Nookie!
WWC-025 Нуки!
No exploration of the post-Soviet music scene would be complete without mentioning Daria Stavrovich (Дария Ставрович) AKA ‘Nookie’ whose contribution to popular music in Russia has earned her the title ‘Queen of Rock.’
Born in 1986 in the city of Velsk, Arkhangelsk USSR, Nookie began her musical career in 2006 as a lead vocalist with the band Slot (Слот). She still performs with them, but since 2012 has focused on her solo project ‘Нуки’ along with supporting musicians Sergey Bogolyubsky (Сергей Боголюбский), Nikita Muravyov (Никита Муравьев) and Alexander Karpukhin (Александр Карпухин).
Nookie’s creative output is prolific. Nine studio albums with Slot and another four as ‘Нуки’ plus several singles, various live appearances and recordings with other bands, plus numerous other projects for TV, theatre and cinema, including several songs for popular children’s cartoon shows.
On a darker note, in 2014 Nookie was the victim of a deranged fan who tried to kill her during a signing event at a cafe in St. Petersburg in which she was seriously injured (details in the 2019 interview link below). This is a risk you take when you use occult references and images in your art I suppose, something the KLF also found out, although fortunately no one took it as far as trying to kill them.
Apart from her extreme energy and amazing vocal style, Nookie is also known for her unique fashion sense, which ranges from playful to the macabre. As such, she is probably one of the most photographed rock musicians in Russia and I highly recommend browsing the photos linked below.
Russian Wiki article ~ 2016 Interview (Russian) ~ 2019 Interview (English)
Photos ~ Discography ~ Lyrics ~ Bandcamp ~ Instagram ~ Telegram
Nookie appears as a guest artist in a number of different bands: Lost Heaven, ArcheAge, Ice Empire, Viper Inc., and Inexist, among others. Here she is performing with Oblivion Machine at the 2015 Darkside Festival in Moscow.
While making this program something reminded me of the Fairy Twins from the Japanese ‘Mothra’ monster films. Maybe it was the theme of Nookie’s second album ‘Moon Butterfly Pollen’ or her diminutive size and frequent costume changes which reminded me of the Twins. Who knows? Nookie’s outfits bear a strong resemblance to Japanese ‘cosplay’ and one of the songs she sang with Slot is called ‘Anime’ so she’s no doubt familiar with the culture. I’d love to ask her about that if I ever get the chance, since it seems to be a conscious part of her image.
Wow! This is an impressive band. Thanks for putting it out, Ebear.
In a weird way she reminds me of Yolandi Vi$$er from Die Antwoord, and of course Bjork.