CES Records

01/03/2026

About “Kookooland”
ELECTRONAUTS

Tbilisi’s If Strangers returns with Kookooland, the 4th edition of its two-month “make an album from scratch with strangers” experiment. Curated by Natalie Beridze and Nikakoi (concept by Nika Machaidze + Beridze), the p...

27/02/2026

Big Release Day is Here!
"Kookooland" by If Strangers is out.

If Strangers, a concept developed by Nika Machaidze and Natalie Beridze, is a space where artists from diverse backgrounds and at different stages of their musical journey come together with the aim of creating an album together. Some of the pairings would be unlikely to ever happen outside of such a unified context.

Compiled of 21 tracks the energy encapsulated in Kookooland is hard to pin down with easy categorizations, as electronic textures, vocals and acoustic instruments are deftly interwoven. In Kookooland, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The artists here have produced something multifaceted and captivating, transcending each individual's artistry.

"If strangers" 2026 collective (4th edition) has 11 members, in no particular order they are: Natalie Beridze; Nikakoi; Eld Less; Solo Tsitsuashvili; Mariam Galogre; Denivarlevy; Sadrah; Lilé; Fotgjengeren; Rasseterya; Spilled Ambiences.

released February 27, 2026

credits:
Music by If Strangers
Mastered by Giorgi Koridze
Coverart by Nikakoi



https://ifstrangers.bandcamp.com/album/kookooland

23/02/2026

Music Video by Nika Machaidze from If Strangers upcoming album "Kookooland".

If Strangers, a concept developed by Nika Machaidze and Natalie Beridze, is a space where artists from diverse backgrounds and at different stages of their musical journey come together with the aim of creating an album together. Some of the pairings would be unlikely to ever happen outside of such a unified context.

The energy encapsulated in Kookooland is hard to pin down with easy categorizations, as electronic textures, vocals and acoustic instruments are deftly interwoven. In Kookooland, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The artists here have produced something multifaceted and captivating, transcending each individual's artistry.
"If strangers" 2026 collective (4th edition) has 11 members, in no particular order they are: Natalie Beridze; Nikakoi; Eld Less; Solo Tsitsuashvili; Mariam Galogre; Denivarlevy; Sadrah; Lilé; Fotgjengeren; Rasseterya; Spilled Ambiences.

Music by If Strangers (Fotgjengeren & Natalie Beridze)
Mastered by Giorgi Koridze
Music video by Nika Machaidze

CES063

Music Video by Nika Machaidze from If Strangers album "Kookooland"If Strangers, a concept developed by Nika Machaidze and Natalie Beridze, is a space where a...

23/02/2026

We are thrilled to welcome a new artist to the CES Records family!
Eld Less - Participant of “If Strangers” collective 2026.

In his own words:
Eld Less ['94]
The only thing I've learned on my own that I have at my disposal is how to convey honestly and accurately what is within me by any method, any instrument or means, in all dimensions ∞

Eld Less’s credits include 2 collaborative tracks from “If Strangers” ‘s upcoming album “Kookooland”, to be released 27.02.2026

CES063

23/02/2026

We are thrilled to welcome a new artist to the CES Records family!
Sadrah - Participant of “If Strangers” collective 2026.

Sadrah is a DJ and producer from Tbilisi, Georgia, known for crafting hypnotic, immersive soundscapes built on layered grooves and deep atmospheres. Blending rhythm with texture, Sadrah’s music unfolds as a slow-burning journey, pulling listeners into a trance-like state where repetition, mood, and motion merge into one fluid experience.

Sadrah’s credits include 2 collaborative tracks from “If Strangers” ‘s upcoming album “Kookooland”, to be released 27.02.2026

CES063

21/02/2026

We are thrilled to welcome back Denivarlevy to the CES Records family!
Participant of “If Strangers” collective 2026.

Denivarlevy is a hip-hop producer, sound engineer, and DJ whose work blends old-school hip-hop, trap, R&B, and electro-rap. Since joining CES Records, he released his debut EP NELA, marking his first official step forward as a rapper under the label. Now 23 years old, he has released 8 albums and 7 EPs, along with additional singles in collaboration with artists such as Meme Musicc, Gigilow, Sis9, Database, and others.

Denivarlevy’s credit include 1 collaborative tracks from “If Strangers” ‘s upcoming album “Kookooland”, to be released 27.02.2026

CES063

19/02/2026

We are thrilled to welcome a new artist to the CES Records family!
Mariam Galogre - Participant of "If Strangers" collective 2026.

