Chapter

01

In Residence

Bassiani, Tbilisi

Celebrating 12 of the world's best dance floors

RA's In Residence series is celebrating club culture by throwing a month of parties at 12 of the world's best clubs. Clubs are the beating heart of dance music, and these are the venues that keep their local scenes thriving. Week-in, week-out, they open their doors to play the music we love.

As we settle in for a month at each of the clubs, we'll be running features that, through a combination of different media, aim to provide lasting documents of these iconic spaces.

The final stop in the series is at one of the newest clubs to slip onto our radar: Bassiani. Located in the basement of the Dinamo Arena football stadium, Bassiani is the leading light in Tbilisi's club scene, which many say is one of the best in the world right now. It's not hard to understand its appeal: the sound is excellent, the atmosphere awe-inducing, the bookings unapologetically heady (Northern Electronics, The Bunker New York and Giegling are a few of the club's favorites) and the parties heroically long, with headliners often playing for eight hours or more.

This would be extraordinary anywhere, but it's especially so in Tbilisi, a city isolated from the rest of Europe's music scene, in a country still recovering from the war and poverty of the post-Soviet era. Average incomes hover around 200 Euro per month, and cruel drug laws send young people to prison for trace amounts of low-level substances. These circumstances would quash most club scenes, but here it only gives things more oomph. The social activist Paata Sabelashvili has said that, "In Georgia, raving is a political act," and Bassiani happily embodies this credo, fighting the country's drug laws and challenging its social prejudices. For many people, it's much more than a club: it's a symbol of a new era in Tbilisi.

Feb 3 RA In Residence, Bassiani, Tbilisi feat. Sunil Sharpe, Acronym (live), Evigt Morker (live), Zitto, Kvanchi, Kancheli

Feb 10 RA In Residence, Bassiani, Tbilisi feat. Silent Servant, Vatican Shadow (live), Ndrx, HVL, Hamatsuki (live)

Feb 17 RA In Residence, Bassiani, Tbilisi feat. Shackleton (live), Kancheli, Rookas, Jane Fitz, Zurkin

Feb 24 RA In Residence, Bassiani, Tbilisi feat. Joey Anderson b2b DJ Qu, Kvanchi, Huerco S b2b Terekke, HVL

Chapter

02

Key info

Bassiani at a glance

01
Address
2 Akaki Tsereteli Ave, Tbilisi, Georgia
02
Club opened
2014
03
Dance floors
2
04
Capacity
900
05
Resident DJs
HVL, Kancheli, Kvanchi, Nodrex, Zitto, Zesknel, Function
06
Soundsystem
Funktion-One and Void

Chapter

03

History

Victory on the dance floor

A common question about Tbilisi's club scene, especially among foreigners, is, "Why is it so good here?" Tato Getia and Zviad Gelbakhiani, two founders of the city's most prominent nightclub, Bassiani, have a go-to response: in Tbilisi, the '90s just started.

"We kind of skipped the '90s the first time," Gelbakhiani said last year.

"'70s, '80s, '90s...," Getia added.

"Especially the '90s. There was civil war, nobody ever thought about clubbing. Late 2000 was the time this country settled a little bit."

In Europe and North America, rave culture's honeymoon period is already a distant memory. In Georgia, a post-Soviet nation between Russia and Turkey, it's happening right now. With a half dozen or so extraordinary clubs, and a growing community of local DJs and producers, Tbilisi's club scene feels like a proper movement, one rooted in the city's changing cultural landscape. Bassiani, with its ambitious bookings, flawless execution and strong social mission, is leading the charge.

Neither Getia nor Gelbakhiani saw any of this coming. "If you asked me when I was 21 or 22 if I could imagine this," said Getia, now 26, "I would laugh."

Bassiani was born from a series of accidents. Getia and Gelbakhiani met in business school, both having grown up in the '90s, a trying era in Tbilisi, with electricity scarce and crime rates soaring as Georgia struggled to recover from its bloody civil war. Getia cut his teeth as a promoter while studying abroad in Warsaw, at one point throwing a party with Apparat. When he got home, he and Gelbakhiani got the itch to do something in Tbilisi, but the scene was thin on the ground back then, consisting mostly of commercial clubs with all-Georgian lineups. In summer of 2013, they helped some friends book parties at seaside clubs and cafés in Batumi. That winter, they threw a party in the basement of the Museum Of Literature, a private event with a 100 or so people, which, to their surprise, went very well.

