It is Alex Polianin who stands behind Fjordwalker project. He comes from a very distant place, Yekaterinburg, Russian Federation. Fjordwalker is an eternal traveler and musician, that creates synthwave,
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Bartek: Seems like you’re the first artist from Russia, that appeared on muzykaislandzka.pl. It’s really fantastic to have you here Alex. Let’s start from the beginning. You come from Yekaterinburg. It’s such a distant place, so far away from Scandinavia, not to mention Iceland. But you’re so much into the mood of the North… Well, how did that happen?
Fjordwalker: My hometown – Yekaterinburg is really far away. From Scandinavia, from Europe, even from Moscow (30 hours by train, 2.5 hours by plane). If we consider the name of the project, it’s not about Scandinavia specifically. It’s about the lyrical character who is on the road, on the journey, and prefers the Northern atmosphere. The silence and tranquility.
In fact, the winter in Yekaterinburg is also always very cold and harsh. But I don’t know whether it is connected.
Bartek: Your music indeed sounds „northern”. Maybe it’s a matter of inspiration or perhaps it’s because of your name – Fjordwalker. I wonder how people react when they hear you’re from Ural (I’ve seen this fantastic, small URALS logo on your facebook page!)?
Fjordwalker: Some people are really surprised that I from Russia. Most people think I’m German or Swedish. Sometimes they say that I’m from Finland because of the surname… it’s a bit in tune with endings of Finnish surnames, but in fact it is a typical Russian surname from the word „поле” (eng. – Glade).
Btw…In fact, the „Urals” logo on my tour poster is a clothing company of my friends. Very good stuff!
When I create my tunes, I don’t think how it should sound. With Northern colors of the sound or with Southern, Western, whatever. To be honest everything happens spontaneously and sometimes I can’t explain how it happens. Just out of the soul. That’s why I’m not fashionable.
Bartek: You’ve given more than 250 performances in 17 countries, including Poland. You’ve been visiting and playing in many Icelandic places. You say, you’re eternal traveller. Tell me Alex, where do you feel the most comfortable and why?
Fjordwalker: According to updated information 300 concerts in 19 countries. But to be honest I’m tired of writing about numbers. The number is not an indicator. The only indicator is quality, and to reach the quality I still need to strive for. And there’s a lot to learn. I think that all the best concerts and the most amazing places are ahead… in the future.
Most comfortable to realize the balance between when you’re on tour and when you’re home. To be on the road it is always very good, but coming back home after a long travel even better. Anywhere’s good for me. And btw I really like Poland. Several times I had an amazing hitchhiking when I was traveling just as a tourist.
Bartek: I just have to ask you about Russian music scene. I admit, it’s completely unknown subject for me. How does it look like? What projects or bands would you recommend to hear?
Fjordwalker: The Russian scene is very interesting, but like any other local scene, is in itself, because a large part of lyrics is created in Russian language. Although some English-singing or instrumental bands gained recognition outside Russia. I’m constantly discovering interesting artists that often remain in my player for a long time. It is not only young bands, but also bands that have already played 10 years or more.
I will give examples of very interesting bands which already have their own history and achievements. I like to listen to these artists in the headphones and live:
Therr Maitz (Moscow), Tequilajazz (St. Petersburg), Мои Ракеты Вверх (Moscow), Ассаи (St. Petersburg), Pinkshinyultrablast (St. Petersburg), Penguinsmeat (St. Petersburg), D-Pulse (St. Petersburg), Long Arm (St. Petersburg), Nina Karlsson (St. Petersburg), On-The-Go (Moscow), Everything is made in China (Moscow), Gnoomes (Perm), Erida’s Garden (Izhevsk), Groovebag (Yekaterinburg), EK-Playaz (Yekaterinburg), Tip Top Tellix (Yekaterinburg), Around the world in 80 days (Yekaterinburg). By the way with the last band I even had the good fortune to play in 2010-2012 and we continue to touring as two friendly projects.
Аnd many many interesting artists. It is difficult to list them all.. From hip hop to punk-hardcore, from neo-classical to experimental jazz.
Bartek: I often say, that Iceland is a state of mind. Would you agree with that?
Fjordwalker: „Iceland is a state of mind” – this is an interesting phrase, but every person on the Earth could come up with a personal phrase that will mean a lot to them. Maybe even more than just words. So let’s say, Iceland for me is a colorful adventure with a pleasant atmosphere, kind people, interesting history, magical music and memories for a long time about the moments that I experienced there. I like Iceland. As well as I like the Ural.
