Skipper channel masts. Setting: “Masts” about their plans. Local bar without pretensions
On the Kadetskaya Line, the journalism department of St. Petersburg State University and the barracks of the Academy of Logistics and Transport have existed nearby for about a hundred years. The academy smells of soap, and the journalism department smells like bohemianism. Parallel to the Kadetskaya Line runs the well-known Repin Street - the narrowest street in St. Petersburg.
If you walk from Schmidt embankment to Sredny Prospekt and then turn right (towards Makarov embankment), you will see the sweetest summer area of the Mama Roma pizzeria. From there you can walk along the Makarov Embankment towards the Sokos Spa Hotel on the Birzhevaya Line. Behind the hotel there is an interesting space called Korpus. The spirit of St. Petersburg hipsterism in the best sense of the word is in the air here. If you want to taste the rarest wines, go to the Thonet Brothers bar.
Kadetskaya line, st. Repina, Sredny pr., emb. Makarova, Exchange Line
If you take a walk along the Schmidt embankment to the icebreaker "Krasin", you will understand why the inhabitants of this island love it so much.
Don't stop here: we highly recommend delving into the urban landscapes of the Oblique Line. After the parade embankment with beautiful ships and souvenir shops for tourists, the Oblique Line is perceived as a pure ghetto. But don’t be afraid to get into a bad story here or get hit in the face: there is no such thing here, there is only one residential building at the very end for the entire Oblique Line, and everything else belongs to the plant and is empty at the end of the working day.
If you are a lover of industrial landscapes, then this is definitely the place for you! Factory chimneys and the Brusnitsyn mansion on the Kozhevennaya line crown this route. We guarantee you will not leave here without colorful photographs.
DOT
Located in a former tannery building, the DOT club already has a reputation as the most underground and unconventional place in St. Petersburg.
During the day, interesting exhibitions and sound installations are held here, and at night the club delights its visitors with the most technical techno in the city. Minimalism reigns here - everything is strictly to the point: planed construction pallets are neatly laid out on the floor, a plywood bar painted by St. Petersburg underground artists, urban graffiti on the walls. Everything is high quality and simple, starting from the toilet, which, despite its simplicity, has good soap and hand towels, and ending with a serious sound. This is where real techno gourmets and old partygoers, young hipsters and “chicks in heels” go.
In the bar the prices are the same as everywhere else: shots for 250, longs for 450 wooden on average. It works all the time, or rather, you can go there at any time, but interesting daily events happen there quite spontaneously. But on weekends at night, DOT consistently pleases techno lovers from 11:00 pm until you drop. Entrance - from 300 to 1800 rubles: depending on the event.
Leather line V.O., 30
Tony's Kitchen
If you want to experience the Russian bourgeoisie, go to Tony's Kitchen on a Sunday afternoon, a place frequented by nice middle-class couples. With or without children, but be sure to wear pastel-colored sweaters with matching prints. This all creates such a cozy atmosphere that you want to come here just to wrap yourself in a soft woolen blanket on the veranda of the restaurant and sip mulled wine and squint in the sun, inhaling the aromas of Chanel, Paco and Kenzo.
Yes, it’s not cheap, but it’s tasty and atmospheric. If there are a thousand or two left after the weekend, you can come here during the week, order yourself a cocktail and salad and enjoy the atmosphere of imposing life.
Maly Prospekt V.O., 88
Bar "Masts" (space "Vzmorye")
In the industrial zone at the end of the Shkipersky Channel, opposite the Ministry of Emergency Situations base, there is the creative space “Vzmorye”.
“Vzmorye” is conceived as an art space with artists’ workshops, art galleries and a concert venue on the second floor and all sorts of showrooms, street food, co-working spaces and much more on the first floor. A skate park on the shore and all sorts of water attractions are also planned.
