About

What began as impromptu performances on the Muzeon embankment has led to more than 300 concerts at a wide variety of venues — from conservatory halls to planetariums.

It all began in 2015, when Sergey Rakitin and Maxim Kotnov, who had previously crossed paths in various bands on the Moscow music scene, joined forces and, without a single rehearsal, began improvising on the embankment of the Moskva River. These were long sessions with a looper, a violin, and a small drum kit. The most beautiful moments happened late at night, when no one was around, and they could play for the space itself — the river, the passing steamboats, the rare passersby, on whom it made a deep impression.

That’s how other performances came about — from friendly house parties to electronic stages at Moscow clubs. All the while, the search for sound and form continued: the setup changed, expanded, and gradually the concerts began to resemble the equipment setup of an entire studio.

In 2022, Ivan Slezkin joined Nomusicians, and a year later, Maxim Shchedrin — kindred spirits and musicians with their own voices and ideas. With their arrival, the band’s sound gained a chamber-like depth while retaining its freedom of improvisation and experimental nature. This gave rise to new programs at the intersection of electronic and contemporary classical music.

Over the years, Nomusicians have performed in Russia, Portugal, Qatar, Indonesia, Georgia, and Armenia. Their work includes large-scale collaborations, audiovisual concerts, educational projects, immersive formats for deep immersion in music, and multi-hour sets at festivals, from Arkhstoyanie to Burning Man events. They have been featured on Radio “Kultura” and “Serebryany Dozhd,” and have composed music for productions at the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater, the Mayakovsky Theater, “Satirikon,” and “Sovremennik.”

Some programs are created with an expanded lineup, together with like-minded musicians — we’ve named this creative collective the Nomusicians Family.