seven

this installment of "plug and play parties" series, organized by cheburec took place in a hotel 40km outside of St. Petersburg (Russia). the concept of this event was quite intriguing - about 30 musicians gathered in an isolated retreat outside of the city (those of you that remember cheburec's "out to city" compilations will appreciate the irony) for the celebration of "listening" electronic music.

as we entered a tall hotel building in (what seemed like) the middle of snow-covered woods, we were immediately greeted by the sounds of warp and rephlex artists, a (much needed) warm welcome after an adventurous search for the appropriate transportation from subway station in -15C weather.

the performance space was divided in three parts - a dancefloor/dj area, a chill out with a video projector and plenty of seats, and a large movie theatre with a stage. on one hand having three "stages" made it impossible to fully enjoy some of the overlapping acts, hence I had to compromise between journalistic curiosity and egoistic desire to stay for my favorite musicians. on another hand, this setup is perfect for this kind of music marathon, where one can switch between different music styles, wander around and socialize (with frequent stops at the bar, of course).

the evening started for me around 10pm with a set by syntetika at the movie theatre against the backdrop of tarkovsky's solaris. lena's live keyboards and overall spacey, serene sound of their set matched perfectly with the visuals, providing one of the best introductions to the festival and one of the most memorable performances of the night. it was such an amazing experience to sit back in the amphitheatre in front of the large movie screen and completely immerse in their music.

next was eu with their improvised set based on the new material off warm math. although I do like the album quite a lot, the live performance was a bit of a disappointment. somehow the set did not "click" completely - it turned out to be a very bleak performance; I cannot tell whether it was due to the sound, or to my overall mindset that was not fully "in tune" with their music. somehow I kept craving for more melody and more accentuated rhythms, perhaps missing a lot of the subtleties in my agitated state of mind (the usual drawbacks resulting from being an opening act?).

somewhere in between these sets I ventured out to the dancefloor area to see toyshop perform. I was impressed with his very professional, very clean and fast-paced idm with the usual balance of melodic urban naiveté and heavy crunchiness. too bad it was so reminiscent of many other idm acts; in other setting I would have enjoyed his set quite a lot, but this time around my journalistic zeal carried me away from the stage.

in the chillout area a few djs were entertaining the public with a very good assortment of "classic" idm, later followed by live sets from novel23 and ambidextrous. I am a bit surprised by the choice of the performance space, since I would have loved to dance to both acts, but this will remain as one (of the very few) gripes against the organizers. a dancefloor would have been of much help during novel's set, since he played a very energetic and high-quality material that did not deviate much from the studio recordings.

ambidextrous followed shortly afterwards with heavily remixed versions of his older material and brand new stuff from the upcoming album on shaped harmonics - more rhythmic, and at times even electro-sounding tracks with a slight funky touch. it was nice to witness this impressive progress, compared to the older material, and once again I wished for louder sound and bigger space, capable of accommodating his music.

fizzarum was another highlight for me, roughly half of their tracks were perfect, providing a nice balance between melody and crunchy processed dsp trickery. I thought I was past that stage in idm, but their take on it was very appropriate in the setting of the movie theatre, and I just kicked back in the seat and enjoyed the sound manipulations, tasting every detail and appreciating those moments when a melody would emerge from these layers.

at some point (in a futile attempt to catch a moment when a line at the bar would be minimal) I got to witness a set by zelany rashoho. it seemed as if all the club-goers finally got to unleash their waiting feet and dance to this combination of jazz, post-rock and electronica. their set worked in contrast with other performances, providing a straightforward emotional charge that might have been lacking in other sets from the standpoint of casual audience. although I was fully aware of their "success by contrast", I could not resist the energy of the set, especially the masterful blend of electronica (provided by tenzor) and acoustic elements.

pcp was yet another welcome break, a blend of heavy beats and jazzy darker atmosphere; at first I almost dismissed it as being too "ordinary" and too easily accessible, but quickly enough I was pulled in by their sound and remained seated for quite a while, just letting the music envelope me, enjoying its simplicity and energy.

kneeling in front of his equipment, rocking from side to side, lazyfish presented rather an amusing spectacle. I recognized a few things from his full-length album, including my all-time favorite "june, moscow". the rest of the set was not as appealing, being a hybrid between dubby techno and idm that could have benefited from an earlier timeslot and perhaps even a dancefloor.

as the night progressed, I have settled down in the theatre area for what turned out to be the most impressive series of performances; it seems like the atmosphere of the event and my mindset finally "clicked" for the most memorable experience. alexandroid showed a glimpse of his ambient material that is upcoming on shaped harmonics; his polished dark atmospheres with an occasional rhythmic touch prepared the audience for another highlight - beautumn (yet one more ambient act with a new album on shaped harmonics). while alexandroid pursued more technoid side of ambience, beautumn (which really is another project of sleepy town manufacture) explores more organic side of the genre, creating very ethereal, deeply emotional compositions with pulsating electronic textures. its layered enveloping sound was perfect for this late hour, and once again I had the organizers to thank for the choice of the performance space.

local spirit (also known under a-zone and ronin beat) was the last live act for the night, further moving into the atmospheric acoustic realm with their choice of live instruments, a perfect soundtrack for the dreams that most of the audience was seeing at the time, taking advantage of the comfortable theatre seats.

as I was stumbling around and gathering my companions, I gravitated to the dancefloor, where andrei muhomorov (cheburec's head himself) played an excellent disco-electro set; among other goodies I recognized (and happily danced to) legowelt, supercollider and i-f - a perfect end of the night, and a welcome energy booster for the trip back to the city.

i have to mention the professional level of this event that reminded me of renowned music festivals, instead of the usual grassroots movement I am accustomed to. the pr campaign and the number of sponsors involved was most impressive. another pleasant surprise was the crowd - I was afraid to see too many "club kids" expecting dancefloor action, but in general the crowd (there were about a thousand people) was very receptive and open-minded.

these festival series should attract attention of both russian and foreign music circles, there are a lot of possibilities to develop upon this concept, resulting in more complete experience with thought-out visuals, ties to gallery spaces that could display their work, multimedia installations, etc. in other words, this festival was an impressive landmark that outlined a lot of opportunities for further growth, an event that has a real potential to push this style of electronic music.