The adjacent territory of "Vzmorye" overlooks the Neva waters, where on one side there is a gorgeous view of the WHSD bridge, and on the other - to the sea terminal with beautiful white liners. The Masts bar is currently the only actively working project on the territory of Vzmorye. In a large boat hangar along the wall there is a long bar counter with heavy chairs, and on the other side there is a small concert stage with very high-quality sound and equipment, as well as a large screen with a projector (on which cool films are sometimes shown in the original language with subtitles), Between the bar and the screen there are four Ikea sofas with coffee tables and a couple of simple heavy wooden tables with chairs; all this is removed when there are concerts and parties in the bar (and they take place here every weekend).
Despite the rather ascetic interior, Masts has a very warm and even homely atmosphere. It seems as if I came to some kind of sailor's bar from the books of Ernest Hemingway. After a couple of visits, all the bar’s regulars are warmly “welcome into the family,” sharing the latest news and talking about future plans. Go during the day, walk around the territory, admire the view, and in the evening be sure to go to the Masts bar: you will probably catch some interesting action. Ticket price: from 200 rubles depending on the event.
Text: Maria Zelenaya
Shkipersky Protok, 14, bldg. 19
Photo: Alex "Florstein" Fedorov, https://vk.com/prostranstvo_korpus2, Sheba.spb.ru, kirasecondstorey.blogspot.com, https://vk.com/tonyskitchen, 2016.urbanawards.ru, Living.ru, https: //vk.com/seasidespb, https://vk.com/masts.club
September is a professional New Year for clubs and promoters. As a rule, they begin to prepare for the launch much in advance and try to stretch the planning horizon. In connection with the arrival of autumn, Mixmag Russia interviewed promoters, art directors and ideologists of promotional groups in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Russian regions and found out their opinion regarding the ended summer season and tried to find out about plans for the future.
"Masts"
Club team
Which events at Masts were the most effective: received powerful feedback from the public, artists, and according to your own feelings?
Since mid-spring, “Masts” has been hosting an irregular series of events: “Current”, “Lectroliquer”, “Wind of Resurrection”, “Balls without Rules”. There are also separate themed events with a special atmosphere and always in pleasant company.
There are also a number of promotional teams and producers with whom we enjoy doing business and simply communicating. This applies to a variety of formats: from large-scale night parties to the recently established line of evening indie concerts or a series of music markets “Iron” and jam sessions “EASY join room”. The doors of the club are always open to something new, we watch those entering with interest.
In general, “Mast” does not have an art director; we have collective program management, in which all those people who stand behind the bar participate. Decisions are made collectively, and ideas come from different, sometimes unexpected, quarters. Home events, friendly parties and individual shows (often surprise) are curated by the Dreamers United and “HOOK”.
We are also glad that our friends, one way or another connected with cultural projects in the city center, are happy to come to us and organize outdoor events or small personal shows. We are pleased to be a place where so many lines converge. The proximity of the port encourages multiculturalism.
What events/festivals/parties impressed other Russian promotional teams? Who did something cool in the country and why exactly they?
One way or another, everything affects everything. We are glad that now in terms of musical events in general there is a trend of growth in technical quality and creative content. From the latter, I really liked the Moscow meta-festival Synthposium, which set a high bar for itself. A very impressive lineup was presented with a serious in-depth understanding of genres and fresh educational programs. Despite some hiccups and a constant quest mode, the event ended up being outstanding.
Present Perfect Festival from the Roots United team pleased us with its high level of organization and attentive approach to detail. And the official after-party in “Masts” lasted about 20 hours and eventually turned into a full-fledged final day of the festival, passed in one impulse, and what is important - in the sun.
The Gamma festival from m_division has grown at least a level and again impressed with its daring location. Stereoleto also seems to have perked up and is fresher, which is very pleasant.
It didn’t work out well with Arma 17, otherwise it would have been a total disaster! But apparently not fate, unfortunately.
Separately, it is worth mentioning both June Boiler Rooms in St. Petersburg, held at Gavan. The branded boiler room at Sevkabel and the local one at Mastty created great synergy and remained buzzing in people’s heads as clearly structured and very fun events that happened. An unexpected continuation of this theme was the next Boiler Room Dacha, at which GOST Sound again strongly presented itself, and was held at a dacha near Moscow at the mast stage manager and co-curator of the events.
