Little Big soloist Ilya Prusikin - Eurovision 2020 participant: “We will do what we do best - a show. It will be fun!"

Team leader and founder

Ilya Prusikin was born in a small village located in the eastern part of Transbaikalia.
Already at a young age he fell in love with music and was a fan of the group “Nirvana”. She had a great influence on the formation of Prusikin's musical taste. Then he realized that he could create without looking at other people’s opinions and without putting himself in rigid boundaries. In reality, everything turned out to be a little different. Ilya took up music, organized a team, but failed to achieve much success. It was also not possible to get a “normal” job. Ilya was not hired as a courier or as a pizza delivery man. For some time he lived on his girlfriend's salary. Still, he did not break, he found his place in life. The Internet sitcom “Police Days,” “The Great Rap Battle” and “The Gaffy Gaff Show” are projects that made Prusikin known in Russia.

Incredible success

The friends did not think about further creativity, but fate gave them a chance. “Little Big” received an offer: to perform before the concert of the popular African team “Die Antwoord”. Ilya doubted, the team did not have songs, to which they answered: “You have a month.” In 30 days they recorded 6 tracks and shot videos. It was these songs that brought the group incredible success.

History[edit | edit code]

The group first announced itself on April 1, 2013, releasing the video Every Day I'm Drinking[5] on YouTube.

Already on July 2, 2013, at the A2 club, they held their first public performance[12] as an opening act for Die Antwoord[2][12][18].

“There are a lot of accidents in the history of Little Big - they just filmed the video on April 1st. It turned out that he shot. And everyone started saying: “Maybe you can start a group?” But the group still might not have existed if we hadn’t been invited to open for Die Antwoord. We were like, “Whoa, whoa, we don’t have any songs.” “But you have a month.” And we wrote six songs, shot videos, they sold out. Nobody thought that we would make money on these songs. This is how it happened,” [21] recalls Ilya Prusikin in an interview with Afisha Daily.

The band's first album, With Russia From Love, was released on March 17, 2014.[22]

Throughout its existence, Little Big goes on tours throughout Europe and Russia[3][21][23][24]. “This kind of [rave] music is really in demand. We didn’t invest a single penny [in our promotion], we just shot a video and became famous in Europe,” [25] noted Ilya Prusikin in an interview with UTV.

On September 9, 2020, a video was released for the song Give Me Your Money featuring Tommy Cash, an Estonian artist similar in style. In parallel with the release of the video, a pilot episode of the mini-series American Russians[26] appeared.

On December 19, 2020, the group released their second album, Funeral Rave. It took 8th place on the Russian iTunes chart in the 52nd week of 2015[27] and fifth place on Google Play[28].

On May 21, 2020, the group's video clips were awarded at the Berlin Music Video Awards 2016[3][29][30]. Big Dick took first place in the Most Trashy category[31][32], and Give Me Your Money took 3rd place in the Best Performer category[33]. The Big Dick video surpassed 35 million views[34][35]. The video is filled with sexual imagery and innuendo[36], parodying advertising sales videos[37]. Bam Margera noted on his website that in this video “you can see all the possibilities of human sexuality: from a techno beat to a lot of naked bodies and a wild number of analogies between food and sex.”[38]

On March 31, 2020, on the eve of its fourth anniversary, the group released its fourth single, Rave On[7], and a video of the same name. On August 25, 2020, the joint track Nightlife with the German electroniccore band Eskimo Callboy was released[39]. And in February 2020, the LollyBomb video won the Best Music Video category at the large Global Film Festival Awards in Los Angeles[40][41].

On April 1, 2020, one of the vocalists, Olympia Ivleva, announced her departure from the team[17]. “In five years, together with Olympia, we have come a long way - we shot 14 million-dollar videos, played about 300 concerts, traveled to a huge number of cities in a bunch of countries around the world and managed to turn from a small YouTube project into a musical group respected throughout Russia and Europe,” - says the official statement[42].

