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We Asked The Mole What to Expect From Our First Trip to Outline Festival in Moscow

Ahead of our first trip to the Russian capital, we called on the Maybe Tomorrow label-head for some tips.
Image via The Mole.

This summer THUMP are going to experience two firsts. One: we are going to Outline festival for the first time. The two day, non-stop event, which has existed in different forms since 2009, has built the sort of reputation exclusive to certain types of festivals. The types of festivals that go above and beyond the call of duty, and take it upon themselves to foster environments instead of just putting DJs on stages and selling pints. Take last year for example, taking place in the Karacharovsky mechanical factory, located in an industrial estate, the festival was a live-in experience, utilising the space and local artists to produce something wholly unique.

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Our second first: we are going to Moscow for the first time. Actually, Russia for the first time. Sure we've got a head for of Soviet cliches but they almost always turn out to be wrong. The festival itself takes a great pride in promoting the best of Russian art and electronic music, promoting a scene that exists at something of a distance from the UK. From what we've heard already, we're expecting intriguing exercises in music and space, that both respond to and challenge the environment they exist within. That said, we can't stress enough, we don't know what to expect. Much like England's football team, we are expecting to be be surprised by Russia at the last minute.

Surprises are nice, of course, but they can also be unpleasant and bring on acute anxiety attacks. With that in mind, we thought we'd call someone who already knows the festival. Enter, The Mole (Colin de la Plante). The Canadian DJ and producer, who now lives in Berlin, played a live set at the festival last year and is DJing this year. Not only that, but he's in the fortunate position of having been to Moscow before as well. In need of travel tips, and eager to learn more about Outline, we go in touch with the Maybe Tomorrow label-head to get the low down.

Outline 2015, via Vimeo.

What was your first experience of Moscow?
The Mole: My first experience of Moscow was pretty scary. I got picked up by a guy holding a card with my name on it. Moscow traffic is famously insane, so we drove for about 3 hours straight and this guy didn't say a single word to me. I was terrified, I thought he was going to try to kill me.

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He didn't though right?
No it was okay. This was years ago, I'm fine.

And what do you remember of your first time playing Outline?
Man, it's amazing what they do there. I don't know how they pull it off. They put so much work into the festival and it's a colossal undertaking. Last year was based around all these containers set up to make roads and walls. They built a skate park for the weekend, there was a huge mural, fountains with pools. It's insane.

That's got us excited.
It's pretty incredible I must admit, and a lot of really great music too.

Outline 2015, via Vimeo.

Outline is also different to most European festivals in that it runs continuously for about two days. How's your party stamina?
That's a classic Russian system: go and never stop. That's real Moscow. Most people I know go straight from the party to the plane. It's the same as in Berlin. I do my best to keep up, I have my good days and my bad. It all depends what's motivating me. And if the music is good of course.

How hard does the Outline crowd party?
I've had a lot of really good experiences there I must admit. It feels like people are really up for it, in a similar way to the UK, but with less excess. It's always been a really good experience. Honestly if I think about the highlights of last year, it's got to be Egyptian Lover. He was giving shout outs to crowd and they were going wild. He was like "I need a freak, I need a Russian freak," and they were going crazy. They are real fun people, but they have a sophisticated taste as well.

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I feel like, in the UK at least, there's a real disconnect from what is going on in Russia.
I think needing a visa to get in really restricts who can go to these things, so it's a totally different crowd to your usual European one.

You played a live set last year, what are your plans this time?
I'm DJing this year. It worked with the environment to play live last year. They had this crazy stage that changed its focus point. For one act it would be facing north and for the next it would be facing south.

Where do you figure Outline on the European festival circuit?
There are so many now, and it can be hard to keep up with. I don't know how many there are just in Amsterdam, it's something like 300, so I feel kind of, yeah any standard between them all is hard to comprehend. Britain has the whole festival madness as well. The different ones always stand out though. I was at Gottwood last weekend, which was fucking amazing and totally different to anything else, totally different to Outline I'll tell you that.

Are you planning on sticking around in Moscow after the festival?
I'm staying for a couple of days, just to soak out as much as possible. I don't know how much I'll see of Moscow. It's such a huge city, I'll try and make sure I eat some Georgian food though.

What do we need to make sure we see in Moscow?
Well, it's obvious but you gotta go to the Red Square and check out the cathedral. You got to lay your own eyes on it because it's nothing like seeing it in a picture. The architect got his eyes cut out after he built it, that's the story anyway. Also, go to the metro, above ground it's pretty, but down below the platforms are so opulent. It's all marble chandeliers, it's crazy. Those are the regular tourist things, I'm sure people give those tips. Georgian food is so good but that's not exactly Russian.

Thanks!

Find out more about Outline here.