The Four Musketeers

So: Dj Spirit, Dj Berg, Dj Feel and Dj Kiriloff.

Dj Kiriloff

Full name: Pavel Kirilov
Where and when born: 14 March 1976, in Moscow, at 19:00
Clubs played: Gorod, Neo, Vinyl, Chivas Lounge
Styles: House music in all its manifestations

Dj Spirit

Full name: Chersky Mikhail Georgievich
Where and when born: 23 May 1979 in Moscow, at 11:40
Clubs played: Ermitazh, Relax, Titan, Khaos, Proton, Les, Gorod
Styles: trip-hop, downtempo, house, tribal, techno

Dj Berg

Full name: Rozenberg Dmitry Romanovich
Where and when born: 16 July 1970 in Moscow, at 13:00
Clubs played: Tabula Rasa, Serdtse, Shestnadtsat Tonn, Gorod
Styles: lounge, techno house, house, deep house, electro

Dj Feel

Full name: Lavrentiev Philipp Alexandrovich
Where and when born: 6 January 1981 in Moscow, at 03:15
Clubs played: Gorod, Neo, Rhythm & Blues Cafe
Styles: House in all its manifestations, downtempo, lounge

How and where did you start playing? Tell us about your first set.

Спирит

My first set was at the club Ermitazh. It lasted 20 minutes. And I got into it when, in the 10th grade, I went on holiday to Spain and, browsing through the vinyl shops, bought a few records, which, by the way, I still play sometimes now. My first record is Jam & Spoon "Stella". In general I started out as a trance DJ – for something like four or five years I was on the trance scene. Then, once I became convinced that the European psychedelic scene wouldn't develop here, I essentially left it.

Кирилов:

1997, the cafe-club Bunker, the center of Moscow, Tverskaya Street, a small establishment. That's probably the place that can be considered the first where my first serious set took place. Although before that there were underground establishments like Titan – that's a cult venue that many party-goers of the mid-90s know. The feelings were mixed. There was, of course, the first excitement, the first mistakes. My friends were there, friends of friends, so everyone was one of us. And everyone knew this would be a party where the DJs' friends play. People danced, drank, mingled. It was a fairly standard version of a party. And then little by little it began to get on its rails, day by day, weekend by weekend...

Фил:

It was in 1998 at the club Treasure Island. It was really something. I was very scared, because I'd only just finished DJ school (Phil finished the 106.8 school under Slava Finist). I had literally my first set of records. Naturally, shaking hands, sweaty palms, a full set of adrenaline sensations.

Берг:

My first set was in '96 at the club Tabula Rasa. A friend brought me there and said he worked there with a buddy and that it was very hard for the two of them to play all night. He asked for help. We played on compact discs. He showed me everything, sat with me for a little while and cleared off to booze it up(!). And after that I was already on my own. True, there weren't many people, it was a Monday and everything went fine. In the end I worked at Tabula for several years. And I started playing on vinyl at the club Meeting Place, in a kind of coffee-shop mode. After some time I started playing at Moscow-Berlin, then there was Shestnadtsat Tonn, Gorod and so on.

Have you tried writing music yourself?

Кирилов:

I get asked this question often. No. I've never written it and never tried, simply for the reason that, even though I may have some natural aptitude for a musical ear, I have absolutely no command of arranging the seven notes in the right order. So, unfortunately, no.

Спирит:

There are experiments, of course. But they don't get taken all the way. Together with my friends Mario and Phil (Dj Feel) we do experiments with sounds. We wanted to make dance compositions during the last Kazantip, but the mood was such that it all came out as trip-hop, downtempo, and sounded more like old-school soundtrack music. We did it all under the impression of the music from the film K-Pax with Kevin Spacey. Good, beautiful music that's hardly releasable. Music that we wrote more for ourselves.

Берг:

I tried to write music – it came out as techno with this kind of hammering. I just twiddled the knobs and recorded it all.

Your favourite records.

Спирит:

There are many. Well, I'd particularly single out Jay Dee "Plastic Dreams".

Фил:

It's very hard to answer this question, because it's impossible to love one thing constantly. There are certain things that give me the chance to remember what once was, and they're connected more with my first experiences of visiting nightclubs. I like all music, it's very hard to name one thing, because you'd forget about another.

Берг:

I have a record on Solid Groove, "Aubrey", which I like very much, then David Duriez, a French DJ (he'll be playing in Moscow soon – I want to ask him for an autograph and hand him a bag with 40-50 of his records, let him be gobsmacked :) I also like a lot of non-dance music.

