Tbilisi Floods 13-14th June 2015 - My view of things as a resident in Tbilisi, Georgia

It has been broadcast on news channels around the world over the last few days, but the scale of what has happened here in Tbilisi has wounded the Georgian people (and the other nationalities living here) more than you can possibly imagine.

Sure, there have been much bigger floods, storms, earthquakes and other natural disasters around the world even in recent years, but when you live in a city like Tbilisi like I do, you really do get a first hand understanding of what a country's culture is about.

Short clip :




Saturday nights storm was not the first we have had in Tbilisi over the last week. The weather was crazy for a week before that with 2 or 3 BIG storms all overnight that I believe contributed to what happened on the 4th storm on the 13th and 14th June (Saturday night / Sunday morning).

The Vere River is honestly normally a shallow stream that barely moves. It runs through a valley with mountains (ok fairly steep hills that are damn hard to walk up if you wanted to) on either side. The river and valley flow into a meandering section that enters the Vake and Saburtalo districts on the West of Tbilisi city. The river then enters the central Mtkvari (or Kura) River (dont ask me why the Mtkvari has 2 names i have no idea).

During heavy rain, the Mtkvari River is normally the one to swell pretty heavily, and I think it was 1-2 years ago while I have been here, there was 1 instance of it breaking its banks on the South-East side of the city. There was some damage caused there, but I think is fair to say it was incomparable to what we saw on Sunday early morning.

From various reliable news sites, tv reports, and from what others have told me as well, the basics of what caused such massive destruction on this occasion started upstream in the Tskneti / Betania / Akhaldaba villages which lie up the Mtatsminda mountain through the valley and on the left side.

The agenda.ge website states this :

After heavy rain and hail, which started around 22:00 on June 13 and continued for several hours, the landslide carrying 1 million cubic meters of land and mud careered down the hillside and into the Vere River valley, near Akhaldaba village, about 20km from the capital Tbilisi.

My personal view is the ground had already been weakened and heavily soaked during the previous 2 or 3 prolonged overnight storms we had during the 5 days before.

They then go on to say :

The mudflow flooded the riverbed, causing a natural dam to form. Soon after the water level quickly rose and the water mass broke the dam, sending a huge torrent of water crashing towards Tbilisi.

This video from the Georgian Ministry of the Environment shows the sequence of events and where it hit the city :



On Sunday morning I woke up to see and hear from people on facebook, the full scale of what had happened. As any Englishman would, I had to go to help, or at least to see if people were ok.

I live only about 10mins walk from the Zoo which was the centre of attention for the news broadcasts, and animal-loving Tbilisians. The warnings about Hippos, Lions, Tigers etc etc loose on the streets were everywhere. The road to Hero Square was blocked for cars by Police by the Holiday Inn hotel, and by the Georgian Public Broadcasters building for people. Not speaking very much Georgian I decided to walk through one of the side-roads to try and help further up the river where the flood had come from. My first sight was opposite Saburtalo/Vake Police Station (luckily it is on a hill), but even then the destruction was clear. Some form of bridge that runs alongside the road has been mangled, with trees, debris, mud and even a car at least 10-20 foot higher than the normal river level hanging from the remains of this bridge. The Fire Service, Army, Police, as well as recovery vehicles, trucks etc etc were already hard at work. I think their main priority was firstly to rescue any people which had become trapped or injured, and also to clear the river path of debris to reduce the risk of further flooding.

I looked around me, and just stood in pure shock for at least 1 hour thinking how the hell are they going to clear this up. I could do nothing really to help, this was a task for some heavy machinery, skilled army and fire services to do anything that would really help. A broom was just not what was needed at that stage!!!

You can see my pictures on My Facebook Album HERE

After I had collected my thoughts I decided the best thing I could do was to continue up the river to where I knew there were some low-lying homes on the side of the river, to see if people there were ok, or needed any help. I walked up the new, but now badly damaged dual carriageway to get there. It took me 20mins to get there passing a partially destroyed Medical Centre, lots of destroyed cars that had been thrown around like toys, and onto the comparatively lower land where people lived. Destroyed homes and peoples belongings just built up as I walked down there, I saw the first home still standing on one meandering corner of the river and met Lali. Lali I would find out later in the day is in her late 60s, has a sister who I also met who lived either with Lali or next door, and I also met the neighbours as well. First thing was to see if she was ok and if she needed anything. She said she was ok (i think.. my georgian not very good), i could see she was still in shock so gestured to her if she needed anything like water or food. She said yes so my task then was totry and find a shop where I could get some!!

