#stochastic drift

[grrlmusic]

Barker - Stochastic Drift

[knightofleo]

Barker | Positive Disintegration

[iamlisteningto]

Barker’s Stochastic Drift

[dustedmagazine]

Barker — Stochastic Drift (Smalltown Supersound)

Photo by Easton West

For a while, “stochastic terrorism” became a catchphrase used to explain the influence of an illiterate cumquat on his more sinister (or, pedantically, dexterous) followers. In the original Greek, “stochastic” refers to random determined patterns, which can be mathematically analyzed but not precisely predicted. Sam Barker is not the first musician to use chance, serendipity or fortuitous mistake as guiding principles and while, to be honest, there isn’t much on his new album that sounds accidental, there is an organic elegance in the way he ups anchor and lets his music flow. Within his template of minimal techno, Barker adds billowing ambient passages and intricate drum programming that unfold with the depth of dub and the logic of jazz. Listening with headphones, you note the intentionality of the sound design. With crisp separation, Barker clearly defines and layers each element. The drum tracks and synth pads orbit like planets in a common galaxy exerting tidal influences on one another. The balance is such that even the slightest deviation from the pattern ripples satisfyingly within and between the pieces and prepares the ear for thrills of the title track that closes the set.

It is only on “Difference and Repetition” that Barker opens the machine to show the clogs and dials at work. A miniature of fractal construction in which tempi play off one another, ratcheting up tension only to flick into new configurations. In the background, snatches of melody swell against the beats and retreat from the verge of coherence. The effect is of an aural kaleidoscope in which each fragmentation is end not means. On “The Remembering Self”, Barker explores entropy in long dissipating phrases that float by with the barest hints of propulsion buried in the mix. The tones are rich and fold gently in transition, gradually accreting substance. “Positive Disintegration” follows a similar path with the rhythms foregrounded gathering enough heat to spark into a brief frenzy of buzzing hyperactivity. As Stochastic Drift progresses, Barker introduces an ordered compositional aspect to his work. On “Fluid Mechanics” an electric piano vamp develops over a cymbal driven beat. An inkling of jazz fusion, a tinge of the blues in the uncomplicated tempo and insistent riff. Then the denouement,  a whirlwind of full kit jazz solo over programmed polyrhythms, elastic bass tones and swooning ambient pads like Max Roach and Squarepusher jamming in the Black Ark. Here Barker brings together everything that preceded to a logical conclusion of pure propulsion. Stirring stuff.

Andrew Forell

[diz-cover]

Barker Stochastic Drift 2025

[closelyrelatedkeys]

Listen/purchase: Reframing by Barker

[pesura]

album stream: Barker - Stochastic Drift (Smalltown Supersound, 2025)

[mammalianmammals]

The importance of small-island populations for the long-term survival of endangered large-bodied insular mammals

Sabhrina Gita Aninta, Rosie Drinkwater, Alberto Carmagnini, and Laurent Frantz

Abstract

Island populations of large vertebrates have experienced higher extinction rates than mainland populations over long timescales due to demographic stochasticity, genetic drift, and inbreeding. While being more susceptible to extinction and as such potentially targeted for conservation interventions such as genetic rescue, small-island populations can experience relatively less anthropogenic habitat degradation than those on larger islands. Here, we determine the consequences and conservation implications of long-term isolation and recent human activities on genetic diversity of island populations of two forest-dependent mammals endemic to the Wallacea archipelago: the anoa (Bubalus spp.) and babirusa (Babyrousa spp.). Using genomic analyses and habitat suitability models, we show that, compared to closely related species, populations on mainland Sulawesi exhibit low heterozygosity, high inbreeding, a high proportion of deleterious alleles, and experience a high rate of anthropogenic disturbance. In contrast, populations on smaller islands occupy higher-quality habitats, possess fewer deleterious mutations despite exhibiting lower heterozygosity and higher inbreeding. Site frequency spectra indicate that these patterns reflect stronger, long-term purging in smaller-island populations. Our results thus suggest that conservation efforts should focus on protecting small-island high-quality habitats and avoiding translocations from mainland populations. This study highlights the crucial role of small offshore islands for the long-term survival of Wallacea’s iconic and indigenous mammals in the face of development on the mainland.

