Tours to Cultures

It was 2022. After two pandemic years, the world was facing a new crisis. But while people usually cope with stress by visiting new countries and experiencing new cultures, Russians suddenly found it almost impossible to travel abroad. What could they do? With the help of Yandex Travel, we decided to look for peace of mind traveling within Russia.

Of the 190 people groups living in Russia, we chose 15 that vary drastically and live in different parts of the country to find all their most soothing traditions. That is how Tours to Cultures appeared.

We worked Arzamas, a cultural project, to find previously unrecorded lullabies. To record the lullabies, we found artists who were native to the language and culture.

Each brought something authentic to their lullaby, be it a unique singing style or folk instruments. For the background, we composed ambient music following cultural rules like keys and frets. After each track, Alice introduces listeners to the new culture.

We followed the plots of the lullabies to find folk patterns. They were restored and digitized from household items and enjoyed a second life in animated backgrounds and track covers.

Patterns also decorated a collection of pajamas we released with fashion brands Outlaw Creative, muus, and Ola Ola.

The quintessence of the project was an online guide to the soothing traditions of the 15 peoples. It encompasses traditions, places, dishes, and objects — everything that helps each group find calm and peace. We conducted interviews with local experts and residents, then working with local editors who understand the traditions personally and turned endless transcripts of interviews into unique guides.

To promote the project, we shot a video. A motion control system was the driver behind the fantastic images.