The second MIGZ Festival will hit Moscow at 1 p.m. on Friday at 35MM cinema and will spread throughout the city's most popular nightspots until (at least) 7 a.m. Saturday morning. The brainchild of Alexei Sherbina, founder of the popular Russian electronic music site 44100.com, the festival showcases a large number of Russian and international musicians and visual artists for an extensive look at modern technology's affects on film, music and design.
"In my opinion, technology makes it possible for people to realize their own creative ambitions and simply allows their souls to 'sing,'" said Sherbina. "Computers are always going to help and allow human ideas to assume forms, sounds and images."
The "MigzDay" program will feature enough eye and ear candy to keep patrons fascinated until the music starts at 6 p.m. At 1:30 p.m., certified Mac expert Andrei Dementyev will give a master class on Apple's Logic recording software using virtual synthesizers and drum programming. A few hours later, Russian music writer Andrei Gorokhov will give a lecture titled "Yevroremont Pustoty," which will address issues of design in the modern world. And at 5:30 p.m., Pfadfinderei, a German collective of visual artists, will discuss the work that will be shown later in the evening when Berlin's Moderat headlines the festival -- Pfadfinderei has been touring with the group and produced a DVD that comes with their new album.
Design and music will be the themes at the MigzSpace, an electro-bazaar that will run from 3 p.m. until the festival ends. In the MigzSpace, independent Russian labels will vie for your attention along with interactive art installations, rare musical instruments, young Russian designers and a comics exhibition from design studio Doping-Pong.
When the music kicks off at 6 p.m., there will be two stages to choose from. The "Air" stage, located on the square in front of the theater, will host three Moscow acts -- DJ crew Flammable Beats, techno act Myspacerocket and synthy pop group Tesla Boy -- and Britain's noveau-disco duo Moon Unit. In the big hall inside, which will be known as "MigzCube" for the duration of the evening, will be an alternating program of films and music, some of which will be combined into one performance.
The first film shown on the Cube stage will be "Put Samodelkina," a diploma project by students from the Rodchenko School of Photography and Multimedia. Following the film will be a showcase from the how2make label, featuring the label head Dzhem and Moscow producer Ol; both artists create glitchy, grainy beats that follow certain hip-hop cadences but add layers of gurgling noise, scratchy loops and the occasional sample of Godzilla screaming. Accompanying their performance will be a live video set by an artist called Phetish, and after their set will be about an hour of "how2make films." And it just keeps going from there, with more video art, films and Moscow techno artists, until Germany's Moderat hits the stage at midnight. This trio, a Berlin supergroup of sorts that merges the dark thud of duo Modeselektor with the more pop-leaning solo artist Apparat, just released their second, self-titled album and have been touring the world in support. The visual aspect of the show is not intended to be simply a backdrop; in keeping with the theme of the fest, Pfadfinderei's visuals are considered part of the project itself. All in all, it's a heaping plate of varying artists, some of whom intend to make you dance, some of whom just want you to think.
"We tried to present the most varied performers," said Sherbina. "These musicians, in our view, best reflect the mood and spirit of the festival this year."
But the festivities don't stop there. In line with Moscow nightlife tradition, the party really starts after the metro closes. Six of the city's hippest clubs -- Solyanka, Shanti, Denis Simachev Bar, Shestnadtsat Tonn, DubClub and Propaganda -- will each host all-night, Migz-affilated parties after the festival ends, with a plethora of Moscow and international DJs as well as more visual artists. Half of the clubs will offer free entry, but the only one not utilizing the city's practice of "face control" will be Shestnadtsat Tonn, so look sharp -- or just speak English at the door.
MIGZ Festival starts at 1 p.m. at 35MM theater, 47 Ulitsa Pokrovka, Metro Kurskaya, Krasniye Vorota. Tickets are 600 rubles. For a full schedule of all events, including after parties, see www.Migz.ru
"In my opinion, technology makes it possible for people to realize their own creative ambitions and simply allows their souls to 'sing,'" said Sherbina. "Computers are always going to help and allow human ideas to assume forms, sounds and images."
The "MigzDay" program will feature enough eye and ear candy to keep patrons fascinated until the music starts at 6 p.m. At 1:30 p.m., certified Mac expert Andrei Dementyev will give a master class on Apple's Logic recording software using virtual synthesizers and drum programming. A few hours later, Russian music writer Andrei Gorokhov will give a lecture titled "Yevroremont Pustoty," which will address issues of design in the modern world. And at 5:30 p.m., Pfadfinderei, a German collective of visual artists, will discuss the work that will be shown later in the evening when Berlin's Moderat headlines the festival -- Pfadfinderei has been touring with the group and produced a DVD that comes with their new album.
Design and music will be the themes at the MigzSpace, an electro-bazaar that will run from 3 p.m. until the festival ends. In the MigzSpace, independent Russian labels will vie for your attention along with interactive art installations, rare musical instruments, young Russian designers and a comics exhibition from design studio Doping-Pong.
When the music kicks off at 6 p.m., there will be two stages to choose from. The "Air" stage, located on the square in front of the theater, will host three Moscow acts -- DJ crew Flammable Beats, techno act Myspacerocket and synthy pop group Tesla Boy -- and Britain's noveau-disco duo Moon Unit. In the big hall inside, which will be known as "MigzCube" for the duration of the evening, will be an alternating program of films and music, some of which will be combined into one performance.
The first film shown on the Cube stage will be "Put Samodelkina," a diploma project by students from the Rodchenko School of Photography and Multimedia. Following the film will be a showcase from the how2make label, featuring the label head Dzhem and Moscow producer Ol; both artists create glitchy, grainy beats that follow certain hip-hop cadences but add layers of gurgling noise, scratchy loops and the occasional sample of Godzilla screaming. Accompanying their performance will be a live video set by an artist called Phetish, and after their set will be about an hour of "how2make films." And it just keeps going from there, with more video art, films and Moscow techno artists, until Germany's Moderat hits the stage at midnight. This trio, a Berlin supergroup of sorts that merges the dark thud of duo Modeselektor with the more pop-leaning solo artist Apparat, just released their second, self-titled album and have been touring the world in support. The visual aspect of the show is not intended to be simply a backdrop; in keeping with the theme of the fest, Pfadfinderei's visuals are considered part of the project itself. All in all, it's a heaping plate of varying artists, some of whom intend to make you dance, some of whom just want you to think.
"We tried to present the most varied performers," said Sherbina. "These musicians, in our view, best reflect the mood and spirit of the festival this year."
But the festivities don't stop there. In line with Moscow nightlife tradition, the party really starts after the metro closes. Six of the city's hippest clubs -- Solyanka, Shanti, Denis Simachev Bar, Shestnadtsat Tonn, DubClub and Propaganda -- will each host all-night, Migz-affilated parties after the festival ends, with a plethora of Moscow and international DJs as well as more visual artists. Half of the clubs will offer free entry, but the only one not utilizing the city's practice of "face control" will be Shestnadtsat Tonn, so look sharp -- or just speak English at the door.
MIGZ Festival starts at 1 p.m. at 35MM theater, 47 Ulitsa Pokrovka, Metro Kurskaya, Krasniye Vorota. Tickets are 600 rubles. For a full schedule of all events, including after parties, see www.Migz.ru
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