Interview: Gleb Kolyadin

Photo credit: Avgusta Levina

Interview: 25th February 2025

Ahead of the release of his new solo album Mobula, Hotel Hobbies spent some time in the company of Russian pianist Gleb Kolyadin. An amazingly gifted musician and delightful person, he preceded the interview apologising for his English and then proceeded to speak amazing English for the next hour. It was an extremely enjoyable and informative discussion.

Hotel Hobbies: Could you say where your love of music, and particularly the piano came from and how your musical journey began?

Gleb Kolyadin: I started studying piano at six, which strange as it sounds, was my own decision. I asked my parents to buy me an upright piano because I was always very fascinated with how it sounds. My parents were doctors so I didn’t have anyone from my family who was musical. So I was maybe the first person in my family who decided to make music and being a pianist my life. I was very lucky with my teachers in music college and the conservatoire. They helped me a lot; not just in a musical way but some became my friends. I sometimes hear stories from friends who say how difficult it was to choose the right direction and find something they love to do with their life. I was very, very lucky because I found what I love when I was six years old and I still do the same thing.

Hotel Hobbies: How old were you when you realised you this was something you could do with your life and when did you begin to think you were actually very good at it!?

Gleb Kolyadin: I remember always loving playing the piano. The whole education process was quite smooth. I was a bit sceptical about my music future when I was a teenager. When I graduated the music school at fifteen and before I went to musical college, I was a bit worried if it was the right decision to go even like deeper? But then, I just completely lost myself in the music. When I was sixteen years old, I realised that this was the only thing I wanted to do in my life: play piano, learn and compose music. In terms of composing, I became much more confident to present my own music. When I was twenty-three or twenty-four 24 years old, I usually spent a lot of time just learning something like a classical piano piece. I was thinking about myself being a classical pianist despite the fact I always loved different genres and different music. Composing was like a hobby. Since I was twenty-four maybe twenty-five years old, I realised I can make music that sounds okay! When you start to release something and get feedback, it makes you feel much more confident. Then you think wow, maybe this is the right direction.

Hotel Hobbies: Composing is now a huge part of your life and you have ‘poloniumcubes.’ Can you explain to those that may not know what this is and how important it is to you?

Gleb Kolyadin: It’s literally a kind of music diary. I try to write at least two or three times a week, even without any particular reason. I love to fix new ideas and record something. In previous years, I had a lot of work with the drama theatres and sometimes I needed to send to the director some drafts. Sometimes, they don’t use them, and now over the last eight to ten years I have more than five hundred different tracks accumulated. So if I don’t have any ideas at any moment, I can look at previous drafts and maybe choose something to develop. Then sometimes, they develop into something more prominent. It is like a diary because it can describe my current mood. It's very cool to have all this music because you can choose something to work on that might never have become something important.

Hotel Hobbies: You are about to release (28th February) your new album Mobula (read my review here). How do you feel when you are on the eve of a new release?

Gleb Kolyadin: I am looking forward to the music being shared but also looking forward to forgetting about it! Every time when you're in the middle of the recording process or you are in post-production, you are very inspired diving into a project. You can imagine what it will be like when, in a few months, the album will be released. Sharing music is great but at the same, I finished this recording process a few months ago; some of the music on this album is very old and feels a bit like something from my previous life. Now, I am looking forward to my concert in London on Friday. My previous album and the albums with iamthemorning were mostly made remotely. I was in St.Petersburg and Marjana was here because she moved here five years ago. On my previous albums, the other musicians all lived in different countries. But this time, it was the first experience when the whole process was in this country. I recorded grand piano in London and then I invited some of my friends from the Midlands and from Scotland. So ninety-nine percent of the music was made in the UK. There are extra layers like beautiful percussion, bansuri and whistles.

Hotel Hobbies: To talk about some of the tracks on Mobula, you have already released Glimmer as a single. It has an amazing accompanying video by Natalia Ryss. Could you talk a little about the track and the video?

