DJ Vadim

The king of the killer grooves unleashes his new album

Welcome to DMCWORLD young man. A massive London Soundcrash party coming up on August 18th at Koko with Mr Thing and DJ Format. A real big buzz on this party, what can we expect from you on the night?

“Well every party is dependant on the crowd and what the people play, but I’ll be airing lots of new stuff that’s coming out on my new album in October. I’ll also be using the new F1 DJ system that’s just been given to me by Native Instruments, and hopefully I’ll bring some guests with me too!”

The new album is swinging our way on BBE – when did you start creating your latest masterpiece?

“The album was started in November 2010 when I was in Auckland in New Zealand with some jam sessions with Fat Freddy’s drop, Trinity Roots, Coral, Julien Dyne, Isaac Aseli and Lewis McCallum. I’ve been working on it wherever I am. I went to Maui on Hawaii, Mexico City and Kuala Lumpa to work on it, finished it in my studio in London and then sent it off to my sound engineer, Big Al who mixed it in Tokyo…”

What can you tell us about the album – what collabs are on there?

“I tried to make a total instrumental album as an opposite to ‘Electric’ which came out in 2011. That idea didn’t really work out but hey, I tried! The new album is different again to previous work. I am exploring more dance music right now, darker stuff, UK bass but still keeping it abstract and DJ Vadim. There are some elements of dustup, grime, UK bass, house but also are African, Asian, reggae tones…all done in a DJ Vadim style – heavy beats n’ bass. There are some vocalists too – but you have to wait for that!”

What are the tracks on there that you are really excited about?

“Well all of them really. I been listening to it loads and want to see what people feel…”

Are there any surprises on the new album, any new musical directions?

“Mmm – well – if I told you that, it wouldn’t be a surprise. Gabba??”

You live in London which is one of only a handful of cities in the UK bringing us a decent night out at the moment. Why do you think there is such a lull in the UK at the moment?

“Well I don’t know about lulls and i don’t live in other cities. In London there seems to be as much going on now as there ever has been. It’s easy to think the grass is greener somewhere else and I’ve been everywhere and it really isn’t – except perhaps weather wise! Good old Blighty!”

You have big views on festivals in the UK…”I think a lot of festivals are curated really badly. T In The Park, V Festival, Reading & Leeds – their line-ups in my opinion are poor. Even Glastonbury.” So say we give you a blank cheque and a big stage in Hyde Park – what five artists would you book for your own party in the outdoors…

“Well firstly i wouldn’t do Hyde Park ‘cos of the noise restrictions Dan! If they can close a Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney show, what hope do I have? So f*ck Westminister Council. They are only interested in keeping rich people happy. But back to your question! Yes I really do believe most UK festival line ups are poor. It’s all crap boring rock. Not that there is no place for out of tune, soulless,  talentless, drunkards on guitars – I just don’t want 90% of the line up to be that when the charts reflect something else. A festival should be a cross of stuff – rock, pop, soul, hip hop , dance, reggae, world stuff etc…I think French and other European festival line ups are so much better top be honest. I just think the UK is in the grip of corporate hell run by people who have absolutely no idea about anything except corporate things. I would make a diverse festival. It wouldn’t just be this or that but I would bring in all kinds of stuff – popular and new, from rock to rap to dance to weird chin stroking stuff. A balance of flavours. All I know is it’s hard to make a worse line up than V or T In The Park…”

What have been the cool festivals around the world you’ve rocked this summer?

“I just did a great one called Esperanzah in Belgium. Amazing. 5000 people chanting my name! I so wanted to stage dive but the space between the stage and the crowd was too big!!!”

What country do you love returning to, whose crowd always goes right off?

“France.”

What is the current top 10 you are spinning?

Mally and The Sundance Kid – Bounce
Royalty- EROICA
Bwana – Baby Let Me Finish
Eprom – Regis Chillbin
Die n Break – Peace n Dub
Foreign Beggers – Flying To Mars
Shuko And F – Uptown
Prince Fatty – The Beat Goes On ft. Hollie Cook
Devilman – U Kno Wat I mean
Azelia Banks – Esta Noche

What has been your anthem of the summer?

“Ha ha – no idea. I just go and hit people with tunes and see what happens, But Azelia Banks has to be up there. Everybody is bubbling to her.”

How influential was your parents choice in music growing up to you? What were the sounds echoing around the family home?

“Well my dad is into Motown, rock & roll, blues etc. – and yeah, I used to listen to Credeance Clearwater Revival, Hendry, etc…”

When did you decide you wanted to become a DJ, what were your first steps up the career ladder?

“Well it wasn’t a conscious decision. I just fell into it. I guess I persevered more than others at the time – like back in 1990 or so…”

If you hadn’t have become a musician, what do you think you would have ended up doing?

“A Civil Engineer – ‘cos that was what I was studying for!!!”

What was the record that changed your life?

“Minnie Ripperton – “Adventures In Paradise’.”

Looking back at your incredible career, what do you think has been your greatest piece of production?

“I’m proud of my diversity and working with lots of up and coming artists who’ve gone on to have good careers – Foreign Beggars, Yarah Bravo, Killa Kela, Wretch32. I’ve always been more keen on working with fresh, hungry artists, than bowing to the big thing right now…”

Not many people know this, but Vadim is really good at…

“Making ladies smile?”

And finally, what are the next studio plans for you?

“Working on the new DJ Vadim live show as I type!!! Also making lots of videos, remixing, and working on the DJ Vadim Don’t Be Scared Immersive Album, which is an audio and visually interactive version of my album for iPad. More about that soon!”

 

Soundcrash @ Koko, London on Saturday August 18th featuring DJ Vadim, DJ Format & The Simonsound, Mr Thing, Lazy Habits and DJ Irk. www.soundcrashmusic.com

http://www.soundcrashmusic.com/dj-vadim-dj-format-the-simonsound-mr-thing/

 

http://www.djvadim.com
http://www.myspace.com/djvadim
http://www.electricsoundcompany.com
http://www.soundcloud.com/dj-vadim
http://www.mixcloud.com/DJVadim/

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