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Declan Welsh & The Decadent West: unapologetic music from Glasgow

May 24, 15:48
Declan Welsh and The Decadent West press shot

Declan Welsh is a songwriter and poet from Glasgow. With his band, The Decadent West, they create music that is unapologetic, direct and with a message of humanity.

Declan has taken the role of Glasgow’s town crier in recent years. Showing solidarity with the left of the city, and printing his poetry work in homemade booklets for people to own, he has become something of a favourite amongst not only his peers, but also the people of Glasgow.

Declan Welsh has finished his debut album, and it is now primed for release in Autumn 2019.
With Steve Zapp at ITB on board, and the band having already played slew of dates across Europe and the UK including some sold out shows in Scotland, this is one of the most exciting musical prospects coming out of Scotland at the moment.

They’ve already had strong support from Steve Lamacq at BBC 6 Music, John Kennedy at Radio X, whilst also gaining support Stateside from KEXP Seattle, alongside support from Spotify with features in Running UK, and Scotify still present to this day. In cooperation with the UK – Russia Year of Music 2019, the V-ROX EXPO international music festival also supports young and talented musicians from Glasgow. V-ROX EXPO is part of the UK – Russia Year of Music 2019, a programme which celebrates the UK and Russia’s rich musical cultures and our profound respect for each other’s musical traditions and achievements. The UK-Russia Year of Music programme is conducted by the British Embassy in Moscow with the support of the British Council.

V-ROX EXPO 2019: four weeks to go

May 21, 13:41
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Not only musicians from different countries are taking part in V-ROX EXPO – the program features street art, athletic events, an art show, talks, special gastronomic evenings, a bartending show, 3-D mapping and much more. Mumiy Troll Bar at 6, Pogranichnaya St. will become the main music venue of the V-ROX EXPO. Official press-conference for the festival will take place at the Far Eastern Federal University on June 14 within the Far Eastern Media Summit.

Titled after the legendary album by Mumiy Troll band, a group art show Morskaya will open on June 22 at Zarya Center for Contemporary Art and will feature artworks across collage, graphics, paintings, photo series, and interactive installations – united by the theme “Morskaya” (Russian for “nautical”). The art show will comprise of works selected by the V-ROX EXPO art curator, artist Dmitri Aske, whose mural will find its place on one of the walls of Zarya CAA over the course of the festival. There will be a SUP-parade on the waters of Amursky Bay on the same day. To participate, please apply here.

Александра Эпштейн

Winter surfing, Alexandra Epstein (Vladivostok)

Participants and guests of the festival are artists and creatives from all over the world – most of them traveling to Russia for the first time, Vladivostok being the first city to welcome them. S7 Airlines, a long-term partner of V-ROX, is making it possible to bring the trendiest and the most relevant musicians from all over the place to the Far East of Russia. This year it is much-talked about Shortparis, a Moscow based female quartet Lucidvox, an instrumental trio Fogh Depot, as well as musicians from Yakutia and China. Also coming for the first time from Japan – Beat Bahnhof, known as ‘samurai ska. They will be in the company of young British musicians Declan Welsh & The Decadent West, and Leva Levitz, representing Vladivostok.

This year, the festival has its own capsule collection of accessories – T-shirts, sneakers, tote bags, and bracelets – all bearing a V-ROX EXPO logo. Pre-order was available until May 15 at www.planeta.ru, but special prices will be offered during the festival as well.

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As part of V-ROX EXPO French, Dutch, Indian and Russian artists will outfit Vladivostok streets with some fresh murals. Sketches are kept a secret, but it is known that environment and preservation of cultural heritage of different nations will be their subject.

V-ROX will also hold a ping-pong tournament and a musical ‘subbotnik’ (Russian term for a collective clean-up of a public area). V-ROX EXPO’19 will hit its final note with a 3D-mapping on the Dalrybvtuz building at 9:30 PM on June 23 – best enjoyed from the city’s main square.

Indian culture and music in Vladivostok

May 6, 19:36
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The V-ROX EXPO continues to collaborate with the Indian non-profit cultural organization The Rattle & Hum Music Society of Nagaland, which promotes and educates artists in the field of art, dance and music.

