Kedr Livanskiy Releases Experimental Pop Album 'Myrtus Myth'

Musician/producer, Kedr Livanskiy (Yana Kedrina) has released her fourth studio album via 2MR. On Myrtus Myth, she draws on mythologies both public and personal to craft an expansive experimental pop album and Dante-esque journey through the self.

There’s always been an element of esotericism to Kedr’s music, from the slow-burning choral synths that anchored her debut EP January Sun to the delicate strings and churchlike harmonies of 2021’s Liminal Soul. Even her clubbier releases, 2019’s Your Need and 2023’s K-Notes, depict mysterious forests, enveloping clouds, and foreboding winters. Of all her discography, though, Myrtus Myth seems to gesture most directly towards Ariadna, her far-reaching but understated first album, wherein she fused William Blake poetry with skittering lo-fi techno and minimalist ambient soundscapes. The same reverberating synths, echoing vocals and innovative song structure that punctuated Ariadna fuel Myrtus Myth, but this time the scope has broadened. This is due in part to the work of producer and visual artist Flaty, known for his experimental, futuristic releases. Though he and Kedr have worked together frequently (both as co-producers on Your Need and in their band, Kosaya Gora), Myrtus Myth represents a deeper collaboration, with Flaty producing and writing the entire record for the first time. Together, the two artists transcend dance structure completely, incorporating live instruments and new vocal techniques to bridge influences from vaporwave to Kate Bush to Phil Collins. 

Though stylistically diverse, Myrtus Myth comes together through the narrative structure of Livanskiy’s storytelling. Written in her native Russian, her lyricism is at its most immersive on this album, a hero’s journey recounted over 11 tracks. It can be hard to orient oneself within Myrtus Myth, where sounds flicker from distant rooms and history seems to collapse into itself. But it’s precisely this feeling of disorientation that allows Livanskiy to realize her project.

Despite its narrative conclusion, it would be a mistake to read Myrtus Myth as a tragedy. It’s an album that gestures outward: by weaving together far-reaching and fantastical elements, Kedr seeks to tell a story that’s familiar for its stark humanity. The imagined hero’s city has been lost, but it’s just a myth after all. It’s us who are real, and we have time. 

Photo credit: Paizuka Komarov