Where Does Stereoleto Go?

The music festival Stereoleto is a rare case when the organizers truly manage to bring together seemingly completely different, but in a somehow wonderfully complementary way, performers year after year. Indeed, everything that was promised - "music combined with intoxicating madness of fresh air, the drive of a live concert, the intimacy of a friendly party, and the tranquility of chill-out" - was there. And year after year, the quality of the festival only grows. In 2003, the festival was named the "Best Project of the Year" at the prestigious Night Life Awards and recognized by the society magazine PRO as a series of the "most stylish parties." This festival was once included in the official calendar of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg - an additional high assessment of the event's quality.

For the second year in a row, the festival is hosted in two capitals. On June 21, at the Moscow club B1 Maximum, the aesthetes Air played their first concert in Russia, presenting their new album "Pocket Symphony," and the American entertainers Brazilian Girls were warmly received. In St. Petersburg, this year saw two events - Stereoillusion on June 23 and Stereoreality on June 29. The list of "realists" gathered under the festival's flags included Dj Krush, Datarock, Cocktail Vomit, Cheese People, Yogo!Yogo!, and Kto DJ?.

Most of the surveyed audience members said they specifically came for Dj Krush. Recordings of Hideaki Ishi, also known as Dj Krush, are part of the record collection of any self-respecting electronic music lover. This maestro, during his 25-year musical career, has learned to combine seemingly incompatible elements. Dj Krush was rewarded by his audience. As a result of interactive voting, Dj Krush was recognized as the winner of the special Mild Seven award for the best performer and received a voucher for purchasing ultra-modern music equipment.

Representatives of the popular genre nu-rave, the Norwegians from Datarock, vividly demonstrated to the audience why their eponymous album of 2006 was recognized as one of the best records of the season. Their music is as unobtrusive as it is good.

The Icelanders Cocktail Vomit became one of the discoveries of the festival. Their music, juicy, straightforward, and inventive, complemented by the personal charisma of the female vocalists. If these guys keep up the pace, it's quite possible that Iceland will see another musical phenomenon comparable to the acclaimed artist Bjork.

It is heartening that representatives of our country hardly yielded to foreign guests in anything. And in some aspects, they were even more interesting. The music group Cheese People from Samara with their inventive, humorous music simply delighted me; now I'm looking for their album. The hosts of the festival, the Petersburgers Yogo!Yogo!, are well-known and regularly perform. They skillfully mix Italo-disco, Miami bass, and 80s disco. As always with the musicians from St. Petersburg, the conceptual load is very strong.

Another local from St. Petersburg, DJ Fedya Bumer, hiding under the pseudonym Kto DJ?, switched from drum and bass to nu-rave balls, where he mixes everything from Nirvana to retro disco.

The 2007 Stereoleto festival was undoubtedly a success. It was a bright and unforgettable spectacle, where it's difficult to single out anyone, as such serious professionals delighted us with their music. The festival has ended.

See you next year!