Read the Paper Here:

https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2422690122

[covid-safer-hotties]

Epigenetic patterns, accelerated biological aging, and enhanced epigenetic drift detected 6 months following COVID-19 infection: insights from a genome-wide DNA methylation study - Published Aug 20, 2024

Abstract Background The epigenetic status of patients 6-month post-COVID-19 infection remains largely unexplored. The existence of long-COVID, or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), suggests potential long-term changes. Long-COVID includes symptoms like fatigue, neurological issues, and organ-related problems, regardless of initial infection severity. The mechanisms behind long-COVID are unclear, but virus-induced epigenetic changes could play a role.

Methods and results Our study explores the lasting epigenetic impacts of SARS-CoV-2 infection. We analyzed genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in an Italian cohort of 96 patients 6 months after COVID-19 exposure, comparing them to 191 healthy controls. We identified 42 CpG sites with significant methylation differences (FDR < 0.05), primarily within CpG islands and gene promoters. Dysregulated genes highlighted potential links to glutamate/glutamine metabolism, which may be relevant to PASC symptoms. Key genes with potential significance to COVID-19 infection and long-term effects include GLUD1, ATP1A3, and ARRB2. Furthermore, Horvath's epigenetic clock showed a slight but significant age acceleration in post-COVID-19 patients. We also observed a substantial increase in stochastic epigenetic mutations (SEMs) in the post-COVID-19 group, implying potential epigenetic drift. SEM analysis identified 790 affected genes, indicating dysregulation in pathways related to insulin resistance, VEGF signaling, apoptosis, hypoxia response, T-cell activation, and endothelin signaling.

Conclusions Our study provides valuable insights into the epigenetic consequences of COVID-19. Results suggest possible associations with accelerated aging, epigenetic drift, and the disruption of critical biological pathways linked to insulin resistance, immune response, and vascular health. Understanding these epigenetic changes could be crucial for elucidating the complex mechanisms behind long-COVID and developing targeted therapeutic interventions.

[yaldabaothadeez]

So, putting some things I've been talking about recently together: this is what I understand is going on with Kelly bets and the whole "ergodicity economics" thing:

You have some system with randomness and a dynamic - what happens next depends on what went before. We'll model this as a discrete stochastic process X_n for n=1 , 2, ... but you could make it continuous instead. For Kelly, this dynamic was compound interest: X_n = X_{n-1} * [random variable]

Actually, you have a choice several such systems, and you want to know which one is the "best" in some sense - assume bigger values mean better - but obviously X_n is a random variable, it looks you have to make some decision about what to measure (e.g. a "utility function" in the sense of von Neuman-Morgernstern)

But wait! If you're really lucky, X_n might converge to some deterministic f(n) (converge in probability? almost surely?) and then you can just choose the option whose f(n) is growing fastest.

This absolves you of having to find a vNM utility function, as the fastest-growing option will always be the best, eventually, so you can stop thinking about probability (Assuming you care about what happens asymptotically, or at least after enough rounds that it's a good approximation)

The easy way to show X_n converges seems to be to find an invertible monotonic function u such that Y_n = u(X_n) is a sum of n i.i.d random variables (i.e. Y_n = Y_{n-1} + A, for the same random variable A each time), and then apply the law of large numbers: as n gets large Y_n -> nE(A) and so X_n -> u^-1(n E(A)) - so, assuming u is increasing, you pick the option with the biggest E(A).

(The continuous versions of this I've seen seem to want to map the variable into Brownian motion with a constant drift and variance)

This feels like overkill to me? We don't need i.i.d variables for the law of large numbers, just suitably bounded growth in the variance, and that's not the only way things can converge.

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 33, 2024

A sparse quantized hopfield network for online-continual memory. Alonso, N., & Krichmar, J. L. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3722.

An edge-simplicity bias in the visual input to young infants. Anderson, E. M., Candy, T. R., Gold, J. M., & Smith, L. B. (2024). Science Advances, 10(19).

Running together influences where you look. Brenner, E., Janssen, M., de Wit, N., Smeets, J. B. J., Mann, D. L., & Ghiani, A. (2024). Perception, 53(5–6), 397–400.

Dopamine D2 Receptor Modulates Exercise Related Effect on Cortical Excitation/Inhibition and Motor Skill Acquisition. Curtin, D., Taylor, E. M., Bellgrove, M. A., Chong, T. T.-J., & Coxon, J. P. (2024). Journal of Neuroscience, 44(19), e2028232024.

