IC3PEAK in Haarlem 9 June 2024

Nastya Kreslina and Nick Kostylev, under the pseudonym IC3PEAK (pronounced "ais pic"), have become the leading voices of Russian and Eastern European youth in recent years. Since their formation in 2013, the self-proclaimed "audio-visual terrorists" and feminists have impressed with their melodic electro-trap on two EPs and four albums - in both Russian and English.

Current album "CKA3KA (Fairytale)" is reminiscent of a Russian horror story, combining gentle and celestial textures, frantic beats, determined vocals and moments of clarity.

IC3PEAK's songs are much more than experimental electro tracks, however, because the duo is fearless and bold in many ways. Much of their music deals with the current situation in their home country, Russia, and questions political structures.

Nastya and Nick try to counter the prevailing toxic masculinity with heightened femininity and criticize the homophobic propaganda of the Russian government, among other things. The two are responsible not only for the music and lyrics, but also for the entire visual experience. In their videos, IC3PEAK combine breathtaking imagery with the bipolar aesthetic of their songs, in which haunting vocal melodies meet glowing, thumping instruments - a spectacle for the senses.