Perfect Aesthetics

I started the label back in 2015 as a way to release some solo projects of mine. I’ve been interested in tapes and had run a hardcore label before that time. There was no concept behind PA, but we try to maintain it with the visual images, used as artworks. At the beginning, we did it in an amateur way – just some photos or collages, but lately we`ve been working more attentively with that part of the releases. Thanks to our designer – Vlad Sontos.

The situation with alternative music is pretty good, I believe. There are many interesting projects and labels. As an example – Full Of Nothing, klammklang, amicables. Many European artists play shows here regularly. We don’t try to avoid political statements, but that’s not something we feel like it’s worth doing. There were some resonance things like closing of the club Rabitza in August, but it can’t be considered as a political act, because there were drugs involved. Also to mention – a story with Arma and Outline, whose festivals were closed last spring. It’s unclear what reasons were behind it.

That’s a good question. I consider us to be partners. We all make and release music, do shows. We share the auditorium. I believe that it is more like a community. Some of our acts play with Posh Isolation projects sometimes, when they visit Russia with shows. The important part of this is to feel that we all belong to healthy and respectful community of artists.

Tape is a good format to release the music. It has its own soul, its beauty and history. Both reasons are important. Independence of the format allows us to use it the way we like. It could be different inserts to the tapes, color combinations, any images.

It is not a secret that tape culture is doing great now. It is popular not only in experimental scene, where it’s always been around. Many mainstream musicians make tape editions of their albums.

Yeah, most of us are friends and we communicate a lot. First goes friendship and a sense of trust. Shows are nice reasons to gather together. Most PA projects are located in these two cities, for example – Perfect Human, Пожар, Haunted in Moscow, Sobranie 818 and Måla in St. Petersburg. Usually, when some acts play they invite others who are in the city at that time and it’s like a mini showcase. I played shows in Moscow with Haunted and Пожар last Summer, other guys played with Posh Isolation artists last week.

As I said I’d ran another label before, so it wasn’t so difficult to make this new one. Communication is the main challenge, I guess. I have to talk to artists, designers, other people involved with the label. People are constantly sending demos – some of them are not so good at all and it is always a task to tell them this won’t go.

I think this is a normal thing for all tape labels to do small batches. As we can see – Strange Rules or Audio.Visuals.Atmosphere. do like 50-55 copies of each tape. Of course, it is some kind of exclusivity, but also it is enough. We did some reissues before. There were 3 represses of Måla’s first release. Probably, this is the most popular release of the label. Currently, there are no future plans for making another reissues or represses.

That’s easy. It is aesthetically perfect.

It would have been great to expand a little, but a 100 copies is a limit for cassette runs, I think. Of course, there are a few albums that I would like to release on vinyl and distribute, because this music should be heard by many more people, but it costs money, and for Russia it costs twice as much.

That’s not quite right. I’ve moved from Samara some time ago to another city, which is called Neftegorsk (could be translated as Oilcity). It is located not so far from Samara. It is relatively small and cultural life here is local concerts for citizens. Nothing really interesting or special – folk, pop, rock shows. I think that the place looks exactly like a soviet city, when people try to imagine what it looks like. Old 5-stories buildings, small blocks. I’ll move to Moscow in the beginning of December.