NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA WITH MARIANA SEMKINA
INTRODUCTION
Hi to all readers, my name is Marjana Semkina and I write songs about pain and death and drowning, what is basically expected of every Russian. I write these for my band Iamthemorning and also my solo project under the name of Mariana Semkina spelled differently so it looks more familiar. I moved from Russia to England last year in Tier 4
lockdown (worst timing but bureaucracy forced me to) with the help of Arts Council England and since then I've been living by the sea writing songs about drowning, death and pain because that stuff can't just be left behind when you leave. I have released two EPs since, one with my band last December and a solo one, titled Disillusioned, that was just out in October. Here's something about my home town Saint Petersburg which I miss dearly (especially the ability for Russian people to heat and insulate their homes!?
BANDS & ARTISTS
Russia has such a versatile music scene and it's such a shame it's so hard for Russian artists to get any attention 14
outside of the country - I’ve been there so I know what a struggle it is, it's not enough to just be good, you also have to be lucky... and know English pretty well, which isn't always the case with musicians. Off the top of my head some of my favourites are Aquarium, Fleur, Ongkara, Echoes and Signals (I even wrote a song with them for one of their albums), Aesthesys, Theodor Bastard, Walking Across Jupiter,
