I recorded a song in a Tatar village, and Netflix bought it: an interview with musician MITYA

Mitya Burmistrov began his career in music as a beatboxer. Now he performs psychedelic pop. His songs have been featured on Netflix series, on MTV, and on German news.

The professional path of the musician was not easy. But he believes that defeats mean much more than successes, and compares his failures to wormholes. Mitya told us his story and gave us some useful tips for beginner musicians.

“I mixed the sounds of a cow mooing and bells”

I wrote my first album at the age of 6. I recently dug up this cassette. And what I heard was more like 40-second clicks on different synthesizer presets that I found in the country, rather than full-fledged compositions. But then I took it as a real album. And the recording process meant a lot to me.

Now I understand what excites me the most in music. One could say about love or a strong shock, but no. My muse is the very fact of writing a song. I think at the age of 6 I felt it for the first time.

In front of me was a synthesizer and a tape recorder with a recording function. I just poked around in the presets, mixed the sounds of cow mooing and bells. I liked the very journey through this world. Since that time my feeling has changed little.

The project is born from daily work. Therefore, even if there is no inspiration, you still need to open Ableton, pick up a guitar and start strumming. Something will come sooner or later.

“The German TV news programs mentioned my name”

I always wanted to stand out, so I found myself original hobbies. First played in footbagFootbag is a sports game in which the participants kick each other with a small soft ball with granules inside. One of the varieties of footbag is socks., then began to get involved in beatboxing. At the school graduation, my first “official” performance took place - I made a “droplet” with my mouth into the microphone.

But when choosing the institute, I did not think about music as a professional field at all. In the end, I settled on the one that was closest to my house.

At Freshman Day, everyone was asked if anyone wanted to speak. I said: “There is such a thing - beatboxing. Give me the microphone, I'll try." From this it went. Then - studentspring, concerts. Let's go.

In 2009, I created a YouTube channel where I started posting videos with my beatbox. One video went viral and gained 13 million views. It was unexpected but cool! Attention surged in an uncontrollable avalanche.

I came across references to this video. It was shown on American TV. He entered the music charts. It was played on the radio. In German TV news programs they mentioned my name, they said: “Russian crazy!”

And then someone sent me a screenshot: “Are you aware that you were reposted by Fred Durst?” He is the founder of Limp Bizkit, one of my favorite bands. I went to their page, saw a link to my video and the caption: "What the fuck."

I read Osho and at that moment I took it all for granted: “Oh, great! Now what I do will always be in the German news.”

But in 2013, my love of beatboxing started to cool off. YouTube algorithms have changed, there are fewer views and videos on the channel. Fortunately, I became a member of the OneBeat music residency and went to America. Every year 20 musicians from all over the world gather there. They communicate, make music, jam, tour the States. It was the best month of my musical life.

I went there as a beatboxer, and left with a guitar, a synthesizer and a microphone, with which I still write vocals for all my songs.

“Writing from Netflix about a song recorded in a Tatar village with a homemade flute from a ski stick”

For a long time I lived in Kazan. One day I thought about the Tatar culture. I have performed many times at student dances. There were many folk numbers with dances and songs. It all seemed to me something alien, not real.

When I saw ensembles of young guys performing in classic Tatar costumes, I did not believe in their sincerity, I did not see the relationship with reality.

As if this is some kind of tribute to the past, but blind - people do not add anything from themselves.

And I, a person brought up by MTV, wanted something new, but at the same time not vulgar like rap with an accordion.

Then I decided that I wanted to talk to those who dress up in folk costumes not to please the jury. With those who play the button accordion when they come home after haymaking, or who plays the tune they heard from their grandmother on the pipe.

I told a friend of mine who worked at Red Bull about this idea. He pitched the idea to the director. He really liked it, and as a result, together we shot the TV series “Echpochfunk” about a Tatar guy who walks around the villages and writes an album of the same name - about me.

During the trip, I recorded on a dictaphone everything that came across our way: the barking of dogs, the melody of a home-made kurai made from a ski stick, the songs of the grandmothers' choir, the sound of pouring mead into a glass.

I had no high-tech devices - only a Tascam recorder. When the batteries were low on it, it was used iPhone. I've already gone through tech purism.

You can record vocals on both a Macbook and a Soyuz microphone. It doesn’t matter what quality it will have, the main thing is the feelings and emotions that the song ultimately gives.

