Secondary research into brutalism and Russian architecture (conceptual)

Brutalism

I decided to look into the visuals of brutalist architecture and how it could fit in with the sounds of Russian post punk. The silhouettes and shapes of the buildings are very angular and harsh, with juxtaposing curves and blocks; this related to the tones of post punk through the harsh punching drums and minimal droning vocals. The sense of these brutalist building towering over somebody also provides the sense of loneliness and isolation - themes expressed within punk culture; the visuals of the buildings are very threatening and slightly overwhelming, thus belittling the perspective of the audience/ viewer. Arguably this links to the angst of post punk, and the drowning instrumentals over the vocals (overwhelming them too). 

Soviet Architecture

To further strengthen the concepts and visual inspiration in my research, I decided to focus more on Soviet architecture in particular. This is a key factor in the ideas I want to convey, as post punk bands in Russia were very much the youth impacted by both the collapse and eventual downfall of the Soviet Union; these areas suffered greatly by the financial damages, and I feel like these buildings encapsulate this downfall. There is something really gloomy about Soviet tower blocks, which accompany the atmosphere of post punk; their grey and stained concrete blocks look very dull and lifeless, as well as the Eastern landscape. In a sense, they are a shell of what once was Soviet Russia, yet the people have been left in them (the youth i.e post punk bands like Molchat Doma). Oddly enough, these visuals link really well to the meaning of Molchat Doma (houses are empty). To start the design process, I think I might gather some primary imagery of tower blocks and concrete buildings to begin to gather melancholy aesthetics for the album cover.