LABELS
Klammklang
KRASNOYARSK
For approximately a decade, Siberia has been home to some of the most beautiful music on the Russian web. Growing from the meditative demise of a post-rock tradition, young exponents of deep, contemplative techno would eventually become curators and champions of an even quieter mode. Klammklang’s tape music and limited edition vinyl today give voice to an empty landscape that nurtures a humbling, hushed self-expression in its residents.
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Hyperboloid
MOSCOW
Hyperboloid is very much a Moscow endeavor. The label’s name comes, logically, from the capital’s Shukhov Radio Tower that only dates back to the 1920s. It remains a symbol of Lenin’s simultaneous declaration that: “Communism is Soviet government plus the electrification of the whole country.” The Shukov Tower embodies the romance of a weightless force to unify a fractured nation. Today the same vertical structure stands behind an entire catalog of confrontational bass music––not to mention the offshoots that flourish in its wake.
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Highway Records
MOSCOW / ARKHANGELSK
Born on the beaches of Crimea’s Kazantip Festival, Highway Records has/have grown into the nation’s most respected outlet for house recordings. Guided from the outset by Mike Spirit (Moscow) and Alexander Malyutin (aka Spieltape / Arkhangelsk), Highway has a solid reputation overseas. The traditional joys of house, which form an escapist heritage in hard times, are serious business. Hence the enduring tendency of Highway to give apolitical, consoling compositions all the seriousness they deserve.
WAV Podcast 003
MOSCOW
Radio Syg.ma defines itself as “a curated label and broadcasting platform with mixes and podcasts. All material is contributed by independent musicians, sound artists, and related communities.” One of the project’s founders, Alexandra Zakharenko (aka Perila) speaks of her own recordings as: “A movement of air through space and thoughts alike. It’s hard to know, see, or detect their trajectory, but they’re always there ––as momentarily shifting weights in silence.” The same abstract language applies well to the quiet, challenging recordings of Syg.ma.
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Ored Recordings
NALCHIK
In the simplest terms, Ored defines its unique catalog as: “field recordings of authentic traditional music from the Caucasus, Russia, and the world at large.” Everything is lovingly gathered, produced, and presented online by Bulat Khalilov and Timur Kodzokov. “We wander through towns and villages in search of folks whop play traditional music. We want to capture live sound. We try to fix a concrete moment in time, with all of its atmosphere and charming mistakes.”
MixCult
SAINT PETERSBURG
MixCult has operated since in its inception in Saint Petersburg, the world’s most northerly metropolis. To this day it proudly declares a dual fidelity to local radio shows and the operations of an in-house label. A regional record store is yet another responsibility. This is all overseen by DJ and producer Kirill Matveev, who remains very much a norther tastemaker in the realm of deep techno, minimal, dub, and house. Expect both “underground sounds of the present, as well as gems from the past.”
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Fuselab
KRASNODAR
Fuselab can reasonably be considered two projects: the label itself and Floe, a cassette publisher. Both are located in Krasnodar, a southern city with driving distance of the Black Sea. Fuselab’s earliest records, approximately ten years ago, were classifiable as idm or tech-house. Today that range has increased, specifically through the experimental and physical output of Floe. The label’s founders have even turned their hands of late to folk music of the Kuban. Krasnodar remains a rich vein of musical talent, both on and off the dance floor.
Fancy Music
MOSCOW
The uniqueness of Fancy Music is quickly evident, as an independent publisher of new classical and jazz recordings at the more experimental end of either spectrum. In the project’s own words, Fancy Music is basically “a label designed to release new and relevant Russian musician from a range of genres. We consider ourselves an unrestricted platform with sufficient room for a healthy breadth of modern Russian composers and musicians. We are also a launchpad for new names.” Storied traditions are reconsidered and new innovators are loudly endorsed.