Dan Sultanov
Sultanov’s the latest artist emerging from the snowy plains of Russia with more than just a little bit of a western influence, with his debut single ‘Keep On Running’ a classically British sounding slice of pop.
We got some time with the Russian singer to talk about the songs colourful video, the influence of his artistic family and his upcoming debut album.
What can you tell us about your new single ‘Keep On Running’?
The song sounds like summer to me. Vintage french films with people driving around in open top cars and beautiful people smiling all around!! The message of the song is that you should have a good time, don't let yourself down and never stop running towards your dreams.
What was it like working with Andy Wright?
Andy is a wonderful person! He is very warm, has a great sense of humour and after all these years has become a good friend of mine.
Whose idea was it to use your drawings for the animated video?
I wanted to create a video that combined both sides of my creative life - the arty side and the musical side. That's why we decided to go with an animated video, and based the animation style on my ink pen drawings - the idea came out naturally as a collaboration between myself and the production company.
The song is about a guy that never gives up or stops and keeps running after his dream so we thought creating the story with the guy running after a girl was a good fit. I wanted the video to be colourful and uplifting so that it reflected the summery feeling I had when I wrote it.
You’re album’s coming out in April, what can you tell us about that?
I'm really excited about the release of the album. It’s a project I have worked on for 4 years to get it to this point and I can't wait for the world to hear it. It’s got a good balance of up tempo and down tempo tracks, all woven together to tell loads of different stories.
You’ve got a UK showcase coming up, any details you can give us?
The showcase is going to be a great night. We're creating an event that combines all the different elements of my life as an artist so we will have an exhibition of my artwork in the venue as well as the performance. I am getting my full band together for the event and we will be rehearsing hard for it - Its going to be a fun night!!
Both your grandfather and your aunt are artists, have they helped fuel your creative side?
I was very lucky to have grown up in an incredibly creative environment as a child. I was always surrounded by artists and musicians not only in my family but the friends and contemporaries of my parents and grandfather. This environment definitely fuelled my creative side - it would be hard not to be influenced by it.
Why did you choose to sing in English as opposed to Russian?
When I started playing musically seriously I was always attracted to the melodies in Rhythm and Blues and other western styles of music. A lot of the artists that I grew up loving and listening to were also in this musical tradition, so when it came to making my own music it seemed only natural to sing in English.
Aside from the fact that I live in Russia I do not consider my music to be particularly 'Russian' - instead all the influences come from western culture.
What else is in the pipeline for 2013 for you then?
Right now I am very focussed on the forthcoming release of the album. I have some great ideas for the video for my next single and how I want to present the project visually from the artwork to the showcase so I am focussed on getting this right. Beyond that I am also rehearsing with my band and will hopefully have some live dates later this year.
Sultanov’s debut single ‘Keep On Running’ is out now.
Click here to download Sultanov’s debut single ‘Keep On Running’