Control of working memory by phase–amplitude coupling of human hippocampal neurons. Daume, J., Kamiński, J., Schjetnan, A. G. P., Salimpour, Y., Khan, U., Kyzar, M., … Rutishauser, U. (2024). Nature, 629(8011), 393–401.

Drift of neural ensembles driven by slow fluctuations of intrinsic excitability. Delamare, G., Zaki, Y., Cai, D. J., & Clopath, C. (2024). eLife, 12, e88053.3.

A stochastic world model on gravity for stability inference. Huang, T., & Liu, J. (2024). eLife, 12, e88953.3.

Specific exercise patterns generate an epigenetic molecular memory window that drives long-term memory formation and identifies ACVR1C as a bidirectional regulator of memory in mice. Keiser, A. A., Dong, T. N., Kramár, E. A., Butler, C. W., Chen, S., Matheos, D. P., … Wood, M. A. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3836.

Cholecystokinin facilitates motor skill learning by modulating neuroplasticity in the motor cortex. Li, H., Feng, J., Chen, M., Xin, M., Chen, X., Liu, W., … He, J. (2024). eLife, 13, e83897.

Wagers for work: Decomposing the costs of cognitive effort. Master, S. L., Curtis, C. E., & Dayan, P. (2024). PLOS Computational Biology, 20(4), e1012060.

Recurrent neural networks that learn multi-step visual routines with reinforcement learning. Mollard, S., Wacongne, C., Bohte, S. M., & Roelfsema, P. R. (2024). PLOS Computational Biology, 20(4), e1012030.

Human mutations in high-confidence Tourette disorder genes affect sensorimotor behavior, reward learning, and striatal dopamine in mice. Nasello, C., Poppi, L. A., Wu, J., Kowalski, T. F., Thackray, J. K., Wang, R., … Tischfield, M. A. (2024). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(19), e2307156121.

Representational drift as a result of implicit regularization. Ratzon, A., Derdikman, D., & Barak, O. (2024). eLife, 12, e90069.3.

Abnormal multisensory temporal discrimination in Parkinson’s disease. Rostami, Z., Salari, M., Mahdavi, S., & Etemadifar, M. (2024). Brain Research, 1834, 148901.

Motivated with joy or anxiety: Does approach-avoidance goal framing elicit differential reward-network activation in the brain? Sakaki, M., Murayama, K., Izuma, K., Aoki, R., Yomogita, Y., Sugiura, A., … Matsumoto, K. (2024). Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 24(3), 469–490.

A non-image-forming visual circuit mediates the innate fear of heights in male mice. Shang, W., Xie, S., Feng, W., Li, Z., Jia, J., Cao, X., … Yuan, X.-B. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3746.

A dynamic neural resource model bridges sensory and working memory. Tomić, I., & Bays, P. M. (2024). eLife, 12, e91034.3.

A Neural Decision Signal during Internal Sampling from Working Memory in Humans. van Ede, F., & Nobre, A. C. (2024). Journal of Neuroscience, 44(19), e1475232024.

Increased flexibility of CA3 memory representations following environmental enrichment. Ventura, S., Duncan, S., & Ainge, J. A. (2024). Current Biology, 34(9), 2011-2019.e7.

Multiplexed representation of others in the hippocampal CA1 subfield of female mice. Zhang, X., Cao, Q., Gao, K., Chen, C., Cheng, S., Li, A., … Miao, C. (2024). Nature Communications, 15, 3702.

[grrlmusic]

Barker - Stochastic Drift

[snuronalbumplaylists]

April 10th 2025

Album playlist: Deafheaven - Lonely People with Power Barker - Stochastic Drift Yumiko Morioka and Takashi Kokubo - Gaiaphilia Malcolm Todd - Malcolm Todd Perfume Genius - Glory Skrillex - F*ck U Skrillex You Think Ur Andy Warhol… Gary Clark Jr. - This Land Self Esteem - Prioritise Pleasure Tee Lopes - TMNT Shredder's Revenge OST Luna Sea - Mother (1994)

The Horrors' albums: V Skying Strange House (2007)

[dcviated]

crimmas holiday prompts :: open!!

send a symbol/prompt for seasonal events

@cloudpools sent: ✧ — [Blythe] bumps into [Gurin] under mistletoe ((Do either of them even know what mistletoe means? Idk! Lololol BUT ITD BE CUTE

A foray into the manor of Zeyrfial Sorovan, feared and respected archdemon of the underbureaus... you wouldn't expect it to be so gaudy, would you? Gurin sure didn't. Not many have the opportunity to visit here, let alone trespass, so facts are murky and rumors are high. Gold tiles and mirror-like floors with streams of water and, of course, towering bookcases. Yes, Gurin saw some of that but. Uh. Who the hell put up all these human decorations?