Кирилов:

A very difficult question, because dance culture is developing quite seriously, and dance tracks appear at a rate of up to a dozen a week. And the records in my bag change periodically – one way or another I tailor my material to our times and to what's relevant. I've never considered myself a trendsetter of musical fashion, I'm not ready to take on such a mission for now. I give the consumer what he needs. I love the records of the group Pet Shop Boys very much, when they were just coming into favour – up to the mid-80s, the beginning of the nineties. I really like the records of the group U2, Bob Marley, Chris Rea. I really like the blues in general. At home or in the car I try not to listen to dance material too often, unless it's something new that I've got no time to listen to except in the car. But for myself, I love easy listening, lounge, which has now actively taken root in Moscow culture. I really like the Cafe del Mar records.

Do you have favourite clubs to work in?

Спирит:

I don't play very much, since I'm not in the category of popular DJs, because there's a notion that the DJs who are residents of Gorod are, first and foremost, people of big venues. Right now I have no optimal club to work in. There are no democratic clubs now. In all the clubs there's glamour and the beau monde. It's all for money, and as for actual cultural clubs, normal ones – there aren't any.

Кирилов:

I like working in clubs where everything is set up for the work – there's good sound, good lighting, a well-arranged dance floor. At the moment I gladly work at the club Neo. The club Gorod was a very good one.

Фил:

There aren't any.

What have you achieved in the musical field?

Спирит:

The biggest achievement for me is the joint project with the company Universal Music – it's the series of compilations "Shyolk", "Moscow-Rome" and "Moscow-Berlin". I took direct part in this project from start to finish and was the sound producer. And also the series of compilations "Mousson", which I consider the strongest compilations on the Russian lounge and downtempo music scene.

Берг:

The main achievement, in my opinion, can be considered the release of the licensed mix "Moscow-Berlin". A licensed mix is something worth striving for, not counting, of course, the release of one's own tracks.

Кирилов:

For 5 years, honestly, I didn't do anything. I was busy polishing my mixes and selecting, compiling tracks for one party or another. And so at the beginning of 2003 my first mix appeared, which went on sale. And this year three promo mixes were put out, called "Winter", "Spring", before Kazantip the record "Summer" came out and in November "Autumn" will come out.

Фил:

I've achieved doing what I love and earning money at the same time. What was initially a hobby grew into work. People know me, invite me to play, I travel to other cities. That's very pleasant for me – that's what I've achieved.

What do you think about big and small venues? Where do you see yourself?

Фил:

I like playing in clubs that are packed with people. The big dance floor of the club Gorod was enough. An open-air is a whole different kitchen. There you have to play slightly different music, it has to differ in sound and be more airy, so to speak.

Берг:

In terms of music and feel, I like halls such as, for example, Propaganda. Clubs that fit about 500 people. I really like playing at open-airs, at big venues, but as a rule such events are connected with hard music. And I like places where people calmly talk, eat, where the music serves as a kind of backdrop for them. The main thing in a club is the right sound. In the future clubs should appear where the sound is of such quality that people can talk on the dance floor calmly, without shouting. For example, at Virus there was very expensive, quality sound, but it was tuned wrong, and in the DJ booth it was 10 times louder than on the dance floor.

Спирит:

I'm a very versatile person and I love everything, but all the same I give preference to big clubs and open-airs. The two and a half years I worked at Gorod taught me a lot. I learned to feel a big dance floor, I know what to do with it and how to behave correctly with a large mass of people.

What kind of music, in your opinion, should play there?

Берг:

The music at big and small venues differs in its content. At small venues the music carries intimacy. There it's better to play romantic tracks, some deep themes. They sound more harmonious. And at big ones, of course, there can be no talk of any romance. And if there is romance, then it's the tranced-out, soaring kind.

Кирилов:

It's hard to say, because having travelled around the country and the world, having seen various clubs, I understand that people are ready to take in any music. If it's the sea, the beach, topless girls, then, of course, it should be light house music and there's no sense in grinding people down with some hard techno. Then again, when you're putting on an open-air in the central belt of Russia, that is, a forest, a big site, a ravine, a quarry – then you can arrange something hard. It all depends on the audience and on the theme of the party.

Спирит:

You can get people going with vocal house too. But, in my opinion, a big venue is, first and foremost, connected with techno music.

Have you played abroad? What's it like there?

