Hailing from the outskirts of Moscow, Vladimir Ershov was raised in a musically rich environment by a classical musician father, whom he describes as “one of the best Russian oboe and English horn players”. Nevertheless, Vlad spent his formative years enamoured with a different type of artistry, and a music scene that felt a million miles away.
Before his breakthrough as an artist, Vlad spent several years teaching and producing for commercials and TV shows in his native country. In 2008, he stepped onto Anjuna as PROFF with ‘My Personal Summer’, first featured on Above & Beyond’s ‘Anjunabeats Volume 6’. In the 17 years since, PROFF has continued to evolve and innovate, becoming an integral member of our label family.
By night he’s the master of groove-heavy organic house. By day he’s manager of the Anjuna studios, involved in record refinement, mixing and mastering across a range of genres and projects. He’s also often found in the passenger seat with Jono, Paavo and Tony; a sounding board for ideas, leading to two full collaborations with the trio in the last year: ‘Palermo / Fractals’.
Now, we’re pleased to announce that Vlad is releasing his debut ambient album ‘Missing Places I’ve Never Been’. Out July 21 on Anjunachill, this 11-track album is a journey of self-expression and discovery, with each composition inspired by a different location and memory. The album moves away from the ‘rules’ of dance music, instead exploring slower tempos and atmospheric, textured soundscapes, influenced by ambient and psychedelic chill music.
Although the album is a journey of self-expression, Vlad has not been alone while creating it, and ‘Missing Places I’ve Never Been’ in fact contains collaborations with three close friends of Vlad’s: Nox Vahn, Volen Sentir and Tim Green.
Initially a beatless idea of Tim’s that he showed to Vlad to get his opinion, the original sounds have blossomed into warm, collaborative track ‘Philos’.
While this album may be a different sound for PROFF, as anyone who caught his exclusive playthrough in Albania can attest, it is just as considered and nuanced as his more uptempo releases.
Having known the meticulous and contemplative Vlad for many years, it came as no surprise to us that he told us he innovated the album concept a full two decades ago. Vlad told us “since I was 20 years old, I knew one day that I was going to write an album called ‘Missing Places I’ve Never Been’, and it took me almost 17 years”.
What took so long? We asked him. The answer, it turned out, was that this one-of-a-kind album was born of a one-of-a-kind machine…
“I’ve been building a modular synthesiser for almost seven years, carefully choosing what goes in and out, its interplay and capabilities… I started experimenting and recording my jams once I felt confident enough. Every track on this album started as a modular jam and is full of happy accidents…”
Part synth science, part expressive gut instinct, pure PROFF. Click the button below to pre-save the album or keep reading for a look at our vinyl offering.
‘Missing Places I’ve Never Been’ on Vinyl
The warm, ambient soundscapes of PROFF’s new album are perfect for immersive at-home listening, and there’s no better way to do that than on vinyl. We’re pressing a limited quantity of copies of ‘Missing Places I’ve Never Been’, all signed by Vlad himself, and you can pre-order one now, exclusively on the Anjuna Music Store.
‘The Best of PROFF’ – A curated mix
Revisit some of PROFF‘s hidden gems and biggest hits from across his years as a producer on Anjuna on our new, specially-curated one-hour mix.