Latvia-based actor and musician Artur Smolyaninov has released an animated music video for his latest song, “Krik” (“The Scream”) — another anti-war statement from the artist during this period of global tension.
The video, styled as claymation, was directed by a visual artist who, by agreement, remains anonymous. Using artificial intelligence, the artist created a unique visual aesthetic. The result is a distinct “clay style” familiar to many from the post-Soviet space through iconic animations like “Plasticine Crow” or “Last Year’s Snow Was Falling.” The visual reference points to Smolyaninov’s past — and our collective past — harsh, piercing, and screaming in the best sense of the word.
“Krik burst out of me in the spring of 2022, in the city of St. Petersburg that I loved — gently and sorrowfully. At that point, the war in Ukraine had already been going on for two months. It was my attempt to out-absurd the absurd, to find the strength to laugh — darkly — at all of this… so as not to lose my mind. An internal explosion in a world of external indifference,” says Artur Smolyaninov, the actor and singer-songwriter behind the track.
The “Scream” clip is not the first during this period. To mark the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he released “Elsinor”, a haunting visual homage to Alisa Selezneva — the “guest from the future” whose world may never arrive. Set inside the ruins of the former “Provodnik” factory, turned into an eerie hospital, the video depicts deranged surgeons dissecting the human soul in search of a “New Human,” only to become butcher-monsters themselves.
By the third anniversary, he released the emotionally charged clip “Nikomu (Stop the War)”, featuring his friend Evald Lazarevich — composer and pianist — performing on a piano adrift in the sea.
Artur Smolyaninov has now been living in Latvia for over three years. New creative projects continue to emerge here: he acts in films, records music with his band, tours across the U.S. and Europe, and brings people together through cheLovek — a community of like-minded individuals offering support, solidarity, and shared purpose in dark times.
The premiere of “Krik” is now available on the cheLovek YouTube channel (since July 23)
Producer: Ekaterina Lanskaya (KATUFILM) – director and producer of numerous music videos, TV projects, and international music festivals.
