These two outfits have nothing in common, musically speaking. Nonetheless, their new mixes say a great deal about the relationship between maximalism and somehow making songs "better"
Two Russian netlabels have celebrated new psy- and progressive trance publications. Even though psytrance concerns cosmic themes, geography still continues to play a role
Boris Nazarov was a co-founder in 1995 of the pioneering electronic dance outfit, Moscow Grooves Institute. Today his projects both in India and online offer new trajectories for Russian dance music
Air Goatika is an offshoot of Moscow's Goatika Creative Lab and defines itself as a "joyous, energetic musical project, full of light and positive vibrations." Flexible in its lineup, the band's current members are Boris Nazarov (keyboards), Pavel Mikhailuk (bass guitar), Victor Netesov (horns) an...
The techno label Pro-Tez appears on this site with relative frequency, since their roster makes a clear and enduring distinction between issues of quantity and quality. As we noted back in 2008, "Pro-Tez operates between Moscow and Los Angeles. That’s the pedestrian description. The more elab...
As we write, the national drum & bass tour "Pirate Station" (Piratskaia stantsiia) is winding down. The images in this post were taken from a wide range of Russian cities over the first three months of 2010; these concerts have grown steadily from a show on Radio Rekord that was begun by D&a...
The southern coastal resort of Sochi, supposedly a place of rest and repose, has been associated with different activities of late. First and foremost, it was recently awarded the right to host the 2014 Winter Olympics; that, in turn, has led to much political and financial wrangling over access...
Several days ago we documented the recent work of Max Tau (above), conducted in support of burgeoning Russian trip-hop. Part and parcel of his efforts over the last few years have been the appealing and well-informed podcasts known as “Vrashchenie” (i.e., “Rotation/Revolution”), designed...
Santerna is the pseudonym of Moscow-based trance/progressive exponent Aleksandr Deviat'iarov, who prides himself on being the first Russian DJ with a release via London's Mondo Records. With dubious chutzpah, the label claims to be "one of the UK's premier dance labels specializing in house, t...
In the world of Russian dance music, some genres are considered more "provincial" than others. Trance, rightly or wrongly, is often assumed to be one of the styles most likely to fill lop-sided village halls in distant locations. Comedy shows and parodic cinema will certainly make use of trance...
