"The only thing that a person can do uniquely is to work with his soul"
One of the largest festivals in Russia does not light up the stars, but reflects them, says music producer Andrey Klyukin. For 18 years, The Hatters, Zoloto, polnalyubvi, Bond with the Button, and dozens of artists who later assembled their own venues of thousands passed through Wild Mint. In an interview with Izvestia, the producer told how he spent about 15 million rubles on security, why the public did not go for the headliners, and why Wild Mint needed its own radio station and art school.
"We don't have music that would be interesting to marginals"
— Wild Mint is 18 years old this year. A respectable age. Has it become easier for you to organize a festival every year?
— 18 years is a lot for the festival. Mature age, but at the same time very active, we do not have the opportunity to calm down. We are constantly in a race: we started with a small open-air, moved to nature, bought land, laid plumbing, roads, lighting, made free drinking fountains, conducted the Internet, built permanent stages. Last year, stationary showers and toilets were opened, just like in expensive sports centers. We will launch our own radio station this summer.
— Why is there a radio station today?
— Wild Mint has a very strong influence on the musical landscape of the country. But the music we present should be played in the media field for more than just three festival days. Despite the fact that the artists who form the basis of our program gather thousands of halls across the country, and there are millions of listeners on streaming platforms, there is no station with this music. We will fix it. We'll create our own label later. A big book about Wild Mint will be published next spring. Negotiations are underway on the filming of the film.
We are creating a new dimension, and at the same time we are setting musical trends, trying to change both the musical landscape and people's perception of such a culture. The organizers of the festivals in the late 1990s and early 2000s, let's face it, messed up. Now, when you talk to security forces or officials and pronounce the word "festival", they have an image in their head not of a cultural event that attracts thousands of tourists to the region, brings taxes and uses the tourist potential, but of some kind of stubborn holes either in the mud or in the forest. That's why every year we have to show and prove how things really work.
— And how are things on the Wild Mint with the stubborn nefors?
— In 18 years, we have not had a single serious offense. No serious offenses at all. I think we're just not interesting to a marginal part of the audience. In fact, all festivals are divided into conditional Glastonbury and Coachella (the largest and oldest music festivals in the UK and the USA. — Ed.). We're more like the latter. People come to some festivals to "rip off their collars," and it doesn't matter at all what the beauty around them is or what it smells like. And other festivals are about music, beauty and art in all its forms.
Over the past seven years, Wild Mint has changed its face — it has become more feminine. And that's understandable. If we talk about country festivals, then ours is really one of the most comfortable and safest. Therefore, the girls decided for themselves that they could go here. They understand that there will be clean toilets, showers, and hair dryers in the showers, and all this is free.
You can come here with children. There is a mother and child's room, and it is stationary, made of stone, with washing machines, changing tables, a place for bathing, microwaves and refrigerators. This doesn't happen anywhere. For them, this is a real holiday with elements of carnival. Believe me, the better the infrastructure, the fewer problems there are.
— Then where do the problems come from?
— There are problems if you gather a marginal audience or if you are unable to build a comfortable and secure infrastructure. People start smoking when they encounter everyday inconveniences, when irritation accumulates and negativity spills out. We don't have any problems with that, and besides, we don't have music that would be interesting to marginals. After all, the festival, by and large, is not about music. I've been doing this for almost 30 years, and I can say that people don't go after artists.
They leave the city to get out of the agenda and problems. They want to be among people who are close in spirit. When you are at a random mass event, even urban and free, you constantly have a feeling of anxiety. You walk around with your eyes on the back of your head. And a random person 130 km from Moscow or 60 km from Tula will not go to the festival, paying 10 thousand rubles for a ticket. It is those who want to come here. In three days, they literally exhale and recharge with energy. And believe me, which artist is performing is the second question.
"Sometimes I remind myself of a drunk in a pub who sits and throws darts at darts"
— You mentioned security and factors that can be controlled. But there are also those that cannot be controlled. I recall the situation with the cancellation of the Signal festival in 2025 due to the threat of drone attacks. Is it even possible to make the festival safe today?
— Any country festival is a huge territory and a relatively low density of people. For example, we sell only 20 thousand tickets. These 20 thousand people are located on an area of 86 hectares. The density of people there is much lower than in any shopping mall or stadium. Perhaps there were other reasons behind the cancellation of Signal, but I will not undertake to assert this.
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If we talk about security in general, then we have two levels. The first one is the one that we are responsible for ourselves on earth: surveillance cameras, electronic bracelets, security frames, photo control, PSC, involvement of law enforcement agencies. The second is security related to the sky. And here the region helps us a lot, including with special means, which I cannot talk about, but believe me, the measures are unprecedented. We are the Tula region, that says it all, and we must pay tribute to our security forces.
We did festivals in different regions, but decided to stay here, transfer the company here, and buy land. In particular, because we have developed working, constructive relations with officials here.
— Has the musical landscape changed during your career?
