Kontrfors to Celebrate its Decade with the Twelfth Eastern Strike

The Eastern Strike is one of the first music festivals in St. Petersburg that allowed electronic music to be heard. Dance music broke free from the confines of the underground and found its place. By the efforts of the Kontrfors company, the Eastern Strike managed to 'bring together the best forces from across the country, making Eastern Strike a place where representatives of various musical confessions come together for one night and become friends and partners,' as correctly noted by the editor of the legendary Ptyuch magazine. The project initially became a worthy response to Western music festivals, which were constantly erupting in progressive Europe in the 90s. Over 100 DJs and musical collectives stood on the side of the Russian dance culture. The Strike echoed with thunderclaps eleven times since 1995, staggering thousands and thousands of electronic music enthusiasts each time. In its twelfth edition in 2005, the Eastern Strike will breathe new life into the arenas of the SK 'Yubileyny' and will gather 14,000 friends loyal and grateful to the efforts of the Kontrfors company. It's time to reflect on a decade of efforts, move forward, and expand horizons. Starting from this year, the Eastern Strike will continue its triumphant march under a new name. The festival will be called Udar.Music, in harmony with the record label founded by Kontrfors. Udar.Music has already released a release from the drum & bass pioneer DJ SS and the most talented breaks performer Friendly, winner of the 2003 Breaks Poll Awards. For the first time in Russia, the long-awaited official compilation Mayday Prototypes has been announced in music outlets, and soon a new album by the recognized father of techno music Westbam will appear in all music stores. The record label will continue the tradition of presenting people with the best examples of electronic music, while the Strike under the new banner will multiply its strength. The history of the Eastern Strike began in 1995, when the word 'rave' was hardly in use and dance music played at closed parties in squats that were often 'covered' by law enforcement. Dance culture was underground, but, overcoming prohibitions and difficulties, it rushed through the night in search of a refuge. Thus, in the era of pending changes, the first Eastern Strike was destined to erupt. For some, the festival became a long-awaited revelation, for others a door to a completely new world, the world of house and techno music. Today's well-known DJs and figures of our country's electronic music achieved recognition following the Eastern Strike. Tens of thousands of clubbers from old and new waves passed through the Strike, as it was the first to defend the right of modern youth to their musical culture. Before the Strike solidified its position, it faced difficulties along its way. For eight years, no Eastern Strike passed without a bomb threat in the building. Luckily, none of the threats materialized, but thousands of ravers had to freeze in the cold before the formidable riot police with dogs gave the green light to return to the dance floor. Soon, people with guns were replaced by strict but fair security guards from the SDS agency, a more advanced anti-bomb technology was first tested, and the health of the dancers was no longer in danger. Meanwhile, following the example of the event, other promoters began to organize numerous festivals, none of which managed to reproduce the unique atmosphere of the Strike. The most talented DJs from Russia and former Soviet countries left their mark at the Yubileyny venues. Each festival was led only by performers from Eastern Europe. Western stars set the dance floors on fire at 'Rave Montage', a parallel event by Kontrfors. Over time, the strength of the two raves united in one strike against musical ignorance and rigidity. Among those who performed famously at the Eastern Strike: Westbam, Ken Ishii, Takkyu Ishino, Sugar Ray, SS, Moguai, Atomic Hooligan, Jay Cunning, MC Xander, Jean Philippe Papin, Gogo, Blackman, David Bowles, Rhadoo, Lend, Saga, Miss Markolina, Gordon Paulovic, Vlad Yanic, Miha Voron, Yanis, Gruv, Compass Vrubel, Fonar, Alexei Haas, Pimenov, Yarik, Fascist, Lady Waks, Pamp, Lena Popova, Nobody Lucas, Boomer, Kon, Oleg Odjo, Digger, Angela Shulzhenko, Elephant, List, Quest, Zemine, Paul B, Took, Topper, 108, Whale, Staket, Tonic, Spyder, Fish, Lovski, Aram, Oleg Pak, Dan, Sanchez, Monkey, Dragon, Cosmonaut, Hare, Kubikov, Cosine, Kisloyd, Demidov, Chuck, Bi Face, Raisin, Nastya, Tengiz, Kislowski, Pugo, Strong, Cast Iron Speedwalker, Radiotrans, Igor Vdovin, Lunatics, Eugene, L*Motive, Guests from the Future, Roninbeat, Energan 22, Oleg Sukhov, Van Nosikov, Swanky Tunes, Ikambi Gva Gva, Korean and Mutabor, Kolya, Volodya, City, Incognito, Key, IFU, Ed Popov, Rolik, Sapunov, Smile, Boa Constrictor, Slavianka, Slava Finist, and others. The experience of Kontrfors and the success of the Eastern Strike became the reason for cooperation between the promoter group and the powerful German record label Low Spirit (organizers of Love Parade, Mayday, Soundtropolis), as well as with the English record label Formation Records. With their help, Kontrfors brought such notable projects to Russia as Mayday, The World of Drum & Bass, Soundtropolis. In 10 years of existence, Kontrfors has organized over 90 events. During this time, the rave warrior army has grown exponentially, the power of dance music has gained tremendous strength, and on October 22, it will collapse with another Strike at the SK Yubileyny. The new face of the Udar.Music festival is intended to reflect and continue its best traditions. Participants of UDAR.MUSIC 2005: Phil Kieran (UK), Paul Kalkbrenner (Ger), Ian Driver (Ger), Boggie Army (UK), Zinc feat Jenna G (UK), Shy FX (UK), SS (UK), Raiden (UK), Mihail Voron, Anton Kubikov, Kon (Kyiv), Lady Waks, Liza K, Helga, Cosinus, Oleg Pak, E-Zoom, Slutskey, Quest, Mukhomorov