I walked for what seemed about an hour upstream towards the main road where I knew there was a petrol station and possibly some shops where I could get some water and food to take back. Fully loaded I headed back to Lali's house. There seemed to be plenty of other people doing a similar thing as me for other people which was so nice to see Georgians doing what they could to help another Georgian!

Khachapuri and water in hand I got back to Lali's home. She tried to explain to me what actually happened, how her garden now is 5-10 metres less now as the river pulled her fruit and vegetable plants away. I saw for myself big cracks across what was even left of the garden to know she has been very fortunate!

While I was there other people came and as I understand some people i think (hope) including Lali and her sister were going to be moved at least temporarily away from the river. After a couple of hours I gave Lali my phone number telling her if she had any problems or needed anything just to call me and say 'Is Lali, i have problem!!' and I will come.

I made my way home, it had been maybe 7 hours I had been out. Hundreds more people were near the Holiday inn where the police had blocked the road access in the morning.

On Monday it was an official Day of Mourning, however we were all back in the office as usual. We broadcast the TV stations to many people in not only Georgia but internationally too, therefore it was very important to keep people updated on the progress of finding people, recovering the animals from the zoo of which some were still loose on the streets somewhere, and coordination of relief efforts with supplies, and the thousands of people who were now helping to clear up after the disaster.

It is now Tuesday 16th June and I can still hear helicopters flying overhead. Slightly surprising maybe as the latest news says the Lions, Tigers etc had all now been accounted for, the only animal they believe may be out there is a Jaguar, but odds would suggest now it has not survived. The only other reason I can think for helicopters still flying at this time (21.40) is some nerves as we did have just a little bit of rain earlier, there was another landslide on the mountain last night which I think volunteers have helped clear from the river, and just people still a bit on edge after what has happened.

If I have time after work in the next few days I will do my best to go down there again to see if I can help for a few hours with anything, and I will also at some point pay another visit to Lali to make sure she is ok.

Im not a religious person really, but I will remember those who died (people AND animals), and put a candle in one of the local churches as well probably at the weekend.

This next video was broadcast last night on Georgian TV and covers everything in more detail, with interviews in Georgian and yet more content of the recovery so far.

Full Documentary of the Tbilisi Flood and Recovery (yes it is in Georgian but the pictures and video speaks for itself) :

Drum and Basslines 4 - 24.03.2012 - The MX Review

Drum and Basslines hosted its 4th party in the space of a year at Xlib Club in Kyiv, Ukraine on 24th March.

To mark the 1st birthday we decided to go back to the beginning and invite a special guest as old as Drum and Bass itself Doc Scott.

The planning for this party was much more extensive compared to the first 3 parties. We had a Management Team ranging from designers, DJs, event organisers, as well as plenty of friends I knew who would help us distribute flyers and assist with the general promotion of the party, plus with me living in Kyiv it was easier for me to have a much more hands-on approach than before.

As always the biggest obstacle to get over was finding a headliner that would match a Ukranian budget. For 2 months I searched and asked but the egos in the DnB world were demanding huge prices when (no names mentioned) they were simply an average DJ or producer that was not going to pull me enough of a crowd to even stand half a chance of drawing level. And then on top of that the amount of DJs now running themselves through an agent just adds an agent cost on top as well. Most of these DJs are so fuckin tiny, and cannot even guarantee having enough of a following to fill a small pub in the UK, let alone a decent size club in Ukraine !!! Then on the opposite ends of the scale there are a few who think even talking to a promoter is just way too much effort for them. Therefore now all of these people have been removed from my list for all events.

Anyway after begrudgingly speaking to a few agents a slight glimmer appeared with Doc Scott. It was a long way from ideal, but I always try and look positively at things and his name has travelled the world as an ambassador for Drum and Bass and his price was the best I could get. His agent Caroline was helpful with any questions I asked, and apart from a couple of delays on getting a reply to an email I was quite happy that we had things sorted.

Meanwhile in Kyiv the first bombshell was about to hit. Mnial had been told he was about to be moved to work in Austria for a month. Mnial was the core of the management team and had linked everyone else together to make sure we had everything in place from people to look after sound, to flyer design, printing, and promotions as well. He left with everything looking good and flyer design (which was only a simple task of a change of colour from the previous party) all in progress. Then bomb 2 hit. The flyer design I got back was a completely new theme and layout. It was a cool design (with some cosmetic changes needed), but in my view it changed the whole direction of a successful brand and started things again. Something had to be done fast as it had taken far too long to get to even that stage and now I needed something printed. So back to my original designer Alex Rayden who had the templates from the first party and everyone agreed his design was spot on for the launch with Unknown Error in February 2011.

