Ukrainian techno DJ Spartaque, otherwise known as Vitalii Babii, has maintained his success as many newcomers have come and gone. We caught up with Spartaque to discuss his newest EP release Elements on his imprint Codex, his legendary mixes on Supreme Radio and his opinions on Ukraine’s electronic scene.
What inspired you to go under the pseudonym ‘Spartaque’?
Spartaque: Since I was about 5 years old, I’ve been called Spartacus [“Spartak” in Ukrainian]. There was this action movie, really popular across the former Soviet Union, where Kirk Douglas played Spartacus. I happen to have facial features resembling those of that actor. That’s probably why I was associated with this action hero. I learned about the movie years later so, when I was choosing my artist name for my musical career, I just thought I’d rather use the nickname that has stuck with me since my early teens. After all, why invent anything new? So I just went on performing and touring the world as Spartaque.
You’re known for your ambition and determination. What keeps you going during festival season?
Spartaque: Thanks a lot! It’s really pleasing to hear that I’m known exactly for that. As for the festival season, these features must be the things that keep me perfectly fit and ready to go. That’s probably because I perceive every performance in my life as a very important opportunity to accumulate promo material that will work for me in the future. Besides, the festival season is the year’s golden season and of course, being able to perform in front of huge crowds is something that gives energy to you as an artist and makes you crave for another Friday to come – that’s when you hop on a plane once again and set off for another great gig.
You have just released your Elements EP on your imprint Codex, tell us about the inspiration behind this release.
Spartaque: This was a rather easy and interesting piece of work – that’s because I made it with a good friend of mine Alan Wools. We’ve been friends and worked alongside since forever, and of course, it wasn’t his first project. God gave him some great sound producing skills, he’s a guy with great talent. So working on the release was satisfying in every respect. Everything sprung from an idea, and then, like a ball, it passed online between our two working stations, there came numerous upgrades, and as a result we see the tracks on the EP the way they are, and they are working great. We see this from a great reaction across the dancefloors and awesome feedback we saw coming from other techno artists. I gave the whole of the B-side to Alan for two of his tracks – ‘World in Trouble’ and ‘Not So Hard’. So now the record is already out there, the sales are high, and now we are waiting for digital releases, which I am sure will also be a success.
What’s changed about the style of your music since your first performance at Global Gathering?
Spartaque: A lot has changed, definitely. There are two main stages of my career. But if we take my mix from Global Gathering 2007, we would probably hear both electro house and minimal techno, to which I was only starting to shift at the time. The first stage was based locally in Ukraine and Russia. Of course, I toured to other countries but only a few and I played music which made me highly popular in my area – that’s minimal techno, a pretty commercial sound and maybe even some Italian minimal. There was a colossal wave of that type of music back in the day, and I was one of its pioneers in the area. So this tide definitely brought me on top. But at the same time, I realized that I had to move toward the origins, so to say, toward that original techno sound, which unfortunately didn’t work that well in my region when I decided to switch. I decided to place my bet on the European-type of sound, to build up a career across Europe. I believe that was a really bold move on my part, a responsible one. But I made it through. The intensity and geography of my touring has expanded widely and that’s something I enjoy most. But once again, despite the fact that I’ve been already playing for 12 years, I feel like this is now the beginning of something else, something bigger. I hope that I will bring to life all those dreams I’ve been harboring together with my team.
How would you describe the Kyiv electronic scene?
Spartaque: In earlier interviews, I was skeptical about what was happening on Kyiv’s musical arena. But frankly speaking, throughout this summer, a lot has changed in my perception of the city’s techno scene and its club culture in general. A lot of great locations emerged and at the same time, there is this feeling of a cultural renaissance and the people show high attendance at various events. We have this series of events called Ostrov, there is a Skhemy [Schemes] festival and Strichka festival at Closer Club. It’s more underground techno but still, it’s techno and this type of music has embraced a rather significant audience recently. People like it and they follow their favorite performers and they show up to their gigs, so I can say with a decent share of satisfaction that the techno scene in Kyiv is now undergoing a period of renaissance. I’m sure that this nice trend will prevail for a long time. Our audience in Kyiv is very open and welcoming. Kyiv’s locations are interesting and they are ready to provide their sites absolutely for free to have techno events organized there. I can only say positive things about the latest developments in Kyiv’s techno arena.