Certainly not an eccentric lawyer who bartered with time.

Bits and bobs. Garlands. Sparkling lights. Clippings from evergreen trees. It's ... well, he's only tangentially involved in aesthetics himself, but it's not ... ehh... too offensive? Not to his senses anyway, but the concern borne of the stochastic environs compounds with his own unease being here.

An envoy from Ukolai. Zeyrfial used a store of magical focuses just like anyone else, if only to ... uh... something about extensions to his own capability? He's not supposed to need to say too much. Fortunately. Pitching to the other fiends is one thing, but an archdemon of this caliber is another.

Not to mention. That other thing. Just the little one. Itty bitty. Not a problem, but certainly a concern. One he figured he was bound to run into at some point, while being guided through by the nebulous water familiars or whatever they were upon arrival.

Gurin runs into Blythe in between the entry and the east wing corridor. Well, almost, an extended hand catches her before anything too dramatic can take place. The demon snorts in amusement, relief, and tension.

"Whoooa there- Blythe. Blythe!! Tch well maybe I do have some kind of luck to me." He bites back negative connotation to the remark before it can slip free. Letting relief instead soften his expression as the human girl smiles and lights up at his appearance. "We got a way of surprising each other, don't we? So.... what? What's the matter?"

Blythe doesn't seem to have relaxed in turn, not even to her fidgeting nervous nature he'd come to expect. No, she was looking... up. Eh? Gurin follows the gaze, a strange sprig of another piece of greenery hanging above them. A small red ribbon. It was cute, but... kinda random, wasn't it?

"U-h... uhm... mm... mmmmm!!" Blythe's face begins to tint in rose at the cheeks, and eyes dash away from Gurin's own questioning gaze once it drops back down to her.

"What?? What's the deal here??" His hands grip her shoulders, looking about with a growing panic (so much for that relief). When she does turn back, her lips are pursing. Eyes drifting closed and... she's leaning up? "UH... Blythe please. Tell me what're you doing?" Voice is dropping to a hissed whisper. This is really bad, couldn't Zeyrfial himself show up at any point in all this?

"We... don't you know we have to kiss now...? S-so..." She blinks innocently, almost pleading in expression before she half resumes that posturing of her lips. Now it's Gurin's turn to light up. Gold-tinted skin finding it's own rosy pigments. Have to what? KISS?!

"WHAT?!"

She's FUCKING WITH HIM. She HAS TO BE.

[dustedmagazine]

The 2025 Dusted Mid-Year Switch: Part 3

Horsegirl

In part three of our mid-year wrap-up, Dusted writers list their favorite albums from the year’s first half.  Check out parts one and two if you missed them. 

Christian Carey

Raven Chacon — Voiceless Mass (New World)

Car Seat Headrest — The Scholars (Matador)

Jürg Frey — Voices (Neu)

Barbara Hannigan, Katia and Marielle Labéque, and David Chalmin — Electric Fields (Alpha) 

The Hemphill Stringtet — Plays the Music of Julius Hemphill (Out of Your Head)

Jenny Hval — Iris Silver Mist (4AD)

loscil — Lake Fire (kranky) 

David Murray — Birdly Serenade (Impulse)

Quatuor Diotima — Livre Pour Quatuor (Pentatone)

Steve Reich — Jacob’s Ladder (Nonesuch)

Tim Clarke

Sharp Pins — Radio DDR (K/Perennial)

Moreish Idols — All in the Game (Speedy Wunderground)

Perfume Genius — Glory (Matador)

Richard Dawson — End of the Middle (Weird World)

Dutch Interior — Moneyball (Fat Possum)

Natural Information Society / Bitchin Bajas — Totality (Drag City)

Horsegirl — Phonetics On and On (Matador)

Lifeguard — Ripped and Torn (Matador)

Bryon Hayes

Bill Orcutt Guitar Quartet — HausLive 4 (Hausu Mountain)

Califone — The Villager's Companion (Jealous Butcher)

CHIME OBLIVION — S/T (DEATHGOD CORP)

The Ex — If Your Mirror Breaks (The Ex)

The High Water Marks — Consult the Oracle (Meritorio)

