EXIT Thursday

Earlier this week Jenny & I were lucky enough to introduced to pianist Alexander Kohanovski. Kohanovski is a big deal. He straddles both the contemporary classical world and Ukraine's underground alternative music scene. There are not enough superlatives in the world to describe what he does with a piano.
The Exit club has a battered old piano tucked away under the curtains. We persuaded him to play for us last night. This is a man used to playing in grand national theatres and yet he agreed. So generous is he with his time that after his performance he invited some of Odessa's fresh music makers on stage. Encouraging actress Twiggy Pop to develop her musical side. As with such spontaneous gigs there was technical hitches and nothing ran smoothly. Yet our club was laughing - bewitched by Twiggy's humour and grace. The night ended with DJ Max Vega spinning original grooves from his many beat bands. Looking across the room it was great to see our new Dutch theatre friends Wunderbaum, Odessa musicians and audience lingering by the stage sharing a beer together - reluctant for this special night to end.

A Tale Of Two Cities

Odessa is a city of contrasts. At the moment the elegant boulevards are decorated with delicate white polin from its many trees making walking across the city a joy. Yet the famous sea is to be avoided due to pollution. Outside our city apartment sits exclusive global boutiques and huge cars pack themselves onto the pavement. Walk 10 minutes from the centre and you'll arrive in the Moldavanka district. Moldavanka is historically home to Jewish Gangsters. Any illusion of romantic hustling disappears though when you realise that today it is on the cusp of transforming into a drug ghetto. It's buildings are just as beautiful as the city centre but crumbling away.
To some Odessa's architecture can't fit with sucess and the future. Progress demands new skyscrapers. I as a selfish tourist want to wrap myself in the cobbled stone streets and faded grandeur. Can the the past and future co-exist? It seems to me that these century old buildings are also a symbol of commerce. Odessa is a city built exclusively for trade. Early migrants dared dream not just of riches but built a multi-ethnic city to rival Paris.That takes some vision and self-belief. Qualities that this new frail state need to succeed.

First SEAS Club in Odessa is big hit!

After another day of meetings with local musicians and DJs yesterday we have a jam-packed programme of club nights for the rest of the week here in Odessa, including live music sets each evening – an unexpected and very welcome bonus! Local musicians have been so happy to share their talents with us.

Our first club night opened with local volunteer, student Artium (aka DJ Gary Grey) spinning his favourite minimal techno tracks. Artium works as a local DJ in the beach clubs when he’s not studying languages and wants to learn more about promoting, so he’s supporting us all week, particularly on the translation front, and hopefully picking up a bit of promotions experience and advice at the same time.

Dutch theatre company Wunderbaum premiered their new theatre show Beer Tourist in the club to packed crowd. A surreal experience for me – seeing Dutch actors playing Manchester United fans on holiday in the Ukraine and sending up the Brits abroad stereotype. Although at times painfully close to the bone, luckily everyone in the audience seemed to share the humour inherent in the piece and I didn’t have to defend my country for the rest of the evening. Phew!

Next, we were treated to a fantastic live set from Odessan electro-jazz quartet Shabanoff Syndicate, led by Igor Shabanoff. See a clip of the band playing live. A SEAS club first – our volunteer Artium had never seen a live band before and was blown away. Result!

Finally, we persuaded musician Alexey Svidersky, who plays in around 6 bands in Odessa and is an all-round talented and lovely guy, to come and play some of his music on the decks. He’d never DJ-d before but with the help of his friend Mischa, soon got the hang of it. Another SEAS club first! Check out Alexey and Mischa’s NoBudjet clip which Deirdre and I loved!

So, a packed crowd, great music, enthusiastic reception by locals and SEAS visitors alike – the first SEAS club has set the benchmark for the next 20 days. Hurray! If you've time check out our latest flickr slideshow.

Odessa Files

We landed in Odessa yesterday and immediately met a host of other artists from countries as diverse as Sweden, Romania and Croatia – all here to participate in the SEAS adventure!

We’ve been too busy to do any real exploring of the city as yet, but on first impressions, Odessa is a beautiful place, with wide tree-lined boulevards. A wind band was playing on the central square when we arrived and we’re looking forward to hearing the disco fountain in action! New money has very conspicuously arrived here and the city is an intriguing mix of bling, top designer fashion houses, enormous 4x4s, pot-holed roads and crumbling buildings.

Our first DJ workshop was at the Exit Club, a lo-fi, underground club with a network of small rooms and alternative clientele. Perfect!

Our musician friends and translators Sergei Klein and Andrei Sechkovski of ukr.tele.com had lined up a series of informal music-sharings with what they said were the best musicians and djs in the city and we weren’t disappointed! We listened to some fantastic music and booked local djs for the SEAS club nights Deirdre will be running on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We also have musicians willing to perform live on all three nights and we’re really excited about this! We’ll be telling you more about the musicians and djs over the next few blogs. View photos from Odessa. Do svidanija!

Summer and Cold Music

The SEAS Festival kicks off in just a few days and I’m in the crazy position of hosting the SEAS Social Club. A space for Artists, local musicians and like minded folks to get to know each other a little better, to chill but to also party – and trust us we do like to Party! Thanks to the World Wide Web I’ve been getting a sneak preview of what music I may encounter upon arrival. Tonight I stumbled upon Ukrainians ‘Dubious’ on Nexsound’s my space page. It’s cold and clinical style is softened by a very human bass line and whispered lyrics. Next week we'll be by the shores of the Black Sea under Odessa’s baking summer sun and beside my cold beer will be even icier music. I can’t wait!

http://www.myspace.com/nexsound

Introducing the SEAS Club

Black/North SEAS and the hub - one of London's most eclectic music producers - present the SEAS Club from Wednesday 28-Saturday 14 June in the Black Sea ports of Odessa, Varna and Mangalia.

Music wise, Irish DJ Deirdre Melvin promises to bring a broad-ranging mix of great tracks – everything from regular club bangers and pint spillers to more experimental drum n' bass and electronic.

We’ll have loads of music from the Black Seas in the mix and there’ll be opportunities for local DJs to guest spot as well. We’re hoping to seek out and showcase the very best in music from the Black Seas.

Do you have your own favourite tracks from the Black or North Seas regions that you feel should make it onto our playlists? Or perhaps you're a DJ or musician looking to reach an international audience. If so, we’d love to hear from you. Contact us at theseasclub@gmail.com.

Club Dates

Exit Club, Odessa // Wednesday 28 May - Friday 30 May // 2230h
Comix Club, Varna // Thursday 5 - Saturday 7 June // 2100h
White House on the Beach, Mangalia // Thursday 12 - Saturday 14 June // 2200h