Спирит:

Yes, of course. In Germany. I really enjoyed playing in Cologne. There was a party in an abandoned cinema building, a huge number of people packed in, and it took me about 20 minutes to get to the DJ booth. I had a two-hour set, which I played in one breath. Then I really liked the club Kilowatt, in Dresden. The audience is very open. Our Russian DJs differ in their school from the German DJs. We're a bit of a novelty to them. But the dance floor receives us with a bang.

Кирилов:

No. But I've travelled a lot and I want to say that our audience is tuned to harder music than in the West. In the West light dance music is being pushed now.

Берг:

I played – completely by chance, at a little cafe in Prague. I really wanted to play and I asked the local DJ. They gave me an hour to fool around. In principle, I travelled around clubs abroad and understood that roughly the same thing is happening there as here. True, the atmosphere differs, and people's cultural level is different. But the essence is the same, it's just that people have a stereotype about the music.

The club Gorod. How did it all begin?

Спирит:

Zhenya Zotov invited me there, now he's the promoter of the club Neo. He and I have a fairly long relationship, going back to the club Khaos. At that time I still didn't understand what it meant to be a resident of the club Gorod. For me the question of residency isn't about constantly playing in the club, but about actually being the keeper of the atmosphere. You're the person who will step up to the turntables at any moment, and knows what these people need at that moment, now, here. That's a resident. It's a workhorse. For me there's nothing bad about being a workhorse. And I'm ready to play round the clock, because it's my home.

Кирилов:

Through an acquaintance. The art director of the place, Kolya Boodoo, invited me there. My friend Misha Spirit already worked there, and he mentored me all that time.

Берг:

Dubrovsky (the director of Gorod) invited me there. In 2001 at Kazantip, when I was playing at Mousson, Dubrovsky came up to me and invited me to Gorod. At first I regarded it with doubt, because deep house predominated in my collection of dance records, and for a while I had to somehow wriggle out of it. Then, over time, once I'd gathered the material, it got easier.

The most vivid event, in your opinion, at the club Gorod.

Спирит:

Difficult. The most memorable event for me is Laurent Garnier's set. It was the largest party at Gorod. The club was filled to the brim.

Кирилов:

For me, my small personal victory at Gorod was to prove to the audience that hardness and 30 pills a night aren't the main thing, that there's also another kind of leisure, let's say the European kind, which I'd tasted having been to Ibiza, to Ayia Napa.
The most important event at the club Gorod for me was the celebration of my birthday, to which a party across the whole club was dedicated. There were a lot of people and, as they told me afterwards, it was one of the best parties in recent times. I was insanely happy. That day at Gorod there played people I hadn't even dreamed of meeting at the start of my DJ career: Kolya, Grad, Fonar, Koreets, all the club's residents played.

Фил:

Undoubtedly – it's Laurent Garnier's visit.

Берг:

For me the most vivid event at Gorod is our residents' parties.

Residents. Who and what is that now?

Берг:

At first the idea came up that we should do some parties of our own. The club's management wasn't against it. That's how it all started. The main factor that set these parties apart from the rest was that friends were invited to them. That is, the atmosphere in the club was very pleasant from the start. We invited friends and told them it would be great! It's very important, when a person comes to a party, that he expects it to be great, then his mood will be the same. That he goes to the club already knowing how it'll be there. Well, our parties were under that kind of mark. It's a brand that should characterize what we do.

Кирилов:

For the last two years the permanent residents of the club Gorod were me, Spirit, Phil, Berg. It's a resident quartet that exists now, when the club as such no longer exists. We began to actively promote our residents' parties once a month. They were called just that, Residents Day.
The Residents now is the name of the team. A label under which there are 4 personalities who arrange their own tours, and who, if they're invited, are invited all four at once. Something similar was done by Atmosfera, who started off pretty well, but now, in my opinion, are deflating.

Спирит:

Memory, probably. It's a close-knit team whose members complement one another. You can call us the four musketeers: each has his own thing.

Фил:

The remaining team of residents of the club Gorod is a creative symbiosis. It formed as a result of holding the residents' parties at the club Gorod, when the residents and one or two invited guests played.

Which of you plays what music?

Спирит:

We play all the music. We all approach music like this – like it, don't like it. I play tribal, techno, progressive, breaks. Phil plays tribal, progressive. Berg plays techno, tech-house. Kiriloff is a bright representative of Ibiza style.