Index for Working Musik — Which Direction Goes the Beam (Tough Love)

Mess Esque — Jay Marie, Comfort Me (Drag City)

Mark Molnar — EXO (Constellation)

The Moles — Composition Book (Splendid Research)

Open Head — What is success (Wharf Cat)

Sam Amidon — Salt River (River Lea)

Sharp Pins — Radio DDR (K)

Steven R. Smith — Triecade (Worstward)

Tim Hecker — Shards (Kranky)

Water Damage — Instruments (12XU)

Alex Johnson

Artificial Go — Musical Chairs (Feel It)

Francis Bebey — Trésor Magnétique (Africa Seven)

Hectorine — Arrow of Love (Take a Turn)

Horsegirl — Phonetics On and On (Matador)

Cameron Knowler — CRK (Worried Songs)

Willie Lane — Bobcat Turnaround (Cord-Art)

Meetsysteem — Gekleed In Donker, Ze Vroegen Niks (Nous'klaer Audio)

The Tubs — Cotton Crown (Trouble in Mind)

Various — Star Charms (Inscrutable)

Jennifer Kelly

Anika — Abyss (Sacred Bones)

Circuit des Yeux — Halo on the Inside (Matador)

Motorbike — Kick It Over (Feel It)

Michael Grigoni/Pan*America — New World, Lonely Ride (Kranky)

Jerry David DeCicca — Cardiac Country (Sophomore Lounge)

Caroline — Caroline 2 (Rough Trade)

Pulp — More (Rough Trade)

The Mekons — Horror (Fire)

Ty Segall — Possession (Drag City)

Thalia Zedek Band — The Boat Outside Your Window (Thrill Jockey)

Patrick Masterson

Barker — Stochastic Drift (Smalltown Supersound)

Mogwai — The Bad Fire (Temporary Residence Ltd.)

PinkPantheress — Fancy That (Warner)

Boldy James — Conversational Pieces (Real Bad Man) or Permanent Ink (Royal House Recording)

Maribou State — Hallucinating Love (Ninja Tune)

Quade — The Foel Tower (AD 93)

Ghais Guevara — Goyard Ibn Said (Fat Possum)

Ela Minus — Día (Domino)

Anthony Naples — Scanners (ANS)

FACS — Wish Defense (Trouble in Mind)

Maria Somerville — Luster (4AD)

Water Margin — Gleaming Cursed (Darla)

Ian Mathers

Alan Sparkhawk — With Trampled by Turtles (Sub Pop)

Brìghde Chaimbeul — Sunwise (Glitterbeat/tak:til)

Circuit des Yeux — Halo on the Inside (Matador)

Cloakroom — Last Leg of the Human Table (Closed Casket Activities)

Hekla — Turnar (Phantom Limb)

Horsegirl — Phonetics On and On (Matador)

loscil — Lake Fire (Kranky)

Oklou — choke enough (True Panther Sounds)

Sleigh Bells — Bunky Becky Birthday Boy (Mom + Pop/Torn Clean)

Walt McClements — On a Painted Ocean (Western Vinyl)

Bill Meyer

AMM with Sachiko M — Testing (Matchless)

The Ancients — The Ancients (Eremite / Black Edition Archives)

The Ex — If Your Mirror Breaks (Ex)

Mike Gangloff — April Is Passing (VHF)

Edith Frost — In Space (Drag City)

Vijay Iyer / Wadada Leo Smith — Defiant Life (ECM)

Damon Locks — List of Demands (International Anthem)

Brandon Lopez / DoYeon Kim — Syzygy Vol. 1 (577)

Natural Information Society & Bitchin Bajas — Totality (Drag City) 

Sarah Belle Reid + Vinny Golia — Accidental Ornithology (Infrequent Seams)

Josh Moss

Sadie Siskin — Sadie Siskin (Drongo Tapes)

David Ivan Neil — I Hope Yer Ok (Perpetual Doom)

Playboi Carti — I Am Music (Interscope )

John Swanke — Horizon Lines (Bud Tapes)

Aux Meadows — Draw Near (Eiderdown)

Jerry David DeCicca — Cardiac Country (Sophomore Lounge)

Free Water Shrew Ensemble — Bounty of the Floe Edge (Drongo Tapes)

Daniel Bachman — Moving Through Light (self released)

Midwestern Medicine — Ripped Headline (self released)

