Stas Simonov / Стас Симонов

A number of remixes, compilations, and samplers this month show the power of collaboration. Not only from a creative point of view, but also as a way of overcoming commercial and cultural disparities.

These four musicians all have telling relationships to the past. They approach the future's opportunity for innovation with one eye upon childhood - or the hometowns thereof. The past - in all cases - shapes a demanding future.