Фил:

I play progressive and tribal. What Spirit plays is hard to say, maybe he plays a bit harder. Kiriloff plays... it's hard for me to answer in a way that won't offend him, and Berg plays closer to tech-house, probably.

Кирилов:

Misha was always an adherent of techno music, he always played hard music, but lately he's started to soften up, started playing deep and tribal too. The guys play on the edge of techno-house, house-techno, they all play in a similar style. And I'm mostly commercialized in music and play commercial house, which annoys quite a lot of my colleagues. I reckon this niche is still unoccupied by anyone.

And is there a leader among your foursome?

Берг:

Our ideological leader and chief inspiration is Spirit. He's the driving force. Maybe because all the rest of us are somewhat passive. Although at Kazantip Kiriloff periodically took on the role of leader.

Кирилов:

Conditionally, in principle, yes. Of course it's Misha Spirit. He handles the organizational matters.

Спирит:

No. I resolve the disputed and organizational questions, but we don't have a leader.

Фил:

No. That's out of the question.

And do conflicts happen between you?

Фил:

Yes, naturally, as in any collective. We quarrel over everything, it's easy to find a pretext. As a rule, it's connected with the running of some events.

Кирилов:

No, they absolutely don't happen, because there were no legal or any other agreements between us. We work on a friendly basis. And if someone is invited to work separately, there are no hard feelings.

Берг:

Conflicts happen to all people. I'd call our conflicts the same as those of children in kindergarten.

And if you were putting together your line-up, what would the order be?

Кирилов:

We've long since settled into a line-up that we work by. Phil starts, beginning more softly and moving to harder music, then Berg, who presents his music conceptually, then comes Spirit, who picks up from Berg and gives it hard, smoothly transitioning to me. And at the end, at the afterparty, I already play.

Берг:

I like several of our standard variants. I, like all of us, like playing the afterparty. At the start, naturally, no one wants to play, because the crowd is only just gathering and the dance floor is still empty. Although for the common cause everyone will play when needed. There's no ideal line-up. Usually first Phil, then me, then Spirit, then Kiriloff. Or me at the start, then Phil.

Фил:

We're fairly flexible DJs in musical terms, and depending on the line-up we can play different music. I like playing both first and second. Playing the afterparty of the residents' parties I don't enjoy.

Спирит:

It changes very often. The standard line-up is when first Phil plays, then Berg, then me, then Kiriloff.

What is the ideal rest/leisure for you?

Кирилов:

The ideal rest for me is rest in the company of people I find pleasant. I hate resting alone. I really love the sea, warm weather, an unconstrained and free-and-easy way of life. Rest is the beach, the sea, sun, sand, bars, girls, some quiet music.

Спирит:

Actually I don't really strain myself much. My whole life is one way or another connected with music. I don't consider DJing to be work. It's what I live by. I only play at clubs where I like playing, I don't agree to every offer. If I were invited, say, to Manhattan Express, I'd quote such a price that I wouldn't feel bad about playing there.
I also love sitting in a coffee shop, going to the cinema, hanging out at someone's place. I really like drinking shots with Kolya Boodoo (ex-art director of Gorod) at Mix. But in general, the most ideal rest is to go out into nature, shashlik, wine, a beloved girl.

Фил:

It should be warm, the sea nearby and not too many people. If it's rest, then better without music. As an option you can go out into nature. I like to walk, to stroll the streets, to look at everything. When I'm on holiday in another country, going on excursions is better for me than, for example, going around the clubs there. In Moscow I don't have much time for rest, because in parallel I'm studying at an institute (the Institute of State and Law) to be a lawyer. And it's not out of the question that later I'll work in my specialty.

In the breaks between working at clubs you surely have free time. What do you occupy yourself with?

Спирит:

When free time appears between clubs, work begins. (Misha is the art director of several establishments in Moscow.)

Берг:

I do all the same things ordinary people do in the breaks between work. I eat, I sleep.

Кирилов:

I have no clear boundary between work and rest. Being a creative person, I'm always free in my actions.

And how about some physical exercise in your free time? Pumping a bit of iron?

Фил:

I don't have enough time for sport. I used to play tennis and would gladly continue, but it's impossible to combine everything at once. I wouldn't say I lead a healthy lifestyle, because sometimes I abuse alcohol. A little beer, by the way, don't you want some?

