Underground sound: home clubbing with Russia’s “Boiler Room”

Never before has staying at home been so easy: you can have food delivered to your door and chat to your friends on a multitude of social networks. And, these days, you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your living room or change out of your pyjamas to go “clubbing”. For those wanting world-class DJs performing live from some of the hottest venues around the world, there’s Boiler Room TV, while online show Just Jam has been broadcasting some of London’s finest underground DJs from their Dalston studio since 2009.

Taking their cue from the latter, Anton Elfilter and Alexander Vegabeats set up Beat Repeat TV in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in 2012. Now, once a week, local DJs are broadcast live performing in studios with special chroma key effects providing lo-fi, psychedelic backdrops. With a mutual background in sound — Elfilter is a musician and video artist while Vegabeats, a former rapper, specialises in music production — the pair wanted to showcase the work of the city’s underground DJs. “We have many talented friends who despise social networking, would never think of leaving the city or even of promoting themselves,” says Elfilter. “They produce amazing tracks and beats, which nobody hears but them. We wanted to give them a platform.” Yekaterinburg journalist Dmitry Bezuglov brings you the top five shows to watch.