Have you noticed any general trend in the domestic industry and electronic scene lately?
The situation has definitely improved in recent years, and we are talking about the so-called industry, and not about an artistic issue. We have always had enough good music, but the opportunity to build the work of institutions on local artists, and to build it so that it is at the desired level, has appeared relatively recently.
The general trend is the growing demand for local artists at home and on tour. We are very pleased that most of the Mast lineups are St. Petersburg and Russian guys. Our scene is becoming recognizable in the world - and the further it goes, the more interesting it becomes. The plans, of course, are to push the boundaries, both geographical and genre, obeying the general rhythm.
How are you feeling at the start of the new season?
We are generally pleased to realize that in addition to the cultural and bar functions, “Masts” have done a lot of work in a short time in shaping a new urban space, opening for many an unexpected access to the big water and the absolute Instagram hit of summer 2017 – the cape at Kronspitz, overlooking the Harbor Vasilyevsky Island and the Cable-stayed Bridge over the Korabelny Fairway.
We will do our best to improve the area around the Masts, expanding its capabilities. Here a lot depends on the owners. Plus, the bar plans to get a full kitchen, so the daytime program will also expand.
The mood is also lifted by the activity of neighboring locations - this is, first of all, the transformation of the Sevkabel plant into a large-scale urban project that has begun, not without the active participation of people from the team of creators of “Masts”. It is likely that some events will take place in the ideological connection of “Mast” and “Sevkabel”, which is certainly useful for the development of this increasingly actively developing urban direction. I would also like to mention our neighbors - the DOT club and the Erarta Museum of Contemporary Art, who regularly bring excellent artists and create their own stream of events. We are looking forward to further revitalization in the “Harbor”, which has already become a little Brooklyn for us; we even jokingly call the bridge across the bay “St. Brooklynburg.”
What plans are you making for the new club season? Any interesting arrivals/concerts, maybe they are planning to change something in the interior of your establishment?
There are plans to think about the sea and develop the theme of interaction between the city and water. And be a local access point. I also want more performances, whatever that means.
They also ask us if the Orka boat will return to the bar for the winter - we answer “yes”. Orca is also bored. Also, as mentioned above, there will be an expansion of the kitchen and veranda. We won’t tell you anything - we’ll see for ourselves how it goes.
In the coming month we are waiting for evening concerts from Mr. Long Arm, 7 live performances at the “Water Showcase”, the Swiss-Lebanese duet Praed and the presentation of the album of Gena Bogolepov’s project “1314”. Regarding night events: last week the Moscow landing of the Discipline organizers landed, next week the residents of GOST Sound will arrive.
Last fall, the creators of the Contour cluster and the team of The Dreamers United announced the launch of a new project - Vzmorye Park - a public area on the territory of the former Priboy plant. A reconstruction project developed by the architectural bureau “Khvoya”, a radical transformation of the space along the Shkipersky Canal, which by spring was supposed to be adapted for proper recreation for citizens: benches were installed, street lighting was installed, and cafes, shops, and galleries were supposed to appear in the factory buildings adjacent to the embankment , exhibition and educational spaces and loft studios. However, due to problems with financing (the organizers won the city competition “Your Budget”, but did not receive any money: they did not have time to agree on the project with the owners of the plant on time), the implementation of the idea stalled.
Nevertheless, we managed to do something: the embankment was completely cleared of garbage, free access to “Vzmorye” was organized, bypassing the checkpoint, and the “Mast” bar opened in one of the buildings before the New Year.
The trick is that even this was enough for us to safely include “Seaside” in our mandatory vacation program this summer: just the view of the Gulf of Finland, which opens from the cape, will make even a notorious sybarite come to terms with the lack of special comfort.