I did not have a clear plan of what I want to see and hear. I tried to create such an atmosphere that people would play the music that flows from their souls. And then I improvised in the studio, found some pieces and made my own songs based on them.

The result was the album "Echpochfunk". Our series was presented at the Ableton Loop music festival in Berlin. And it was a little disappointing that almost no one in Kazan knew about this. After all, it seemed that the project was so cool that everyone should talk about it.

But, thank God, TikTok appeared, where I myself was able to talk about the series. Several videos went viral, and a new wave of interest in the project began. It gives me strength.

Unfortunately, I did not see with my own eyes how the villagers reacted to the album. But the producer of our project, Marina, said that they were sent a film and songs. According to her, they were very happy and satisfied. I would be interested to know if they understood when listening to music that their harp, their accordion or their dog was playing now.

Six months later, I edited a video for the song "1 Life Is Not Enough" and started sending it to blogs. A South African music portal posted it. Through him, Netflix scouts found me. They paid me $2,000-3,000 (I don't remember exactly how much) to play this track on Dear White People.

The whole thing still seems surreal. I am a DIY musician who had 1,000 plays on Spotify at the time. And then they write to me from Netflix about a song recorded in a Tatar village with a homemade flute from a ski stick! I couldn't refuse.

“We want to build a dialogue, not steal the music”

We filmed the second season of the series on Altai. For three weeks we traveled through this region. We slept wherever we could - in an apartment with bedbugs, and in a house in the mountains. Communicated with the locals, including the shaman, from whose chants, according to legend, women become pregnant.

It's incredibly beautiful there. But there are many sacred places where it is forbidden to make loud noises. Sometimes it happened that the musicians we brought there refused to sing. We had to move - to walk across the steppe for several kilometers in order to move away from the monument.

Altai borders on China. Therefore, once our sound engineer was taken away by the FSB: he did not have a passport. We waited for him in the steppe for several hours.

The coolest moment was when I came to the tiny studio to Roman, an extraordinarily talented local sound engineer and a musician. He listened to my preparations and began to improvise over them. It was what I was looking for this whole trip.

Before that, I just recorded random sounds, fragments of compositions in beautiful locations. Here is a symbiosis. A talented person supplements the beginnings of my songs with his own ideas. Somewhere - he will sing, somewhere - he will play the ikili. And everything is always on point, hitting the heart.

Now I'm finishing the album. Then I will look for money for color correction of our series about this trip. Hope it all comes out soon.

The idea that with the help of this approach I will popularize the culture of the small peoples of Russia appeared recently. When I started the Echpochfunk project in 2016, I just wanted to do some research for myself. I did not have a goal to bring Tatar music to a new audience.

And now I understand that it can work well. Someone will watch this series and want to learn more about Altai music or repeat our journey along the Chuisky tract.

It is important that with the help of my music I tell not only about Moscow and the bears that walk along its streets. I like to combine the music of the small peoples of Russia with indie, funk and soul.

There is a subtle point here: all this must be done with love and respect.

With "Echpochfunk" in this regard, it is easier - I myself am a Tatar, and what I do cannot be called appropriation. But the Altaians may already have questions for me. Like, why do you take our music?

Film companies from Moscow often come to them, ask them to dress up in folk costumes and play something, and in return they promise glory. I imagine how they might feel about it: like in a museum.

At first, the Altaians were also suspicious of us. I had to talk with them for a long time and explain that we are friends, that I musician, who is interested in folk art, what you can jam with me, you can trust me.

I hope the series will be a confirmation that we respect the Altai culture as much as possible. We want to build a dialogue, not steal the music.

“Clip shot on iPhone, taken to MTV”

I really love the artist Vinyl Williams, he is a musical and visual artist based in Los Angeles. All of his psychedelic videos are shot in VR 360°. He creates a special, unreal world.

It was my dream to work with him. When I got the money from Netflix, I thought: “I’ll spend it all on one video work with my idol!” And everything worked out! We made a video for the song "Island".

Several other clips were created by my wife, Liyolei, a music artist and artist. We recorded the song "Ma Belle" together and then shot a video for it using an iPhone. This is a wonderful tool that almost everyone has in their pocket. It would be foolish not to take advantage of this opportunity.

