I've been into electronic club music since the 2000s, since my high school years. At first, it was hits (like "Geht's Noch? (Steve Angello Remix)" house by Roman Flugel or "White Horse" by Wonderland Avenue), and after that I delved into the unpopular and old "underground".

You need to understand my evolution of ways of digging the music up.

At first, only my parents' cassette deck with FM radio was available for me. Then I started buying CD-R disks and collecting MP3 music from my friends and relatives. After that, I got my own personal computer at home, and - oh my God - we got the Internet.

Music should be treated with respect.

At the beginning, I only downloaded single favourite tracks, like everyone else did. But then I trained myself to listen to whole radio shows (like BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix and RA Podcast) and DJ mixes.

Then, I started DJing on my computer in the NI Traktor program - and for that purpose I had to find full versions of tracks; but the Internet was mostly littered with music cut or ruined by other DJs. I couldn't put up with that. "Radio Edit?" - f*ck U!

Next I realized that singles, EPs, albums, compilations are whole works, and they should be downloaded and listened to in full. It got to the point that I started collecting digital discographies of the favourite artists, and, at the same time, uploading them on torrent trackers. Thanks to that, I got to know more about MP3, FLAC, WAV formats, how they differ and what "quality digital sound" is in general.

Much later I found out about a P2P music sharing network called SoulSeek, but somewhere in 2014 I realized that some music is only available on vinyl, because nobody has digitized it yet.

Finally, I bought my first EP vinyl from Discogs - a 1995 French house EP record.

You need something to play vinyl on.

Though my father had an old Soviet Vega-109 player lying around somewhere, but I aimed to buy something more professional.

Сoincidentally I went to Moscow, the capital of Russia, for the first time (I'm from the provincial city called Ufa) in the summer of 2014, and I brought back a vintage Pioneer PL 400.

For a couple more years I bought some records, but then I lacked time and money for that hobby.

...2023. I've been living and working in Moscow for a year now. Work has taken up all my time.

The question popped in my mind: Why? Why do I have only work in my life, and no space for my true self? Why no hobbies?

I just remembered vinyl and DJing.

On the spur of the moment I bought one set-up with my spare money, then quickly upgraded it to a more perfect one, and then - needles, records, accessories, new genres of music.

It was all a blur.

=============

Today I'm an aspiring vinyl DJ.

I'm trying my hand at three genres at once: techno, funk/disco (western, Soviet... any) and J-pop (city pop in particular).

On this Boosty page I will show and tell you my progress in training, the improvement of my skills, and the growth of my record collection.

And for the chosen ones - my works in the best quality, my plans for the future and my advice about everything that concerns vinyl.