Scene report

Kyiv

Closer, in a former ribbon factory in Podil, and K41 have kept operating through the full-scale invasion, running parties that double as military fundraising. Cxema, founded by Slava Lepsheiev, still broadcasts monthly on NTS.

Also here: ABO Records, the shop and label that opened in August 2022, the Kultura Zvuku DJ school, and the labels Muscut and Shukai. This is the least abstract nightlife scene in Europe.

From Kyiv

A dark club interior
Scene report · Kyiv

Kyiv is still raving, and it is still not a metaphor

Four years in, Closer and K41 are still open, Cxema still broadcasts monthly, and the parties still fund the army. Nobody involved is interested in being your symbol of resilience.