Motorama premiere new single Eyes

Although Motorama were formed in Rostov-on-Don, a city known as the hip-hop capital of southern Russia, their sublime melancholic sound wouldn’t be out of place in any indie dive in New York. The geeky-looking quintet, who have been dubbed Russia’s most promising musical export, have teamed up with The Calvert Journal to premiere the video for new single Eyes.

Where did you film this video? it’s got a lot of atmosphere.
It was our tribute to Rostov-on-Don, where the shooting took place this September. We were mainly filming places which were particularly important to us, like those typical 1980s Soviet housing estates where most of the band members grew up, the Anchor Hotel — a remarkable modernist building from the 1970s, a dam on a reservoir, and a cargo ship going up the river Don.

You’ve just embarked on a new European tour, thanks to your collaboration with a leading French label Talitres. How did this collaboration come about?
The label’s founder Sean Bouchard approached us at a festival in Tallinn and later sent us an official proposal. It hasn’t really affected our music as we still prefer to record new tracks on our home turf in Rostov-on-Don, but it should definitely help us distribute the new single in Europe and promote live gigs.

Is it difficult for a Russian band to find its audience abroad? Where are you playing this time?
Not really: this is our third European tour in row. We will be mainly playing in Germany, France, Belgium, Greece, Ukraine and Belarus, and then will come back to Italy and Spain.

You can hear more from Motorama on their official site.