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Muchnik's Picks: Guru Groove Foundation, Ellen Oleria and More Music in Moscow on the Weekend

The coming weekend is going to be one of the few this summer free of music festivals. But that doesn't mean there's nothing going on in terms of great concerts, and some of them will even be in the open air! Check out our selection this week.

Machinedrum is the stage name of Travis Stewart, a famous producer and one half of the duo Sepalcure who made headlines with their 2011 hit "Pencil Pimp." Travis also collaborated with the likes of Theophilus London and Azealia Banks and wrote a song for Oscar-winning film Black Swan. Following a recent move to Kreuzberg, Berlin Machinedrum signed up with the esteemed label Ninja Tune and has been experimenting with drum and bass.

Krugozor. 3 Bumazhny Proyezd. Metro Belorusskaya. Entrance 500 rubles ($8). Friday at 11 p.m.

Guru Groove Foundation, an English language indie-pop band from Moscow, will present their new EP "Over You" this Friday. Guru Groove Foundation is known as one of the few Russian bands successfully playing a mix of acid jazz, funk and lounge music. They've opened for Western artists like De Phazz, Janelle Monae, and Sinead O'Connor. Guru Groove Foundation have already released two full length albums and have just produced a new EP

Yotaspace. 11 Ulitsa Ordzhonikidze. Metro Leninsky Prospekt. Tickets from 300 rubles ($5). Friday, at 8 p.m.

La Sera started as the side project of Katy Goodman, lead singer of Vivian Girls. But now that Vivian Girls have gone their separate ways, La Sera has become the main focus of Katy's career. She has released four albums so far and her music can be described as indie-folk or twee-pop, reminiscent of bands like Tennis and She & Him. The Russian band Parks, Squares & Alleys will open for La Sera, while Kate Shilonosova and Zhenya Gorbunov of Glintshake, as well as Arseny Morozov of Sonic Death will play DJ sets. And if that's not enough there will also be a nighttime vintage market at Strelka.

Strelka. 14 Bersenevskaya Naberezhnaya, Bldg. 5, Metro Polyanka, Kropotkinskaya. Free entrance, register here https://barstrelka.timepad.ru/event/341977/. Saturday at 8 p.m.

Ellen Oleria won the Brazilian Voice competition several years ago and became a national star. She's been touring extensively abroad and took part in a couple of Usadba Jazz festivals in Russia. Oleria plays traditional Brazilian music (samba and bossa nova) combined with hip hop, rock and funk. It's not something you hear often in Moscow so it's worth checking out.

16 Tons. 6/1 Ulitsa Presnensky Val. Metro Ulitsa 1905 Goda. Tickets from 1,000 rubles ($15). Sunday at 8 p.m.

Hospital is one of the leading English-language Russian indie-rock bands. They opened for bands like The Neighborhood and The Kooks and already released two albums. The latest one entitled "Uncommon Sense" came out in 2015 and there was a couple of successful singles — "Lovergirl" and "Ariel." You can see them for free on Sunday.

Mumy Troll Music Bar. 7 Ulitsa Tverskaya. Metro Okhotny Ryad, Teatralnaya. Free entrance. Sunday at 9 p.m.

Contact the author at artsreporter@imedia.ru

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