Warm On is a hip-hop community on Moscow's northern edge. The group's members and colleagues operate in a wide number of Russian or Ukrainian cities. They all share a common philosophy.
A recording from Leonid Fedorov and Vladimir Volkov examines how St. Petersburg's cityscape changes over time. The baroque trajectories of music outdo the linear passage of urban "progress."
The Tallinn Music Week 2013 has just wrapped up, offering a valuable showcase to many young performers. Here we examine eight of them from a predominantly acoustic realm.
Two new St. Petersburg recordings romanticize the homeless, aimless experience of cosmonauts. Even in Moscow, a related desire is audible, even among the most goal-driven musicians.
From a range of Russian cities, new hip-hop recordings transpire. They speak either to the value of collaboration - or simply to the importance of an audience. Friends help to foster courage.
The Sochi Winter Music Conference has just concluded on the shores of the Black Sea. It's clear that the SWMC's happy and trusting environment has some direct consequences for national business.
Starting in the Pacific city of Khabarovsk, four introspective recordings consider the name and nature of perfection. Some values or virtues seem to benefit from being eternally out of reach.
Several new electronic recordings paint an increasingly dark picture of social realia. The most persuasive response to civic failings and their dubious logic appears to be "transcendental surrealism."
A new side-project from St Petersburg jazz composer Arman Sidorkin inspires a romantic tone of approval from audiences. Other recordings, however, need to push harder against reality.
Two new compilation albums draw together deep-house and chillout composers from Russia, Moldova, and Kazakhstan. It slowly becomes clear that between them all lies a generational bond.
