This year's Sochi Winter Music Conference (SWMC) will take place from February 7th through the 10th.

The annual conference will take place for the eighth time in Sochi, a Black Sea resort in southern Russia. RA's review of the 2012 SWMC described the conference as one of the Russian electronic music scene's "building blocks" that succeeded in bringing together some of the country's key music figures. In addition to daytime activities the conference offers—such as panels, lectures and roundtable discussions—the evening sees international and local artists perform in Sochi's bars and clubs. This year's program has Berlin-based artists Tiefschwarz, Jeremy P. Caulfield and MANFLY (AKA M.A.N.D.Y. and Audiofly) all booked to play.

For the next RA VS party, we're returning to Moscow for an all-night party at one of our favourite clubs, the cavernous ARMA17.

The VS concept has realised some memorable nights already this year, and going head-to-head this time are two longtime favorites: Lee Burridge and Cassy. The former has been an international heavyweight for over a decade, but new fans maybe most familiar with All Day I Dream, his recent label and event series that pushes a more warm and intimate club sound. The latter broke through as a Panorama Bar resident but has since become a force unto herself, delivering her punchy and soulful brand of house all over the world, from intimate afterhours in Berlin to enormous gigs like Ultra Music Festival in Miami. With no fixed closing time, the pair will have the chance to spread their wings throughout the night and into the next day.

Burridge and Cassy aren't the only highlights on the bill. Joining them in the gallery are Raster-Noton artist Kangding Ray (performing with a full band), Russian techno specialist Dasha Rush and a staple of ARMA's label, Easy Changes. Meanwhile, Appleblim and 2562 will be dishing out bass music's crème de la crème in Bar17, joined by two of the club's residents. Detroit native Delano Smith shares the Studio with Dusty Baron and recent RA podcaster, Ukrainian house outsider, Vakula.

St. Petersburg producer Vlad Kudryavtsev, AKA Monokle, will release a new album in November called Saints.

Kudryavtsev has been flying under the radar for years now, with a handful of past albums on esoteric labels like Germany's 12rec and iD.EOLOGY. Taking inspiration from turn-of-the-20th-century composer Erik Satie, his songs pair dreamy ambience with fluttering beats that hint at bass music and hip-hop. Saints is his fifth full-length, and his first on Hamburg's Ki Records, the same label that released Christian Löffler's acclaimed album A Forest in June. It will be available digitally, on CD and double-LP, with three extra tracks on the vinyl version.

Tracklist
01. Holt Found
02. Glow
03. Even
04. Swan
05. Slower feat. Nadya Gritskevich
06. Homesick
07. Arrows
08. Embers
09. Fever

Ki Records will release Saints on October 5th, 2012.

Russian producer Proxy is ready to release his debut album, Music From The Eastblock Jungles Part 1.

Real name Evgeny Pozharnov, Proxy hails from Vladivostok, one of Russia's easternmost cities, where he's been making music in relative isolation for years. One his key influences is The Prodigy, who he saw play live in the Red Square years, and whose in-your-face rave aesthetic still colors most of his productions. Proxy's big break came about five years ago when Tiga agreed to release his first record on Turbo Recordings. The Canadian label has been Proxy's home ever since, and will release his upcoming LP (along with Dim Mak, Steve Aoki's label, who will release it in the US).

Music From The Eastblock Jungles Part 1 is due out in November, to be followed by Part 2 in February of 2013. You can hear a full cut from the album over on Proxy's SoundCloud page.

Tracklist
01. Red Juke
02. Raw
03. Raven (Original 08)
04. Revolution
05. Junk
06. Dance In Dark
07. Raja Ganja
08. In Time (Skit)
09. 8000
10. Shut Up!
11. Abyss

Turbo Recordings will release Music From The Eastblock Jungles Part 1 on November 6th, 2012.

Nocow will release Ruins Tape on vinyl for the first time in June.