Story
The Shkipersky Canal, one of the oldest buildings in St. Petersburg, was built in 1721–1723 according to the design of the architect Domenico Trezzini, who also designed two watchtowers - crownspitzes - at the entrance of the canal to the Gulf of Finland. 30 years later, the towers were rebuilt in stone, preserving the original form of Peter the Great's Baroque. Before the revolution, the harbor served as a port for a galley fleet, a military testing base, as well as the first yacht club in world history, founded by Peter I. At the beginning of the 20th century, the territory along the Rowing Port was transferred to the Radiotelegraph Depot of the Maritime Department, founded by Alexander Popov. After the revolution, the plant was renamed in honor of the Comintern, and in the early 80s it received a new name - “Priboy”. Its specialization never fundamentally changed: it produced equipment for telegraphs, radio, and later television.
Throughout almost the entire existence of the plant, the area adjacent to the canal was closed to the public and was generally not suitable for walking: its reconstruction was carried out only a few years ago. Then the embankments were re-finished with granite, a descent to the water and berths for boats were built.
The project for the final transformation of the territory into a public space is supervised by the Vzmorye team. Efforts are now concentrated on the development of one of the factory buildings: finishing work is underway in the first block, which has been adapted for residents. As soon as they are finished and the first studios are occupied by tenants, the organizers plan to move on to new premises.
Bar "Masts"
The music bar on the ground floor of the factory building - so far the only working establishment of Vzmorye - was opened by the owner of the booking agency Vladimir Ispolatov and former programmer Dmitry Machtin. Initially, the friends were thinking about some small new project, considering the option of a bakery or a small coffee shop, but by coincidence they got a spacious room, more in line with the scale of a club than a bar. It was decided to use the opportunities provided by the space to the fullest. The bar literally immediately after opening began hosting parties and various cultural events. The association The Dreamers United, electronic musician Pasha Prishelets, producer Fedya Gippius and one of the creators of “Vzmorye” Alexey Onatsko are responsible for them. On Fridays there are relaxed funk and soul parties, on Saturdays there are daytime and evening concerts, and towards night the bar hosts serious DJs either from among friends or invited by friendly promotional groups. Finally, on Sundays and weekdays there are film screenings and markets.
The owners did the interior, as well as the actual renovation of the bar themselves. Everything was arranged as simply as possible: the walls were tidied up, a long bar counter was installed, and acoustic traps were hung on the ceiling. Most of the assorted furniture was donated to the project by the founder of the Contour cluster, Denis Degtyarev.
The main decoration and attraction of the bar all winter was the Orka boat - a Dutch boat built in 1935, which Dmitry Machtin and Alexey Onatsko bought together to use as a kind of alternative to a dacha. The Orka has now been launched, but another should soon take its place - perhaps one of the faulty boats stored at the nearby yacht club. Also, in the summer, the organizers plan to actively use the area adjacent to the bar: they will set up an impromptu terrace with tables and benches and install a barbecue, on which they will occasionally cook simple food like fried fish and sausages.
In general, during the summer they plan to completely revise the menu at Masts. Now the main obstacle to this is the lack of a normal kitchen in the bar. Once it appears, and this should happen soon, chef Maxim Ispolatov will add more substantial dishes to the simple sandwiches and soups that the bar currently offers: from smørrebrød to fried fish and hearty fisherman's stews. But the bar menu will not be fundamentally changed. Now it offers inexpensive but proven wine (200–250 rubles per glass), craft beer and cider (150–200 rubles), as well as a number of classic cocktails (300–350 rubles) like Negroni and Aperol Spritz "
Menu excerpts
Soup - 150 rubles
Sandwich - 200 rubles
Carrot Lime Cake - 200 rubles
Wine - 200–250 rubles
Beer - 150–200 rubles
Aperol Spritz - 300 rubles
Long Island - 350 rubles
“Masts” opened in the public area on the territory of the former Priboy plant on Vasilyevsky Island. A spacious bar in a port style with musical concerts and parties was to become the flagship establishment of a new creative cluster in an empty industrial building near the picturesque Shkipersky Canal. But these plans failed to come true: “Priboy” was bought out, the new owners abandoned the idea of creating a cluster, and all residents had to move. Fortunately, almost simultaneously with the closure of “Vzmorye”, the Miles & Yards company was invited to participate in the development of a new seaside territory: for example, in the Harbor of Vasilievsky Island, and “Masts” got a spacious room in it on the ground floor of a historic brick building. On December 1, after months of waiting, the bar reopened to the public.