I knew Alex was busy with his 2 jobs in Georgia, but was confident that Bassmaja would be able to make the required changes pretty easily. Between us we had a flyer within about a week so things were back on track. More slight heart-attacks with a delay on the flyers being printed, and then missing logos which required more needed to be printed adding additional costs, and then internet promotion and we were there.

The unsung heroes in my eyes so far had been both Fade and Alina. Alina has always been there for me with everything I needed help with in Ukraine, and she worked tirelessly sorting apartments, calling taxis for me, and offering advice whenever I needed it. I can say exactly the same about Fade. He thought of everything that needed to be done on the party, assisted getting internet promotion out where it was needed, and sorting out every issue we had along the way. Without both Alina and Fade I would have been fighting a losing battle.

So the day was approaching... the rest of the UK DJs were all ready. I hoped I had brought something a bit different to the party by bringing Sparxy and his sidekick Reamz. And Breakneck and Richy were known quantities to me to keep a bit of english flavour to the main room. Looking back now it was a mistake to try and squeeze everyone into my apartment, as I do like my bit of space and quiet sometimes, and with Richy and Breakneck I should have known that wasnt going to happen. There was a few moments where everyones patience snapped that would have been avoided with a seperate apartment and a bit of space. It would also have saved me a lot of money as I could have just stayed with Alina and saved a months rent (with a bit of talking to the landlord..)

One line about the party itself.....it was good but not good enough. I think thats the basics of it, and with a lot of work from what has to be said a bigger management team than weve ever had before, it should have been better.

On the positive side the club was fine, soundsystems in both rooms perfect (although see note below..), Fade, Physical Illusion, and Crabbsteppa had by far the best sets of the night, Kiddik's visuals were amazing, my combination set with Zim went really well considering we had not practiced before the party, and everyone there really did have a good time judging by the comments people have sent me personally, or posted on the event wall.

Now the bad bits.... Doc Scott was a bad move now looking back. People have said to me since the party that his set was boring, and not what people expected. I have to agree with them as people started leaving halfway through his set. He was on at prime time so it was not a timing issue at all, but with people walking out I think thats all the proof I need. There seemed to be no energy in him and the style of tunes he was playing wasnt the jungle party vibe I was hoping for following on from Richy and Breakneck. Maybe his enthusiasm for DnB is fading over time, but it wasnt what I remember from times I have seen him before.

The second thing I wasnt happy about was the 'free soundsystem' that we added into the second room too boost the bass for Sparxy and Reamz dubstep set. Well free didnt exactly turn out to be what it was. Firstly at the start of the night I paid 300 UAH (approx £25) for what I was assuming was delivery of it to the club. I could handle that so it wasnt a problem even though quite a lot more than a taxi fare.... However then at the end I was asked for another 500 UAH (approx £40) for the costs which was never covered in the plan we had at the first management planning meeting. Then it all looked clear as Mnial said that was his fee. That would have been fine apart from Slavik (who really did help me a lot in the management side) had also paid Mnial his fee as well the day after the party. Ok its only £40 but its something I just dont understand or who did or didnt get more than they should have.

So thats it, party 4 done (3 in Kyiv and 1 in Minsk) so what happens next? Well firstly some time to think which is one of the reasons I had decided in advance to come to Tbilisi in Georgia. Some things definately need to change to make it financially viable, and I have ideas coming in my head slowly for how to make that happen. Im always open to ideas and I know Slavik has a lot of experience in putting on parties and is keen to help out as well. Fade will always be my stabalising factor so I think between us I think they are both positive I can take from the party moving forward.

My initial thoughts are that it is relatively unlikely there will be another Drum and Basslines in Kyiv in October/November at this stage, so it is more likely to be in the spring of 2013. In the mean time I am still travelling so the Drum and Basslines Tour will continue through 2012 hopefully in Georgia, almost certainly Finland, and maybe Belarus as well. Thats very positive from my point of view as a DJ as it will bring my number of international parties to be higher than the number I have played in the UK. For a DJ originally from the UK I think thats something very special and something Im looking forward to.


MX (Drum and Basslines, KrisisDnB, UK)
www.drumandbasslines.com
www.krisisdnb.com

MX Review of 2011 - A year for Drum and Basslines, KrisisDnB and as a DJ all over Europe

Before I start on 2011, it has to be said that the last 2 years have been a massive turning point for me. Not only have I been to so many different countries both to visit and as a DJ, but I have also met a lot of good new friends along the way.

