- The Karacharovsky Mechanical Plant is located in Moscow's east, next to a large, modern shopping complex. Though it now lies mostly in ruin, in its pomp the plant's production line contributed parts to some of Moscow's post-World War II landmarks. Metal ropes inside the Ostankino Tower, a Cold War-era television and radio tower that was once the tallest structure in the world, were produced here, as was the chalice that held the flame aloft in Luzhniki Stadium during the 1980 Moscow Olympics. These days, rundown buildings and pieces of equipment—strange, colorful bits of industrial detritus—are scattered around the plant grounds like giant toys. It's a wonderful spot to host a party, and it's where Arma17, Stereotactic and Sila Sveta held this year's edition of Outline Festival.
Running from 10 PM on Saturday through 11 PM Sunday, Outline is less a two-day event than a single, 25-hour marathon. The festival has a strong focus on visual art, and artists from Russia, Germany, Poland and the US were called on to transform the plant into a kind of adult's playground. Most of the site's buildings were decorated with murals, but the most inspired creative flourishes were those that carefully obscured the line between art and the site's industrial origins. My favourite room in the festival was a small, grubby bar with tiled walls, red lights, a couch and a large board with a sign in Cyrillic that was once presumably used to store tools.
Andy Stott helped get Outline underway late on Saturday night. His performance on the Dark stage was brutal and effective, combining frenzied drum fills with moments of immense sluggishness as well as calculated breakdowns and vocals. The sound was pounding, and the lighting was perfectly calibrated to the music—a large, stained-glass grid filled the back wall while stark, interrogation room lights flickered above. The crowd thinned for Demdike Stare, but the duo's horror movie visuals and jungle breaks were equally suited to the Dark stage's bleak interior.
Just before 3 AM I followed an abandoned train line towards the outdoor Depo stage to catch Felix Kubin, who finished his set with the raucous coldwave thump of his cover of Klaus Nomi's "Lightning Strikes." By now the festival was bathed in a pre-dawn glow—at this time of year Moscow only stays dark for a couple of hours each night. Next up on the Depo stage was Xosar, who started playing gnarly techno and hardcore before her Octatrack malfunctioned. (Though I didn't know it at the time, she later revealed that her show was moved to a "techno dungeon" somewhere inside one of the plant's buildings.) Sunlight filtered through the tall, narrow windows on the Main stage as Ukrainian DJ Nastia frantically smoked cigarettes and set the tone for Nina Kraviz, who treated the packed 6 AM dance floor to precisely what it wanted: tough, booming techno.
On Sunday afternoon, a bout of heavy rain during Pender Street Steppers' set at the Depo stage pushed all but a few dedicated dancers indoors. But just before 4 PM, the rain stopped, the sun poked out, and Jack J's "Something (On My Mind)" soundtracked one of those nice festival moments when the crowd's collective energy visibly returns.
I spent most of Sunday evening at the Woodz stage. Accessible through a small patch of hilly terrain dense with trees, the Woodz provided festivalgoers with some shade and greenery. Things got pretty slippery after the downpour, but by late afternoon the area had mostly dried out. The lineup to close out the festival was impressive, with Sonja Moonear followed by Ricardo Villalobos, Zip and the [a:rpia:r] crew. Villalobos was late for his set, which allowed Moonear more time to stretch out with tasteful, housey selections. On the other side of the festival grounds, the Sun stage provided refuge for anyone who found the Woodz too hectic. The highlight here was Eglo artist Fatima, whose live show was probably the most soulful and summery performance of the entire weekend. Over at the Depo stage, The Mole's set was solid but unremarkable, so I returned again to the Woodz for Zip, who expertly soundtracked the evening, nailing the sweet spot between groove and melody as the sun set over the festival site.
In 2016 Outline will have to find somewhere else to hold its festival—the Karacharovsky Mechanical Plant is soon getting demolished. It's a shame that more people won't get to enjoy a festival at the site, but it does serve to make the 2015 edition a truly unique experience.
Photo credit: Camille Blake