In 1998, Pasha Kalachev transitioned from Moscow, Russia to New York. Forced by this new culture to learn English at an accelerated rate, he developed a keen affinity for English literature but still immersed himself in Russian poetry. It appealed to Pasha’s growing obsession with lyricism, which transformed to a substantial appreciation for hip-hop music. Poetry on a beat became his escape.
Russian rap music flowed through Pasha’s headphones as he attended art school, earning a degree in Menswear Design. His passion for writing poems never ceased. After working for a corporate company that left creatively stifled, he began to search for his true artist. Adopting the NYC hustle, he became an actor but still felt he wasn’t contributed to the world in any impactful way.
Feeling a loss of identity, he left home, traveled through Europe and began writing short-form nonfiction and poetry guided him back to the root of his creativity. After arriving back in NYC, and starting work on a novel, Pasha became an active member of the underground poetry scene. Still enthusiastic about hip-hop, he decided to write a 3-track EP in English.
Just like that, the fire ignited. In a union of lyrical poetry and rap, Glass Hamlet was conceived. A casual hobby became Pasha’s life. From that point on, all he wanted to do was write the music which ultimately became his first album. A year later, in the production stage of his first album; he finally had a project he was thoroughly proud of, with which he could push the boundaries of the rap genre to a more intellectual direction.
“This journey has been chaotic and the track is wet. Yet, we continue.”
-Pasha Kalachev aka Glass Hamlet
Glass Hamlet calls on his listeners to join in expanding the boundaries of the rap genre. His creative roots are embedded in the New York underground poetry scene and heavy influence from Russian rap music.
The artist's newest video project “Not Your Space” was released July 16th. It is based around the track “Not Your Space” from the 2017 EP, #NOTYOURART. The video was created over a period of 9 months through collaboration with 27 animators from 13 countries on 6 continents with over 3,500 individual frames of animation. The animators were selected by Glass Hamlet publicist Renee Moody. (Moody acted as Producer and Art Director & Production Designer). They were found primarily by looking through samples of their work on Vimeo or Instagram. Moody feels that art is about passion, not perfection. Her goal was to incorporate a variety of unique art styles but also allow for differing levels of skills and experience. For that reason, many of the team members are still in school and at least one is a completely self-taught beginner. She is very proud of all of them. In addition to writing the song, Glass Hamlet also handled a lot of the non-animation work, including the shooting and most of the editing.
Animators:
Brennan Downhill
Roxana De la Rosa
Meryem Yavuz
Simone Schlosz
Steve Sues
Zac Morris
Celia Kaye
Michael Johnson
Marco Diaz De Leon
Adam Krug
McKinley Allen
Jordin Poeschl
Mikaela Butcher
Kimberley Boudville
Jessica Laudicina
Gaia Marcaccini
Meritxell Safont Cervera
Gheanielle Kyle Gordula
Antonis Smirniotis
Dana Abachi
Natalia Barragán Nieto
Shannon Overton
Mireya Giménez
Weronika Trzcińska
Alice Louise Rollinson
Kaylene Blackburn
Fiona Schneider
Austin Fig-Instrumental Production: https://www.austinfig.com/
Ilya Sonet-Sound Engineer: https://www.instagram.com/ilyasonet/
There are no touring plans for Glass Hamlet in 2018, but follow along to see what's next.
Website: http://www.glasshamlet.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glasshamlet/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glass_hamlet/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/glass_hamlet
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/glasshamlet
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/glasshamlet
Story by Glodeane Brown with information provided by Renee Moody
Photos and video provided by Renee Moody
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