The start of 2011 saw me in the UK for a month to finish work at Amelco. I had a good time there and helped to implement a lot of projects including the Jboss ATS system. However IT has been boring me for a good few years now and I was itching to get away from it.

That opportunity came in February. After a few months planning from the UK, it was time to launch Drum and Basslines in Ukraine. With a huge amount of help from Fade and Mnial in Kyiv, we managed to pull off a successful first event. Not easy for any of us especially as I was living in the UK during all of the planning and promotion for the party. It was evident at the party that a new beginning had started. A lot of very happy people, good music, and people for a month after the party asking us when there would be another one! Making a handful of international DJs and MCs on the way the Ukranian capital saw something they had never seen before.

Then time to visit my friend Alex in Tbilisi, Georgia! I had an amazing week in Tbilisi and the surrounding areas, and felt the hospitality of the Georgian people. They really do have a lovely country with wonderful people.

As I have done for the last few years it was then up to Minsk in Belarus for 3 months. This time staying with Sergey and his brother Alexandr just outside of the centre I had to get back used to russian food, but also to show them some of what we eat in the UK. The 3 months always passes too fast with DJ bookings in Minsk, Gomel, Bobruisk, Novopolotsk, and Molodechno, and before I knew it was just 1 last party for my birthday in Minsk. The second Drum and Basslines party and was very happy to be able to bring Mutated Forms to play alongside me before I headed back to Kyiv.

Still plenty do do over the next month with another trip this time in the summer to Georgia to visit Alex and my new friends there including David Noise and everyone at the Hangar Bar in the centre who once again made me feel very welcome.

Another promise I made a few years ago was to visit Esa-Pekka up in Finland. We managed to do this in June and got the opportunity to headline 2 events in Helsinki!! To add to that one of Esa's friends gave me a personalised MX tattoo which I absolutely love. Hopefully I will return to Finland again during 2012.

With a quick trip to Tallinn in Estonia and Prague in the Czech Republic the summer months had been amazing.

Coming back to the UK for a few months wasnt easy, and I really didnt enjoy it, so fast-tracked the next Drum and Basslines party in Kyiv for November. The lineup turned out to be so easy to form. After meeting Raiden in Kyiv in June, and having Mutated Forms at my birthday in May, the only real question I had was which of the top class DJs and MCs from KrisisDnB could I invite. With Inertia, Ruskal, Breakneck and MC So-Low I couldnt have asked for any better! We all had an amazing few days before they returned to the UK.

Its now the 23rd December and Im back in the UK for a few days to see the family for christmas. Then its back to Kyiv for New Year and their christmas on the 7th January.

Drum and Basslines 4 is already being planned for the end of February or March 2012 in the Ukranian capital. A lineup is being formed in my head as we take Drum and Basslines into its 2nd year, and KrisisDnB into its 5th year! I dont think NeO or myself had ever realistically expected things to last as long as they have, but with steady progress, a lot of fun, and constant hard work its seen not only a radio station but now a successful international event brand formed.

Lastly but by no means least I want to thank all of my supporters and people who have seen me this year. Ive had an amazing time, and cant wait for more in 2012. As always get in touch if you would like to see me play at one of your parties. Unlike a lot of other Drum and Bass DJs I am NOT in this for the money, I do this to make YOU have a good time, and because I love the music no matter what style or genre.

I have some ideas to increase my versatility for 2012 to bring me more into the visual side of a party experience. Hopefully that will make its debut at the next Drum and Basslines party in Kyiv in March.

I hope you all have a great christmas and new year wherever you are around the world! Keep tuned to KrisisDnB, and let us know if you want to see Drum and Basslines in a city near you!


MX (KrisisDnB, Drum and Basslines, UK)
www.drumandbasslines.com
www.krisisdnb.com

MX 2011 Tour of Ukraine, Georgia and Belarus

Its started again ! 2011 and another few months out of the UK. After being hugely disappointed in May 2010 after not being able to sort the work visa I needed to stay in Belarus, ive had a few months back in the UK to sort my head out. Firstly starting work at Amelco which was a big opportunity for me to help build their helpdesk and automation strategy, test and implement their latest releases of software and to migrate to an offshore solution was an ideal situation for me to return to.

October 2010 and I met Viktor Ramonas ramdomly in London. I recognised the russian accent to his English and we instantly became friends. Nearer the end of the year I decided that with my forthcoming event in Kyiv, Ukraine coming up in Feb 2011, it was the perfect opportunity for me to make a second attempt to move to Belarus. It was not an easy decision to make as I was enjoying my work in the UK and had made a new friend who I had barely got to know properly yet. I wanted to stay at Amelco if I possibly could, and came up with a solution that I hope will work out for everyone.

