The Russian nightlife industry has undergone significant changes in recent years. The reason for this was both foreign policy events and a series of high-profile parties in Moscow and the regions. Despite this, various promotional groups actively take the lead and continue to launch successful projects both in the capital and beyond. We talk about those who make the loudest parties here and now.
The first DFF team parties took place 11 years ago and during this time they grew from one-day events into a successful restaurant business around which a community of like-minded people was built. The project was created by five friends: Vanya Popov, Lesha Morozov, Marko Mihich-Eftich, Arthur Semkov and Denis Kryazhev. The peculiarity of the events is that they do not have a clear target audience, so on the site you can meet people of different ages, professions and interests.
The crisis has taken its toll and the team recently closed the Jane and Late Check Out bars at the Marco Polo Hotel. Now the guys are focusing on their first creation, the Deep Fried Friends restaurant on Taganka, and are actively developing it.
Following the closure of the French geosocial app Zenly, Maxim Klimchuk, Dmitry Trachuk and Maria Mysh decided to create its Russian counterpart. At the end of February 2023, they launched Blink on the App Store. The app quickly reached number one in the Social Networks category, gaining over 200,000 active users within a month. The main feature is the ability to track the geolocation of friends in real time.
The success inspired the team to organize a series of parties across Russia, which became a hit thanks to the participation of famous artists and the atmosphere of a closed rave “for their own people.” The events have already taken place in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. The invited artists include Maeby Baby, GSPD, KUOK, Saluki, Sqwoz Bab and Fedya Booker. In addition to musical performances, the events also feature raffles of merchandise and gaming computers. The next Blink party will take place in Kazan in August.
Cherta is a Moscow-based association of artists that has become a landmark of the Russian electronic scene. Over its four years of existence, the promotional group has established itself as a centre of attraction for lovers of high-quality electronic music and the atmosphere of summer raves at the legendary Arma.
At Cherta Music parties, taking photos and videos is strictly prohibited so that guests can fully immerse themselves in the atmosphere (camera devices are sealed at the entrance). The promotional group is also actively developing podcasts and mixes on the Soundcloud platform, so you can listen to music and have a party at home at any time.
The Moscow team Northern Sound has long earned recognition from club audiences both in the capital and beyond. Founded in 2003, the promotional group is one of the leading Russian organizations in the dance and concert sphere. For many years, the team has attracted the most sought-after artists worldwide, such as Chase & Status, Borgore, Angerfist, Panacea, Aphrodite, and has provided legal support for booking.
Northern Sound develops show scripts and stage designs: the promotion group has held more than 100 events, including large-scale hardcore events and multi-format raves with thousands of people. In 2005, the Under Pressure brand was created, which determined the development of the Russian hardcore scene. Since 2014, the team has been presenting the club tour of the world’s largest hardcore event in Russia – Masters of Hardcore, which attracts the label’s best DJs.
Founded in 2013, the Monasterio promotional group quickly established itself as one of the leading associations of the Russian techno scene. Specializing in organizing raves in Moscow, the team attracts electronic music lovers from all over the country. Stars of the genre such as D|K|Oxy, Roks, Mrac, Chain Damage, Gemüt, Bsls and Inquisitor performed at the events.
The team’s events are compact in scale, but always with an exemplary line-up: British DJ Perc, German anonymous SNTS and French apologist for high-speed, fluid techno Hadone have already performed under the auspices of Monasterio.
Raduga nightclub is one of the brightest venues in Moscow and opened its doors in 2020 in a mansion on Malaya Ordynka. The project started as a joint initiative between the label System 108 and the photo studio White Studios and quickly gained popularity thanks to its special atmosphere and stylish parties.
It all started when Zhenya (Daniil Senichkin) was in Blanc, after which the team decided to create their own club. The founders say that the main feature of Rainbow is the people, that’s why the events are famous for their friendly and inclusive atmosphere, where everyone can find like-minded people. This year, the creators of the project launched a new clothing brand, one hundred and eight, the concept of which is based on freedom of expression and the close interrelation of various areas of contemporary art.
“Gorkovskaya Metro Station” is a branded party created by promoters, DJs and producers from Nizhny Novgorod. The first meeting was a challenge: the team was looking for an interesting and memorable name and decided to name themselves after the central metro station of Nizhny Novgorod, emphasizing their roots.
The event then brought together a small club of 200 people, which was a significant achievement. Since then, Gorkovskaya quickly gained popularity and organized a tour of central Russia with a final party in Nizhny. The team proved that interesting events can be held not only in Moscow or St. Petersburg: people from all over the country and even from abroad come to the promotional group’s parties to immerse themselves in the unique atmosphere of the Nizhny Novgorod rave.
Biicmak are signature parties by Moscow DJ Biicla. The community is famous for its mixtapes, playlists and unconventional approaches to organizing events that combine audiovisual performances. At the parties you can hear the artist’s sets in his own hyperhouse genre.
Biicla is one of the key players of the Russian electronic scene. The DJ and sound producer has tours in the USA and collaborations with global labels, such as Good Luck Have Fun. The musician plays sets in the house genre, combining them with live vocals (in 2020 he was recognized as one of the best electronic artists according to BOOM). In 2022 Biicla performed at a festival in Chicago and in 2023 in Paris. In addition to parties, the project team is developing a portal about electronic music, which attracts millions of streams on Spotify and hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
Stvol is a group of like-minded people involved in the development of music in Russia. The label, launched in April 2021, releases exclusively Russian projects and performers in an authentic style. The founders of the community, creators of the Cream Soda music group, Dima Nova and Ilya Gadaev, conceived Stvol not just as a commercial organization, but as a creative association.
The name reflects the aesthetics of Russian residential areas and the aggression of the metro. The main idea of the project is to promote music by original contemporary performers from Russia. The label regularly organizes parties with DJs and iconic artists, bringing together residents, friends and members of the creative industry. Artists such as Ilya Gadaev, RLGN, Easy Fresh, Sasha Khizhnyakov, Arkadich, Sasha Kustov, Reptiloid and others will perform at the first summer party this year at Arma Moscow.
