Pavel Lesnevsky

Physicists say that a perpectual motion machine is a natural impossibility.  None seem to have met Pavel Lesnevsky.  This human beehive with phones stuck to each of his ears, multiple architectural projects on his computer, people sending him messages, a rambunctious golden retriever at his feet and a beautiful, serene business partner wife at his side, never stops moving. 

Pavel comes from a family of architects.  His father is an architect, so his sister and an uncle.  His mother seems to be the only one who strayed from the path, but as a well-known Russian painter, she is creative, too.  Anya Suhorukova, his wife, comes from an architectural family, too.  Her mother is an architectural engineer. Her father is an architect.  Her brother is an architect.  Her brother's wife is an architect.  I almost asked Pavel if they were going to try to get Sam, their Golden Retriever, admitted, too. 

 Anya and Pavel live in Sochi, where her family has one of the most well-known and successful architectural firms, SochiArhProekt, in the city.  Pavel, born in Saint Petersburg, moved to Sochi in 2006 from Rostov, where he studied architecture at the Southern Federal University and finished an advanced degree in Modern Design Technology.  During the university period of Pavel's life, he spent his evenings and weekends developing a thriving music business.  He was a successful and well-known DJ in Russia and Ukraine and was invited to perform at clubs in western Europe numerous times.  Pavel performed at the huge festival KaZantip in 2006 held annually in the Ukrainian resort city of Popovka.  He and his musical partner, Anatoliy Shemuratov, also signed a recording contract with Sirup Records, the leading Swiss dance music company, and is listed on their site.  Pavel's musical specialty is Electronic/House/ Techno and although he has a busy career as an architect, he is very active in the music world through his own music and by producing the music of local talent, like Lux Leopard.

I asked Pavel about working as an architect by day and a music producer (ClubStars) at night.  Besides the obvious fact that he is both talented and hyperkinetic, Pavel told me that the creative process and vision are what unify his two professional worlds.  He relishes being at the center of activity and using his creative vision to help his architectural clients and the musical talent he is finding and nurturing in south Russia.

As if that is not enough to keep him busy, Pavel is a well-known blogger and social media expert in Sochi.  His site LookSochi has a devoted following in Sochi's hipster crowd.  It is easy to see why, Pavel is both connected and socially-skilled and in the emerging Olympic boomtown of Sochi, he is a Sochisider with a future.

Karina Yunusova and Lux Leopard

I saw the Russian rock band Lux Leopard at Sochi's Bar London on January 7.  Music producer Pavel Lesnevsky was in the audience and told me that his team was filming a band that night and I should watch.  I was already on my way out before the band started playing that night.  But, I was caught by surprise by the English language lyrics when they started performing (see the video filmed that night of Try To Be King).  I stopped to watch because of the singer's energetic and arresting performance and because the musicianship of the band stood in contrast to the Russian cover bands that constitute much of the live music in this region. There was a real guitar player here, a real singer and bass player and the best "Keith Moon-style drummer" in south Russia.

I could not quite pin down what it was about the vocalist that caught my attention, there was something of Shirley Manson's formidable stage presence.  But her charisma is all her own and she has considerable vocal range, too.

Last night, I happened to be in the studio working with the editor on a video featuring me and about central Sochi, when Lux Leopard singer Karina Yunusova and guitarist Yevgeniy Kuznetsov arrived to add tracks to a previously recorded song. The impromptu meeting gave me a chance to ask about their history, music and plans for the future.  

Lux Leopard formed about four years ago, after Karina moved from Novy Urengoy, east of the Urals, to Sochi in search of a warmer climate.  She had been a competitive gymnast and competed in the Russian Championship for a spot on Russia's Olympic team   Later she studied English and Spanish at the university level in Moscow. After considering her options, Karina decided rather than returning to Moscow to work as a tour guide, she would try out Russia's Black Sea Boomtown. Sochi.

Soon after Karina arrived, she was introduced by mutual friends to Yevgeniy, bass player Aslan Gedkafov and drummer David Oganyan, who had been playing together, but needed a singer.  Yevgeniy told me it was a quick decision by all to join forces after they heard Karina sing and she heard them play.  Lux Leopard performs English language songs of their own composition.  Yevgeniy writes the music and Karina the lyrics. She told me that she likes writing in English because she feels it is the best language for their brand of driving and seminal rock 'n roll. I asked her if there had been any performers in the English-speaking world who she had been motivated by.  She told me that when she was a teenager, she heard Garbage singer Shirley Manson and that it had an immediate impact upon her.  Yevgeniy said that Black Keys guitarist Dan Auerbach has been a notable influence on his playing.  He also listed trip hop bands Portishead and Morcheeba as groups that informed his ideas of music.

Lux Leopard is gaining a significant regional following.  I asked them why they had not relocated to Moscow, which is the center for music in Russia.  They told me that the crowded and competitive bar scene made it difficult to get gigs that paid for the additional costs.  Anyway, Lux Leopard is developing an international following and since Sochi now has an international airport, they can reach the large European market just as quickly from here.  Since the group now has a sufficient catalog of original songs, they are ready to start playing to international audiences.

As for future plans, Lux Leopard has set their sites on a recording contract and international success.  At least for now, they are a welcome part of Sochi's growing music scene.

Google's Sochi Problem

Google has a problem in Sochi.  Actually, Google has several problems.  Sochisider Pavel Lesnevsky pointed this out to me.  He asked if I would write about it and try to get some attention brought on the problem, so that Google would make the changes necessary to fix it.

A use of Google's search engine at google.ru using the following words: ночная жизнь сочи - which means Sochi nightlife in Cyrillic (Russian characters)- will see these search results:

Notice that the first page is dominated by domains devoted to websites about Miami, Florida.  The same thing happens when a user searches культурная жизнь Сочи- cultural life Sochi.  The search results point the user towards sites about Miami.

Also, a user who uses Google's online translator and types in сочи , which is the spelling for Sochi, will get the result: Miami.

Everyone in Russia understands that Miami is a popular and fun place.  Many Russians have visited or would like to visit.  However, this mistake is not good for anyone.  Users do not find the information they need, it damages local businesses in Sochi and hurts Google's image.

Can we get some help here?  This is surprising that no one has taken care of this problem.  I think Sergei Brin is from Moscow....

New Video of Sochi

Please take a look at this new video posted of Sochi:  A Day in the life of the Olympic City, Sochi.  The video was shot by Nina Zotina and Artur Lebedev and edited by Dmitri Buenkov.  Original music for the video was composed by Pavel Lesnevsky and Alexey Khevelev, co-written by Eugene Kuznetsov.