IC3PEAK

IC3PEAK is a Russian electronic music duo that was founded in 2013. It consists of Anastasia Kreslina and Nikolay Kostilev. They are characterized by the political undertones in their music, particularly criticizing the Russian government. Their political views and lyrics have led to censorship of their music in 2019. Their effects in mainstream media led to outpouring support throughout the West, and in Russia.

History

Origins

According to the duo, October 19, 2013 is considered to be the foundation date of IC3PEAK.

From the very beginning of the project the distinctive features of IC3PEAK's work were a mixture of musical genres, a simultaneous emphasis on both audio and visual components, and lyrics that dealt with taboo topics such as death. Both artists characterize the initial period of their work as “audiovisual terrorism”. In 2014, they released the EP Substances, their first project. The entire EP was written in English. The visual design was done by Anastasia and Nikolai themselves. Shortly after, the video for the song "Ether" was presented to the public, being the first video work of IC3PEAK.

Gaining popularity abroad

From the first days of its existence the project gained popularity outside of Russia. In 2014, after the release of their second EP Vacuum, IC3PEAK performed at their first overseas concerts in European cities such as Bordeaux, Paris, Riga, Prague, and Helsinki. Two years later, in 2016, the project performed in South America. During their stay in Brazil, the duo partially filmed their music video for the song "Go With The Flow". To this day, the IC3PEAK project continues to successfully tour abroad.