Part 2

What kind of music/art do you feel the world needs right now - does it need “healing,” “shaking up,” “an escape from reality,” “a sense of community,” or something else?

Personally I see that world has enough music for each of those purposes mentioned above. We can’t generalise – different people need different music.

Connecting those dots to create the perfect match – this is the task. I really want each person to listen to the music that they truly enjoy and love, but not the music imposed on them by public opinion, trends, media pressure or platform algorithms.

This is why I personally continue to create music my own way and with my own sound. Just because I feel connected to it. Even if there are no listeners, I will continue to create it. It comes first for me.

What are some of the non-musical topics and causes you feel strongly about? Do you keep them separate from or try to connect them to your creative work?

I don’t relate to trends of simplification, conjuncture and conformism. I don’t like dividing the world into black and white. It’s mixed, it’s complicated. As a result of precisely those trends, we have wars, frauds, inequality, violence. We make hard and illogical decisions. We see people suffer around us, around the world and mostly we can’t do nothing about it.

I personally try to sublimate that feeling via music. At least to release it. So when I come to my family, my friends, my tribe, I won’t put these things on them.

And when people who listen to my music see the track title or understand the story behind it, they will find out that they are not the only ones who think this way.  A good deep conversation can ensue or maybe they'll arrive at the understanding that they're not alone.

French Saxophonist Sakina Abdou told me: “I witnessed a powerlessness towards a world that is in absolutely no way in line with my values. I haven't yet found a way to overcome this in ways other than music, but I admire the activists around me who do it.” Can you relate to this and what does it say about the role of music in overcoming our sense of powerlessness and actually empowering us?

Oh, yes. I totally agree. The only one thing is: I always think about what I personally can do to change things. As I mentioned earlier I won’t take my anxiety, sadness or fears to people around me. So I can share love, positivity and support for them.

Also, with my music, I don’t want to create anything that leads to violence, destruction, conflicts. To spot a problematic point and keep in mind that I want to unite people, not divide them. And I’m totally responsible for my output.

What do you make of the idea that music and sound are a universal language - and how can artists use its specific and universal qualities to bring about change on a global scale?

Artists share a mood, vibe and message. If they direct listeners towards a specific message then I think there will be a result.

Now I see that people are trying not to be responsible for their words and deeds. They want to be on the safe side in order to be loved by everybody.

On the other hand, there is a trend towards simplification – it’s easier to share yet another meme than to address to complex problems and ask people to contribute.

How would our world be different if we paid less attention to looks and listened more instead?

Very good question. I personally live in this world. I don’t know what many of the musicians whose music I dig look like or even where they're from. I don’t pay attention to streaming numbers and Instagram followers either.

Competing for attention in social media, conquering the algorithms of streaming services, looking good nowadays works more effectively to distribute music to more listeners than making good music.

I personally think that more creative works and more new amazing music will be there, new formats, unexpected collaborations. Artists will receive compensation based on their music, not their marketing skills.

Again and again, politicians or organisations will make use of music by artists who don't agree with their practises or philosophies; musical styles will be ripped from their subcultural context and taken to the mainstream. From your point of view, are these examples of abuse – or do they open up the opportunity for some form of dialogue?

I’m not looking at things this way or at least maybe I don’t pay attention. What I see is artists who use music as a tool to meet their needs like earning more money or gaining more attention. And it does not relate to the music, it relates to projects which use marketing tools.

Personally, I start by putting it out into the open on social media that music has been taken from me without my consent and announce the actions that I will personally take next. So people will know.

What's gonna happen next?  don't know. We'll see. First of all we have to act.

Do you have experiences with the healing qualities of sound and what's your take on building festival, concert, and club experiences around these healing capacities?

Unfortunately I haven’t. But I’m at the very beginning of  this journey right now.

Over a decade ago I started the project Shade Of Drums for tech music and on one of the releases I created an ambient track called “Lift Off” which was the first stone for the wall.

After I switched to the moniker Andrey Sirotkin, I released a couple of ambient tracks and played ambient live with Vlad Suppish. This happened during 2021-2023, after which I paused my relations with ambient.



Now I re-arranged the idea and will resurrect my Shade Of Drums project but as an ambient project where I want to discover imaginary places – where I’ve never been before and where I feel comfortable and safe.



In human history, music is a universal across cultures and eras of development. Still, musicians are possibly being exploited more than ever. How do you feel they can see beyond their personal limitations, and form bonds and communities capable of tangibly furthering their cause? How can we get people to listen?

I want to act, rather than talk about things - especially the ones that I can’t change on my own. So if start with myself  I would define what I want from music and just stick to it. I love music, it will be at the centre for me. I will support artists whose music I like. And I will clearly share my point of view with the people around me.

But if artists decide to play the game, it’s their own decision. I can’t change the goals of other people if that goal is money or attention … or both. I can, however, be responsible for myself and walk my own way.

If it affect and change someone's ideas and goals – great. If not – at least I will not contribute to negative results as I personally define them.