Спирит:

I have a positive attitude toward sport. I did sambo for two years, played basketball for five years, did swimming for a year. Now I haven't done anything for a long time. However much I'd like to combine DJing and a healthy lifestyle, it doesn't work out for me at all. But it's possible. For example, Volodya Fonarev plays hockey. And I'd gladly resume my trips to the gym.

Берг:

I want to get a bicycle. But otherwise, I reckon my lifestyle is fairly healthy. I don't eat just any old products, for example.

Кирилов:

I had a period when I did swimming and hockey professionally. But I realized that if I chose elite sport, my whole happy and carefree life would end.
Now I do sport if, for example, during a period of rest and idleness, a little belly appears – it has to be tightened up by means of physical exercise.

All this is good – resorts, the sea, girls... But all this takes money. Is the money you earn enough for you?

Кирилов:

The activity I'm engaged in, though it's considered frivolous, brings a good income. To support myself, my car and to help my family, it's enough.

Берг:

Of course it's not enough. My demands aren't very modest. I wouldn't, for example, turn down a private jet. Money for me is a kind of device that helps me make direct contact with certain objects. That is, I need something – with the help of money I acquire it. It's a means for obtaining certain things. I'm dependent on money, if only because I don't write music myself and have to buy it. In terms of money what matters is that it comes in at a certain regularity.

Спирит:

Yes, it's enough. With money I'm all right. But money for me is nothing. It's a way of feeling comfortable. If I dropped all my pursuits, went off to a village, bought myself a house there, grew a beard down to my navel and started raising pigs, then what would I need money for? Money is a social thing. But I live in Moscow, in a huge metropolis, where money plays a considerable role.

Фил:

I live only on the money I earn as a DJ. And this income isn't enough for me. I doubt that in Russia DJs will get decent money for their work. It's impossible.

And in the future – serious relationships, a family, finally. What are your ideas about family?

Спирит:

Right now I can't picture it. But in general – it's a beloved person who is always by your side, who senses you, whom you sense, with whom you always feel good. Unfortunately, my work isn't very compatible with that. In the magazine "Ne Spat" in '95 there was an interview with Groove, who said a very good phrase that my friends and I still remember. He said there comes a certain moment when the girl says: "I'm sick of your records!". Then Groove was asked what he does, and he answered: "I say to her: Go to hell!". In principle, he's really right. If a person doesn't understand what I do and what I live by, that means he doesn't understand me and can't be by my side. However wild the love on my part may be. Now, with records I never have any problems :)

Берг:

The role of my girlfriend in my life is very important and weighty. And if we're talking about work, that it's very important and it's what brings satisfaction – well, the Girl stands above all that. If my work comes to a head between the two of us, I'll give up the work. I believe that relationships between people are more important.

Кирилов:

I live by the principle "a new day has begun – a new celebration has begun". If problems arise(!), then they'll need to be solved. In any case, there's no escaping it. I'm inclined to think it'll happen spontaneously and suddenly. There's a moment when you've had your fill of running around, the clubs and parties wear you out, and you want something calm. I know it exists, but when it'll happen, I don't know.

And do you have many female fans right now?

Спирит:

Actually, when I started DJing, DJs were demigods and superstars. Back then you could count them on your fingers. Everyone said – become a DJ and you'll have loads of chicks. I became a DJ, and there were no more girls. It all depends on the person. I'm not very open to communicating with women, unlike, for example, my very good friend Pasha Kiriloff.
A lot of people are afraid of me, because I'm big, serious and play techno (laughs). I really don't like to consider a thing like female fans. Now, the Girl – that's another matter.

Кирилов:

Certainly, there are girls for whom I'm a sex symbol, though I don't consider myself one. But all the same I do, of course, radiate a certain sexual energy. Otherwise there simply wouldn't be all these girls. I consider it the most important reward for what I do. If my work aroused no resonance in anyone, be it boys or girls, that would be strange. Then it'd be worth thinking about whether I chose this whole story rightly. But I see that I'm in demand, that people take an interest in me, come up to get acquainted, to talk, to touch(!), and I reckon that's great. And as long as this keeps working – one can create.

Фил:

It's hard for me to talk about my female fans. I don't have a steady girlfriend. If I had one, I'd keep friendly relations with the rest.

And apart from DJing, do you do anything else?

Спирит:

I'm the art director at several establishments (Moscow-Berlin, Moscow-Rome, Shyolk).

Берг:

I had a job that I gave up in favour of DJing, since I believe you shouldn't get distracted.

Кирилов:

Right now, no. But autumn will begin and I think something will turn up, I don't yet know what myself, but something is bound to surface.