Your Supreme Radio mixes are a hit all over the world. How are you able to switch it up every time?
Spartaque: Well, thank you, that’s another pleasing thing to hear. I see my podcasts as something I’m very serious about. I pay great attention to making my radio show right. In the first hour of my set, I try to play the freshest pieces but of course, there are weeks sometimes when I can’t gather enough new material for the show. I believe the most important thing is to sift through a colossal amount of music each week. People do expect that I will come out there and play something out of the box, something they’ve never heard before. This formula and these expectations raise my personal bar higher in terms of self-improvement and working on new projects; it also adds some points to my professional reputation, and this is a unique opportunity to support young artists or some fresh releases, promos, newly-released tracks. I’m excited to learn that it’s being appreciated, that people listen to it and that it reflects in the hearts of techno lovers around the world.
Do you know when your track is a hit and will win awards? Is that a feeling you get?
Spartaque: Frankly speaking, my DJing started off from writing music, but I still haven’t figured out how to come up with a formula for an absolute 100% hit. However, one thing I can say is that the most successful tracks of mine were written at a very fast pace. That’s because I would come up with a great idea and then play with it; there’s this hype going on at the studio, and you get this idea rolling and you do the whole thing very fast. It happened so often that such tracks became milestones in my career. On the other hand, I have long confronted the fact that people would ask me to play tracks that were initially mediocre for me more and more and that I put on the third or fourth position in my EP. My task is to write more music and leave a part of my soul in each of my tracks, and then it’s up to my audience to decide which of them is most successful. Of course, I can see the quality and level of each track’s concept when I test in on the dance floor (I usually try to do a few tests before pitching my tracks to labels or putting them on my imprints). So, the crowd’s reaction gives me an insight into what should be added to or changed in the track, what they like or not.
What is your favourite city to play in Europe? And how does that differ from where you like to party?
Spartaque: I probably can’t single out one city that I like most. There’s a great number of cities where I really enjoy playing and where I’m always happy to return like Barcelona or Madrid, for example. There are also a lot of smaller towns, say, in Germany, also home to really cool events. Many of them are in the vicinity of Cologne and Dusseldorf where the crowd is always engaged in what I’ve been doing and writing. Czech Republic’s Prague and Brno are always welcoming to me and I’m always glad to come back. Budapest is awesome, too. Each time I visit there’s great interest in me – not only at the events but also online, on social networks and such. I also remember it was a real blast when I played in London last year. In general, my key markets are Spain, Germany and now Portugal as Lisbon’s events are always held at a top level – both in terms of people’s response and attendance in clubs and in general. I have no favorites that I would single out but Europe is where I find ultimate reflection in people’s hearts.
How do you like to spend your Halloween and what would you recommend for techno fans?
Spartaque: My Halloween, just like last year, will be a rollercoaster ride. Last year I limited myself to performing in Spain, but this year the geography has expanded. On October 27th, we’re planning to do another Codex Showcase at Atlas, Kyiv, Ukraine, then on October 28th I’ll be playing in Schlachthof, Wiesbaden (Germany). On October 30th I’ll be in Hessenhalle, Alsfeld (Germany) and on October 31th, I’ll be performing at a magnificent location, a club called New Guass in Vergara, Spain. I’ll be performing with a highly-acclaimed DJ Christian Varela (Spain), and I’m sure it will be a perfect show.
Connect with Spartaque:
https://facebook.com/spartaquelive
https://twitter.com/spartaque
https://soundcloud.com/spartaque
https://instagram.com/spartaquelive
https://spartaque.com
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