During the festival graffiti community “Project 72” from Nagaland will create new graffiti in the center of Vladivostok. Their works are based on the folk images of the Naga tribes and are aimed to preserve the cultural traditions of their ancestors.

One of the first DJ and producers from Nagaland — INA — is known for his unique sense and style of music. INA is a household name in the North East India region with a massive fan following. He has been performing since 2009 in most of the top clubs in India as well as the biggest music festivals country wide.

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During three festival nights Salangyanger Jamir — chef from Nagaland, will cook classic Indian dishes at JimmyJimmy! restaurant.

Сall for entries to participate in the «Morskaya» exhibition is finished

April 16, 04:36
Александра Эпштейн

Call for artists to participate in the group exhibition «Morskaya» (Maritime) is finished. The exhibition will open at the Zarya Center for Contemporary Art in Vladivostok during the V-ROX EXPO festival.

During two months, the organizing committee of the festival accepted art works united by «Morskaya» theme — after the name of the legendary album by Mumiy Troll band. There were collages and graphics, painting, photos, interactive installations from all over the country: Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Sochi, Tobolsk, Kamchatka, Kolyma, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities.  «Morskaya», Mumiy Troll and V-ROX EXPO united creative peole of different professions and ages.

During the next month the organizing committee of V-ROX EXPO and festival art curator Dmitry Aske will choose the participants for the exhibition. The exhibition will open in Vladivostok at Zarya CCA  on June, 22.

photo: a fragment of “Winter Surfing” by Alexandra Epstein (Vladivostok)

Fogh Depot: jazz and neoclassical minimalism at V-ROX EXPO

April 9, 13:28
tube_фото-Антон Гордеев

The Moscow trio Fogh Depot combines in their music elements of dark jazz, neoclassical minimalism and smart electronics. They play intriguing instrumental music with bright melodies and unusual sound textures. Fogh Depot sound is a combination of improvisation, classical instruments and technological innovations. Each their composition is like a thriller movie with insinuating tempo and melancholic mood.

Their first album “S / T” was released by German label “Denovali”, which is busy with the musicians who are in search of a combination between the trends of the new century and the traditions of jazz and academic music. Their second album is called “Turmalinturm” – as a jewelry stone with a wide variety of colors and can change it depending on the angle of of light. February, 2019 Fogh Depot played their first solo gig and in June will perform at V-ROX EXPO.

New musical participants: Lucidvox quartet

April 2, 18:45
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Lucidvox rock band consists of four women: Alina (vocals), Galla (guitar), Nadia (drums) and Anya (bass). Inspired by Russian folklore singing traditions and garage bands such as Goat and Flamingods, Lucidvox play powerful and energetic psychedelic rock based on folk melodics and characters from Slavic myths. «Lucidvox is a revelation» – says John Robb, British journalist and leader of the Membranes punk band, admiring the way they go beyond the traditions of the Anglo-American alt-rock. In 2018, Lucidvox played at the Slovak Open-Air Pohoda Festival, with Chemical Brothers, Ride and St.Vincent in the line-up, and June, 2019, they will perform for the first time in Vladivostok – at the V-ROX EXPO festival.

WHAI – the pioneers of Chinese psychedelic music

March 26, 13:32
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WHAI band is the founder of Chinese psychedelic rock music, was officially formed in 2012 by 4 members. They are well known and recognized for their philosophical lyrics, experimental music, avantgarde styled CD cover designs and great live show performance. Starting at the beginning of this decade, under Zhang Wei’s leadership, WHAI has gained success in promoting Chinese psychedelic rock as well as introducing noise music into mainstream music scene.

WHAI plays a mixture of Trip-Hop, Dance, Chinese folk, Psychedelic, Avantgarde, Experimental, Rock, Industrial, Techno and Noise. However, their sound cannot be boxed into one category, it flows freely depending on what best suit the song’ s subjectmatters which ranges from Chinese culture to fantasy themes and sometimes even pondering on the very meaning of life. WHAI’s music is dark yet dreamy, transporting those who listen to a mysterious world where anything is possible. WHAI also incorporates techno music, thanks to special guest member Mickey Zhang. Mickey Zhang is one of the most influential DJs in Asia, whose influence on Asian, especially the Chinese electronic music scene, cannot be over stated. Those who choose to listen can be transformed to another world while moving to the beats.