Pussy Riot – CYKA
Pussy Riot does not announce their debut album CYKA with a cute Instagram carousel – instead they launched it with an explosive protest at the Venice Biennale, the so-called “Olympics of the art world”, timed deliberately to coincide with Russia’s controversial return to the event. The stunt made headlines globally and sent exactly the message intended: we see you, we hate it, we brought cameras, and we declare “DISOBEY”.
They officially announced their debut music album CYKA to come out on Friday, June 12th. Vladimir Putin is even listed as a contributor on the album (please check the DSP liner notes) and make of that what you will. Fourteen years of protest, imprisonment, surveillance, exile, and survival crystallized into one record; CYKA is the album Pussy Riot’s founder, Nadya Tolokonnikova, was always building toward. Alongside today’s debut announcement, they release “CANDY DOPAMINE” featuring Avenged Sevenfold.
It’s a fever dream/panic attack collision of punk rage, pop hooks, and the kind of emotional honesty that makes you feel like you’ve been punched in the chest in the best possible way. “to a place / where we’re free / popping candy dopamine / no more pain / you and me”
Nadya Tolokonnikova explains: “This song is kind of a love & hate song to prescription and designer drug culture. It started with my dependence on anti depressants, but it’s also looking at everyone now mentalhealthmaxxing and looksmaxxing via pills and injections. It’s not a judgement, it’s just an observation and my personal experience with these things is that I have to be in a long term relationship with them for my PTSD and depression.”
Next, Pussy Riot will bring the apocalypse live to Paris at the BEYOND THE STREETS exhibit in Grande Halle de la Villette on Saturday, June 20th. More live shows to be announced.
Pussy Riot declares: All these old men ruining the world right now act tough – but we see thru their fragile egos – and I’m not afraid to call them out. They are, in fact, pussies. While the world is waiting for the UFC Freedom 250 on June 14 at the White House, I challenge President Putin to a cage match. He thinks he’s so tough, but afraid of a girl? Let’s see. He loses? He gets the fuck out of Ukraine. The world can watch him lose to a girl, even with all his judo training. He can’t even URA anymore, but he throws the world into despair.
Just like Brener in 1995 when they bombed Chechnya, and he challenged Yeltsin, now they bomb Ukraine, and I challenge Putin. “Putin! Come here!”
#pussyriot