Angelika Khaydar • Secret Set 4 • The Golden Hour In Saint P. •

Dear friends, I present to your attention one of my best works called “The Golden Hour in Saint P.”, which is the quintessence of all my developments over the last few years. You know very well that for me the most important thing is musical selection. Over the last couple of years my selection has increased many times over, and I decided to share it with you in a beautiful work, which was shot at the beginning of this summer in St. Petersburg. Actually, the idea for this shoot appeared 2 years ago, but at that time I didn’t have enough resources to realize a shoot of such scale and complexity. I have produced a lot of work over the years, and this experience helped me in realizing this idea, but not without the help of my team: cameramen, helpers! I would like to express my special thanks to Anna for the opportunity to shoot this beautiful DJ Set on the amazing boat “Atlantika”. The minimalistic design of this boat immediately fell into my aesthete heart, it was a real «match» of music, design and idea! Love at first sight! And even the name of the boat is not accidental: it’s like crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a sailing shoot a work of such complexity! And for realization of scenography of my route thanks to captain Dmitry, it turned out to be very dynamic. If you will be in St. Petersburg, be sure to contact the guys to see the best of the city from the water! Website: Instagram: This is my first large-scale shoot, which we did outdoors as part of the Secret Sets project. Since I am an architect by my first education, it was also important for me to show the architecture and panoramas of the city in all their glory. I carefully designed the itinerary, which in turn was inspired by my first boat trip (2 years ago) in St. Petersburg, as well as my thesis on the Venice Biennale, where I explored the city from the water, its architecture and art. This is the first DJ Set where there is also an active interaction with the inhabitants of the city, who suddenly become involved in what is happening, as if it were a kind of theater on the water, referring us to the futuristic projects of “floating theaters” in Venice. It is also important for me to broadcast different messages through music. And this work was no exception! I prepared special posters for it, which my team placed in the city on the bridges “live on air”, because the project was shot in one take. Before I left for St. Petersburg, I painted these messages on fabric for 2 weeks, and I can say that I gave you a piece of my soul. My message is: believe in yourself, in your dream, go for it despite the difficulties! This shoot seemed like a crazy dream at first, which has now become a reality. Imagine! It was the only evening during the whole week in St. Petersburg when the sun came out, and we took a risk to shoot this set after the rainstorm and we did not fail. My risk was justified. This work was on the verge of absurdity and the impossible, that’s why it’s so beautiful, and the sunset in it is even more amazing. In this work I wanted to show the whole variety of Techno&House music, as well as the different state of nature and the atmosphere of the city, so it’s no coincidence that the set lasts for 4 hours: 1. The first chapter unfolds in the city center on Moika and Griboedov Canal. The beginning of sunset, cloudiness is replaced by burning sun, and we start our way with dynamic House & Techno. 2. The second chapter starts at the Hermitage, where we enter the central part of the Neva water area. And it is in this place, we meet with you the “Golden Hour”, the sunset. The music changes to a more melodic one, I would call it “dreamy Techno”. A time to slow down and remember the best, soak up all the sunshine and energize yourself. 3. The third chapter is a trip out to the Gulf of Finland to meet the setting sun, through the waves and wind. We pick up speed, water splashes in our faces, the music speeds up, we feel the drive, the thirst for life. It’s as if we are moving towards our dream through obstacles and still catch it - the dream, like a guillemot by its fiery tail. 4. Chapter four - returning home. It’s getting dark, soon the lights will be on in the city. We calm down, our spirits are warm as we have done the hardest part - we are more than halfway through the journey. The music changes to more darker - Hypnotic Techno. We hear the words in the track “Music Is Everywhere, Can You Hear It? It`s My Vision. It`s a Freedom, That I Want. It Makes Me Feel Alive, Nobody Stop Me.” We strive again to the center, to our starting point, but not empty-handed. Finally, we get to the city again. At some point the lights come on, I play my favorite track. I realize that my dream has come true, tears are coming from happiness and beauty of what is happening... You can see it with your own eyes. Yes, that’s it, that feeling! You can probably even feel it! © 2024 ANGELIKA KHAYDAR