Then this clip, filmed on the iPhone, was taken to MTV. He won in the nomination of audience sympathy, from which we went nuts.

“It is very important to talk about your failures”

Usually in interviews they go through victories: a contract with Netflix, an album in a Tatar village, a show on MTV. I get the feeling that everything is fine with me. But I meet defeats much more often than refusals.

I constantly submit my work to thousands of music magazines and blogs. Well, if nine people will answer me. It's good if three people post my video. Sometimes I post a video with a song that I have been making for half a year, and it gets 3,000 views.

I see comments: “Views should be a million!” I want to say: "Please send it to a million of your friends so that it becomes a reality."

Everything is so shaky that without confidence in your business you will not last long.

I remember all the trips of fate, all the ups and downs, and I think: why do I continue to write music every day from morning to night? Yes, because I love it more than anything in the world.

I didn’t have such that I fell into some big hole and couldn’t get out of it. But my path is dotted with small wormholes, stepping into which, you can easily twist your leg.

The computer on which you had a big project broke. Your ear hurts because you've been wearing headphones all day. Failed to talk to parents. If all this happens in one day, it seems that the moles conspired. Hands go down.

But I already knew myself well in this regard. Most often the next morning, my battery is charged again. There are forces for a new breakthrough.

Physical activity helps me cope with mole days. I used to go to the gym several times a week. Now I regularly do exercises, I try to walk a lot.

I also lead a diary - a book of crying, where I whine, smear snot and analyze problems. This gives me an idea of ​​what I need to work on next. There are forces to take new steps.

I sometimes post excerpts from the diary on social networks. When people see that you not only sign contracts with Netflix, but also live an ordinary life - with rejections and difficulties - they feel consonance, belonging.

It's important to talk about your failures. When someone, having suffered several defeats, continues to move forward, this delights much more than a pure success story.

“We hope the album will bomb soon and worldwide fame will come”

Now I live in Turkey, writing an album. I rejoice in Istanbul, admire beauty and music. If there is a workplace, nothing else is needed.

My studio remained in Kazan, I brought only a computer, a microphone, a sound card and a guitar with a small MIDI keyboard. This is a mini setup. All sorts of heavy synths, speakers, lotions remained at home. But then I bought a Turkish guitar - baglama - which will sound in the next album.

My wife and I live on money from renting an apartment in Kazan. We fit the tyutelka into the tyutelka. There is also a ridiculous income from streams, as well as donations from my Patreon listeners. We hope that the album will be bombed soon, and world fame will come.

Tips for beginner musicians

1. Don't take other people's criticism seriously. Her submission speaks more not about you, but about the person who leaves the comment. Anton Maskeliade said very well about this in the book “Your First Track”. Be sure to buy it.

2. When you start making music, you copy someone anyway. And that's not bad. Over time, your compositions will get better. The more elements you borrow from the objects of your inspiration, the more interesting your track will turn out.

For you, your work is always a collage. After all, you understand: “I took these drums from Oleg Gazmanov. And this trumpet is from Talking Heads from the 1977 album. But no one else will know about your references.

People will always find strange references: “Oh, yes, you are one on one - Led Zeppelin! Do you love their work? And you will think: “What kind of Led Zeppelin? I do not know this".

The world of associations is unpredictable. You will always be compared.

For example, I do psychedelic pop. It can be reminiscent of the music of Britney Spears - we have a similar song structure and hooks. But at the same time, in my style there is something from the pop music of the 60s - something that makes you doubt the reality of what is happening.

I also like the danceability of the 1990s and 2000s. I try to combine it all. The main thing is to take it for the soul.

3. At first, you are unlikely to like what you are doing. This is fine. Everyone goes through this. Now I listen to my demos and I think: “Oh! How my heart hurts." You need to cherish what excites you in music, and continue to evoke that feeling in yourself. The main thing is to continue.

If you don't want to play music and are constantly looking for external incentives not to do it, just don't do it. They sometimes write me such shocking questions in a personal: “How can I force myself to write a track?” I think: "Why is this necessary?" I make music because it gives me the best that I can. experience.

And I want people to experience the same feelings from my music - to rejoice and listen to it for years. It is a great happiness and a very huge privilege to give people the opportunity to find the soundtrack for their lives.

I will never get tired of talking like one friend gave birth for my first album. I think it's very cool to give people such unforgettable emotions. Keep creating!