— It is clear that a number of artists have left, and there are those who cannot perform now. At the same time, right now we are witnessing the formation of a new and vibrant Russian musical wave. And it's an amazing story. Playlists can be updated literally every month. Speaking as a producer, I can't remember a time when everything was growing so fast in music, not five or ten years ago.
— Wild Mint has discovered many names. Which of today's stars started with you?
— We don't light the stars. We are the moon, and we reflect them. We can sense in time who is capable of shooting, and become the first big platform for him. The band "Bond with a Button" played for the first time on our main stage four years ago. And for the mass audience, they appeared literally this year. The same is true with The Hatters, polnalyubvi, Zoloto, obraza.net and many others.
I sometimes remind myself of a drunk in a pub who sits at the bar and throws darts at darts. And he hits — not because he's incredibly accurate, but because he's been sitting in this place for 10 years and throws every day. I've been listening to three or four hours of music every day for 18 years now. Sometimes I can't even explain why I'm confident in the artist. When I heard the first lines of the band "Main Character Syndrome", I immediately realized: that's it, these will be big stars.
— There are very famous names in the line now. Goran Bregovic and Sinead O'Connor used to visit you. But it all started with a few familiar musicians. Is this possible today?
— I would say, on the contrary: and now many people look at our poster and ask — who are all these people? That's how it should be. The appearance of foreign artists is rather a matter of competition. But we've never been built on the principle of, "Here's the headliner, and everyone else is the app." Today, the festival is at the peak of its form. On the one hand, we continue to work with new "wild-growing" artists, as we wanted to. On the other hand, some of these musicians have grown enormously and have already become headliners. We didn't raise anyone on purpose. We just guessed, supported, and became the first point of support.
— Is it true that Yaroslav Dronov, the current Shaman, performed with you in 2019?
— Yes, it's true. Apparently, we became the first big festival for Shaman. Then Yaroslav sang the root music in a modern sound. He really has an amazing voice — I thought so then and now. Another thing is that now he makes pop music with a more pronounced socio-political connotation. Like Kobzon or Leshchenko in their time, each era has its own official voice. I'm less interested in Shaman's current persona than in his previous folklore work, but he's a strong singer.
"A huge number of interesting musicians are washed away by history, and all that remains of them are the faces on their T-shirts"
— I've heard that many young bands perform at festivals almost for free — "for food".
— No, we don't have much of that. The artists who perform without a fee can be counted on the fingers. And it's mostly about the club scene. Everything you see on large sites is paid for. Another thing is that the fees are very different. But we never say, "Guys, let's get it for free." In 90% of cases, the artist determines his own fee, we ask them to send links to concert performances and the conditions under which the band is ready to participate in Wild Mint.
Either we can do them, or we can't. But we almost never bargain, and we certainly don't persuade anyone to play for free. We don't have a TV channel that could offer an off-air performance. That's why we pay the money. It's just that the amounts are very different: someone's fee is a thousand rubles, someone's is a million.
— Do you earn money at the festival at all?
— With our attitude, the economy may even be negative. This year, we are spending about 15 million rubles on security alone: additional cameras, 4 km of fiber-optic perimeter, servers, poles. Another 15 million is a new arena of electronic music. And the marginality of the festival as a whole is notional 20-30 million. And we understand that even if we sell all the tickets, we will most likely reach zero.
— At the same time, you don't work with government grants?
- no. We recently discussed this with a representative of the State Duma. We were told, "Guys, why don't you take grants?" There are controversial points for me here. Firstly, it is difficult for me to take money from the state for the festival, sell tickets and earn more. It is clear that the grant covers only part of the costs and that the festival attracts tourists, but still. Secondly, the one who pays usually orders the music.
Imagine, I say, "Give me 100 million rubles, and I will bring the Vestfalin group, Strio, Rushana, Katorga, Pils, Drunk," and they will answer me: "Andrey, what is this? Are you just naming letters in a row?" It's important for me to stay in the current musical paradigm. Therefore, we are not accepting grants yet. Although I do not rule out that this will change over time, we will rather look for investors.
- why?
— Because we want to develop even faster. There is enough money for the festival itself, but there is no more money for the intensive growth of new projects. And I want to do a lot of things. I want to build a real art school here, create exhibition spaces, and open a museum of musical fame. A huge number of interesting musicians are simply washed away by history, and all that remains of them are the faces on their T-shirts. This is a big problem. I want people to understand what incredible music exists, for example, in Kazan or Buryatia. So that it doesn't disappear.
— Why do you need an art school?
"That's my thing. I have three children, and I understand that a regular school will lose its relevance in a few years. Because everything that children are being taught now, artificial intelligence will learn faster. Many professions will simply disappear. And the only thing that a person can do in a truly unique way is to work with his soul.
— I recall the words of Yuri Norstein: "There must be a divine mistake in art. And then it will be real."
— Absolutely right. Norstein is a great man. It seems to me that it is in art that a person has a chance to maintain his relevance. Therefore, I believe that it is necessary to create art schools where, along with regular education, there will be a deep immersion in art. Not everyone still understands why Wild Mint is so called. This is wild music — outside the production centers. All the way, we help new artists find their audience, because there is a living spark in their work.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
