Review Electronic music

Piper Spray & Lena Tsibizova

Leaving Memory

Impatience • 2023

It is now a year since the war of aggression against Ukraine began. In view of this, one might ask how Russian musicians are reacting to the situation in their own country – both artistically and personally. Take Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova, for example. A year ago the duo was still living in Moscow. Now they are living »nowhere«. Last known whereabouts: New York. Displacement is inscribed as an experience on their first LP. Cinematic and expressive, »Leaving Memories« does not tell the usual story of emigration. Rather, the album weaves a depopulated soundscape out of ambient, drone and art-pop influences. Distorted voices and shadowy sounds haunt the album. Full-time photographer Lena Tsibizova has been documenting desolate landscapes and the ruins left behind by modernity for years. While this »ethnographic« work has previously taken her to Indonesia and Siberia, she now evokes the alienation of the self with her work. Yet as a part of this, »Leaving Memories« is not necessarily innovative. The album’s timbre, tonality and motifs are strongly reminiscent of the soundtrack to the indie game hit »Hyper Light Drifter«. But »Leaving Memories« was written at a time when an entire generation was sacrificed to the phantasm of a great Russian empire. Their depiction of the downfall of civilisation is of highly explosive political character. Piper Spray and Lena Tsibizova deserve to be heard. 

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

3rd Party Cookies

This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages.

Keeping this cookie enabled helps us to improve our website.