Russia’s Sengiley label prepares for its third birthday celebrations

WHAT’S THE NAME OF YOUR LABEL, AND WHO RUNS IT?

My name is Denis Kazakov and founder and curator of Sengiley Recordings

WHEN & WHY DID THE LABEL START?

The idea of creating a label was born as spontaneously as possible in a tour in Russia with my dear friend Igor Gonya, then in 2019 I was part of the Sundries label team, then I organised us a tour of 12 cities in Russia in support of our first joint release, it was somewhere between Volgograd and Sochi, the hardest thing was to find a suitable and memorable name for the label, but after two weeks of thinking I came to call it my hometown on the Volga – Sengiley, it’s a beautiful and very picturesque place!

GIVE US A BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU’VE RELEASED SINCE THEN….

During this time (in the three years we are currently celebrating) there have been 36 digital releases with names like 2XM, Corbi, L&F, BRTS, DJ Merci, Dylan Dylan, Komartsov, HATT. D, Marc Brauner, Marco Lazovic, Nicola Brusegan, Joint4Nine, Blazers, Strandtuch, Mathew Ferness and other bright and famous and new names, launched a Russian series on vinyl with the debut album of POELI, as well as four vinyl compilations with serious line-ups of well known producers from THEOS to Jon Gravy, Marc Brauner and Alessio Collina, from Javonntte to THABO and Manuel Sahagun, from Donnie Moustaki, SofaTalk & XL Regular to Last Nubian. Now we have announced an anniversary double vinyl with a strong line-up of residents.

WHAT QUALITIES ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THE MUSIC YOU RELEASE?

First of all I try to understand what the producer wants to say, what inspired him to create the music, it’s very important to understand his release, it’s also important for me to understand what he created his music on.

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SELLING RELEASE TO DATE?  TELL US A BIT ABOUT IT AND WHY YOU THINK IT WAS SO POPULAR.

That’s a tough question, I’ll be able to tell you exactly which releases in 2023 were well received by the public.

1. L&F – Keep It Moving (Inc remix Jay Ward, Longeez, Corbi, Loomer) : I think it was well received with remixes ranging from UCg to Corbi’s techno banger, all tracks perfect for the dancefloor!

2. Tom Arkay – Inner Spirit Ep: a beautiful and diverse release where the producer mixed garage house and melancholic breaks, thus showing his versatility and professionalism.

3. Freudenthaler – Jazzlounge EP : I think I will say the same thing as above about Tom Arkay.

Also very successful was SNGWAX03, which came out in early January and we sold almost all copies at the end of it.

NAME ONE RELEASE THAT YOU THINK DESERVED TO GET MORE ATTENTION THAN IT DID             

DJ MERCI – Late Night EP, this is a magical adventure in deep house, I think he is a super promising producer, despite the support of Jimpster, Basile de Suresne, Scru Scru, Craftsmanship, Traxsource AND Beatport, the quality of the release deserves more!

IF YOU COULD SIGN ANY ARTIST, ALIVE OR DEAD, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?

Of course it’s Kerri Chandler, Romanthony, Laurent Garnier and BLAZE – that’s about it.

WHICH OTHER LABELS DO YOU ADMIRE AND WHY?

For me, this is a difficult question because I can not explicitly single out something: R&S, AUS, BBE, D.KO RECORDS, Klasse Wrecks, Local Talk, Permanent Vacation, Pont Neuf Records, Rhythm International Section Tune, Ninja Strictly Rhythm, Nervous, MADHOUSE RECORDS and of course Sengiley.

WHAT CAN WE LOOK TO FROM YOUR LABEL NEXT?

This year will be the second vinyl release as part of the Russian series from our friend and bright producer Rambal Cochet, launch a new series with a minimal deep tech and around this music – BATHHOUSE Series.

A few vinyl compilations and a second digital album on DJ Rou. Well, we want to go on a tour of Europe with a showcase label but it’s still plans.

Pre-order your vinyl copy of Three Years of Sengiley Wax by clicking here