Main Character Syndrome: 40-year-old men cry to songs

Three years ago, two guys from Yekaterinburg risked everything: they quit their jobs and formed their own band called Main Character Syndrome. The two Vlads — one 24, the other 28 — started from scratch.

Their tracks immediately went viral on social media. The aspiring artists have already performed as the opening act for popular singer Vanya Dmitrienko. Read on for what their songs are about, their dream of filling Luzhniki Stadium, and star salaries in an interview with E1.RU.

— Tell us a bit about your young band. Can it be called, as is fashionable to say today, «niche»?

Vlad Myatny: I don«t think the band is niche — it»s somewhere between pop and indie. We try to make music for a large number of people, for the masses. They listen to us not because of some unusualness, but because of the state of their soul.

— Is there an image of your listener? Who comes to your concerts?

Vlad Bolshoy: We have a very wide audience — all ages. We constantly see at concerts how 40-year-old men cry to our songs, just like they do to MakSim. And kids gladly attend with their parents.

— How did your duo originate?

Vlad Myatny: We met in 2023. At that time, I was working as a system administrator at a company in the aviation field. One day, a girl named Masha asked me to fix her computer. At that moment, I was on a break, working on my music. She saw it and said, «You»re also a musician? There«s a guy we make music with.» And I was looking for like-minded people.

We got in touch with Vlad and met. That«s how the creative spark ignited.

Vlad Bolshoy: At that time, I was working part-time on a construction site, saving up for a microphone. We met with Vlad and started working on our first track «Body».

— Did you initially understand that you wanted to connect your life with music?

Vlad Myatny: I studied at the Ural Radio Engineering College majoring in Computer Systems and Complexes, and I was a software engineer. After graduating, I went to work in my field.

Music came into my life in college, when I was still writing poetry. I got a guitar and started learning chords on my own.

I was ready to quit my job even with a good salary for the sake of my dream. I just needed time to get on my feet a bit.

Vlad Bolshoy: I went to work on a construction site with my father for a month — I just wanted to save up for a microphone. I studied at a pedagogical university to become an English teacher, then entered a master«s program in digital media communications but didn»t finish. I dropped out after everything took off with music. I worked odd jobs because I was mostly studying.

I started getting interested in music and playing guitar at age 14. I went through many bands.

— You studied in Yekaterinburg and, as many of your fans think, were born here.

Vlad Bolshoy: Yes, that«s a misconception. I was born in Yugorsk, a town in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug on the border with Sverdlovsk Oblast. When I was 11, I moved to Bulgaria with my parents. At 18, I returned to Russia and began to develop professionally in music.

Vlad Myatny: I was born in Ivdel, in the far north of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Now the population is barely 15,000 people. In 2016, when there was a rap boom in Russia, music captured me. Now when I visit my hometown, all the locals take photos with me and support me.

— Have your parents always supported your endeavors?

Vlad Myatny: Probably like all musicians, my parents were skeptical: «He plays, and that»s it.« They still don»t realize that I«m creating something, but despite that, they always supported me: for example, they gave me an electric guitar.

Vlad Bolshoy: I had the same situation. My parents wanted me to spend more time on studies, but I couldn«t be stopped, and my mother once said, »Finish the semester well, and I«ll buy you a guitar.» That was the only semester I finished without any C«s.

— You now live and work in Yekaterinburg. Do you have any plans to move to Moscow? After all, the entire show business is in the capital.

Vlad Myatny: As people tell us, it«s inevitable in the future. All the action is in Moscow. In Yekaterinburg, it»s modest in that regard. For now, as long as we don«t have to move, we won»t. We still love our city very much: it«s comfortable here and there are good people.

— Your band appeared in 2023. When did you start noticing interest in your work?

Vlad Myatny: In 2024, we wrote the track «I»m Screaming«, decided to record a video, thought maybe it would take off. And people picked it up, it went viral, and a label noticed us.

— What is your creativity about? Why do you think it grabs people so much?

Vlad Myatny: We write about personal things, dreams, life, love. These are themes that, I think, everyone will understand in their own way and take something from.

I draw inspiration from absolutely everything — even Yekaterinburg itself. I especially like its panel neighborhoods where a down-to-earth life prevails. I want to give people some hope through music.

— In three years, your band has grown a lot. You«ve already opened for Vanya Dmitrienko — an artist everyone is talking about today.

Vlad Myatny: At that point, we already knew Vanya and opened for him in 2025 at Expo. Interacting with a big artist is really cool. It«s always support and useful advice.

Vlad Bolshoy: And when you perform in front of five thousand people, you«re always on such an adrenaline rush. You realize you»re giving them your music, they hear it, accept it, feel it, and you live that moment with them. That«s awesome.

Vanya is a very nice guy, reserved, a professional at what he does. Even though he«s younger than us, we listen to his advice.

We«ve already met many big artists: Niletto, Dzharakhov, IOWA, Arthur Pirozhkov. Very cool people.

— You must be recognized on the streets by now.

Vlad Myatny: Yes, we are. Once I just went to a kiosk for shawarma, and people came up to me and said, «Oh, you»re the lead singer of Main Character Syndrome, can we take a photo with you?«

So recognition is already there. Sometimes in funny places.

— You left your jobs for your dream. Do you earn enough from your creativity to get by on everything you want?

Vlad Bolshoy: Not for everything I want, of course. For example, I want to buy a plane, but I«ll need to work more for that. There»s money for chicken in batter...

But seriously: if I want to buy a new good phone for work, I«ll have to go without for a while. For basic things, for living, it»s enough.

We«re still not big enough to rake in millions and hundreds of thousands of rubles. We know our worth.

— You«re always together — on tour, in the studio, at rehearsals. Do you often have disagreements?

Vlad Myatny: We just talk it out, and everything gets resolved. The most important thing is to communicate, not hold it in. There were moments when we held things in for a long time, and then it flared up.

Either way, we don«t perform just the two of us; we have a team: bassist Anatoly, new drummer Vanya, and manager Dima.

Sometimes we argue, but we always reach a compromise.

— Is there a dream concert venue? Are you planning to aim for a stadium sometime?

Vlad Myatny: In Russia, of course, I«d like to fill Luzhniki Stadium, just like Vanya is doing now. I hope and believe that we will achieve this sooner or later. I think our creativity deserves it. We live for this.

Vlad Bolshoy: Yeah, we«ll definitely fill Luzhniki someday. We just need to play on big stages, because that»s where we open up and give our rock «n» roll. Small stages are not for us!

Be sure to read our interview with 27-year-old Alexei Lutovinov, who has been performing with Niletto since 2020. For several years, he has been developing his solo career and creating hits under the pseudonym Plutto.

We also wrote about how the rising stars of the new Ural rock — the band sonyaprosti — live.