St. Petersburg's Alexey Nikitin has been making hip-hop(ish) beats since 2009, releasing digitally on various labels like Parallax and gimme5, as well as a ten-inch EP on Anton Zap's Ethereal Sound last year. It was aruond that same time on gimme5 that Nikitin released his Ruin Tapes album, which will be given a full physical (vinyl) release this summer by Hamburg's Fauxpas Musik, which has previously put out records from Desolate and Yoko Duo. Ruins Tape is a 12-track album of atmospheric beat music that leans towards hip-hop and garage, with no additions or unreleased material added for the re-release.

Tracklist
A1 Allow
A2 Up on a Roof
A3 Overnight
A4 Round in Circles
A5 Moonlight Flit
A6 Indoubt
B1 Dustin' You
B2 Long Way Home
B3 Thorny Path
B4 Dispel the Wind
B5 You Got Me
B6 Ruins

Fauxpaus Musik will release Ruins Tape on June 25, 2012.

The Russian pair of Anton Kublikov and Maxim Milyutenko, will release their fifth studio album in April, entitled Metamorphosis.

It's been around four years since SCSI-9 released their last album on Kompakt. Prior to that, they mined a similar minimal sound for their full-length on Force Tracks in 2003 while releasing more melodic 12-inches on Subotnik and Trapez. Their latest album on Athens' Klik Records strays into darker and more ambient territory, with SCSI-9 aiming for moodier atmospheres. To this end the Viennese electronic experimental composer Zanshin AKA Gregor Ladenhauf offers his voice on "Song From The High Tower" and "I'm Lost," drawing more on his work as part of house duo Ogris Debris. Metamorphosis will be available on CD and double-vinyl, with a free CD included in the vinyl release.

Tracklist
01. Intronome
02. Schaukel Duo
03. Nostalgia
04. Had I but things like thine
05. Song from the high tower
06. I'm lost
07. Metamorphosis
08. Moebius
09. Alphaville
10. Ellsworh land

Klik Records will release Metamorphosis on April 12th, 2012.

This year's Sochi Winter Music Conference will take place from February 9th through the 12th.

Now in its seventh year running, SWMC is a four-day event in Sochi, a Russian resort on the Black Sea, where Russia's electronic music industry connects with the rest of the world. Its daytime program is curated by the blogger and industry guru Jonty Skrufff, and features panels with industry figures from around the globe, including people from Amsterdam Dance Event, Mixmag, DanceTrippin.TV and Resident Advisor. The nighttime portion bills dozens of DJs and live acts at nightclubs around Sochi, from Russian artists like Nina Kraviz and Easy Changes to international acts like Perc, X-Press 2, Booka Shade and LA collective Culprit.

Nina Kraviz is ready to release her debut album on Rekids.

Slated for release in February, the self-titled LP comes two years after Kraviz's first 12-inch on Jus-Ed's Uderground Quality imprint. The Russian DJ and producer (and one-time Breaking Through artist) has been highly in-demand ever since, with EPs on BPitch Control, Efdemin's Naïf imprint and finally Rekids, the label that's hosted her past few EPs and invited her to play at Panorama Bar in Berlin.

The upcoming album features all previously unreleased songs, except for "Ghetto Kraviz," the title track from her most recent EP. Keen-eared listeners might also recognize a few bits from her 2009 mix for Underground Quality's Club Tape Club Mix.

Chatting over Skype earlier this week, Kraviz gave us some personal insight on her debut LP:

When and where did you record the album?

I started to record my album around two years ago. It wasn't like with bands, when you have your contract and you are just in the studio and record every day—that was not the case with me. For me it was more like compiling my songs into an album, but at the same time when I had stronger songs I knew wanted them in the album, and I had some transition songs, you know? Some of the songs from the album were recorded just five months ago, but basically it was finished half a year ago.

Do you have a studio in your apartment?

Yes, I have my studio at my apartment in Moscow. I have a lot of synths, a Yamaha, Korg, a mini moog... my studio is really simple. Nothing super special, but all of the instruments I use are quite precious to me. I love being in my Moscow studio when I have a chance. Over the summer I was traveling four days a week and that was really tough. Sometimes I would record in hotels just to capture a moment, some texture or emotion.

