Little Big onstage in 2016. From left to right: Sergey "Gokk" Makarov, Sonya Tayurskaya, Anton Lissov, Olympia Ivleva, Ilya "Ilich" Prusikin
The band was formed by musician Ilya Prusikin and videomaker Alina Pasok and made their debut on 1 April 2013, releasing their first video "Every Day I'm Drinking".[6] They made their first public appearance on 2 July 2013 at the club A2,[7] opening for Die Antwoord.[8][9][7] They have toured in Europe, Russia, and North America.[10][9][11][12] "This music is really in demand. We have not invested a single penny, just shot video, and became known in Europe", Ilya Prusikin said in an interview with UTV.[13][14] On 19 December 2015, the band released their second album, Funeral Rave. It was 8th on the Russian iTunes chart for the 52nd week of 2015. On 21 May 2016, videos for the songs "Give Me Your Money" and "Big Dick" received a prize at the Berlin Music Video Awards 2016.[10][15] "Big Dick" won Most Trashy,[16] and "Give Me Your Money" won third place for Best Performer.[17] "Big Dick", with over 70 million views,[18] is full of sexual imagery and overtones.[19] "We just want to show people that they own their lives. Countries and governments are not as important as they think, a person can deal with what he wants", said frontman Ilya Prusikin on the purpose of the band in an interview with Noisey.[12] The band has its own label "Little Big Family", which includes Little Big (2016–present), The Hatters (2016–present), Tatarka (2016–present), Khleb [ru] (2017–present), and Lizer [ru] (2018–present).[20]
Little Big performing at VK Fest in 2019
In April 2018, Olympia Ivleva decided to leave the band.[21] Later that year, she stated her "burnout after five years of doing the same job", combined with intention to start her own non-musical businesses (chocolate paste and lingerie), were the reasons behind her exit.[22] Little Big achieved viral success with the release of the video for "Skibidi" on 5 October 2018. The video features a dance that became popular when others tried to imitate it as part of the "Skibidi Challenge".[23] Little Big took the first prize in the Most Trashy category at the 2018 Berlin Music Video Awards for their music video ''Lolly Bomb'',[24] and their music video ''Skibidi'' won the first place in the Best Concept category in the festival's 2019 edition.[25]
On 1 March 2021, Little Big announced on Instagram that founding member Anna Kast had died.[32] On 8 March 2021, Little Big released a new single, "Sex Machine," along with a video which referenced the video to "Uno" the year prior. However, they subsequently posted on Instagram, "We are not going to Eurovision 2021. We think that Russia has many talented and unique artists, each one of them deserves the chance to be seen out there."[33] Little Big was nominated for Best Art Director with their music video ''S*ck My D*ck 2020'' at the Berlin Music Video Awards 2021.[34] On 24 November 2021, Little Big released the video "“LITTLE BIG NFT SURPRISEN EGG” episode 1" (sic)[35] to announce that the band was making NFTs.[36] On 1 December 2021, people could buy 1 of 1000 unique surprise eggs which would hatch a week later, revealing one of the designs. Ilya Prusikin stated that they were inspired by Kinder Surprise Eggs, which are popular in Russia.[36] On 11 February 2022, the single 'Ebobo' by Glukoza was 'Inspired and Evilized by Little Big'. Members of the group can be seen in the music video and on the cover art for the single.[37][38]
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the two leaders of the band, Prusikin and Tayurskaya, relocated to Los Angeles, California on 2 March of that same year.[4][39][40] They stated that they were on a government blacklist, and aren't allowed to perform any shows in Russia. When asked about a possible return to Russia, they stated that it will be possible "when Putin leaves".[5] On 24 June, the band released the single "Generation Cancellation", which carries a pacifist, anti-war message, characterizing it as a war of war profiteering old men, a chess game with soldiers as chess pieces to be sacrificed at will, with gloomy consequences on younger generations.[41] After the release of the song, they condemned the actions of the Russian government and Russian war propaganda.[42] However, the song was regarded by some Ukrainians as rather anti-American and anti-West rather than anti-Russian.[43] A protest by Ukrainian activists caused their show in Kraków, that was supposed to take place 12th of November, to be cancelled.[44] In Russia, they were accused of being "traitors" by the government-controlled media.[45] Prusikin was designated in Russia as a "foreign agent".[46] The band planned to release a fifth studio album in 2022,[47] but did not end up doing so. Prusikin noted that "We are a band that likes to work in so many styles: pop, rave, punk and hardcore. And (now) we embody our ambition and love for different genres in the (new) album. It will be different".[47]
Musical style
Less than a half of Little Big's 738 million yearly YouTube views were from Russia, as of March 13, 2020.[48]
The team calls itself a satirical art collaboration,[8] which relies on the music, visuals, and the show.[8] Little Big mocks various national stereotypes[12] about Russia.[9] All the videos are filmed by co-founder Alina Pasok.[8][49] The band shoots and produces all of their music videos.[9]
Since the first concert took place as the opening act for Die Antwoord, the band was dubbed "The Russian Die Antwoord",[8][12] and is often compared with this band.[50]Vice also called Little Big "a Russian mental patient's answer to Die Antwoord".[12] Other critics point out that while Little Big has an identity of its own, it also exposes the listener to Russian folk songs and Russian culture.[51]
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