"We borrowed a soundsystem for free," they said over email. "The venue was also for free since it was a closed basement of the Museum Of Literature. We set the place accordingly, invited people and it all clicked." For the first time, they had the tantalizing idea that Tbilisi might be ready for a new kind of clubbing experience.

Buzzing from the success of the night, Getia and Gelbakhiani decided to throw a New Year's party—a bold and potentially reckless idea, given it was already mid-December. They booked the Berlin techno act I/Y and the Japanese DJ Yuuki Sakai. Through "connections," they managed to get a striking venue: a pair of tube-like structures overlooking the Kura River that were originally intended to be Tbilisi's new Musical Theatre And Exhibition Hall, before the government changed and "everything became politicized." Getia borrowed money from his mother, who'd borrowed it from someone else. "If that hadn't worked, we'd be fucked," he says.

The gamble paid off. Thousands of people came to the party, making it one of the biggest raves ever in Georgia. What's more, most people had bought tickets in advance, reflecting a general interest in techno parties that surprised even people at the heart of the city's scene. Stream Of Unconsciousness, as the party was called, turned out to be a pivotal event.

"I think it was because the love of music and the clubbing culture was always here," Gelbakhiani said. "And maybe even people didn't realize it, but they needed something."

That summer, Getia and Gelbakhiani were hired to do bookings for Vitamin Cubes, a new outdoor club in the hills overlooking the city. They took an ambitious approach from the get-go, booking international artists every weekend, something inconceivable in Georgia at that time, given house and techno's seemingly limited draw. "Even our friends thought we were crazy," Getia said. "But it worked out really well. That year we brought in Xhin, Sebastian Mullaert, Nick Höppner, Ryan Elliott, Stanislav Tolkachev, Voiski, Levon Vincent, Etapp Kyle, Shifted, Rødhåd. People were ready for it."

By the second half of 2014, Getia and Gelbakhiani were determined to open their own club, a lasting institution that could tap into the energy bubbling under the surface in Tbilisi. Their vision was characteristically audacious, allowing no compromise in any aspect of the club, from the choice of the space, to the soundsystem, the booking policy, the staff, the visual identity, the "face control" (or door policy), and so on. Everything would be done in pursuit of their ideal: an exceptional techno club and a hub for Tbilisi's progressive community, a place that would help push their music scene and their city forward.

"When we met each other and started to shape the idea," the founders said, "the key factor was change, not only concerning the clubbing culture but our lives, the lives of those surrounding us and thus their social lives, otherwise none of that would make much sense."

They found a spot at Warehouse [RIKE], right in the center of the city, and held events there twice a month from the fall of 2014 through spring of the following year. The parties were fantastic but the rent was too high, so they kept an eye out for a new spot. Some friends and regulars at the club worked at Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi's main football stadium, which had a number of unused basement spaces. "They offered us one of those, which was a swimming pool back in the day," Getia and Gelbakhiani said. "The first minute we saw it it was obvious that was the next level." The basement is a subterranean maze that opens up onto the sprawling swimming pool area, a cavernous space that in the dark seems infinitely massive. Naturally, this would be the main dance floor.

Bassiani swiftly became the most popular club in Tbilisi, entrancing the city's existing techno scene and luring in droves of young newcomers. The reason for its success was simple: it offered something the city had never seen. Alixander Bagrationi, a local journalist who wrote about the club for Forbes, remembers his first time there:

"I was totally sober," he said, "but I had cultural, emotional shock because I didn't understand that in Georgia it was possible to make such a high quality product. The sound is excellent. In the middle of peak time, it's dark, it's hard, you hear really high quality music. When you're on the dance floor, nothing could interrupt you, you're concentrated totally on the music."