Gleb Kolyadin: Yes! It's it is completely like a handmade video and it took a lot of time. Of course nowadays, it would be easier to construct an AI video but I was always fascinated by animated films. When I made Water Movements, I tried to find someone to make some animated films but I didn’t have much budget then and maybe I didn’t find the right person. Last year, I accidentally found a beautiful video Natalia made for Max Cooper. He is an electronic musician. So I asked Natalia if we could collaborate together. The aim was one minute per month because it was a very long process. Even working intensively you can only do maybe fifteen frames per day. The video is like an abstract film and I really love the idea because sometimes people have the need to categorise everything to be sure exactly what it is. I love the final result with this video because it isn’t specific. It is ideas blended together and shares different moods with the listener.

Hotel Hobbies: The album is definitely full of different moods. Each track seems to have a perfect title. Did the music always come first or did sometimes a word give you a musical idea?

Gleb Kolyadin: With this, all the music was first. About a year ago, I had rediscovered an old draft and I started to turn it into the track that is now Glimmer. Then, I found another thirteen of these and started to blend them together and because all the tracks were from sound library, poloniumcubes, they had dates instead of names. So one for example was 1st of June 2016 or something like that. When turned them into tracks, I then needed names. It is always the most complicated thing for me. And to be honest, I'm very grateful to Marjana because she helped me a lot. She is pro in terms of the language and speaks absolutely fluently. We had a kind of brainstorm. What I originally planned was a combination of short stories with a dreamy vibe. So one evening, we said we should find some beautiful words. We used a dictionary a lot and I think the fourteen names we found describe the music well but not so perfectly it is specific.

Hotel Hobbies: Definitely. Not being overly descriptive makes it better for the listener in terms of using their imagination.

Gleb Kolyadin: Yes! It’s instrumental music and it’s always kind of abstract. Some lyrics can be very poetic and abstract but some are specific or have a specific plot. With instrumental music, it leaves some questions inside the music. Listeners can find their own things and it can feel more personal for them.

Hotel Hobbies: When I reviewed the album, I mentioned the feeling of movement and a journey. Certain tracks really convey that. How long did you spend ordering the tracks?

Gleb Kolyadin: Some tracks were made in 2011 and some after 2020. They are from different times and different parts of my life and I just intuitively found the way to combine them. For me personally, it’s a bit like a beautiful dream. I cannot say the whole album is conceptual though. This time, the music is simpler with few movements. The first part of the album is brighter, more intense. Colourful and happy. In the middle, there is something going on during the night. The tracks are calmer but darker. And at the end, we’re floating into space like we are looking at the planet from a distance.

Hotel Hobbies: It definitely has the different feel you describe. I have listened to the album a lot of times and I pick up something new each time.

Gleb Kolyadin: Thank you very much. I am very glad you have enjoyed the music because to be honest, when I started the recording process a year ago, I was a bit sceptical. I love this music but wondered if it was a little outdated, especially after previous albums which were much more progress. When Evan Carson, a percussionist friend of mine, started adding his parts, it was like a green light for me.

Hotel Hobbies: The additional musicians like Evan Carson and Ford Collier (amongst others) contribute some incredible performances.

Gleb Kolyadin: I wanted to find ways to make the music not so electronic and add layers because there are lots of samples and electronic parts. I was thinking maybe there were too many. So I wanted to make the right balance between electronic parts and acoustic parts. This is why, for example, I chose the grand piano I recorded with because it wasn't the perfect piano. I prefer modern instruments but this one was one hundred years old. I thought, wow, it's actually a very good idea to use an old instrument because its imperfections can make things more natural. I had the same idea with the acoustic percussion and the beautiful wind instruments so thanks to Ford Collier because I don’t know how he did what he did. It’s absolutely mesmerising. With the other musicians, I wanted some folk elements on the album. I am very happy with the final result. There are electronic sounds, neoclassical elements with the old piano and folk elements too. The electric guitars also add some of the prog vibe too.

Hotel Hobbies: You mentioned earlier layers in your music. There are times your music and the layering of instruments remind me of Mike Oldfield. Is he someone you look up to or who influenced you growing up?

