the album?

— The main theme of the disc is the relationship between two people who love each other. They are quiet and beautiful, furious and dangerous, unpredictable. They need each other, but they don't need the world they live in. They really want to be left alone. They look into the distance and wait for either a storm or a complete calm. They are ready for both. They are together. The photo was taken in the 50s of the last century. Its author is British photographer Grace Robertson.

- During 2022, I watched your concert several times on a ship sailing along the Moscow River. This is the shooting of 2020, and goosebumps literally ran through the body from how exactly, to the comma, everything was predicted, and even sung in the “talking” scenery of Moscow. What do you feel when you understand how prophetic the songs from the albums “442” and “The Edge” turned out to be?

“I feel like everything is pointless. That no one cares (to put it mildly). I feel that all these are just beautiful words, drowning in a stream of general madness. That human stupidity is inexhaustible and inscrutable.

“But there is good news, too. I liked one of the comments to the video “Fine”: “The dolphin is smiling. Now you've seen everything."

The lyrics of this song are very sad. Therefore, it was decided to make the video decorative and romantic, with a small storyline. The shooting took place in the very center of Moscow, in a cozy and extremely authentic Chinese cafe (I was in Beijing, I have something to compare with). The beautiful hostess of this establishment, Alla, kindly played the role of an angel in our video clip.

— The clips of “Beautiful” and “GN-z11”, filmed by the same team, line up in a row that can be deciphered as follows: we want to hide in any of the variants of the past, hit the road to China or fly into space, just not to stay here and now. Will this series of clips be continued?

- A few years ago, when everything was relatively fine, I recorded songs, reminding them of the possibility of not quite bright prospects. Today I want to remind you that sadness, love and joy still exist. To date, two more video clips are in the works. Stylistically, they will differ from previous works, but at the same time maintain the general mood.

- "I was there. I saw wonderful people. They are very similar to us ... ”- where does this quote come from? Like from an old science fiction movie.

- These words came to my mind when I was asked to write a few lines in anticipation of the release of the video "GN-z11". By the way, at the time of writing this track, the galaxy GN-z11 was the most distant galaxy known.

- The song "GN-z11", as I understand it, is considered by many to be frivolous, but there is a rather serious thought that often comes to my mind: why can't humanity escape from the wheel of recurring disasters and violence? And in the song "Myth" there is also a sense of the inevitability of this cycle. How can we get out of all this? There are options?

— Frivolity is a kind of Way. You are always on the surface of what is happening, perceiving everything as it appears before you. Not immersed and not interpreting. This path is incredibly difficult for those who cannot help but dive. Well, this is so, by the way ... Yes, there are options. Any ideas. Unfortunately, in this interview I can not fully voice them. But if in a nutshell ... First: a gradual shift in emphasis in the history of all mankind from one event to another (not a rewriting of history, but a shift in emphasis). And, as a continuation of the first, a completely new approach to global education.

— The album evokes a feeling of escaping into the sound of the 1980s - early 1990s, here you can find synth-pop, post-punk, noise, shoegaze, garage guitars, and dream pop. Are you more comfortable there than in 2023?

— We are all, one way or another, hostages of our first musical impressions received in our youth. Music, once a discovery for us, will always influence what we listen to. And even more so in what we do. We will always subconsciously compare what we hear now with what impressed us the first time, always choosing what is closest to the original mood. Even if it is hyper-modern, cunningly constructed, experimental music. Therefore, I am what I read, watched and listened to. I don't have to run anywhere. I am very comfortable being myself.

— Usually, when musicians of the 21st century record something with a nod to the 1980s, they try to find authentic synthesizers, drum machines, some even take apart Chinese toys to extract some important circuits to achieve the result. And what was used when recording the album "Farewell to Arms"?

— To start constructing a new track is to embark on a journey with an indefinite end point. I never know what will happen in the end. The same goes for writing texts. Poems compose themselves from words and metaphors that come to mind. Music from a variety of sounds and melodies develops into self-reproducing structures that begin to excite. In order for the journey to begin and continue, any means are suitable - a computer, external devices, toys, samples, and even a short circuit.

— There is a lot of interesting work with the guitar sound in the new album — almost every song has a separate approach to the guitar sound. Was it your idea or your guitarist's idea?

- Guitarist Igor Babko took an active part in writing a new disc. In addition to the sound itself, he came up with a lot of great parts that sound on this record, not only guitars, but also bass and keyboards. We also continued our collaboration with pianist Sergei Lebedev, a man who, in fact, is the fourth member of the team. He rarely takes part in concerts and mostly works with us in the studio.

— The final song of the album “Blindness” is, as it seemed to me, about the fact that it makes no sense to look for love in the temple. How did your relationship with religion develop during your life?

- "Blindness" is a statement of what is happening inside me. I agree, you won't envy... And my relationship with religion in its popular sense did not develop in any way. In all other senses, this is a vast field for reflection.

The album is called Goodbye Arms. What do you consider the most destructive weapon in the world today? What should I say goodbye to first.

- I want to note that the album is called "FAREWELL TO ARMS" - in capital letters, without punctuation marks. And I consider human stupidity to be the most destructive weapon both today and yesterday and in the future.



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