The sweeping tundras of a Russian landscape don’t prohibit the progress of your own soul anymore than any given metropolis. In fact it couldn’t be any further from the truth. It’s the thoughts, and in turn the risks we take, that catalyse our connection with the creative world we envisage inside ourselves and ultimately it’s what we dream of that matters. Fullpanda imprint boss Dasha Rush’s disposition is fairly well aligned with it. A direct consequence of this approach is an array of releases that rattle the fault lines of the sensory checkpoints, perhaps not unlike those that we commonly associate with as theoretical acoustic sentinels. If you could call them common.
This coming weekend her project LADA alongside Lars Hammerling will shape up in Sydney for the Demiurge crew representing at Phoenix Bar, proceeded by Victoria’s Subsonic festival and closing with the Public Works Department / Machine gig in Melbourne on the 14th of December. We couldn’t think of a better combined effort to extort the debut showing. It’ll be an assault.
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Kn: Dasha, your early life started in Russia you and pushed for a foray into playing piano though resigned with a different path for a short period. Can you tell us about life growing up and how the political landscape influenced you?
DR: Indeed I was born and grew up in Russia until my 16th birthday. As a child I did not have a conscious opinion about the political situation in my mother country. I had a happy childhood delivered mostly to myself during kindergarten and the school period. If I think about it, I actually realise that my environment had a lot of space for imagination and creativity. One of the reasons, I guess, is the socialist ideology of that time so as a child I absorbed the brighter side of it. From the games that I played or the activities it wasn’t structured on materialistic ideas and it let me build my own reality based on my imaginary fantasy world. Of course later on I understood that it wasn’t that simple and coincidentally when it all collapsed I had a chance to leave my home and discover other parts of the world. Concerning piano, that was something that I felt and I wanted it, but it didn’t happen the way I would have liked it to happen due to diverse reasons.
Kn: It’s no secret you’re someone who’s deeply intertwined with the thoughts and concepts of your own world and representing it as best you can in the medium of music. What does it really mean to you as a person, what you want it to represent and musics’ role in participating in other goals in your life?
DR: Well, what can I say. First of all music (aside from me interacting with it) is magic! Then personally its one of the strongest mediums for emotional expression – it brings so many people together. In all its diversity it’s a common language that makes all useless inventions like borders, and nationalities obsolete. Social classes equal. Racial differences indifferent. I’m talking music obviously, not the horrible by-products like hits for sale.
Relating to the second half of your question – music’s role in other parts of my life…Hmm it is tricky because music is a goal in itself. Let me put it this way. It’s to become a piece of music one day. In simplifying to compose something that could stay alive forever, honestly I think I am in the very beginning of my search (let me call it that)…but of course I have other dreams and we could call them goals. For example to combine love and music into a person, basically meet my soulmate who would belong to music and could enter my world to create something else but related to music. Or travel with my music….to be free to create…I do not have other goals like being rich or famous or of that nature. I don’t think it will make me happy. Hehe, I probably haven’t grown up yet and I’m still living in my dream world.
Kn: Everyones promenade in electronica is different and breeds it’s set backs and successes. Is there any moment you can think of that really had an impact and provided you with that extra impetus that defines the difference between someone like yourself, and perhaps what you could of been if you didn’t follow your heart?
A moment maybe, but more like a person in a moment. Bjork is one person who had an impact on me on a certain artistic level. I also think it’s related to the above goals. It’s about the values you have, the risks you take by constructing an idea of your own, an idea that you know how things are around you and how you want to interact with it all by doing what you do. As you said, follow your heart instead of taking illusionary and comfortable situations whilst adapting to everyones likes for example. Basically being honest to your self and be open to the consequence of it…I guess it is due to education and experiences you make whilst growing up, and maybe a cosmic connection too.
Kn: Fullpanda no doubt assumes a pivotal stance in all this. You’ve got a strong collaborative roster with the likes of Dino Sabatini and Donato Dozzy. How are you developing the resident artists and what process are you going through to constantly shape the labels direction in the context of signing fresh talent?
DR: Well I must say, I have more of a spontaneous and intuitive approach to it I guess, metaphorically speaking. Fullpanda is a small music retailer hidden in a bit of the bush, so you have to find it. It isn’t my intention to make a big supermarket from it. Releases are out when there is something to release, not because it needs to be visible and sustained every six weeks or so. I keep an ear on Yuka, Stanislav Tolkachev and others. It will develop with time. As for collaboration, I’m open to different artists, known or less known. If the track s good I will put it out. At the moment I have another British female artist that might Fullpanda next year but it’s too early to talk about it.
Kn: Now, I guess the main reason why we’re catching up – the Australian tour and LADA. Can you tell us a bit about the project what’s happening on all fronts and what you’re bringing out to us?
DR: LADA is quite a new project, my collaboration with Lars Hemmerling. We don’t have much history yet. The reason we’re here in Australia is to play some music for you, but beside this, actually we want to do some shootings for the future visual project and Australia has those inspirational empty spaces that we’re looking for.
Kn: I’m sure there’s a lot in the pipeline and the momentum won’t be letting up anytime soon. Can you give us a heads up on what we should definitely be looking out for on your calendar.
DR: Briefly – two new solo EP’s. One on Fullpanda and the other on Sonic Groove are both coming during the (European) winter and If I’m finished with an album it’ll be an experimental album later on. Like the net LADA EP next year and of course trying to develop all these ideas running through my head. Otherwise I am sure you will know about it when it comes if you’re really enthusiastic about it…
LADA & Dasha Rush play –
Dec 07 Demiurge, Phoenix Bar (Sydney)
Dec 07 Subsonic 2012
Dec 14 Public Works Department & Machine, My Aeon (Melbourne)
Smoke Machine 068 LADA