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A few days ago, the Samara-based DJ and composer Alla Farmer posted some revealing observations on her Facebook page in Russian: "Being your own manager is a daily nightmare: I can never remember which label I've promised material to, what remix I'm supposed to be working on, or what my deadline is! I can't remember where or when I'm supposed to be traveling, what papers I ought to sign, or what matters need to be discussed." And then, almost immediately afterwards, a few more hopeful phrases appear: "A really cool Ukrainian label is publishing a nifty sampler with some of my music..."
Relief comes from collaboration - and a related support system. As we'll show, a number of remixes and samplers this month underscore the power of teamwork. Not only from a creative point of view, but also as a way of overcoming enormous cultural and commercial disparities.
A really cool Ukrainian label is publishing a nifty sampler with some of my work...
The first label in question - to which Alla Farmer refers - is High-Jack Records, based in Kiev. We've written before of High-Jack and with enthusiasm, although the label itself maintains a fairly low profile. As we mentioned on our last visit, one of their main web venues involves no promo-text, save a business-like list of artists and a pithy discography.
That terse statement of purpose is then replaced by the kind of imagery that owes much to Malevich. Devoid of all perspective, some pitch-black or chromatically "deep" realm is celebrated in dramatic form with the merest outline of a skate, which - were it not for a yellow stencil - would also be absent. The resonant emptiness of these Kievan tech-house tracks begins to make a great deal of sense, as the paradoxical promise of a "full void" - in Malevich's famous celebration of other black squares.
Similar games are played by High-Jack artists, such as Max Belous (below) from Zaporozh'e, who is showcased in our audio player and visually positioned again nothing much at all. The absence of support, tradition, and even habit in these new digital realms allows for novel enterprise. Nothingness has its benefits, in that it at least guarantees a freedom of movement, be it literal or generic.
Against this celebration of black or white "vacancy" - and with very little PR! - one kind of activity takes center stage: collaboration. There's little to say or show, but lots to do: the prevalence of common effort, rather than of background chatter, is clear in all the recordings under discussion here. The High-Jack sampler is a wonderfully enthusiastic (and reticent) introduction to the ways in which Russian and Ukrainian tech-house artists are pooling their talents. This five-track effort involves not only the sounds of Alla Farmer, but also Max Belous, Vadim Griboedoff, and Yaha Zveroboy - all of whom are celebrated often on FFM.
Max Belous (Zaporozh'e, Ukraine)
Another equally sunny and optimistic compilation has just appeared from Moscow's Highway Records. Although Highway is based in the Russian capital, it also has links to southern, warmer realms - and not only through its artwork, which usually involves lots of sand and sea. The most important of these north-south connections has been with the city of Krasnodar, home to the small collective known as Modul - often praised loudly on this site. (And we shouldn't, of course, forget that Modul themselves are the driving force behind southern Russia's most influential electro-project, FUSElab.)
Highway Records: a 'Moscow techno/house label, uniting talented Russian sound producers'
Highway's owner - DJ Mike Spirit - has, in fact, released Modul's compositions before, specifically as part of his ongoing "High Tide" albums. Tracks from the newest "High Tide" CD are offered here. Now, as earlier, these albums also serve to showcase material from BarBQ, BVoice & KHz, and SCSI-9, well known to club goers in the capital and beyond.
In bringing together various generations and locations of Slavic dance music, projects such as Highway give hope for future forms of creative and commercial aggregation. Perhaps the easiest way to stay abreast of the label's movements is through a generous supply of podcasts or stream selections at Soundcloud. The hunched shoulders of Maksim Miliutenko and Anton Kubikov below should give us some indication of the regular, even insistent rate at which that audio is forthcoming.
SCSI-9 (Moscow: Maksim Miliutenko [right] and Anton Kubikov)
Readers of FFM might recall that Mike Spirit recently gave an interview to the Krasnodar press on the subject of modern dance music, and what might possibly link three distant locations such as Moscow, Krasnodar, and Zaporozh'e to general benefit. His line of thought began after a specific question, in which he was asked whether cities outside of Moscow, St Petersburg, and Kiev have any chance of participating - meaningfully! - in the development of dancefloor culture.
His response, in positive tones, reflected the fact that increasing numbers of "regional" projects are evident at the national Winter Music Conference in Sochi. "Every year, I see more representatives from Kazan, Rostov-na-Donu, Tula, Ekaterinburg, Krasnodar, and other cities..."
I'm generally pleased with the way that dance music's developing
He then continued: "I'm generally pleased with the way that dance music's developing [in both Russia and Ukraine]. I see more and more DJs who play good, relevant music... and not just that electro-junk you'd hear two-three years ago. I sense more heart, soul, and general 'movement' in the playlists of regional DJs. There's a lot more than just heavy, clumsy stuff [which you might expect]. That can only be cause for celebration!"