Bagrationi writes a lot about business, and has described Bassiani as "the most successful start-up in Georgia." He attributes its success to a handful of bold decisions. "They took some big risks that paid off," he said. "For instance, they rejected all brand sponsors. In Georgia they just put logos everywhere and the clubs are ruined. It would have been good money for Bassiani to make a contract with Red Bull, for instance, but it would have made the club worse."

Perhaps the most important factors were the booking policy—an international guest each week, as opposed to the all-local lineups still prevalent in Tbilisi—and the door policy, which is essentially an online membership system that makes sure the crowd is right and the club is safe. This is a necessity in any city, but especially one where homophobia and far-right views are commonplace. That Bassiani intends to be a stronghold for progressive values makes this even more essential.

Indeed, while the quality of the clubbing experience would be enough to make Bassiani exceptional, its social activism makes it truly extraordinary—arguably an example for other clubs around the world. Tbilisi has a range of urgent social crises, from its harsh drug laws to its deeply entrenched homophobia. Bassiani has tackled both head-on. For years, it's partnered with White Noise, a group leading the fight against Georgia's drug sentences, making Getia and Gelbakhiani figureheads in this political movement. It's also hosted the country's most high-profile gay parties, called Horoom, the first of which happened last spring.

"The first night was beyond expectations," the founders said, "about 1,000 people came and the atmosphere was truly unique, and it keeps getting better. Bassiani as an institution doesn't leave any space for the aggression of homophobes, that's why we named our new room Horoom as well. There is a victory over homophobia on the dance floor, and this generation will take it public, beating the fears and stigmas in the society."

"Victory on the dance floor" is something very close to the heart of Bassiani. The club's name is a reference to The Battle Of Basiani in the 13th century, which the club's founders call "the most famous and crucial victory in Georgia's history." Today, Bassiani has placed itself at the center of the very different, but still important, battles its country faces.

"Struggle is still a part of everyday life in Georgia," said Getia and Gelbakhiani. "Even today our country faces territorial challenges and social injustices, the lack of solidarity being the most critical subjects of all. Our generation has witnessed four wars and everlasting economic and political crisis. We have spent a big part of our lives in street protests, but today we are in a phase of expecting real changes. The capital's clubbing scene is the response to these challenges, and Bassiani is significant actor in these processes. Today in Tbilisi, techno is the music of protest and resistance, which in today's battles serves as the voice towards the bright future."

Chapter

04

Residents

...in pictures

Chapter

05

Character profile

Giorgi Ujmajuridze

Head of operations

Since it opened a few years ago, Bassiani's popularity in Tbilisi has reached a fever pitch, and few people have watched this as closely as Giorgi Ujmajuridze, formerly the club's bar manager, now its head of operations. "Several nights ago, some guy couldn't get in," he recently recalled. "So he dug a hole for several hours in the wall to enter the club. Unfortunately, he miscalculated and ended up in a staff room, where several of us were. We didn't notice him in the beginning as it was unimaginable, so he hid behind us for half an hour. Well, he got tired in the end, revealed himself, and said he just really wanted to party."

Interactions like this are the meat of Ujmajuridze's professional life. "I see myself as a host, the crowd sees me the same way," he said. "Meeting all kinds of people every night is a big part of my job, and maybe my personal favorite."

As with most people who work at Bassiani, club life came out of nowhere for Ujmajuridze. He'd grown up in the center of the city—"a typical Georgian childhood," he said, "more problems than delights." He spent his teenage years as a self-described nerd, reading, studying, listening to progressive rock (still his favorite kind of music, he confesses). "I was being prepared for corporate office life," he said. "Fortunately, after just two years of office work at my first serious job, I realized the lifestyle I had been preparing for was not exactly what I wanted, so I quit."

At 23, unemployed and with no clear prospects, Ujmajuridze stumbled on an unexpected opportunity. His friend Naja Orashvili, who founded Bassiani with Getia and Gelbakhiani, told him that she and a few others had plans for a "serious club" and were looking for employees. "I never was into clubs and electronic music but I had some basic knowledge of bar management from my previous job. Naja introduced me to the guys—Tato, Zviad and co.—and we had a short chat about the future plans. I have been in the management team since."