Mariam Galogre is a vocalist and a musician. She often plays Jazz-fusion, jazz-funk and Georgian songs in Tbilisi's jazz clubs with her quintet. Mariam's main dream is to be famous for her original songs, which soon will be published.

Mariam's credits include 4 collaborative tracks from "If Strangers" 's upcoming album "Kookooland", to be released 27.02.2026

CES063

17/02/2026

We are thrilled to welcome a new artist to the CES Records family!
Spilled Ambiences - Participant of "If Strangers" collective 2026.

Shalva (Shako) Dzebisashvili is a musician and sound artist from Tbilisi. He began his musical career in the 2000s as a guitarist, bassist and vocalist in alternative and jazz-rock bands, including Specali, Trade U and Spectrum.

His professional experience also includes architecture, DJing, sound engineering, live ambient performance, music and sound creation for installations, theater, short films and advertising projects.

Today he explores sound field recordings, synthesis and hypnotic atmospheric textures, creating a sound world that combines the organic and the electronic. He is a participant in several projects:
“modinputs” — experimental electroacoustic live performance based on improvisation; “Wave Matter” — sound and music design studio for film and advertising. “Spilled Ambiences” — experimental atmospheric electronic music, live performance and multimedia projects.

Spilled Ambiences's credits include 5 collaborative tracks from "If Strangers" 's upcoming album "Kookooland", to be released 27.02.2026

CES063

Ambiences

15/02/2026

Nikakoi - co-founder of "If Strangers" concept and member of "If Strangers" 2026 collective.

Nika Machaidze—best known by his artist’s name Nikakoi and his alias Erast—is a pioneer of Georgian electronic music. Starting in the mid-1990s as a founding member of the influential art collective Goslab, Machaidze developed a distinctive sound that blends IDM, glitch, breakbeats, and melancholic melodies rooted in Georgian folk and film music.

A professionally trained animator and director (Tbilisi State Theatre Institute, ’92 & ’97), Nika has composed scores for film, theater, fashion shows, and television. His interdisciplinary background and emotional sensibility are core to his sonic signature.

His debut album, Sestrichka (2002, WMF Records), released in Berlin, marked a major milestone in post-Soviet IDM. Over the years, he released numerous albums under both aliases—Nikakoi and Erast—receiving international recognition for his emotionally immersive and texturally rich soundscapes.

The 2003 album შენтыmental (Shentimental) was reissued on vinyl in 2024 by Georgian Music Legacy Collection, reaffirming its status as a foundational work in post-Soviet electronic music.

Nikakoi's credits include 4 collaborative tracks from "If Strangers" 's upcoming album "Kookooland", to be released 27.02.2026

CES063

12/02/2026

We are thrilled to welcome a new artist to the CES Records family!
Lilé - Participant of "If Strangers" collective 2026.

Trained as a classical pianist, Lilé (Lika Barateli) has lived between structure and intuition for most of her life. From childhood, music has accompanied every moment, becoming the soundtrack of events, thoughts, and silent pauses.

In recent years, Lika became a member of CES community, exploring experimental electroacoustic music as a way and an instrument to merge accumulated knowledge and experience with limitless inner impulses.

Although Lika has always composed music, she rarely felt the urge to share it, believing it revealed her inner states too openly. Over time, Barateli realized that the world often fails to change for the better because of this exact human silence. Each voice carries weight, and every thought has the power to reshape reality.

Lilé's credits include 6 collaborative tracks from "If Strangers" 's upcoming album "Kookooland", to be released 27.02.2026

CES063

10/02/2026

We are thrilled to welcome a new artist to the CES Records family!
Rasseterya - Participant of "If Strangers" collective 2026.

Sandro Chirgadze, aka Rasseterya, is a musician and producer from Tbilisi, active since 2018. His work moves between experimental sound and dance music, blending ambient, noise, IDM, electro, and related forms. Alongside his solo work, he composes music and sound for film and socially engaged, political podcasts, approaching these projects with the same experimental and textural sensibility. Recently, he has been performing experimental noise, ambient, and IDM live sets with Sky Collar.

Rasseterya's credits include 4 collaborative tracks from "If Strangers" 's upcoming album "Kookooland", to be released 27.02.2026

CES063

08/02/2026

We are thrilled to welcome a new artist to the CES Records family!
Solo Tsitsuashvili - Participant of "If Strangers" collective 2026.
Music enthusiast and ambient sound explorer.

Solo's credits include 3 collaborative tracks from "If Strangers" 's upcoming album "Kookooland", to be released 27.02.2026

CES063