Spirit is in a good professional position to make these observations - and offer organizational advice. His own career goes back to the halcyon, earliest years of post-Soviet dance in the mid-'90s. Garnering experience in some of the first clubs to appear within that commercial context, he would go on to enjoy residences both across continental Europe and in the US. He now operates three record labels and enjoys a nationwide audience in Ukraine with his regularly broadcast overviews of European house and tech-house.
Cover art for the newest "High Tide" compilation (Highway Records)
Perhaps the best indication of his standing and/or status has come with a recent series of parties at Moscow's Arma17, together with directorial duties both at Ukraine's Kazantip Festival and the Winter Music Conference.
Cynics might declare that the raison d'etre of these compilations, despite today's "post-piracy" liberties, is nonetheless driven by future financial goals. In other words, for all the romance of shared effort, these collective packages are perhaps forms of so-called "product bundling," familiar to those businesses in which low levels of customer enthusiasm can occasionally be overcome by high-quantity output. Desirable goods are packaged together with less desirable items and sold at a low cost, thus allowing manufacturers to shift all manner of unappealing nonsense.
Be open-hearted, honest... and stay upbeat! (Mike Spirit)
Bundles, however, only make financial sense when economies of scale (in production) and scope (in distribution) come into play: neither large output numbers nor wide distribution schemes are at work here. For all the huge distances covered by these collaborations, the print runs are nothing compared to the heyday of chart-topping vinyl.
In other words, we're still in the realm of long-tail production: a plethora of events, issues, and outlooks are scattered across the map, none of which are able to gain traction in isolation. Only through (underfunded!) effort can teamwork succeed where diligent loners may fail. And so, for that reason, Spirit continues to champion the cause of smaller towns and new names - in the hope of working with them.
Mike Spirit (Moscow)
Spirit recently had the following observation to make in Ufa, for example: "All kinds of dance-related events occur in Moscow - each and every day. Club life there is really doing well. Nonetheless - and I've often said this - there are lots of other towns around Russia with well-developed club scenes, too. I mean the kind of venues that are full of good-looking people, interesting music, gifted DJs, and talented bands." Once more, small towns have a big role to play.
Were we looking for a young, yet promising connection that shows how such matters take hold, it might be useful to consider a new techno maxi-single - "Great, Brown!" - from St. Petersburg musician, Stas Simonov. Here we see the kind of teamwork that grows, eventually, into stronger formats like High-Jack and Highway. Simonov himself continues to collaborate with the Ukrainian label Magnit - and he also commissions remixes from figures such as Petersburg's own techno whiz Nikita Zabelin.
The sound I've been striving for is slowly coming together (Simonov)
As we noted on a prior occasion, Simonov's hometown is faraway Nizhny Tagil, which lies just beyond the point where geographers like to divide Europe from Asia. Not surprisingly, the reason for initial urban development so far from any major city began long ago with investigations into (or the plundering of) nature's bounty. Iron ore was discovered locally at the end of the seventeenth century. That led to long-standing industrial traditions around Nizhny Tagil; Russia's first train, for example, was built in the town. Regional engineers directed some of their earliest efforts towards a mode of escape.
Stas Simonov on Nevsky Prospekt, very far from Nizhny Tagil
Heavy industry has long since lost its appeal for young people, and so - reflecting that social shift - Mr. Simonov himself looked further afield. (Trains were probably involved in his move to the Northern Venice.) Now ensconced in that cold, classical city and playing sometimes upon a suitably Petersburgian quote, he has publicly declared his belief that "music will save the world." How, though, to apply concrete planning to any sentimental, if not quixotic goal? How to transform desire into deeds, especially in today's web-based, virtual contexts?
Music will save the world!
Collaborations pave the way, in that through digital enterprise, common ground is found. This allows for the planning of events and (less risky) visits by faraway visitors. Once material has been remixed, published, and even promoted by kindred spirits in isolated locations, musicians can travel to those same, far-flung addresses knowing that their catalog is already familiar to locals.
The fact that these three new team efforts link regions and even nations is an uplifting indication of current promise. One can imagine online concerts in the future, perhaps joint touring, and so forth. As a result, prior to the lazy decadence of Simonov's artwork (below) or the sun-bathed indolence evoked by Highway's covers, there is much work. Should we need some folksy proof of that work ethic and its local validity, then Russian proverbs are full of praise for the benefits of hard, common slog. One of the most famous holds that without exertion "you'll not pull a fish from a pond." And that's a magic trick unlikely to charm clubbers, even in the sleepiest and least fashionable venue.
Stas Simonov: "Great, Brown!" (2011)
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