Slava

Slava Balasanov emerged as a producer pulling together footwork, bass, and post-dubstep with foundational electronic styles including house and techno. Born and raised in Moscow, he relocated with his family to Chicago, Illinois, at the age of twelve. Several years of jazz guitar followed, after which he completed a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at the University of Chicago and shifted into electronic production and DJ work. Together with fellow producers Garo and Lokua he founded the digital download imprint Moment Sound, issuing his nine-track debut Sunflower on the label in 2008. Subsequent releases included the Moment Sound project Neon Life in 2009 and the 2010 Future Times 12-inch Dreaming Tiger, before he connected with Daniel Lopatin’s Software label. The February 2012 EP Soft Control, highlighted by the Britney Spears-sampling track “I’ve Got Feelings Too,” moved unpredictably between alien-sounding ambient passages and sparse-but-lavish bass textures that could have suited either Werk Discs or Night Slugs. In April 2013 he returned with the jittery, footwork-inspired album Raw Solutions, again on Software. Beyond music, Slava maintains a parallel practice as a visual artist and has completed a residency at New York City’s Eyebeam Art and Technology Center.