Xlover — Meet the New Sex Icon

Sex... A simple, primitive, yet devilishly appealing act, around which far too much revolves in the modern world. Sexuality these days is not merely a quality inherent to the most desirable human specimens, but a well-selling product, a superbly promoted brand. Today, it seems, every representative of the progressive youth of the new format is simply obliged to be sexy. How sweetly the modern mass media sing of it! Ah, how one longs, pushing through the dense crowd toward the doors of yet another fashionable club, to hear the cherished words called out after you: «Hey, sexy!»... Since time immemorial, history has given us hundreds of sex symbols, each of them a mirror image of its era. So what does the reality matrix of the 21st century offer us?

Tremble, esteemed public! Down from the glossy covers of «Vogue», «125 Magazine» and the advertising brochures of the most provocative women's lingerie label «Agent Provocateur», straight onto the stage boards has descended the fashion icon Nina Rey, and at once she shone as the vocalist of the newly created project Xlover. The band is young, yet its members are by no means newcomers to music: the author of most of the compositions and the group's «brain center» Brian Black was formerly Prince's keyboardist, while Scott Firebrover, a talented improvising guitarist, previously played with Death Vegas and collaborated with Whitey and Client. And Oliver Grfsset took part in the Dirty Harry project, but after meeting Brian he focused entirely on Xlover's work.

Xlover's performances, which took place to great success in Berlin, Munich and London, as well as opening for Scissor Sisters and at Vivienne Westwood's fashion parades, always astonish with the liveliness of their delivery and the utterly unconcealed nakedness of the frontwoman's vivid temperament. She became a kind of mirror image, a female version of her idol — Prince. Combining in a single image a light mannerism and a convincing beauty of movement with luxuriously flawless looks, framed by the audacious spontaneity of blonde hair together with sharp long little claws, bright costumes and a spellbinding, demonic, slightly dry singing, she so skillfully whipped up the many-thousand-strong audience at the Gigolo Love Parade that the heated crowd very nearly brought to life the suddenly born idea of dragging Nina off the stage.

The band's debut album «Pleasure and Romance», recently released on Gigolo Records, as a whole, and its central composition — a bitter fantasy of unfulfilled love, «So Blue», in particular — are an organic continuation of the seductive individuality and mesmerizing sexuality of the group's frontwoman.

Ahead of Xlover's tour of Russia, we got in touch with Nina and, in a quick-fire interview of 10 questions, tried to find out: is it hard to bear the burden of being the new sex icon of the century just begun?

Recently. Only three years — ever since I started working in Xlover. This is my first project.

Sexuality is a quality that everyone possesses. It cannot be easily improvised or casually played on stage. Believe me, one can even breathe sexually. Come to our show, and you'll see for yourself that Xlover is a synthesis of sexuality and an eternal celebration that we always bring with us.

Both my stage and everyday looks I usually create myself. Of course, off stage I look different. I think that through clothing everyone has the chance to emphasize the individuality unique to them. If a personality is many-faceted, I'm sure its outward appearance reflects that. The outfits by John Galliano and Vivienne Westwood, close to me in spirit, help me to reveal myself and to show the world the various facets of my own personality.

I think so. Personally, fame as such matters little to me. I invest far more strength and energy into my creative work. Believe me, the possibility of self-expression is a far more effective means of acquiring vitality than reveling in the illusions of fleeting fame.

Definitely not. Although... For me, the very possibility of taking part in the Xlover project was crazy from the start. I'm sure the audience at our concerts always feels this to the fullest. As for my private life — I prefer to keep it off camera. When I want to do something extraordinary, I always know where I can do it — on stage, together with Xlover.

I don't have idols as such. There are only individual people whose talent evokes my genuine admiration. In their work I draw my own inspiration. The object of my admiration is Prince. There is something in him far removed from reality, from the ordinary, from the everyday — something unearthly. Perhaps a crystalline purity and a virgin talent, entirely open to the world.

I completely disagree. I believe that one and the same person can quite successfully live two parallel lives, absolutely different from one another. Within each of us coexist utterly contradictory qualities, seemingly incompatible with each other at first glance. I think a woman can fully and successfully realize all sides of her nature at once, without any harm to herself.

I am completely satisfied with working in an all-male group and can perfectly well do without «female mutual understanding» in the creative process. All the more so since, as my life experience shows, women, for the most part, in practice prefer to see me as a rival rather than a like-minded ally. I have few female friends, and among them only those I trust, with whom I cherish and highly value the relationship.

Of course that's possible! A talented man is very sexy.

I formed my idea of Russia from the books of F. M. Dostoevsky. A beautiful country with a mysterious, intriguing and somewhat mystical destiny. I'm sure that being a guest in your country will be unforgettable for me.

Xlover, 16 September, Zapasnik club