Over the next two and a half years, Bassiani's staff ballooned from several to more than 40, and Ujmajuridze became the operations manager. The job never got easier over time, he said, "as the standards got higher, and the number of people visiting the club is bigger than ever. Still I am as enthusiastic for each night as before. I haven't missed a single night and can't imagine doing so."

Some nights, when the party is in full swing, Ujmajuridze has a spot he likes to go to, on the edge of what was once the deep end of the pool, overlooking the expanse of the dance floor, feet dangling over the heads of the DJs. From here, one can see Bassiani in all its many processes—the lighting, the sound, the DJs, the bar—humming away nicely. For the thousands of sweaty people on that sloping dance floor, Ujmajuridze and the others have created a fantastic night out, but they've also created something much more than that, and this is what makes his job really worthwhile.

"Bassiani is not just a place to party, it was never meant to be," he said. "We created a safe space, where absolutely anyone can express themselves, be whoever they want. Tbilisi lacks spaces like that. Local and international success made the crowd braver. Their freedom of expression is part of the Bassiani story, and more and more people get involved as the story continues. What's great is that these changes never stayed just between the walls. We fight against inequalities outside the club, in the streets, and never have we ever been this confident."

Chapter

06

Soundsystem profile

Funktion-One, Void Acoustics

DJs love playing Bassiani. A lot of this has to do with the atmosphere and the crowd, but for a headliner to still be reaching for records at nine, ten, 11 AM, they need a superior workspace, which is exactly what Bassiani gives them.

"The DJ booth, I think it's one of the best in the world," said the club's sound engineer, Guri Gotsadze. "The monitoring is extremely accurate and translates very well in the front of house." This would explain the kid-in-a-candy-shop vibe you get from DJs in the main booth there, especially when you consider the soundsystem that booth is plugged into: a hulking Funktion-One whose output is as beefy as it is crystalline.

From the beginning, Bassiani sought to set itself apart with its sound. When the club opened, top-of-the-line rigs were rare in Tbilisi. Today, they're the norm, thanks in part to this club—"they set the standard," another local promoter told RA last year. And yet, as with every other aspect of Bassiani, this was something they figured out on their own, without outside help or even much previous experience.

"There is a huge lack of professional sound engineers in Georgia," said Gotsadze. "So instead of finding someone and outsourcing, I decided to take it over."

The club bought their current Funktion-One rig from Blue Box London a year and a half ago. In 2016, they decided to take a different tack with their second space, Horoom, which now boasts a punchy system by Void Acoustics. Both are essential cornerstones of the exceptional experience that makes Bassiani famous.

Chapter

07

Mixes

The sound of Bassiani

The club's residents bring the goods

By bringing international acts to the city week after week, Bassiani helped plug Tbilisi into Europe's music scene. But the sound it's now known for—dark, tunneling, atmospheric techno—is as much a product of its resident DJ as it is the foreigners who fly in to headline. Aside from Function, the Berlin-based techno artist who joined the family last year, Bassiani's residents draw from Tbilisi's ever-expanding community of DJs and producers. In these three mixes, HVL, Kvanchi and Kancheli present the sound of the club that is their main inspiration.

"This mix only contains tracks that have worked well at Bassiani. You'll be able to hear my recent favorites, some classics and couple of my own tunes. I tried to make it as diverse as possible, showing how open-minded and receptive the club has been towards my artistic choices since day one.

I'm grateful to Bassiani crew for trusting me with this job for the past three years. The commitment and the effort that they've been putting into their work is almost unprecedented in any field in Georgia. Also, shout out to Bassiani's dancers and listeners for keeping the scene alive."

"It was a great honour for me to record this mix. I've been involved with Bassiani since the day it opened. It's a truly unique place, not only for local artists but for guests too, and that's why I decided to make a mix only with tracks of the artists who've played at Bassiani. It's only couple months that a new room Horoom was opened, and I think this mix expresses the soul of that floor."

"I was told that I had to record a mix for RA around the same time I had a gig with Ancient Methods. The next evening I went to Bassiani to listen to some new stuff I had for the gig. That's when I recorded a set. Enjoy."

Still haven't got your Bassiani fix? You can visit its club profile here, and there's more information on the series via the dedicated In Residence page.