On May 8, 2020, the group released the first part of the album Antipositive[43] and the video Punks Not Dead[44], on October 5 - the second part of the album Antipositive[45] and the new video Skibidi[46]. In December 2018, together with Sergei Zhukov, the group released the video “The Boys Are Slamming”. In February 2020, the Skibidi group's single received platinum status[47]. Later, a remix album Skibidi was released, which included five tracks.[48]

Currently Little Big

is the only group from Russia that has signed a global contract with Warner[49].

Stereotypes about Russians

The main idea of ​​the team's creativity is a musical reflection of reality. In their songs and videos they ridicule stereotypes about Russians. There are people who perceive this as outright banter, but this is not at all a mockery of their compatriots. The team members want to show that all the templates and clichés are nothing more than fiction.

Here's what Prusikin says about this. Next interview:

“The funny thing is that people in Europe understand that we are laughing at them. But in Russia people... -...are sure that you are discrediting the country? - Yes."

Popular with children

Most of the group's songs have an age limit (18+). Despite this fact, the team has many small fans. Even very young boys and girls (1,2,3 years old!) are crazy about “Little Big”. Incendiary melodies, bright clips...100 or on YouTube - easy! And this is from one child. By the way, as soon as the team leader’s son was born, their songs and videos became softer. They are not as aggressive as before. Prusikin claims that now even the youngest children can watch them.

Awards and nominations

The quest to conquer the world

Many people accuse “Little Big”: “The Russian group does not sing in Russian.” Participants are easy to understand if you know their purpose. They want to become the most famous Russian music team in the world. Ilya Prusikin dreams of destroying the stereotype that no one needs Russians abroad, and he succeeds.

For reference: the language in which “Little Big” performs songs can hardly be called English. This is a mixture of different distorted words, individual phrases. You can say that they have their own language.

Anton Lissov

Everyone knows Anton as “the guy with the black lips.” He has been playing the guitar since childhood. Lissov often recalls how his mother gave him an instrument and said that all girls love guitarists. It would seem like a calling, but no... He, too, searched for his path for a long time. He worked as a security guard and baker, courier and salesman. In 2013 he joined the team. He probably doesn’t have problems with girls now...

Sofia Tayurskaya

The only girl in Little Big. In 2014, Anna Kast left the group and Tayurskaya replaced her. Then there was another woman on the team - Olympia Ivleva. In April 2020, she decided to pursue an acting career and left the cast.

Tayurskaya quickly joined the team; there was no time to build up. A creative person, she experienced almost no difficulties. Education played an important role - the Institute of Culture and Arts in St. Petersburg. The girl is used to being in the public eye. Fans appreciate her for her gentle voice and magnificent appearance. If you doubt her vocal abilities, listen to the song “Polyushko-Field”.

Interesting fact about Sophia. Hot beauty Sonya wasn't always so sexy. Everything changed when she became a member of the group. Tayurskaya created a new self: she lost 10 kilograms and changed her image. Now she doesn’t have complexes about her appearance. The girl knows that she looks great and is not shy to show off her charms.

