English rock band Muse has recently released a music video for their track «Nightshift Superstar,» shot in Almaty. The city’s two iconic locations made an appearance in the video: the Almaty Museum of Arts and the House of the Army (formerly House of Officers) in the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen Park. Kursiv LifeStyle explains what these places are and what could attract the music video creators.
The track is set to feature on the band’s tenth studio album, «The Wow! Signal,» releasing June 26. The video was directed and written by Lado Kvataniya, with filming in Almaty alongside Kazakhstani production company Anykey.
The video features frontman Matt Bellamy, Korean dancer Grace Heart, and singer Manizha, alongside Kazakhstani actors and dancers. Visually, it leans into a sci-fi action aesthetic, while musically it carries forward Muse’s ongoing experiments with electronic and dance sounds.
Almaty Museum of Arts
Among the locations featured in the video is the Almaty Museum of Arts. Though attentive viewers would recognize it only in several stills. Only the building’s façade can be seen.
The director was likely drawn to the building’s architecture and futuristic appearance. The Almaty Museum of Arts opened in 2025 and is considered the largest private modern art museum in Central Asia. The exhibition draws from the collection of Kazakh entrepreneur and museum founder Nurlan Smagulov, who has been gathering for more than 30 years. Currently, the museum houses works by Kazakhstani and foreign artists.
According to the Almaty Museum of Arts, over 100 people worked on the set at the museum, with more than 150 specialists involved in the project overall. Preparation — from scouting locations to finalizing agreements — took around ten days.
House of Officers
The House of the Army — also known as the House of Officers — features more prominently in the video, with what appears to be the larger share of filming taking place there.
The interior of a building’s hall — where exhibitions and special events are held — was effectively transformed into a set from a sci-fi movie. A bar counter, neon light elements, light designs, and other details appeared, making it difficult to recognize the interior at first glance.
The House of Officers is one of Almaty’s best-known Soviet-era buildings. It was built in the late 1970s near the Park of the 28 Panfilov Guardsmen. For decades, it hosted concerts, exhibitions, film screenings and other cultural events.