What's it like being a house artist in Moscow?

Moscow is my city and of course I love it, but it can be difficult as an artist here. The scene is very competitive, people can be jealous. I was just fired from my night [at Propaganda]—they replaced me with someone else. So yes, sometimes I feel all my efforts here aren't appreciated.

Do you think you'll ever move?

Yes, I'm thinking about it. Maybe to Berlin, maybe Paris, or something very small, maybe Innsbruck in Austria because it is ten minutes from the mountains and close to the airport.

Some of the songs on your album seem inspired by relationships. Do experiences like that often influence your productions?

Yes, all of my productions are very intimate, very personal. The whole album is about me, my suffering, my life. It's always based on emotion and has something to do with real life. That is the most important thing.

Who is the Ben in "4 Ben"?

[laughs] I don't know if I should say. It is a very special Ben, that is for sure. A very special Ben.

What's next?

I want to set up my live act, and of course to continue DJing. I love DJing. I can't tell if I'm a DJ first and a producer second or vice versa, but in any case I have a lovely job, and I can't wait to continue.

Tracklist
01. Walking In The Night feat. Hard Ton
02. Aus feat. King Aus
03. Ghetto Kraviz
04. Taxi Talk
05. False Attraction
06. Working
07. Choices
08. Love Or Go
09. Best Friend
10. 4 Ben
11. Turn On The Radio
12. Petr
13. The Needle
14. Fire

Rekids will release Nina Kraviz on February 27th, 2012.

RA is ready to unveil details for the X party in Moscow, taking place on September 10th at Arma17.

The fifth stop on our jaunt around the globe just might be our biggest yet. In addition to the X, the night's program boasts Radio Slave and Jamie Jones, both A-list DJs and label curators (of REKIDS and Hot Creations respectively). Coming off one of this year's most acclaimed techno albums, Morphosis will play live and DJ. The rest of the bill includes breakthrough deep house artist Deniz Kurtel, Panorama Bar resident Margaret Dygas and outspoken DJ and producer Jay Haze. AntonZap adds an ethereal (and local) touch to the party. Arma17's residents will provide the night's support. Per usual, the X's identity will remain unknown until the moment his or her set begins.

Stefan Marx, a German artist most readers will know by his iconic sleeve designs for Smallville Records, has done the poster honors. Staying true to form, he's whipped up something hazy and dreamlike for the night's screen print, which is available in a limited run of 75 through the event listing.

Russian nightclub ARMA17 have launched a new record label called ARMA.

Set in a 19th century industrial complex in Moscow, ARMA17 has been a key fixture of the city's nightlife since 2008. It's goal has been to bring acclaimed underground artists to Russia, while at the same time putting the city's own scene on the map. "There was a clear need to change Moscow's existing scene," say the club's management. "When we launched ARMA17 it was almost the only spot in the city which was not built around luxury or a commercial agenda, but we definitely created a new fresh movement. The current Moscow club scene can offer a number of venues with quality music." In the three years it's been open, ARMA17 has hosted dozens of artists like Ricardo Villalobos, Seth Troxler, Shackleton and a:rpia:r, always billing local DJs as well.

ARMA follows a similar concept. The label places a dual emphasis on international artists and Russian DJs and producers, some established, some just getting started. ARMA 01, for instance, features Bruno Pronsato and dOP alongside Moscow's AntonZap and up-and-comers Easy Changes and Andrey Zots. Future 12-inches continue this trend with tracks from Akiko Kiyama and local stalwarts like Dusty Baron and DJ Jungle.

Tracklist
01. Anton Zap - Fidget
02. Piticu - mke
03. Easy Changes - Canes Venatici
04. Bruno Pronsato - US Lipstick
05. Vakula - Lool 08
06. Andrey Zots - Useless
07. Id10ts - Nu Vot (B.A.D. & dOP Remix)

ARMA 01 is currently available on ARMA.