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Andrey Poliss, Datamode (Nizhnii Novgorod)
Yesterday the organizers of Russia's Red Bull Music Academy announced the names of ten musicians who'll be attending the Bass Camp [sic] in the southern resort of Sochi. The RBMA, designed to foster new musical talent worldwide, has been in existence since 1998. It brings together artists and industry experts in a system of mentoring programs. Speaking in the context of their international operations, the staff at Red Bull outline their activity as follows: "People gather here in order to check gear, chat about their tunes, play in clubs... swap musical visions in the studio, and discover closely guarded secrets of mixing desk magic - straight from those who started [various] revolutions in sound. They're the people we look up to, and they're looking to you for a fresh perspective in turn."
People swap musical visions in the studio, and discover closely guarded secrets
Ten Russian performers, as mentioned, have been selected for this professional gathering on the Black Sea, many of whom we've showcased before. If, however, we focus upon those artists whose catalog is designed primarily for the dancefloor, then some newer names rise to the surface. We offer four of them here. As the RBMA representatives state: "These guys are young, yet promising musicians. They've all established themselves in their home regions around Russia and are now in need of a boost - something that'll aid their development both domestically and internationally."
We take a closer look.
Alexey Osminin, Datamode (Nizhnii Novgorod)
Three of our artists are from Russia's Far North. The exception to that general rule - with which we start - would be the project known as Datamode. This stage-name, in turn, hides the identity of a duo from the city of Nizhnii Novgorod, Andrey Poliss and Alexey Osminin. Should we be looking for some connection to the city's medieval heritage, we might be disappointed, since Poliss and Osminin have a broader, happier goal than anything offered by monastic life: "We just want to keep your feet moving, babe!"
We just want to keep your feet moving, babe!
Not surprisingly, that upbeat silliness has proven popular in the clubs of Nizhnii Novgorod, where Datamode hold a couple of residences. One of those establishments - Milo - now declares that the last five years have allowed local club-life to move beyond the stereotypes of "provincial" enterprise. "Back then, it was hard to imagine that our nightlife would reflect Moscow fashion in any way. It was impossible to make any comparisons with European clubs and not laugh..." Things have changed for the better. A jolly worldview has produced serious results. Local visitors have included stars from the UK (Sonique and Boy George), Germany (Timo Maas), the US (Serge Devant), and even distant Australia (Sneaky Sound System and Emma Hewitt).
Reaching the city in winter, however, is not easy.
Gleb Raumskaya (apparently), St. Petersburg
Diligence in the name of an optimistic outlook takes the place of idle chatter. Neither Poliss nor Osminin have much to say about themselves on various Russian social networks. Osminin's profile at Vkontakte, by way of example, is almost entirely made from cartoons, memes, and other forms of web-based mirth.
This preference for quiet industry over indolence is extended by Gleb Raumskaya, a resident of St. Petersburg. We've followed his output for a couple of years now, but his penchant for quietness continues. Currently he is a student at the city's State University of Technology and Design, which only increases the likelihood that academic studies will leave scant time for chatter.
Nonetheless, whatever this musician's unwillingness to advertise his credo verbally, the results of his compositional work have left an impressive mark upon the public. His juke and dubstep experiments over the last few months, for example, have met with particular enthusiasm from the general public: "F**k me!" is one of the more striking English-language remarks at one music portal. Related approval has been documented in Russian, too, using ever richer vocabulary.
Interested parties can seek out those risqué phrases for themselves on Raumskaya's Soundcloud page.
Among the more respectable reviews or suggestions, we find a remark likening Raumskaya's output to "music for a possible TV series. Twin Peaks, maybe?" The hometowns of our remaining artists certainly rival the Pacific Northwest for a sense of appealing, yet sometimes unnerving isolation. They are indeed far from the capital, in various senses.
Alexander Malyutin performs under the name of Spieltape and comes from Arkhangel'sk, more than 600 miles north of Moscow and balanced - whenever visible - on an Arctic shoreline. Malyutin has been playing and composing dance music for almost seven years, over which period he has published tracks on a host of labels both across Europe and in the US. These efforts have ben recognized by an equally wide range of Western luminaries, most notably by Tiesto, who has referred to Mr. Malyutin as a "talented producer" whilst including Spieltape in his radio shows.
Spieltape's music is always infused with a genuinely Nordic mood
The effect of Malyutin's warm house aesthetic has been discernible in Moscow (with performances at the Arma17 club), at Ukraine's enormous Kazantip Festival, and even beyond Russia's Pacific coastline - many time zones away in the clubs of Hong Kong. Whatever the distances traveled by Spieltape, he still feels close to his northern roots. One of Malyutin's promotional texts informs the public that his "tech-house and minimal sounds are deep, dubby, and [consistently] melancholic." He attributes that modish ennui to geography: "Spieltape's music is always infused with a genuinely Nordic mood."
And some stardust.
Alexander Malyutin, aka Spieltape (Arkhangel'sk)
This Northern chic - conflating metaphors of distance, uniqueness, and fairytale charm - is evident in the duo Snoe from Murmansk, another icy port and almost 1,000 miles from the Russian capital. The two real-life identities here are Pavel Malamanov and Maksim Minenko (Romashkin). Having established a couple of distinct careers within the unrelated styles of idm/ambient and breaks, these performers are now more likely to direct their joint efforts towards dubstep or future garage collaborations with far-flung colleagues online.
Snoe recently assessed their experiences over 2011, much as we saw from Datamode. Here, though, with submarines probably outnumbering clubs, Malamanov and Romashkin are forging more of an independent path. The greatest celebration of the last few months, for example, concerned the acquisition of one hundred followers on Snoe's Soundcloud account. "That's clearly good news!" Those same modest figures are also testament to the detective work done at the RBMA, seeking out important sounds independent of any clamorous self-promotion.
Never give up. It's such a wonderful life
In fact, as we can see, none of these young men are terribly keen on advertising themselves, and yet they've been give a fine professional boost from the RBMA - in a southern holiday resort. And so we end, fittingly enough, with some words of gratitude from underneath Murmansk's ice, snow, and veil of winter darkness. A few days ago on Vkontakte, Romashkin reminded everybody to "Never give up. It's such a wonderful life."
And that, surely, is a suitable worldview for any dancefloor. It will travel well.
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