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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, trance, hard house, and progressive house." The fanfares continue: "Over the last few years our goal has been to release the most exciting, passionate and original new music - while helping to develop and showcase up-and-coming artists and production talent from around the world." Such as Mr. Deviat'iarov.
Over the last few years our goal has been to release the most exciting, passionate and original new music - while helping to develop and showcase up-and-coming artists and production talent from around the world.
Santerna, therefore, has recently become part of an international "goal," establishing what might hopefully be a better showcase for Russian music on European dancefloors. Deviat'iarov was born in 1985 and, en route to such targets, has been making music since the age of 19. This month he has, seemingly, built up sufficient material to release a debut album, which was just presented to the frozen Russian public on the national trance-based show hosted by DJ Feel at Radio Record.
That same radio outlet, likewise free from excessive shyness, considers itself to be Russia's "primary dance station." This seems a little closer to the truth than any claims from British colleagues. Record/Rekord has been on air now for fifteen years since its inception in St Petersburg and currently broadcasts (web signals aside) to over 50 Russian cities. It has long made the claim of being the nation's most popular station in the 12-35 year old age group, which sounds feasible if we accept that such statistics are applicable to dance music, and not pop as a whole.
Too much Red Bull can lead to excessive enthusiasm for one's endeavors, it would seem.
Everybody is playing a little free and easy with their information, but at the end of the day, Santerna's music does offer some serious hope for yet another step towards broader popularity, either on a truly national scale or even overseas. As we can already see, any such pretensions towards widespread recognition will require a certain rhetorical "flourish." This, by way of illustration is how he begins the PR materials for a new release, the cover art for which is shown at the top of the post: "Having published more than 30 singles, remixes, and compilations, Aleksandr has gathered sufficient strength and confidence to release a fully-fledged album. On a scale of 1 to 5, it scores a 6! This exceptionally elegant and fresh-sounding progressive trance has attracted a great deal of attention; Russian and foreign music critics are all overjoyed."
It's enough to make the competition green with envy.
Considering, however, that this PR blurb was produced in order to announce a forthcoming release, these "uniform" expressions of joy remain anecdotal at best. Nothing will slow down the promo-train, though: "Journalists and DJs think this is the best Russian release over the last year - perhaps even longer. It has been a very long time since the domestic dance scene has seen a recording of this quality, appeal, and skill. Each and every note is like honey in your ears - or pure bliss for the the heart and soul of the most refined music fan." Having the contents of a beehive emptied into your ear might not be the most appealing prospect for everybody.
Journalists and DJs think this is the best Russian release over the last year - perhaps even longer. It has been a very long time since the domestic dance scene has seen a recording of this quality, appeal, and skill. Each and every note is like honey in your ears - or pure bliss for the the heart and soul of the most refined music fan.
Where to start the European campaign? Where would the best place be to look for words of encouragement or endorsement? Santerna coaxes a few pleasantries from Stuttgart's Pedro Del Mar, who runs the German Mellomania label - together with his mother. Far from the dancefloors of Berlin, Del Mar is nonetheless a name of relative renown. He is also kind enough to do a little PR work for a Russian colleague, even if the result sounds as if it's stuck somewhere between two unrelated tongues: "Santerna is definitely one of the most talented producers from Eastern Europe and has his own style. He's going to have a great future. His tunes have surely all been greatly produced and he's having his own style which is positive and also very important. I do mostly hear a new Santerna's production without reading the artist name."
A moment to ponder the grammatical quirks.
Santerna, as we can see from all the fuss around the Mondo release, is extremely keen to establish foreign connections, and makes equally good use of some good-natured phrasing from London-based trance/house DJ, Dale Corderoy. The following quote appears in a few places, seemingly in the original English, though one or two sections sound as if they've been passed through a machine translator.
"Santerna's music is following[?], melodic and uplifting but without being being obvious. His style even on remixing is unique and is always full of imagination; you can clearly hear just how much time and thought has gone into every production. Quite simply, his music is a joy to listen to - and, more importantly, works so well in the club. Not stereotyped to one sound, he has shown numerous times his fantastic production and writing knowledge - with an ability to conquer any genre he decides to take on, but he never bows to formality and always brings his own personal stamp to everything he does. I can wholeheartedly say Santerna is an artist that is very much set for great things..."
The reason for a self-assured pose or two seems evident.
Corderoy, we may not be surprised to learn, is also closely tied to the operations of Mondo. Lest anybody find themselves accused of excessive claims based on insufficient evidence, Santerna looks further afield. We thus find ourselves in Northern England, specifically Newcastle. Here Santerna has a little more honey poured in his ear canal: "Santerna, an artist in the truest sense of the word, has the incredible ability to passionately create beautiful, melodic, and driven progressive music. As one of the many talents to emerge from the bustling Russian dance-music scene, he's put in the work needed to rise above his peers and be noticed by some of the biggest and best DJs and labels around the world. Although still classed as a newcomer to many, Santerna's sound can only grow as he develops his skills, and continues to work hard."
Yes, that's the quote we'll use.
This theme of diligence seems especially relevant with regard to Solarstone, aka Birmingham DJ Rich Mowatt, who began his career in the Midlands when Deviat'iarov was a mere ten years old. At that time, Mowatt was working as a body-piercer... It took more than a decade of hard toil in order to turn one set of needles into another and get established as a nationally-known progressive house and chill-out DJ. He, too, has helped our Russian neophyte with the advertising.
In a word, then, Santerna's impressively mixed and polished album has its sights set on the UK scene, particularly on London. As we can see, however, the names upon which he draws are themselves not wholly/confidently placed in the middle of that capital city. They bend the truth a little in terms of their ranking as influential labels, are themselves listed in the same catalog as Santerna (and therefore benefit from any general PR), or they are very much the product of outlying and "provincial" towns, like Newcastle and Birmingham.
Herein, however, lies the odd benefit of the situation. Given the nature of British media, in particular of the BBC, the notion of center and periphery for popular music is frequently/fundamentally erased. The most influential programs are broadcast nationwide simultaneously. True, Radio Record has attained a laudable status within the Russian dance market, but is always obliged to do initial battle with whatever baggage comes from being Russia's "second capital." Snobbery and condescension persist.
As a result, Santerna stands to gain a great deal from abandoning any domestic notions of center and periphery in order to approach the UK market - deliberately - from its second, third, or fourth-tier cities. Attention is manageable from Birmingham or Newcastle in ways that are markedly easier than any such "media-blitz" from Novosibirsk, say. The insistent regionalism of Russian radio, exacerbated by the evolution of genre-specific stations since the mid-90s, helps nobody in the field of dance. A move to smaller British cities could do Russian dance music some very big favors. More so than in southern Germany, where it appears that even leaving home is an insurmountable obstacle.
As Solarstone said recently: "Santerna has been releasing a steady stream of beautiful, deep and moody prog-trance masterpieces for the last couple of years, he is one of the few producers today that can create analogue emotion in a digital world. " As the banner below suggests, a combination of analogue emotion or "atmosphere," together with some broadcasting tools for a digital world, could solve some major problems within Russian media.
It may be time to invest in a mini-bus and a tour of northern England. Should funding be in short supply, Santerna's dancers seem already equipped to moonlight as road workers. All that's needed is a bacon sandwich, a cup of tea, a tabloid paper - and the cultural transformation is complete. Russian dance music will thank them.
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