Do you have a cherished dream?

Спирит:

For me the ideal future is a little house on the shore of a bay, a couple of kids, a wife, a fireplace, an armchair with a blanket, dinner with wine by candlelight. That kind of fairly romantic idyll. Paradoxical as it is, living at such a frenzied pace, most of all you want to strive for calm, harmony and maximum balance.

Кирилов:

I do. I want them to invent a pill of immortality. And for me to stay stuck at the age of 25 to 30. It's just that my parents, starting from school, kept telling me: "wait, once you finish school, then the institute, then you'll have had your fill of fun, everything will be allowed to you. But for now, please, give us the school certificate, then the diploma, then the military ID..." Now my parents have all of that and they're happy. And I really have fallen into this whirlpool where you can do whatever you want, and I throw myself a celebration every single day. I really want it not to end.

Фил:

However banal it may sound – to find my other half and to provide her and my children a normal existence.

Берг:

I don't know, there are certain goals, but the process of dreaming is tough for me.

And travel, resorts?

Фил:

I feel very positively about it, it's just that at this stage I don't have the means to travel. Before, when I was supported by my parents, we were constantly going off somewhere. Going to rest at some beach of the Ibiza sort – that's not for me. This winter I'm planning to go to Goa, to find out what it's all about.

Спирит:

I feel very positively about it, I just lack the "moment of impulse" for all this, it's when you're sitting there and THAT'S IT! let's go. I'm a big fan of that and I reckon long preparations are absolutely unnecessary. I'd gladly go to the North Pole or into the desert with a caravan. I'd go to Morocco, not because the hashish is good there, but because there's good culture there, a good country. Now, to India I wouldn't go...

This year you played at Kazantip. Which time was it? And what even is Kazantip?

Кирилов:

I played there last year and this year. I consider Kazantip to be combining the pleasant with the useful. It's the sea, sand, sun, girls, boys and at the same time – a good chance to promote yourself. Because at Kazantip no one plays for money, everyone plays for free there. Despite the fact that today it's the most powerful summer brand. Mixes are recorded there, they're sold there, people come there, they listen to you, get acquainted with you in person and in absentia. You become an even bigger public figure within the framework of this project.

Спирит:

The first time I came to Kazantip was in '98, and that's also when I first played on the trance stage. And from 2001 we're already direct participants of Kazantip, where we have our own bar, Mousson.
Kazantip is a youth festival. As my friends from Germany DoorKeeper and Eva Kazal said – it's the largest festival in Eastern Europe. It goes on for a whole month, and if you built a business in Germany sending tourists to Kazantip, it'd be a gold mine. There isn't a commercial machine here like on Ibiza. For Germans it's much cheaper than Ibiza and, besides, at Kazantip there's a so-called "spirit of freedom".

Берг:

At Kazantip I've been a resident of the Mousson bar since 2001. The last Kazantip struck me as very commercial. For a person to have a good time at Kazantip, he has to pay for entry, then he passes onto the grounds, where everything costs money – from the toilet to the attractions. That is, having paid for entry, he gets the chance to swim in the sea with jellyfish, to enjoy the company of beetles, the little black kind, and, essentially, that's it. For me the warmest Kazantip was in 2001, when I came there for the first time. This year I didn't much like it, the DJ was separated from the bar and the atmosphere was different. Before there was direct contact with people, a very warm atmosphere. The first two Kazantips I was at, I liked more.

Фил:

The downsides of Kazantip are its location. I'd like it to be even warmer. As a DJ I've been at Kazantip since 2002. Back then I liked it more than this time. This time I didn't like how the authorities behaved, in my opinion it's complete lawlessness. The police who were at Kazantip engaged in manhandling, and there wasn't a hundred-percent freedom.

If you were going to rest in Crimea, then to what place?

Спирит:

I haven't travelled around Crimea much. If I wanted to go to the mountains, I'd most likely go to Altai. And in Crimea – I'd go to Simeiz, but I really don't like the level of service there. I don't like the houses they live in, I don't like the food they eat and I don't like the people, those resort grabbers who are always trying to grab something for themselves, to make money off something. People who lose human values, by and large.

