Bears, ghouls and light play

SMYAH: I remember watching a documentary about an island in northern Russia which was inhabited by many interesting animals including bears and I thought ‘oh man, imagine living on an island full of bears and having nowhere to run or hide’. This track was inspired by the raw power of nature and its unpredictability as well as the tough life of the animals that live on that wild island. We often forget that nature doesn’t give a shit about us or our happiness. I think the images capture the energy and add the right amount of mysticism and fantasy and I am very excited for this collaboration.

Georgi Panchev: I got inspired by the tempo and the gamma of the track. It sounded like a dance of ghouls and light play in the darkness. That’s how I approached the photos. I planned them for days on end waiting for the right moment. And it came when the dog appeared one night.
I am doing all kinds of visual adventures with the idea that I am saving the world with something beautiful. And most probably I am. Right now I am working mainly as a graphic designer but I have graduated with painting and some people think I am a photographer. In reality I am not that good in any of the three things: the best photographer amongst the painters and the best painter amongst the graphic designers.

What do you think an art form has to possess in order to be influencial?

Georgi Panchev: Honesty. And the ability to tell you something, hopefully funny. To tell you a tale that brings magic, dream and a little bit of truth. Every valuable piece of art has the words ‘All right, what if…’  that’s how icons are born and the inspiration of the audience is awakened.

SMYAH: Soul. And the right intentions. When you create something, it has to come from within you. The moment you plague your thoughts with hesitation is the moment you lose it and then you have to find the way back to that place again. An artist has to be all right with starting from scratch every time. There is no ladder. Or rather, once you climb it, you have to come down and start all over. You have to be all right with the process of new discoveries and express it in your art. Otherwise you get bored or simply you stop progressing. There are no shortcuts.