- As I blearily looked out my hotel window on Sunday morning at 8 AM at the end of the Sochi Winter Music Conference (SWMC), I couldn't help but notice the sight (and sound) of workers hammering away on what looked to be a massive structure. The city will host the Winter Olympics soon, and it's very much under construction. The same could be said for the Russian electronic music scene in general. While there are massive scenes throughout the country—especially for drum & bass, among other genres—it very much feels like a place that is still building an infrastructure to support emerging talents in the same way as it does superstars.
The SWMC is one of those building blocks, a chance for many of the country's DJs, labels, promoters and media to attend panels, network and even party a bit. As an English-speaking participant, it's obviously hard to get a handle on how good the Russian panels were. That discussions are being had at all, however, is an encouraging sign that there is a willingness to learn and exchange ideas. Like nearly any gathering like this, though, it's more about the conversations had outside of the conference hall—and, in bringing together some of Russia's key electronic music people, it makes those conversations all the more important.
The locale doesn't hurt. Sochi is on the Black Sea, in the South of Russia, so the weather is actually rather mild compared to, say, Moscow. (In the same way that the original WMC could have easily been held in New York, Russians also will take any excuse to escape the snow for a while.) Another advantage over Moscow is how small the city is—at least in terms of where the club nights took place. Three clubs in a night? No problem when each cab ride is less than five minutes.
Clubs-wise, SWMC has a long way to go before it ever becomes a destination. While there was plenty of talent on offer—Nina Kraviz, Perc, Booka Shade, Luca Bacchetti and X-Press 2 were among the headliners—if you like a specific genre of electronic music, there was never a question where you might end up on any given night. And, to be perfectly frank, there wasn't really a standout club of the five venues I attended. That goes back to infrastructure. Russia's scene, in some ways, is reminiscent of Brazil. There are a number of amazing clubs in the country, but few homegrown DJs that have become working internationals ala Nina Kraviz. SWMC is an encouraging sign that this is well on its way to changing.