Austin Potter — New Romantic (Cruel Nature/Liquid Library)

Ella Hanshaw — Ella Hanshaw's Black Book (Spinster Records)

Joseph Allred — Old Time Fantasias (Scissor Tail Records)

Ernie Francestine — Alternate Place (WarHen Records)

Bantam Draper — Inversion Therapy (Funny/Not Funny Records)

Barry Walker Unit — At The 13th Moon Gravity Well (Jean Sandwich Records)

Jonathan Shaw

Blood Monolith — The Calling of Fire (Profound Lore)

Culture Shock — S/T (Youth Attack)

Puffer — Street Hassle (Static Shock)

Retirement — Attention Economy (Iron Lung)

SUMAC & Moor Mother — The Film (Thrill Jockey)

Wulkanaz — Luftus (Regain)

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2003 - Number 8 - t.A.T.u. - "Не верь, не бойся"

Boooo. Boooooo! Quite why t.A.T.u attracted such a hostile reception was, in this instance, very little to do with politics and more to do with the attitude of the band and the delegation to Eurovision. They claimed they would easily win. The referred to the Germany representative as a witch and said that she should be nursed rather than entering the contest. They insulted the venue and Latvia. They turned up late, missed rehearsals and generally adopted he most distinctly heelish behaviour that Eurovision had witnessed to date. Even the journalists at press conferences booed them

How much of this was kayfabe or stochastic, psychological warfare, is unknown. But given the political statements of band member Julia Volkova more recently, there's probably less fakery and more genuine arrogance and entitlement about what the delegation did. Just who the hell are they anyway?

Well they're the first, widely known product of Neposedy, a Moscow-based children's music group/stage school with a huge and ever changing roster. They will appear throughout the next ten to fifteen years with some regularity. t.A.T.u are their first spin off-pop sensation aimed at the Western pop market. Consisting of Julia Volkova and Lina Katina, the band already have Europe wise success with an act that plays on lesbian posturing and more disturbingly, a sexualised schoolgirl aesthetic that seems calculated to shock and sell records in equal measure. Their huge, debut single was All the Things She Said, which took all of the above and added rain with a video that got banned from several shows around the world. They are also, almost certainly, Russia's most internationally popular pop music act ever.

Given all this unpleasantness and the problematic nature of the band both before and after Eurovision 2003, why is this a number 8 in my list? Не верь, не бойся (Ne Ver', Ne Boisia/Don't Believe, Don't Fear) is a largely shouted proclamation to not let fear, intimidation and bullying hold you back. A welcome message, but given their behaviour leading up to the final, more than somewhat contradictory. The song itself is propulsive and punky in attitude. It has an urgency that almost every other song in Eurovision typically lacks. Several counties have toyed with sending something this raw and rough before but haven't really committed to it. The chaos would almost certainly have been there without the lack of rehearsal, this is just how the band is. Their previous Europe wide chart success attests to the fact that this sound was contemporary and popular in a way the EBU could only previously have dreamt of.

The band kept going until 2011 despite tensions between the leads. They went to Eurovision once more, playing as an interval act in the first semi-final in Moscow for the 2009 contest. They did eventually split with irreconcilable tensions between Julia and Lena. After that, they both had solo careers, but drifted ever further apart on political issues notably Julia eventually expressing homophobic opinions and Lena doing the opposite and playing the St. Petersburg Queerfest in 2012. Julia survived a serious thyroid cancer in that year which subsequently affected her vocal chords and voice.

In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, t.A.T.u. reformed to play concerts in Russia and Belarus. They continue to support the Russian government's actions.

I initially wasn't going to include this song in my write-ups. However, there are going to be several more challenging and political songs coming up (not all of which involve Russia). As much as Eurovision strives for harmony, peace and a non-political standpoint, others will strive to use and subvert that idealism for for their own political ends. It's important to note this and look at what's going on underneath the music.

I think it's instructive to see what Russia was up to as far back as 2003. This was the same year that Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea F.C. and the main liberal opposition leader was assassinated in an election year. The use of international competitions and festivals like Eurovision (especially those hosted in countries Russia has a history with like Latvia) is going to be a plank in how Russia plays politics internationally. In Neposedy, there is a production line of appealing pop acts, song-writers, TV production designers who know what they're doing - and they're good at it. In 2003, Russia could play innocent and deny there was any bigger motive at work. Now the purpose is there for all to see.

Rather than flinch, I intend to look steadily