Letters from Vladivostok (ft. Miyamai Moca)

Описание: With this track, I think it's apt for me to skip the Leon Kennedy one-liner and talk more respectfully.

I did not have a strong emotional connection to this track.

This track was originally the product of me wanting just wanting to make an electronic track for once, and I ended up almost scrapping it 4 times. Each of the four times, I have someone to thank. Thank you, Bedrock/isidore. for making me believe enough in the song to finish the instrumental. Thank you, Dr. K, for giving me your wealth of knowledge within the Soviet and White-emigre culture, as a former Soviet turned emigre yourself. Thank you, PossibleHistory, for helping ground the backdrop into something comprehensible. Thank you, Ivan, for believing in this track far more than I did, and for sharing your grandfather's call with the late Alexander Kerensky that founded the basis of the final scene.

There's also an immense amount of thanks I have to give, starting with guilbas and Du Du Danyon as my MV team. There's so much more I could say, but you've already heard what I have said. I hope that those who read this will give you the same praise, and do it far louder than I can.

But, now to get into regards about the first comment... I didn't feel strongly about this song itself at all when I made it. I still think I feel stronger about the narrative attached behind it, and it's one I tried to do justice because it is one I connect to so much. I believe wholeheartedly in integrity, and so throughout the MV you will find many minor historical details that I had to make sure were there for my sanity. There was to be more, but as on theme with the song, we only get snapshots because time doesn't wait for us to dissect a frame when we're living one. Often times, hell, a "character" shows up with no context and disappears next. How are we supposed to know Eleanor was executed by firing squad? How are we supposed to know the intentions of Teto? How are we supposed to know why Gakupo is riding a horse towards Crimea with the remainders of the Volunteer Army, and what the hell even is the Volunteer Army? What even are the Whites, Reds, Makhnovists, etc... like, how did Neru take over Russia after Miku died in 1922 and then later powerplayed out Teto?

They're questions we all know now because of the efforts of the work of those photographers giving up their right to live in that moment so that we can get a glimpse into it.

Every character that appears in the MV is based off of a real person. Some are more obvious, like The Admiral (Alexander Kolchak) or The Commissar (Leon Trotsky), but there are many less obvious like The Aviator (Milan Stefanik), or The Baron (Pyotr Wrangel) who appears for a split second in Chorus 3. I do not expect people to think too hard about these details, but they exist in the video absolutely and they are there for integrity. The amounts of people and events we pass by on a daily basis, some mundane and some quite strange events, we are left with only that snapshot to muse over.

If you want a more comprehensive overview, please turn on captions. They do not have any lyrics, as Danny did a fantastic job incorporating the lyrics into the video themselves, but I personally added a sort of "protag perspective" to some parts and a final casting list in the credits roll before the epilogue. Also, please feel free to pause and read the written text for more context. They might help a lot if that interests you, but as on brand, it is not necessary to enjoy the music as is.

The final inspiration that ended up forming the narrative backbone and framing of this music video ended up being me reflecting on my high school UIL academics days, analyzing primary sources and wondering the story behind each picture. The random people behind the infamous faces we recognize, or in this case especially, the person behind the camera.

I have so many talented friends, in and out of music and academia, that I often feel like I'm in the witness of something to later be greater than myself. Though it's quite a privilege, it also quite often gets me down. Yet I'm too emotionally gated of a person to express myself in my work the way that others that I admire do. It doesn't feel genuine when I do it, so I've stopped trying to do it like how others do.

In this song, there are many of my traditional arrangement and compositional quirks notably missing where you would expect them in the instrumental. I placed them all into the vocal arrangement instead, as I felt that would fit this type of song more and its messaging with the world not changing for you, but you developing your relationship with it. What is "it"? It can be anything.

Music - Me
Piano Writing - ‪@MiliSenx_x‬
VO - ‪@LucielEllis‬ ‪@GINOZA‬
Bass Solo - Dr. K.
Vox Edit - ‪@ePiaeon‬
Narrative Inspiration - ‪@possiblehistory‬
Animation/Illust. - ‪@guilbasyt‬
MV Edit - ‪@DuDuDanyon‬

#vocagathering2026 #vocanew

Thanks for tuning in, chaps.