Shortparis

Shortparis is a group from Sankt-Peterburg, Russia, active since 2012. The line-up includes Николай Комягин, Александр Ионин, Павел Лесников, Данила Холодков and Александр Гальянов. Their music sits across avant-garde pop, electronic, experimental, punk and synth-pop, and they are also described with the labels post-pop, pop-noir and avant-pop.

Style and performance

The band works in an experimental mode and treats live performance as something closer to contemporary art practice than a standard concert format. It often plays in unprepared locations rather than conventional club venues, including abandoned industrial buildings and open grocery stores. Shortparis presents itself as working against the mainstream musical scene and aiming for original artistic solutions.

Context and reception

The group is associated with the legacy of Sergey Kuryokhin in terms of provocative performance art. Its work is described as ambitious, bombastic, erotic and difficult to categorise, while also being danceable and centred on a sense of disruption and provocation.