March 1994 – The Opening of Penthouse

DJ Volodya:
«In March 1994 we set off on yet another expedition to Belgium, having had a furious falling-out with Sveta and Dima at the airport. The reason was utterly stupid. We believed that the records we brought back couldn't be played by other disc jockeys. Sveta was convinced of the opposite. A misunderstanding arose. We left.
During that visit we got to know the owner of the RNS label in Brussels, who was releasing the most famous musicians of the time, from Aphex Twin to Biosphere. Apparently in some kind of emotional fit, he gave us a very warm welcome — took us around the studio, gave us a pile of records, found us a hotel. In the end we returned to Moscow with a huge collection of the most current and unusual music.
Meanwhile the situation in Moscow was changing fundamentally. In April 1994, right around the time of our return, Penthouse opened in the Hermitage Garden. The club's founders were Timur Lansky, Goroby, Oganezov, Soloveychik and a certain Vadik, who is now the deputy general director of Vnukovo airport. We ended up there completely by chance, immediately met Goroby, and I blurted straight out to him: «Hello, my name is Volodya, and I want to throw parties at your place». By then, from the stories the RNS guys told me, I already understood how it was done and was ready to try my hand. Goroby agreed easily: «All right, let's do it». And gave us Mondays.»

The «Britronica» festival
DJ Volodya:
«In March 1994, in Belgium, the RNS guys told us that a certain Troitsky was putting on a big festival in Moscow. We were very surprised, since we'd heard nothing about it. Troitsky bet on a different audience, and the festival flopped. By the way, after «Britronica» the British closed the door on touring in Russia for a long time.»