Aleksandr Spotovsky is a long-term resident of Saint Petersburg and best known for the excellent netlabel he founded, Subwise. The project’s various venues online usually contain a small and explicatory paragraph, sketching these endeavors for the uninitiated. Turned into English, it reads: “Subwise unites musicians who write experimental electronic music – together with some other genres, too. The organizers at Subwise used to publish recordings with a rather ‘harsh’ edge, but now they place an emphasis on softer works. That doesn’t mean to say, however, that things are going to be any less interesting!” The local press expresses gratitude for these efforts. Club reviews speak of a man who has shown himself to be “both professional and pragmatic. There’s something academic in the way he approaches compositions. It gives maturity to his ‘unfinished pieces for mechanical pianos.’” That unwieldy quote refers back to a 1977 film by Oscar-winning director Nikita Mikhalkov. Based upon a series of interweaving motifs from Chekhov, it paints a melancholy picture of time’s passage among the provincial intelligentsia, just before the Revolution. Put differently, Spotovsky's audiences see something profoundly local in his alleged “laconicism.” He gives voice to the minor, yet dignified culture of some distant periphery. These proudly understated efforts continue, in search of worthy colleagues. And so Subwise still seeks new workmates or kindred spirits. “If you write unusual or simply good, intriguing music, then we’re interested in collaborating. Send us your audio recordings, together with a small text about yourself – if you like. In any case, if we happen to be impressed by your material, we’ll find you. Even if we have to dig you up from underground!” More outsider metaphors transpire, be they Chekhovian or expressed in terms of depth - and safety. After all, given that Mikhalkov’s film hints at an impending disaster, maybe a liminal, minor location is the safest place of all. Loud voices tend to invite a nasty backlash – and nobody wants to experience disaster first hand. Thus a proudly apolitical and minimalist tradition continues, far from any pomp or pretension. http://www.farfrommoscow.com/artists/spotovsky.html