Notes

1. ↑ 123
   Official page of the Little Big group on the SoundCloud service
2. ↑ 123
   Russia's Little Big reveals 'Uno' song and music video. — Russia sends punk-pop-rave band Little Big to Rotterdam (English), // eurovision.tv (12 March 2020 at 23:38 CET)
3. ↑ 12345678910
   Die Antwoord vs Little Big // Sobaka.ru
4. ↑ 1 2 3 4 Veronica Mechkivskaya
   .
   Ilya Prusikin: “Little Big is a musical reflection of society,” Rockcult
   (April 6, 2016). Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
5. Little Big | The Weirdest Band in the World (unspecified)
   (unavailable link). Retrieved May 11, 2020. Archived April 1, 2020.
6. ↑ 12
   LITTLE BIG - Everyday I'm drinking - the band's first music video and track on the Youtube video hosting site. April 1, 2013
7. ↑ 12
   Clip of the day: Tatarka “Altyn” (Russian). Sobaka.ru. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
8. ↑ 12
   Little Big - Rave On on iTunes
9. Little Big - With Russia from Love on iTunes
10. Little Big - Funeral Rave on iTunes
11. Little Big - Dead Unicorn on iTunes
12. ↑ 1234
    The Village “Weekend in St. Petersburg: Little Big Concert, Salvador Dali at the Faberge Museum and Chechot’s Lecture on Shnurov”
13. ↑ 123
    Little Big: “If you want to change the country, you have to show it this way” Sobaka.ru
14. Little Big put on their happy faces for “Public Enemy” (unspecified)
    (unavailable link). Retrieved May 13, 2020. Archived June 21, 2020.
15. Official group LITTLE BIG “VKontakte”
16. LISSOV VLOG — Backstage LITTLE BIG April 2 STEREO HALL (MSK) “ANTHONY LISSOV (LISSOFF) Voice of JANE AIR, Clown from LITTLE BIG”
17. Instagram post by @olympiya_
18. ↑ 12
    Olympia Ivleva, publication on VKontakte: “On this beautiful day...”
19. ↑ 12345
    Ilyich and Gokk (LITTLE BIG) - Interview (Tula 10/31/2014)
20. NEW CLIP AND NEW PROJECT BY JANE AIR!
21. PUNKISS – Single Mother
22. ↑ 123
    Poster Daily: Little Big: how the nastiest group in Russia came to success
23. Album page WITH RUSSIA FROM LOVE on off. Little Big website (undefined)
    (inaccessible link). Retrieved May 11, 2020. Archived April 21, 2020.
24. LITTLE BIG TOUR (unspecified)
    (unavailable link). Retrieved May 11, 2020. Archived May 23, 2020.
25. ↑ 12
    Little Big: famous wild Russians, NGS Afisha, 12/22/2015
26. Interview with the group Little Big Real Music on UTV
27. American Russians playlist on the Little Big channel.
28. Yolka’s song about autism entered the Russian iTunes charts, lenta.ru “Official Russian iTunes charts for the 52nd week of 2015: <…> Albums <…> 8. Little Big - Funeral Rave”
29. Charts, ratings, hit parades, Intermedia
    (December 31, 2015). Retrieved September 23, 2020.
30. Berlin Music Video Awards 2020 – So the 2020 Winners are…
31. Berlin Music Video Awards 2020 — Meet the nominees
32. ↑ 12
    Berlin Music Video Awards on facebook List of FINALISTS
33. ↑ 12
    Berlin Music Video Award on Facebook: LITTLE BIG wins Most trashy
34. ↑ 12
    LITTLE BIG official page “VKontakte” - Clip Little Big - Big Dick took first place...
35. Little Big - Big Dick on Youtube
36. LITTLE BIG - BIG DICK reached 10,000. on YouTube
37. “Big Dick” is the song and super NSFW video of 2020 by Jordan Freiman, Death and Taxes Magazine “The video itself is chock full of sexual imagery, although the imagery feels like the wrong word because it implies a certain amount of subtext, of which I will point out again, there is none
    .
38. 50 best tracks of 2016, part 2 (unspecified)
    .
    the-flow.ru
    . Retrieved September 23, 2020.
39. Guy Makes Re-D!CK-u-lous Music Video About His Record Breaking Schlong bammargerasworld.com “By watching the video you can observe all of the possibilities of human sexuality: from the techno beats, to the array of naked bodies, to the ridiculous amount of food/sex analogies, and of course a big d##k.”
40. Album on iTunes: The Scene (Eskimo Callboy) (unspecified)
    .
    iTunes
    . Retrieved June 10, 2020.
41. ↑ 12
    Global Film Festival Awards 2018
42. ↑ 12
    Our video “LollyBomb” won the Best Music Video nomination...
43. Little Big official VKontakte group: “Friend, we have important news for you.”
44. ↑ 12
    Antipositive, Pt. 1 on iTunes
45. Punks Not Dead on YouTube
46. ↑ 12
    Antipositive, Pt. 2 on iTunes
47. Little Big.
    LITTLE BIG — SKIBIDI (official music video)
    (unspecified)
    (October 5, 2018). Retrieved October 5, 2020.
48. Friends, our video “Skibidi” scored 4 today.. | LITTLE BIG | VKontakte (undefined)
    . m.vk.com. Retrieved April 27, 2020.
49. ↑ 1234
    Evening Urgant. Ilya Prusikin is visiting Ivan. 02/01/2019
50. Album “Skibidi” (Little Big) (unspecified)
    . Retrieved February 26, 2020.
51. Rating "Top Russian Celebrities 2019". 35th place ($1 million) - “Little Big.” Biography and facts. Forbes
    magazine // forbes.ru
52. Yulia Varshavskaya
    .
    “I never compromised for the sake of money”: Little Big leader Ilya Prusikin about new show business, success on YouTube and a free society. Forbes
    magazine // forbes.ru (September 10, 2020)
53. The group Little Big will represent Russia at the Eurovision Song Contest Channel One
54. VIDEO. Program "Evening Urgant". The band "Little Big" - song "Uno". Premiere of the video for the Eurovision Song Contest (excerpt from the release dated March 12, 2020). Official website of Channel One // 1tv.ru (March 12, 2020)
55. "Little Big" presented a song for Eurovision. — Official video from Russia on the website of the Eurovision 2020 contest. RIA Novosti // ria.ru (March 12, 2020)
56. The Little Big video became the most popular among the videos of the other Eurovision participants. // interfax.ru (March 13, 2020)
57. The “UNO” video has 80 million views and 2.1 million.. | LITTLE BIG | VKontakte (undefined)
    . m.vk.com. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
58. Eurovision 2020 has been canceled due to coronavirus. Newspaper “Izvestia” // iz.ru (March 18, 2020)
59. The Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam has been canceled due to coronavirus. // tourism.interfax.ru (March 18, 2020)
60. They decided to hold Eurovision in a new format (unspecified)
    . lenta.ru. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
61. Little Big will present an alternative version of the song Uno at the Eurovision show
    . lenta.ru. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
62. ↑ 123
    I FOUND THE RUSSIAN DIE ANTWOORD By Dan Wilkinson, Noisey
63. New name: Cloud rapper and vlogger TATARKA - Wonderzine (undefined)
    . wonderzine.com. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
64. ↑ 12
    Los “Die Antwoord” rusos: Little Big Beat Mash Magazine, 2 May 2016
65. Poster Daily: "Big Dick" and other disgusting music videos
66. Little Big from Russia METATRONIKS, Magazine for design and entertaiment
67. ↑ 12
    LITTLE BIG BRINGT BERLIN ZUM BEBEN, Berlin Visual, 25 Februar, 2015. Recording: Little Big group in Berlin: about music and politics
68. ↑ 1 2 3
    LITTLE BIG |
    CAUTION, SOBCHAK! Ilya Prusikin: “Basically we are a label, but we don’t have a single contract. We are a community. <…> The best thing, in our opinion, is to work without a contract.”
69. The Hatters - Full Hat on iTunes
70. Radif Kashapov.
    “I am a beautiful golden flower”
    (undefined)
    . Colta.ru (February 28, 2017). Retrieved September 23, 2017.
71. U Can Take (feat. Little Big) — Single on iTunes
72. Little Big.
    Orgonite - Habibi Yaeni - אורגונייט - חביבי יעני (Official Video)
    (unspecified)
    (September 30, 2016). Retrieved May 11, 2020.
73. Little Big.
    ORGONITE - ADIBASS
    (undefined)
    (February 27, 2017). Retrieved May 11, 2020.
74. ↑ 12
    New Radio Awards (full version)
75. Tayurskaya Sonya Little big (@sonyatayurskaya) • Instagram photos and videos (Russian). www.instagram.com. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
76. FUNERAL RAVE album page on off. Little Big website (undefined)
    (inaccessible link). Retrieved May 11, 2020. Archived March 14, 2020.
77. ‎Album “Live in St. Petersburg" (Little Big) (Russian). Retrieved March 18, 2020.
78. Yurchenko, Alisa.
    
