Molchat Doma Have Moved Beyond 'The Boundaries Of Post-Punk Or Synth-Pop'

Belarusian band Molchat Doma return to Australia for a theatre tour next month, bringing their signature brand of cold-wave music Down Under to cool us down this summer.

The group made their Australian debut in June 2023, when they performed at three of Australia’s most diverse, often gothic-inspired music festivals. Fans saw them at Hobart’s Dark Mofo festival, Sydney’s Vivid LIVE, and Brisbane’s Open Season.

Molchat Doma were founded in Minsk, Belarus, but are now based in Los Angeles. The group experienced virality in 2020, when their single Sudno (Boris Ryzhy) went viral on TikTok, featuring in hundreds of thousands of users’ videos. The track went on to peak at #2 on the Spotify Global Viral 50 Chart and, to date, has amassed more than 350 million streams.

With music somewhere between post-punk, new-wave, and synth-pop, the trio—comprising vocalist Egor Shkutko, Roman Komogortsev on guitar, synthesiser, and the drum machine, and Pavel Kozlov on the bass guitar and synthesiser—is touring in support of their latest record, Belaya Polosa, released last year.

Belaya Polosa is an album that sits in difficult times, provides a love letter to the digital pulse of the ‘80s and ‘90s, and offers a technicolour reinvention of the band’s sombre dancefloor anthems.

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Following the release of their third album, Monument, the group's experience with viral fame, headlining significant shows and featuring at festivals, as well as the “forced relocation” from their home in Minsk to Los Angeles, all contributed to their mindset for creating Belaya Polosa.

Ahead of their highly anticipated return to Australia, The Music caught up with bassist Pavel Kozlov, who describes their 2023 visit Down Under as “incredible.”

“But the truth is, we almost always perform far from home,” he admits. “We’re still relatively unknown in our home country, and we don’t receive the same kind of energy and response there as we do elsewhere. So, playing far from home is not unusual for us. Still, the energy we felt from the Australian audience was powerful and unforgettable. It was a valuable experience that stayed with us.”

Unfortunately for Molchat Doma, they didn’t have much time to experience the atmospheres in Hobart, Sydney, and Brisbane when they last visited Australia. But regardless, Kozlov holds fond memories from the short and sweet run.

“Sydney is a huge metropolis, Brisbane has beautiful high-rise buildings and an impressive bridge - everything lights up at night, it’s architecturally striking,” he recalls. “But we usually arrive, play the show the next day, and leave right after. Our tour schedule is very tight, and that’s a bit sad because everything moves so fast.”

Despite the tight schedule, the trio had an excellent time playing for their fans, who Kozlov says were “very warm.”

He adds, “They pleasantly surprised us. People were open, emotional, and at the same time very attentive to the details. We love feeling that kind of genuine energy from the crowd - and in Australia, we definitely felt it. We’re really looking forward to feeling that again.”

In 2020, Molchat Doma signed a record deal with the American independent label, Sacred Bones. They joined a roster of experimental artists from across the globe, including Amen Dunes, Blanck Mass, John Carpenter, Jenny Hval, David Lynch, Marissa Nadler, Spellling, Indigo Sparke, Thou, and others. And with their signing, Molchat Doma received the chance to grow and release music—all with “complete creative freedom.”

Kozlov explains, “It [signing to Sacred Bones] gave us the opportunity to grow to a new level. We received support that allowed us not only to release albums, but to evolve technically, experiment, and work in better conditions.

“Sacred Bones gives us complete creative freedom - no limitations at all - and that’s incredibly valuable to us.”

In addition to being signed to an American label, the trio also live in the US. It’s a life-changing move, but one Kozlov feels Molchat Doma have benefitted from.

“Life in Los Angeles gave us more opportunities,” he shares. “We started working with better studio equipment, we took a different approach to sound, and we found new technical solutions.

“Everything became more organised and thoughtful - but the emotional core stayed the same. In Minsk, things were more intuitive and spontaneous. Now we have access to a broader set of tools, but we still try to stay honest and true in what we do.”

While Molchat Doma’s music often appears in so-called “doomer playlists” and soundtracks for gaming videos and mini-series on YouTube, it would be understandable if the band were worried about the meaning of their lyrics – or the essence of their music – getting lost in the algorithm or to listeners with low attention spans. However, Kozlov isn’t too concerned. “We’re not really worried about that,” he says.

“The most important thing is that people hear the music. Even if someone discovers us in a meme or as background music in a video game, that can still be the first step. If it leads them to dive deeper, then everything is working as it should.”

Early in their career, Molchat Doma discussed being inspired by Perestroika-era bands like Kino, as well as post-punk and synth-pop icons such as The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Depeche Mode, and The Human League. These days, though, Kozlov believes the band have moved past the boundaries of post-punk, leading to a far more comfortable creative space.

“We’ve moved a bit beyond it ourselves, experimenting with our music rather than trying to stay within the boundaries of post-punk or synth-pop,” he tells. “Yes, we were influenced by those artists, and we’ve listened to them a lot.

“But now we’re trying to reinterpret things and look from different angles. That’s why Belaya Polosa sounds so different from our previous albums - and the next one will be different too. It’s a natural continuation, a growth.”

Molchat Doma will tour Australia in December. Tickets are available now via Frontier Touring.

Presented by Frontier Touring