Берг:

I like Crimea because there are different kinds of terrain there. I feel very good in the steppe, when there are huge expanses stretching to the horizon, without any hills, mountains. But in Crimea there are very many "buts" because of which Crimea loses out to other resorts. Above all – it's the price-quality ratio. Crimea implies ascetic forms of rest.
In Mirny I remember a very unusual party at some house that was having a birthday. The house was very strangely decorated. Inside – a big podium and tatami. The entrance from the hallway was in the form of a slit with small pebbles. Everywhere all kinds of cool little touches and details. This House could even compete with the clubs in Moscow. When we came to this place – it amazed us. Paths of gravel and sea pebbles, with embroidered rugs lying on them. And a ship in the yard. I got acquainted with the owners, who explained to me that the party was in honour of their house's birthday.

This year in Simeiz your signature party Residents Day took place. Tell us about it.

Кирилов:

This year we were invited by Moscow promoters who set up a seaside cafe on the shore, put sound in there and arranged a kind of coastal little party. It was an experiment and the experiment succeeded. But, to be honest, Simeiz made no impression on me, moreover, I didn't like it. I didn't like the town, nor its streets, nor its infrastructure, nor its beaches, nothing.

Спирит:

It all went very well. It was one of the longest parties in Simeiz this year. There were quite a lot of people. Everyone was pleased. I'd gladly repeat this event. Where we played, the level of service is more than acceptable. As soon as I arrived, I immediately expressed my gratitude to the waitresses who work there. They're simply incredible individuals. Very sweet girls, nice to look at, nice to talk to. The whole paradox is that the waitresses were recruited from among the locals. They did everything very correctly. Good cuisine, good bartenders. That was very gratifying.

Фил:

In Simeiz we had big problems with lodging. We needed to rent any apartment at all, to wash up and rest before the party. There were 6 or 7 of us, and no one wanted to rent us an apartment for a short term. And we had to shamelessly deceive a woman, who in turn deceived us too. And so all night we deceived one another, until in the morning we left. Let me tell you. At our party I played first, and when I'd finished, I went home. And I was very surprised when I couldn't open the door with my key. A man in his underwear opened the door for me, and from the room a woman asked him "Who's there?". That finished me off completely, because they were sleeping in Berg's bed and hadn't left! They stayed there to sleep on, can you imagine!

What do you like to eat?

Спирит:

I like standard European cuisine without serious frills. As for restaurant food, then the calm kind. Food for me is on the principle of "grabbing a bite". A favourite dish, if we're talking about a restaurant, is the "Munich veal" at Moscow-Berlin, which I've been advertising to everyone for three years now, and at home I gladly eat potatoes with cutlets that my mum makes.

Фил:

I eat everything except beetroot and fish with bones. I love Japanese cuisine, because I lived in Japan for a long time and this cuisine is like a native one to me. At home I cook myself. I love making pasta with cream sauce, with parmesan and shrimp. I can make curry.

Кириллов

For a very long time now I've preferred home cooking. Everything cooked by mums, grandmas, everything cooked with soul and from home-made products. I love Maslenitsa very much.

Берг:

Home cooking. In food, as at a party, you need atmosphere, because if you cook food mechanically, by recipes, if no soul is put into the dish, then it's simply some set of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Favourite dish – I have many of those, just like favourite records.

And what's in your fridge right now?

Кирилов:

In my fridge there's usually what my mum puts there. In terms of housekeeping I'm a total slob. I don't cook anything for myself and, most likely, I belong to the type of people who'll die in front of the fridge, never having managed to combine the right ingredients. Now, anything to do with ready-made meals – that's one, two, three! If a ready meal has the cooking method written on it – that means I'll survive.

Спирит:

There's a leftover bit of cheese lying around, I think. Usually in the fridge there are some ready-made meals, sausages, cheeses.

And do you have pets?

Берг:

I don't much like pets, because I reckon they should live out of town, in open space. I don't mean fish and frogs, but cats and dogs. And in a small apartment, it seems to me, they're not very comfortable.

Спирит:

Not for a very long time, no. Mostly they were hamsters, tortoises, parrots. There were fish in very early childhood. Now I'd get some big dog, a bulldog or a pit bull terrier, for example.

Кирилов:

Yes, I have a dog, a '92 model, medium calibre – a mittelschnauzer. A pure-bred German. Mostly my mum and sister walk him.

Фил:

Right now, no. Before there was a cat, whose name I don't remember. In the near future I plan to get a hairless sphynx cat. I was also promised a real chameleon as a gift.

Do you have your own image?

Кирилов:

Yes, it took shape by itself over the years. It's the image of a rake-Casanova and a ladies' man. It fully corresponds to my inner "self" and I feel quite comfortable in this persona. That's how it turned out, and to deny it is rather silly.