    (unspecified)
    was held at VDNKh .
    mk.ru.
    _ “Moskovsky Komsomolets” (June 14, 2015). Retrieved March 13, 2020. (inaccessible link)
79. Prize "Like-2016"
80. Alfa Future Awards 2020 - The first Russian professional Award in the field of electronic music. (undefined)
    . alfafuturerating.ru. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
81. BERLIN MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS on Instagram: “The winner of the category “Most Trashy” is... The music video for @littlebigband's song “Lolly Bomb”! LITTLE BIG LOLLY BOMB LITTLE BIG...” (Russian). Instagram. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
82. ketnet.be (inaccessible link) Little Big en Baba Yega duiken op in de Dance-off!
83. littlebigband official Instagram: “Had a big fun at the Gala van de Gouden K's! Thank you @ketnet_be for our 'Hype of the Year' award - so proud"
84. Wall (undefined)
    . m.vk.com. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
85. Wall (undefined)
    . m.vk.com. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
86. Wall (undefined)
    . m.vk.com. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
87. Wall (undefined)
    . m.vk.com. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
88. Who received the BraVo award (Russian). "Gazeta.Ru" (April 19, 2019). Retrieved May 31, 2020.
89. Winners BMVAs 2020 (English). Retrieved June 13, 2020.
90. The nomination “Best Duet” is presented by: (Russian). vk.com. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
91. TopHit Music Awards 2020 (unspecified)
    . thma.tophit.live. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
92. Little Big's "Go Bananas" video won.. | LITTLE BIG | VKontakte (undefined)
    . m.vk.com. Retrieved May 31, 2020.

