DJ Vadim interview
Russian-born hip hop producer DJ Vadim returns with a new album and positive vibes aplenty!
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HUCK: Your new album has a back story to it as you've just recovered form cancer of the eye. However, the album feels very positive, are those things related?
DJ Vadim: I guess so. The majority of the album happened after I got cancer. When tragedy hits you; two things can happen. It can either overtake you or you can come out fighting. When I came out of hospital, I felt so relieved at this second chance in life. I felt so positive. When I was going through it, I had a lot of thoughts about death.
You draw vocalists from across the world and so there's a few different languages spoken on their so seem to have real international appeal. Why is that?
Cos I make the billy bollocks (laughs). I like the French language a lot, both singing and rapping both sound really good in French. Thing is, I travel a lot; every album could be called a travelling album. I'm always out and about meeting new people everywhere. Most of my time is spent on the road.
Is it hard to record music when you are on the road?
Nah, I've adapted. I make music backstage, in the car, at the hotel, in the airport, everywhere - I just have to find time for it. Some people have to get in the zone in the studio. I wouldn't have made half the music I did if I had to wait to get home to do it. Technology has allowed us to live in the mobile environment; if you can check emails on the go, why shouldn't you make music on the go.
So where do you live then?
I used to live in New York but now I live back in London. I've lived in London for over 25 years, so even if I move somewhere else, London will always have a place in my heart. Musically, the place I come from is London. It's my inspiration. Although I'm inspired by a lot of American hip hop, funk, R&B and soul, the way I put it together, is London. People fuse ideas in a more experimental way; people are more eclectic and open-minded in London. I find in America, people really want to say "this is R&B, this is hip hop, this is rock" - keep it in really separate boxes. In UK, groups like Tricky and Portishead, the whole grime genre - it's an amalgamation. I like the fact that this is encouraged.
Has your combination of styles ever had a bad reception?
I've never had it difficult, but some places are more responsive than others. It depends on the club and the crowd you play to. I don't think that the whole down tempo thing could ever happen in America, yet they love it.
Why is that?
I just don't think there is the infrastructure there - the initial open-mindness of the label. There is an unwillingness to push a sound that doesn't fit into a specific box. The artists that do experiment have to look to UK labels to sign them. Maybe when you are like 14, you only like something like punk, but then when you grow older, you realise that other music has elements of what you like about that. Plus, you start meeting girls and you realise that they often don't like the same music as you. If you want a girlfriend, you have to listen to something else. You do change and your tastes broaden, and this crosses racial and geographical boundaries.
Is that what you tried to do with your label ‘Jazz Fudge'?
Well, that stopped a few years ago. It came about through putting out records for my friends like Phi Life Cypher, Mud Fam and Mark B and Blade. But then my career started to take off so I didn't have enough time to put into it. Also, the internet really got big with filesharing and Napster and now it has become the norm.
So how do you feel about the vinyl purist deejays?
You've got to evolve or die. It's the story of mankind. If you don't accept it, you'll be outdated. There are aspects of the past that I really like but then there are certain things of new technology that are great. The trick is to balance the two. Create a bridge from the past to the present to the future.
You have worked on a lot of different projects and tour extensively, are you worried you will burn out or lose interest?
Well, why do you think Mick Jagger still does what he does? Is it for the money or the fame? No. If he didn't, he'd just be a sad old man. I think there's something in you that makes you need to keep going. By doing shows, it keeps him young and relevant. And that's the same with me. I still have that basic instinct that I could get away with doing less but I like what I'm doing. I have a dream job!
DJ Vadim's new album is out now
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DJ Vadim interview (text) by Ed Andrews is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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