Берг:

I have a musical image. At a rave I'm ready to play in tails. Although I don't like playing in clothes that restrict movement. I don't follow brands, but I try to buy clothes in shops, because at the markets they're pricier and low-quality. I don't feel very good about second-hand shops – there's some unpleasant smell there, and smells really put me off. In that respect the clubs, of course, put me off badly, when everything's smoked up in there.

Фил:

My nearest image is to put on a Greek toga for Halloween, with a wreath, the whole works. But it seems to me that appearances are deceptive. In terms of clothes I'd gladly go around in just trousers and a single T-shirt. I'm not a clothes-hound, but I worry a lot about my hairstyle and always blow-dry my hair after a shower. And even when I go somewhere, I always take a hairdryer with me. Although a hairdryer is very bad for the hair.

And do you buy your own clothes?

Кирилов:

For a while I did it myself, but afterwards I realized I did it absolutely ineptly. And quite recently I turned to my stylist friends, who helped me choose clothes. My wardrobe was immediately all turned upside down, and the excess items were given to those in need or thrown out onto the rubbish heap. Only the most essential and the most easily combinable was left.

Берг:

Clothes aren't the first thing on my list of necessary purchases – if I have something to wear, I might not even think about needing to buy something. I don't much like leather clothing – it's heavy and carries a certain imprint.

Do you spend a lot of money in shops?

Кирилов:

No. Again, thanks to my girl friends, I hit all sorts of sales, use all their various discounts, and so I don't spend much money. I go around the shops a couple of times a month for sure. And for a year and a half now I haven't left the sportswear shop RIP CURL, who were sponsors of the program on MTV, and I still don't turn down their clothes.
I love second-hand very much, I gladly rummage through those rags.

Фил:

From time to time. If I have money – I'll go to the shop, if not – I'll go around in what I went around in before.

And how do you get around the city?

Спирит:

Around the city I get around mostly on foot. The overwhelming number of places that fall within my sphere of interest during the day are in the center. It's Belorusskaya, Mayakovskaya, Manezhnaya Square. So it's along Tverskaya that I'm always moving. Otherwise I use surface transport and taxis. I really dislike the metro, but I take it periodically. In the metro there rides a kind of society that smells very unpleasant.

Фил:

Two years ago I crashed my BMW (a 5 series). Since then I don't drive, but the BMW is my favourite car. Now I get around the city by taxi. But I'm not one of those who dislikes the metro or is categorically against public transport. They need to put bins in the metro!

Берг:

I have a car, but the paperwork isn't all in order. A Ford Escort. I take taxis, because in the metro you run into humanoids.

Кирилов:

Exclusively in my own car, and if it's in for repairs, then by taxi. Right now I have the most basic little Skoda Fabia. By the way, it's the first car, after a huge list of second-hand cars, that was bought completely new from the showroom. Not yet sat in by anyone, not worn, not smeared, with 16 km on the odometer. I haven't gone down into the metro for five years now.

Do you use the Internet? Do you have your own website?

Спирит:

Yes, I use it every day, at my office (Dolce Vita Group – a company that does the restaurant business) there's a computer with a dedicated line. On the Internet I check my mail, visit the central cultural sites, listen to music, new releases. I haven't gone onto porn sites for about four years, since I got off dial-up. My own website should be ready at the end of September.

Кирилов:

I use the Internet extremely rarely, only if I'm checking mail. And a website – they tried to give me one as a present for my last birthday, but for some reasons it never got launched. But now a site, residents.ru, should appear, where all the information will be.

Фил:

I haven't been online for about 4 months now, because I can't find a decent provider.

Берг:

I've kind of gotten used to the Internet now – there's the Internet and that's it. Like a television. You come, click, and sit there – like in front of the TV. On the Internet I'm interested in flash, design, animation – flash cartoons – that's generally one of my favourites, absolutely insane cartoons. Flash animation from contemporary art is a very cool thing, a full opportunity to express fantasy.

And how do you feel about the site www.44100.com?

Спирит:

Positively.

Фил:

It's disgusting! An intrusion into private life, interrogations! Constant flashes in the clubs! It's frightening, and it's unclear what to do about it. I'm sure you'll stick a couple more extra words into this interview, and then I'll be ashamed :)

Кирилов:

With love and respect. I greatly value the labor of the people who work there and give this site life.
It's a great thing.

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