On July 19th, Fabula Radio in Moscow will host a multi-genre music festival, «Deconstruction of the Beautiful.» The event’s title is intriguing and slightly provocative: if the participants are going to «deconstruct beauty,» what might we risk hearing at «Fabula»? The festival organizer—an artist, musician, researcher of compositional practices, and instructor at the HSE Art and Design School—Sergey Zykov, answered these and other questions for mediiia.
Will festival attendees be greeted with something antithetical to beauty—something dreadful or ugly?
Sergey Zykov: Of course not. The festival’s name refers to the current genre of dance music—deconstructed club. So, it’s more of a play on words. Music today is fundamentally striving to «reinvent» itself, and the «Deconstruction» lineup is structured to maximally emphasize the evolution of various styles.
Moscow hosts a vast number of musical events. Why should you attend ours? How will it differ from the others? What is impossible to see or hear anywhere else?
Sergey Zykov: Graduates of the HSE Art and Design School—bachelors and masters in the «Sound Art and Sound Design» program—will be performing at «Fabula.» These are exceptionally erudite students, each of whom has been honing their individual style and developing a unique sonic character throughout several years of study. Furthermore, the live format is not yet a craft or a routine for them—so we can expect a very emotional, charged atmosphere—in the best sense of the word. Plus, the opportunity to see the stars of tomorrow perform. And that is priceless!
What makes the venue for «Deconstruction of the Beautiful» noteworthy?
Sergey Zykov: The Fabula Radio Summer Stage is one of the coziest and most atmospheric spaces on the grounds of the former Kristall factory. Its silvery walls clearly evoke the aesthetics of Andy Warhol’s «Factory.» It is the ideal spot for intellectual relaxation.
Who are you expecting at the festival? Advanced listeners of experimental music? Or will mainstream music fans also have something to do there?
Sergey Zykov: We are looking for fans of all kinds of musical genres—but, first and foremost, music lovers, of course. And I wouldn’t say this will be an evening of experimental music; rather, it will be progressive. Progressive music for a progressive audience.
Is it possible to bring children to the festival? And what about parents?
Sergey Zykov: In principle, yes. There will be a bar available on site, but the event itself is very intellectual.
And the final question: how is the festival connected to the mediiia ecosystem?
Sergey Zykov: sound.mediiia is part of an ecosystem dedicated to the past, present, and future of music and artistic sonic practices. We actively collaborate with this platform—every festival participant has a portfolio there showcasing projects completed during their studies at the School of Design. Additionally, sound.mediiia provides informational support for events within the «Sound Art and Sound Design» specialization. Therefore, we are closely connected.
Festival Participants
Alisa Avilova DJ and musical producer, focusing on experimental music across genres like deconstructed club, post-ambient, and flashcore.She has performed at Moscow venues such as DEX, RNDM, SURPRISE.FM, Kurs Radio, M2, and NGO Melody. Her work has been featured on Greek radio Stegi, Hong Kong’s HKCR, and Turkish NOH Radio, and she participated in the opera production «Daphnis and Chloe.»
Enjia (Enjia Nazirova)Artist, poet, visionary. Her style is rooted in chthonic, rhythmic dance (and not too tame), blended with spoken word poetry.She performed with the multichannel installation Liminal Panner, which explores the affective influence of sound and space on a person’s state, at the «Okno» gallery, DEX club, and the DNI space.
Ghost Of (Artem Kankulov)Electronic musician and DJ. His music fuses liminal ambient, futuristic sound design, and reworked rhythms from the footwork and hardcore continuum. Ghost Of has performed live sets in the spaces of the Melody NGO and SAS Hotel, as well as on KURS Radio. At the festival, he will perform a live set from his recent album Orphan Drift and debut new material.
zamchoo (Ekaterina Zamyatina)
A project dedicated to the artistic sublimation of the darkest aspects of the self: pain, fears, psychological trauma, destructive decisions, and internal struggle.
By blending heavy emotional lyricism, experimental sound, and the energy of the contemporary electronic scene, she creates an honest and uncompromising statement through which she explores vulnerability, emotional instability, and inner contradictions.
Alex Malevich (Alexander Malevich)Artist, producer, and songwriter. Working at the intersection of art-pop, electronic, and ambient genres, he explores the feeling of lost and newly forming identity, assembling it from fragments of memory, personal experience, and internal contradictions.His music balances vulnerability and detachment, transforming emotional lyrics, airy electronic textures, and experimental sound design into a statement about memory, alienation, and the search for connection.
D minor Sonata (Madina Tambieva)Sound artist, sound producer, and composer. Her practice is built at the intersection of text, voice, fashion, and contemporary dance—within the genres of electroacoustics, minimalism, and jazz.D minor Sonata creates compositions for fashion brands and shows, including for House of Leo and by.katyatitova. She performs live at cultural venues: at the Moscow NGO «Melodiya, ” on Kurs Radio, and on Shanghai’s byyb radio.
othawords (Vladimir Verba) — producer, sound designer, vinyl DJ, and selector. His sets and releases feature a diverse range of music, from slow house and disco edits to ambient, jazz, and soul.
He has released music on labels in Russia, the United States, and Europe. He is a resident of the promotion group «Shchelchok» and the founder of the anonymous collectives Hidden Collection and Affairs.
What: «Deconstruction of the Beautiful 2026.» A multi-genre music festival Where: Fabula Radio (Samokatnaya St., 4B, Bldg. 2) When: July 19, 6:00 PM–10:00 PM