The Village visited the new Masts and tells how the bar is now set up and what to expect from it.
Everything is as it was, only better
In the first “Masts”, to look at the Gulf of Finland, it was enough to go outside and turn your head to the right. The situation is exactly the same in the new bar, only now the sea has become a hundred meters closer, and under your feet is not the broken asphalt of an abandoned industrial area, but freshly laid tiles of the most promising public space in the city. The change in the surrounding landscape is perhaps the most significant change affecting “Masts”.
As for the interior, it, although in a significantly improved form, retained obvious continuity. Even the room itself turned out to be similar: there are high ceilings, large windows, and cleared concrete floor beams. The layout and architectural concept of “Mast” were developed by the “Khvoya” bureau, but the co-owners of the bar - Vladimir Ispolatov, Dmitry Machtin and Alexey Onatsko - came up with everything else themselves. The interior was kept in the already familiar dark turquoise and milky shades with a large number of plywood and wood details. The zoning of the space has become much more thoughtful: a U-shaped bar counter placed in the center of the hall with panels of ribbed industrial glass hanging over it divides the bar into two approximately equal parts. In the first there is a cafe area with simple geometric furniture made by the St. Petersburg studio Delo, and vintage chandeliers that previously hung on the floor above - in the design bureau of the Sevkabel Research Institute. Decorative items were partly transferred from the old "Masts", partly purchased or donated by friends. For example, the painting with sailboats decorating the wall opposite the entrance - the work of the Georgian artist Tutu Kiladze - was brought by Alexey Onatsko from Tbilisi.
The second half of the bar is given over to a spacious dance floor, in the center of which there is a small stage. The hall was equipped with a high-quality acoustic system, and a large DJ stand was installed in the back. They plan to hold concerts and parties every weekend, but the team does not intend to adhere to any specific musical policy: significant foreign imports will alternate with performances by novice musicians.
The bar also has a small chill-out room, located on the second level - with potted plants and sofas. It, as the owners explain, can be rented entirely for small private events. Another additional space is the courtyard, which is accessed by a door at the back of the hall. In winter, you can go there to get some fresh air, and when the weather warms up, the team promises to set up a barbecue area there and host relaxed street parties.
Local bar without pretensions
The bar menu has become a little larger, but has not changed fundamentally. At Masts they still give preference to pure alcohol and do not raise prices. The bar now offers five draft (150–300 rubles) and five bottled (200–300 rubles) beers from St. Petersburg craft breweries, including a signature salty gose created together with the Af Brew team. There is a selection of inexpensive but proven wine (200–300 rubles per glass), strong alcohol with an emphasis on bourbons and whiskey (200–250 rubles), as well as three seasonal hot drinks - mulled wine made with white and red wine with fruits and spices (300 –400 rubles) and Scandinavian gleg (it can be ordered both in a non-alcoholic version and with the addition of rum).
There is no food yet. In the very near future, simple snacks will be introduced: cheeses, olives, ciabatta sandwiches and herring sandwiches on rye bread. But by spring, the team plans to launch the kitchen - and then it will be possible to have a full lunch at Masts: the advantage, of course, will be with fish and seafood dishes.
Dance parties will also be held here. Above us, on the floor above, is the headquarters of Roots United - the guys will be able to come down here in slippers and organize events. And our many friends from St. Petersburg, from Kyiv, from Moscow will also come. But, again, we do not position Masts as a club place of a certain format, we remain unpredictable and focus on experimentation. I myself don’t know exactly what will happen here. I can only talk about immediate plans. For example, on December 15 we will have a big show case “5 KK” - the fifth anniversary of the music label Kammklang, which was created by Stanislav Sharifullin from Krasnoyarsk, known as Hmot. There will be live performances and improvisational music sessions from artists and friends of the label. On December 28, Ulrich Schnauss, a German electronic engineer who plays abstract atmospheric ambient music, will show his new program and play classical compositions. There will be, in general, a variety of stories - complete eclecticism.
