The Mixtape 36: Oblast

The latest mixtape by Russian independent label Oblast takes us far away from Moscow to the southern Volga city of Samara. Oblast was set up in 2014 and grew from a local community of like-minded music enthusiasts. Community, in fact, is the word the founders prefer over label. “To be honest we don’t take the whole thing too seriously, and we don’t do a lot of things that a record label should. We only release works by local producers. When you don’t have too much choice over what to release, it makes the whole thing a lot easier,” they comment. Aside from putting out tape releases with authentic cover art that they call “provincial acid”, the Oblast founders put on parties: due to the lack of good clubs, these happen at locations including people’s flats, a local Catholic church or a disused dry cleaners. The mixtape they recorded for The Calvert Journal is compiled from tracks by a variety of local talents who prove that the underground DIY spirit can easily flourish in any setting.