DJ Vadim
DJ Vadim is a prolific DJ and producer, born in Leningrad, USSR (now Saint Petersburg, Russia), raised in London and currently residing in both New York and Berlin, whose music combines hip hop, soul, reggae and electronica. He has been described as "one of the few artists creating genuinely new work in the Hip-Hop field"[1] and an artist who "cannot be ignored".[1]
Career
In 1994, Vadim founded his own independent record label, Jazz Fudge, but signed to Ninja Tune the following year, before his current label BBE, in 2007. Aside from DJ-ing and producing, he has also worked as in A&R and promotion, as well as a radio presenter on the BBC's "Around The World In Eight Relays" programme.
Throughout his career he has worked with a variety of musicians, singers and groups, including DJ Krush, Stevie Wonder, The Roots, Prince, Public Enemy, Dilated Peoples, Kraftwerk, Sly and the family stone, Fat Freddys Drop, Super Furry Animals, and Paul Weller. He is also known for having worked with a number of unsigned artists who later went on to find commercial success.
In addition to his regular album releases, he has also recorded under the names "Andre Gurov" and "Little Aida" and has appeared as a member of the various artists project The Isolationist. He is also the DJ and producer for Spanish hip hop group 7 Notas 7 Colores, and, in 2001, was nominated alongside them at the Latin Grammy Awards.
His album, USSR: Life From The Other Side featured Scratch Perverts, Iriscience (from Dilated Peoples), Blade and Yarah Bravo. To promote the record, Vadim put together a live group - The Russian Percussion - consisting of Mr Thing (turntables), Killa Kela (beat box), Blu Rum 13 (MC), John Ellis (keyboards). The tour consisted of 200 live shows taking in twenty four countries throughout Europe and North America.
His central project for 2005-6 was DJ-ing for the hip-hop group One Self, with MCs Yarah Bravo and Blu Rum 13. The first One Self album, Children of Possibility was released on September 20, 2005.
He has made many remixes from The Cure, Erykah Badu, Alice Russell, Paul Weller, Prince, CL Smooth,
On average he performs 170-180 shows a year and has played in over 63 countries.
Style
DJ Vadim composes both music for MCs, singers and poets and soulful instrumental hip-hop beats. In both cases, certain stylistic trends emerge;
- Dominating rhythmic percussion, heavy use of drum programming which are sometimes broken or stuttering, heavy bass and synthesizer use.
- Organic, soulful touches often using studio musicians, with undertones of roots reggae and ragga and driving, hip-hop drum orchestration.
- Original sounding compositions, arrangements that fuse many genres from hip-hop and electronica to soul and reggae.
- Heavy use of ethnic sounds, including Asian, South American and African.
Discography
DJ Vadim
- "Abstract Hallucinating Gases" EP (Jazz Fudge, April 1995)
- "Headz Ain't Ready" EP (Jazz Fudge, June 1995)
- "Non lateral hypothesis" 12” (Ninja Tune, February 1996)
- "Aural Prostitution" 12” (Ninja Tune, August 1996) feat. Lewis Parker, Delirious, Mark B, Acyde and Sli Poetry.
- "Heterogeneous/Nocturnal Thought Tracks" - Recorded for the various artists compilation Organised Sound (Jazz Fudge, September 1996)
- USSR Repertoire LP (Ninja Tune, September 1996)
- "Conquest of the irrational" 12” (Ninja Tune, May 1997) feat. Jupiter Jam.
- DJ Vadim presents Sculpture and Broken Sound LP (P-vine Japan, 1997)
- USSR Reconstruction Remix LP (Ninja Tune, February 1998)
- Architects of the Great Mix Tape (Jazz Fudge, February 1998) with DJ Primecuts.
- As featured on the front cover CD of the February 1998 issue of DJ Magazine.
- Anti Pop Consortium (With DJ Primecuts)
- "Friction" 12” (Ninja Tune, April 1999) feat. Iriscience, Task Force, DJ Primecuts and Mr Thing.
- "It's Obvious" 12” (Ninja Tune, August 1999) feat. Blu Rum 13, Swollen Members and Mark B.
- USSR; Life From the Other Side LP (Ninja Tune, September 1999)
- USSR; Instrumental To Life LP (Ninja Tune, November 1999)
- "Your Revolution/The Higher Standard" 12” (Ninja Tune, September 2000) feat. Sarah Jones, Mr Lif, Esoteric and Virtuoso
- "Leaches/Up To Jah" 7” (Ninja Tune, May 2002) feat. Demolition Man.
- "Combustible/Ghetto Rebels/Dimelo es el Verbo" 12” (Ninja Tune, June 2002) feat. Gift of the Gab, Phi-Life Cypher (UK 12” only) and Mucho Mu (US 12” only).
- "It's On/Up To Jah" 12” (Ninja Tune, August 2002) feat. Vakill and Demolition Man.
- USSR: The Art of Listening LP (Ninja Tune, September 2002)
- USSR: The Art of Instrumentals LP (Ninja Tune, November 2002)
- "Bang 2K" EP (Ninja Tune, December 2002) feat. Skinny Man, Curse and Out da Ville.
- "Edie Brickell/Cum Shots" 12” (Ninja Tune, May 2003) feat. Slug and Yarah Bravo.
- "Till Sun's In Your Eyes/Headline News" 12” (Ninja Tune, September 2003) feat. Motion Man, Adad and DJ Woody.
- The Forgotten Women/Stereo Pictures Mix CD (MK2, October 2003)
- Lettuce Propelled Rockets Mix CD (JFM, January 2005) feat. DJ Woody.
- "Explode" 12” (JFM 2005) feat. Demolition Man.
- "Like The Wind/Boom Sumting" 12” (BBE, March 2007)
- Sound Catcher LP (BBE, April 2007)
- Live In Brooklyn Mix CD (Mothergrain, May 2007)
- "Got To Rock/Black Is The Night" 12” (BBE, October 2007)
- "Talk To Me/Like The Wind" 12” (BBE, April 2008)
- "Hidden Treasure/Saturday/Soldier" 12”/Digital download (BBE, April 2009)
- U Can't Lurn Imaginashun LP (BBE, May 2009)
Little Aida
"Confessions" EP (Jazz Fudge, February 1996)
Andre Gurov
- "Revelations of Wrath" EP (Jazz Fudge, February 1997) feat. Jupiter Jam and JAE.
- "A New Rap Language" EP (Jazz Fudge, September 1997) feat. Jupiter Jam.
The Bug
- Taping The Conversation LP (Wordsound, May 1997)
The Isolationist
"Hydrogen Slush" 12” (Jazz Fudge, October 1998)
- The Isolationist LP (Jazz Fudge, March 1999)
Blixton Rodriguez
- "August Showers" EP (2005)
One Self
- "Be Your Own" w/Amp Fiddler remix 12” and Ltd Edition (Ninja Tune, April 2005)
- "The Blue Bird"/Fear The Labour" 12” (Ninja Tune, May 2005)
- Children Of Possibility LP (Ninja Tune, June 2005) with Yarah Bravo and Blu Rum 13.
- Children Of Instrumental’s LP (Ninja Tune, August 2005)
- "Paranoid/Over Expose/Come Along" 12” (Ninja Tune, September 2005)
- "Organically Grown" EP (November 2006)
References
- ^ a b Record Mart & Buyer, Issue 12, July 1999, p59
Interviews
External links
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