Molchat Doma Brings Its Dark-Synth Sound to Revolution Live

It would be easy for an ignorant American writer to assume the almost mystical, synth-heavy sound of Molchat Doma could be explained by the band's emergence from Minsk, Belarus. Perhaps the former Soviet state cranks out all kinds of industrial, danceable tracks with deep-voiced lyrics sung in the Russian language.

However, when New Times reaches out to the band over email, the trio quickly clears up any misconception.

"We never belonged to the Minsk music scene because no one played the music that we played," the band tells New Times. "Maybe there were such people, but we didn't come across them. Basically, it was garage rock and indie rock bands. There were interesting projects such as Super Besse and Weed & Dolphins, but we were never interested in the local scene because there was nothing interesting for us there."

Formed in 2017 in college friends Egor Shkutko (vocals), Pavel Kozlov (bass/synth), and Raman Kamahortsau (songwriter and producer), Molchat Doma slowly found an audience drawn to its postpunk sound reminiscent of Depeche Mode and Joy Division. Unlike those British bands, though, Molchat Doma lacks English-sung lyrics that American audiences can sing along to.

Still, the band's output was compelling enough to American listeners that the band recently relocated to Los Angeles.

"LA is the center of the music industry. There are many interesting musicians and performers here; moving here was logical from the point of view of the group's development," the band explains. "The main difference from Minsk is that here they underestimate music and its performers. In our hometown, there is generally no such thing as a music industry, and most likely, when you say in Minsk that you are engaged in music, they will simply laugh at you."
The band's latest album, 2024's Belaya Polosa, continues Molchat Doma's tradition of featuring brutalist architecture on the cover and dark, moody beats throughout. The band cites obvious influences like the aforementioned Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, the Cure, and Gay Numan, along with some more surprising touchstones.

"Trip hop also takes place like Massive Attack, Portishead, and Morcheeba. Also, such legends of electronic music as Kraftwerk, Brian Eno, and Jean-Michele Jarr deserve to be mentioned," the band adds.

Although they've been together for eight years and have now released four full-length albums, Molchat Doma doesn't have a cut-and-dry method for how they create a song.

"A lot of the songs on this album grew out of studio jams. Sometimes, we would just hang out and discuss what we wanted our next song to be, and we would come up with some ideas, write them down in a notebook on our phone, and then go back to the studio and flesh them out together. Sometimes a preset or patch on a synth would inspire a whole song, sometimes a random combination of words could be turned into a song."

South Florida audiences will have an opportunity to take in Molchat Doma's live performance when the band stops at Revolution Live on Thursday, January 30. It'll be the band's second-ever show in the area following a 2023 debut at a packed Culture Room. The trio promises a setlist that takes from all four of the band's albums. If the stars align, you might even hear some new music.

"We have a couple of sketches for new material that we want to turn into songs," the band says. "It will be something new for us, as usual, but it should be interesting."

Molchat Doma. With Sextile. 7 p.m. Thursday, January 30, at Revolution Live, 100 SW Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale; jointherevolution.net. Tickets cost $34.50 via ticketmaster.com.