44100Hz: Intelligent Dance Music

In the endless search for quality dance music around the "runet," it's always a blessing to find reliable sites that operate with a degree of taste. Some Russian dance portals function on a frightening, almost Biblical scale - which is super in terms of centralizing media - but they show no desire to actually listen to, filter, or arrange the best mixes. As a result, many "democratic" portals quickly become dumping grounds full of misogynistic, rambling rap - uploaded over aging modems after a sixpack and a row with the girlfriend.

The world doesn't need it.

For that reason, we have much reason to be grateful for Moscow's 44100Hz web resource, dedicated - as the owners say - to the simple, yet demanding goal of showcasing "the best electronic/dance music in Russia."

I could name a plethora of similar sites around the web, but what makes 44100 especially attractive is their simplicity of design, seriousness of intention, reliability of archival texts, and quality of mixes.

44100's most recent publication in their well-established "Best Russian DJ" series appeared on May 26: a sprightly breaks offering from Moscow's DJ Dan (aka Andrei Kotov/above), called "Pressure Rise." Dan himself says of the composition: "It's called 'Pressure Rise' because it turned out to have a pretty tough sound. I'd recommend it to fans of break and any music lovers who're interested in different styles - especially the idea of being 'on the edge.'"

It's called 'Pressure Rise' because it turned out to have a pretty tough sound. I'd recommend it to fans of break and any music lovers who're interested in different styles - especially the idea of being 'on the edge.'

Together with these tip-top mixes, which can be regularly obtained via RSS, the site is a fantastic guide to online radio stations, concerts, and is jam-packed with high-society snapshots of the gifted and graceful, such as DJ Dasha Pushkina (above and here). These news reports are then peppered with brief video clips, like the following snippet celebrating 10 years of DJ Sanches' legendary Thursday evenings at Moscow's "Propaganda." This clip was uploaded only yesterday.

Although the site operates in Russian, it deserves your attention as a smart, reliable, and exciting gateway into the disorienting multiplicity of Russian dance music today.