Max Pokrovskiy is the frontman/songwriter for the legendary Russian pop/punk/rock/theatrical music group. Max Pokrovskiy and Nogu Svelo! (Cramp In Leg) is nothing less than a modern version of a reneissance man. His work as a movie actor, musician, composer and TV personality has earned him critical acclaim and celebrity status, forever
placing him at the top of Russia’s celebrity pyramid. While keeping his status, he remains true to his roots and is a respected artist, both among the independent art scene and the pop world.
Having releaesd numerous international chart hits, the band remain in top form, and in 2015 Max Pokrovskiy and Nogu Svelo! (Cramp In Leg) releaesd their first English effort titled “Fast Food Kids”.
Nogu Svelo! (Cramp in Leg)’s style is a sordid three-way genre melding love affair between the power and concreteness of The Clash, the musical pomposity and dry wit of Blur, and the fearlessness of the new wave pop-punk of XTC. After 25 years together, over 15 major label studio albums, 10 million records sold, thousands of performances at European stadium sized festivals, 30 music videos, and numerous music awards(including the prestigious Russian MTV Movie Award, MTV Music Special Prize, Russian TV Channel 1 “Star” award, etc), the band remains one of the most popular acts in Eastern Europe and regularly tours large scale venues and stadiums. While the band has formed on the territory of Russia, their music has an undeniable universal and theatrical appeal, as has been proven by their international hit “Haru Mamburu”, sang in a non-existent language.
Max Pokrovskiy is a star of the Eastern European media and is a regular guest on numerous talk shows and other types of international shows. Max’s intelligent and sophisticated point of view as well as his warped sense of humor and likableness, keeps the media wanting more. Max and Nogu Svelo!(Cramp in Leg) are regular guests of such prominent TV channels as the National Channel One, Russia 1, NTV, Russia 2, MTV, A1, Music Box, O2, etc.
Max is also well known for being the celebrity contender on the “The Last Hero”, Russia’s version of the world famous reality show, “Survivor”. Besides conquering the obstacles within the show, Max wrote the song “I Am Not The Last Hero!”, which became the main soundtrack for the hit TV series.
Among other soundtrack credits, Max Pokrovskiy also wrote all the songs for the the large scale Russian internationally released movie, Turkish Gambit.
Max’s songs for the film were awarded the Best Soundtrack award at the Russian MTV Movie Awards.
Beside being a composer and songwriter, Max Pokrovskiy also demonstrated his acting chops in Hollywood films such as Treasure Raiders and In the Rhythm of Tango, for which Nogu Svelo!(Cramp in Leg) also recorded the soundtrack.
Nogu Svelo! have approx 100-120 gigs per year, the venues capacity differ from 500 to 5000. During autograph session on international festival Kubana 2014, 200 fans waited for 5 hours for Max to come. When he arrived the big mess started and the guards had to divide the crowd and close the doors for the security reasons. Luckily nobody was hurt but Nogu Svelo! were warned by the administration of the festival that no autograph sessions would happen on this festival because they didn’t not have enough security to protect the band and the audience.
Thriving on success in Eastern Europe, Max established his UK electronic project titled Max Incubator. From the project, the track titled “Shopping” became an instant club hit and reached number 38 on the dance charts. The 2nd single, “Infinite Highway” reached the #8 spot on The Musicweek Upfront Chart and stayed there for 2 months.
On this project, Max collaborated with many Internationally famous Djs, including DJ Stonebridge, DJ Ripper, and Digital Dog. On Max Incubator, Max Pokrovskiy also worked with producers Martyn Ware (Heaven 17, The Human League) and Stephen Hague (Pet Shop Boys, A-ha, New Order), who both have publicly stated their positive feedback about the project.
One of Max’s most notable achievements is composing the anthem for Team Russia used in the 2012 Olympic Games. The anthem was released to the media at the first olympic event in London, where special guests included the Ambassador of Russia and Lord Colin Moynahan.
In October of 2014, Nogu Svelo! (Cramp in Leg) released their new Russian album titled “Eat My Heart”, which instantly became a huge success in Eastern Europe. The singles, “Faberge Eggs” and “To Baikal”, remained at the top of Russia’s rock music charts for several months each, while the music video to the single, “Have a Nice Flight”, was released with Game Insight, the world famous mobile gaming company, which gave Max his own quest within their bestseller game, “Airport City”.
In 2015, Max Pokrovskiy and Nogu Svelo! (Cramp in Leg) released their first US released album titled, “Fast Food Kids”. The first single, “My Name Is Dick”, was produced by the two-time Grammy Award winning producer, Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, P.O.D) in Los Angeles, CA. Paired with an equally as impressive video, “My Name Is Dick” is reminiscent of National Lampoon’s Animal House with a dash of Mad Magazine and Howard Stern-like raunchiness. The 9 track record is filled with memorable tongue and cheek lyrics combined with driving rock grooves of “A Big Story Of Little Lorie” and “Fast Food Kids”, produced by Sean Gould (Hollywood Undead, Katy Perry).
Nogu Svelo! (Cramp in Leg) has a prominent following in the US and regularly sell out shows in markets of San Francisco(CA), Atlanta(GA), Charlotte(SC), Seattle(WA), and New York City. ALso the band regularly headlines US based Russian Rock Festivals such as the Echo Rock Festival, located in upstate New York.
DaNu Radio (NYC)
As soon as Max came to the US he immediately starred on different media: DaNu radio who support all Nogu Svelo! gigs and gladly rotate every new song by Max and his crew.
RTVi (NYC)
Max took part in RTVi’s famous “New York with Victor Topaller” show twice in 3 months which is nonsence for the channel’s line up, but by popular requests they had to shoot one more 1 hour length program with Max.
In 2016 Max worked with Atlanta and Los Angeles based producer/songwriter, Brad Cox (Guns n Roses, Metallica, Aerosmith). Currenly Max is working on a new US and Russian album with super talented Aaron Albano aka MING – 2015 Grammy nominated remixer, producer, writer and touring DJ.
Also Max collaborates with Rock Steady Freddie (RSF) – the originator of the style Ska-Jazz. As the bandleader of the world-known New York Ska-Jazz ensemble he produced the band’s 13 records and performed in over 30 countries. His song “Prime Suspect” appears in the HBO documentary “Redemption” which was nominated for an Academy award.