Sergey Makarov

DJ and backing vocalist for "Little Big". Before entering the world of music, Sergei had to show his other talents. He worked in a toy factory, selling clothes. In 1999, together with Anton Lissov, he organized a musical group. They performed in bars and restaurants, and then fate brought them together with Prusikin. This is how the Little Big team appeared.

The group still has a couple of months to prepare for a significant event - the Eurovision Song Contest. And we can only wish them good luck.

Musical style

The team calls itself a “satirical art collaboration”[3], which simultaneously relies on music, visuals, and performance[3]. Little Big plays on and jokes[19] in its tracks and videos about various national stereotypes[62] about Russians[19]. All video clips are filmed by the co-founder of the group Alina Pyazok[3]. Due to the fact that the group has its own production company (Little Big belongs to the creative association “KlikKlak”[12][63]) and experience in filming videos, they produce all their music videos themselves[19]. The group's video clips are distinguished by their grotesqueness[64] and their focus on viral spread[22][65].

Due to the fact that the group's first concert took place as an opening act for Die Antwoord[12], the band was immediately dubbed the “Russian Die Antwoord”[3][62] and is often compared to this group[66]. Vice magazine's music division

also called Little Big “the answer to Die Antwoord from the Russian psychiatric hospital”[25]. Other critics note that Little Big is a group with its own identity: the group presents to the listener its own view of Russian folk songs and Russian culture[64].

“We have always been rock musicians and remain so. What we are playing now is a new formation of rock music. All our songs have the structure of a rock composition, not an electronic track. But at the same time, we loved rave since childhood, and combined these two genres,”[67] explained the origin of the group, vocalist Ilya Prusikin in an interview with the Berlin Visual portal[67].

“We just want to show people that they are in control of their lives. Countries and governments are not as important as they think: a person can do whatever he wants,” said frontman Ilya Prusikin about the group’s goal in an interview with the foreign Internet portal Noisey[62].

The team has its own informal[68]label - Little Big Family, which includes the Russian folk-punk-hardcore group The Hatters[49][69], the Russian trap artist Tatarka[49][70][71], the Russian group “Bread”[68], rapper Lizer[68], rapper Jarakhov, Israeli rave group Orgonite[72][73]. The producers of Little Big Family are Alina Pyazok, Denis Glazin and Ilya Prusikin[74].