Gleb Kolyadin: Yes! (smiling). I am a very big fan. I would love to say the biggest fan. I’m so glad you mentioned him because sometimes people ask me who my favourite pianist is because I am a pianist. With Mike, I love all of his music. I like all the directions he tried. His music in the seventies, eighties and then late eighties is all different. Then later on, he tried more styles. He has made rock music, pop music, prog music and new age stuff too. I just really respect the way he experimented. He had the potential to become a prog god like Pink Floyd but he was very introverted and he decided to do whatever he loved at that moment. My older brother gave me one of his tapes for my eleventh or twelfth birthday. I became a huge fan of Mike’s music and his legacy. Maybe, it's even there subconsciously every time I make music, especially when there's a specific guitar part in my mind.

Hotel Hobbies: He is such a talented musician. Two of my favourite albums of his are Ommadawn and The Songs of Distant Earth. So different but brilliant in their own right.

Gleb Kolyadin: Oh yes. Absolutely. Ommadawn is one of the best albums ever.

Hotel Hobbies: Changing the subject a little, the artwork for the album is based around the colour purple. How much direction do you give Maria Yurieva?

Gleb Kolyadin: It is interesting because I thought I would love purple on the cover art. I cannot explain why. The only thing I said to Maria is that it would be great to use a purple colour and that I thought of the cover as like a science fiction book. I said maybe she could use a star of a Mobula because I love how these creatures move under the water. There are a lot of YouTube videos with them and they are mesmerising, intelligent and beautiful. It is a kind of freedom. I asked her to use the colour and maybe some symbols. I love the final result. It’s not dark or super depressive but it is minimalistic. For me, it literally looks like a book cover.

Hotel Hobbies: We have talked about Mike Oldfield but – if it’s not too hard a question – what would you pick as your favourite three instrumental albums?

Gleb Kolyadin: (laughing) Just three albums? It would depend on my mood. With Mike Oldfield, it would be Ommadawn, The Songs of Distant Earth or maybe Amarok because of the amount of ideas. Amarok is mind blowing. There are enough ideas and melodies for another five albums! I think he was at the top of his abilities. So I would say Amarok. I also love Pat Metheny but it would be hard to pick one. I am a big fan of Brian Eno and what appears in my mind at this moment is Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks. Another would be a beautiful album from The Future Sound of London called Dead Cities. It is very dark and gloomy. It sounds like a journey into a strange and scary world. When I listen to this album, it is like a meditative journey. So yeah, those would be my three.

Hotel Hobbies: This week you are playing an album launch show. You must be looking forward to that and are you planning to play any other shows this year?

Gleb Kolyadin: I would love to organise more shows and I was thinking recently about a few venues. It would probably be closer to Autumn. I hope to do something in London and then a few different places. For the concert this Friday, it is strange because although it is called an album launch gig, which is technically right, there are a lot of sounds and instruments on the album that are almost impossible to present live in the same way. The first half of the show, I think, will be completely piano improvisation. It’s a very small venue so it will be like chamber music.

Hotel Hobbies: You have mentioned other projects. Are they more solo things and are you planning more with iamthemorning too?

Gleb Kolyadin: One of the projects is the second part of the Mobula album. It sounds a bit similar but it’s a little more complicated. The drafts are already made so I was thinking about starting recording soon. Maybe also a solo piano project. It could be great to record a proper piano album. I would also like to organise some of my music that was made for drama theatres. With iamthemorning, we are working on our live film from the concert we played in November. It will be a beautiful Blu-Ray. It will have this and the audio. It will have the iamthemorning set, Marjana’s set and my solo set.

Hotel Hobbies: You will be very busy indeed then!

Gleb Kolyadin: Yes. I wish I had much more time and the resources to do everything! But you can’t make everything at once!

Hotel Hobbies: I have come to the end of my questions so thank you so much for your time! Your English is amazing so please do not apologise for it. Good luck with the album and – I hope this is right - Do svidaniya.

Gleb Kolyadin: Yeah, that's perfect. Absolutely.

Hotel Hobbies: That’s almost all my Russian finished! Thank you. I have really enjoyed talking to you.

Gleb Kolyadin: Thank you. Thank you so much for your support and for the review. I am just very, very, very grateful.