Damian (Owner of Amelco) has been superb and given me the opportunity to do what I wanted, and I have promised him that I will always be part of Amelco. A sudden brainwave happened that it would be the perfect time for Viktor to take over my shift work at Amelco. Damian had always spoke about getting me off from working nights and into more of a central role, and Viktor has IT skills from his time at the University of Siberia to convince me he had the ability to learn the ropes in the same way as I did in June 2010. The only problem was going to be his English, but a mere 2 weeks after me starting my travels I have seen emails from him to various people that may not be perfect english, but are good enough for him to make a positive contribution to a small company like Amelco. I really would like to thank Damian and Leon for putting their faith in me and bringing Viktor in to assist.

Anyway the event in Kyiv was amazing. A busy club with plenty of happy faces was enough for me to say that my first event organised in the Ukranian capital was a success. Bringing Mr Gash (aka Unknown Error) couldnt have worked out any better. One of the most down to earth guys I have ever met. With a huge crew of KrisisDnB DJs from the station coming as well it was a perfect weekend full of laughs and plenty of vodka !

Monday 14th was a hard day to see Richy, Repul, Bartus, Projekt and Breakneck go for their flight back to the UK. Did I want to go with them?? Hmm maybe... but maybe not !!! I think on the balance of things they were the ones who were jealous of me staying here.

15th Feb and time to go to Georgia to finally meet with my good friend Alex Rayden. We have known each other for 3 or 4 years now and became good friends during the Russia / Georgia conflict a few years ago. I was so worried for his and his families safety. I decided then that one day I would visit and see Georgia first hand. What an amazing place with so much history ! I thought Russian was a hard language to learn (and it is!!!), but even reading the Georgian alphabet is so much harder. Fortunately a lot of signs in shops and streets are written in English which shows how international a country Georgia is. President Saakashvili has clearly spent a lot of time and money helping to make Georgia a place for not only tourists, but international businesses to find an attractive proposition. The only issue with Georgia is its disputes over South Ossetia and Abkazia. Hopefully those issues are sorted soon and Georgians can enjoy a peaceful life in their wonderful country.

6 days in the Georgian capital Tbilisi was so good. I had guided tour of the whole city by the staff in the hotel I was staying at, showing me the many castles, churches and monuments the city has, as well as the TV Transmitter and theme park that make the city stand out so much. And then meeting Alex was a mission accomplished for me after worrying about whether I would ever see him during the conflicts a few years ago. What can I say about Georgian food... WOW !!! ITS NICE !!! Dont ask me the names of anything as they al sound very similar, but what a variety of different styles of homegrown food they have!

Then it was the trip back to Kiev to then get my visa for Belarus. It was good to meet up with Alex Mnial before catching the train up to Minsk. Him and Fade have helped me and the Ukraine party at Cinema Club so much in the last few months and mean we will definately do another event at the end of the summer season.

I arrived in Minsk to meet Sergey. I had never met him before but we had spoke on Skype many times about the KrisisDnB Radio player. He had kindly offered to let me stay at his place near Minsk Arena with his brother Alex. I needed all the sleep I could get before my first headline event for this year in Bobruisk at Magnet Club where I played last year. Another wickid night with loads of girls all wanting their picture with me. Thanks to Oleg and Kieran (thats close to his name) for looking after me while I was there and for showing me around Bobruisk as well.

I have just got a text from Streamline asking me to run a few English classes for them today but I dont want to let them down and rush into things. They know my skills from a year ago, but a lot of that has been forgotten in the last few months so maybe start slowly and see how things progress. I cant wait to get back into the flow of things here but this year I want to do things differently and not be focussed just on getting the work visa like I did last year. I want to enjoy my time here and if I end up staying then all good, but if I have to leave I dont want the bad feelings I had in May 2010 when it was clear I couldnt stay.

So Andrew has now left to go to Germany for 6 weeks its all up to me to work things out here. I have always got Alex to help me and it will be good to meet Zeb again as well as everyone I met in Minsk last year. My next headline event is on 12.02 in a town called Novopolotsk which is somewhere I should have played last year if I was still here, so finaly I will get there !!!

More to come soon !!!

Pics from Georgia : http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/album.php?id=100001001114472&aid=37393

Pics from Drum and Basslines Kiev : http://www.basslineskiev.com/event.html

Pics from 25.02 in Bobruisk, Belarus : http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=100001001114472&aid=38448