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The Story of Anton Bublikov
Интервью · 21.08.2007
By Анна Лекс
Today Russian minimal techno means Anton Kubikov with his project SCSI-9. This is known both in Russia and abroad. A wave of homegrown sound - as deep and enigmatic as our Russian soul - swept across the world long ago. People talk about it, write about it, release it, which means it's genuinely popular.
By chance, Anton became person of the month on our site; his magical portrait from Propaganda gathered the most votes. And we couldn't find a more fitting occasion to meet Anton and talk about the things that matter...
Hi, Anton. I know about your musical successes, I've listened to a great many of your sets and discs, I've read the news and interviews, but I still have a feeling of a certain mystery about you. Can you yourself separate your personal life from your art?
It's all inseparably connected. All the more so since things are somehow quiet in my personal life right now.
You don't have a fiancée?
No.
And what could interest you in a woman?
Nothing anymore.
Very "optimistic". Do you often get gifts from female or male fans?
From fans not yet, but from girls very often. Mostly they give me plush toys - I collect and keep them all. For example, in my hallway a funny hare hangs up near the ceiling; it looks as if it's been hanged.
How did it come about that you became character of the month on 44100hz?
Thanks to your photographer Korney!
We'll pass that on. Tell us, where do you prefer to shop for clothes? What clothing brands do you like?
Well... I prefer to dress at home (laughs). Otherwise it's all very modest - Levi's jeans, free T-shirts from promo labels and Adidas sneakers.
And which nightclub do you usually go to? Where do you feel cozy?
Cozy? When you get properly hammered, everywhere is cozy! Otherwise, Solyanka is the one of ours - apart from it there's nothing even to name. There's a good club in Berlin - Watergate. And in general I really liked an illegal party under a bridge in Budapest (I drank a whole lot there and kept getting in the way of the DJs mixing their records).
You're a cheerful man, Anton! And what, besides music, can fill you with delight?
A good film, good weather and, especially, the behaviour of my friends at parties!
These days it's fashionable to be healthy, to go to yoga, drink celery juice and do morning exercises. What do you think is the most ridiculous kind of sport?
Field hockey, of course!
And did you have any ridiculous nickname as a child?
I did! They called me "Kuban" and every possible derivative of my surname. Maxim Zorkin, for instance, always called me "Bublikov". And my friends always used to say that: "Kubikov is a man who breaks everything!"
Tell us, what other jobs did you manage to work besides being a musician?
In order:
In kindergarten I talked very loudly.
Then I grew up a bit and was the bassist in a school band.
I cleared dishes at a café on the second floor of Kursky Station (I was 13 then).
I was a waiter at a disco in Altufyevo.
I worked as an outdoor-advertising manager at the "Sasha" agency.
And I was also a journalist and a radio host.
In kindergarten I talked very loudly.
Then I grew up a bit and was the bassist in a school band.
I cleared dishes at a café on the second floor of Kursky Station (I was 13 then).
I was a waiter at a disco in Altufyevo.
I worked as an outdoor-advertising manager at the "Sasha" agency.
And I was also a journalist and a radio host.
How do you see yourself in old age?
Dead...
Mmm... Let's move on to the musical side of your life. Who shaped your taste and made the strongest childhood impression on you?
That's The Beatles, Abba and the VIA "Pesnyary". Their records were the first ones I got.
You've toured a lot and seen a lot. Do you have a club story you still tell your friends?
Yes, I do. But it's quite an old one...
1995, remember how everything was back then! The parties were completely different. So... I was playing at an after party in the club "Relax", the dancefloor was packed to bursting, everyone was dancing very energetically, and all would have been fine if I hadn't noticed a short, stocky guy at the back of the hall who, rudely shoving the dancers aside, was making his way toward me (I understood that at once). Meanwhile, right in front of my nose a girl was dancing away enthusiastically, tall, with the build of a volleyball player, flailing her arms and legs, while the stocky guy had already reached the DJ booth and ran into the volleyball player; she tried to stop him, but with all his might he flung her out onto the dancefloor, ran up to me, grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, dragged me out from behind the DJ table and yelled in a breaking voice into my ear: "Kill the music!!!". I was shocked, quickly wrenched free of him, and my only thought then was: "if he turns off the music, the dancefloor will go insane, what do I do???" (people back then really wouldn't have understood it, they simply wouldn't have been able to hear the silence). After that, this stocky guy grabbed the DJ console and started shaking it like a madman; five security guards pounced on him trying to stop him, but it turned out not to be so easy. The battle between them went on until they broke his arm...
That's the kind of story it is.
1995, remember how everything was back then! The parties were completely different. So... I was playing at an after party in the club "Relax", the dancefloor was packed to bursting, everyone was dancing very energetically, and all would have been fine if I hadn't noticed a short, stocky guy at the back of the hall who, rudely shoving the dancers aside, was making his way toward me (I understood that at once). Meanwhile, right in front of my nose a girl was dancing away enthusiastically, tall, with the build of a volleyball player, flailing her arms and legs, while the stocky guy had already reached the DJ booth and ran into the volleyball player; she tried to stop him, but with all his might he flung her out onto the dancefloor, ran up to me, grabbed me by the scruff of the neck, dragged me out from behind the DJ table and yelled in a breaking voice into my ear: "Kill the music!!!". I was shocked, quickly wrenched free of him, and my only thought then was: "if he turns off the music, the dancefloor will go insane, what do I do???" (people back then really wouldn't have understood it, they simply wouldn't have been able to hear the silence). After that, this stocky guy grabbed the DJ console and started shaking it like a madman; five security guards pounced on him trying to stop him, but it turned out not to be so easy. The battle between them went on until they broke his arm...
That's the kind of story it is.
Yes... an impressive story... And can you recall which city gave you the most lavish welcome (with a red carpet, champagne and flowers)?
Yes, it was in two cities - in Stavropol, because I have hospitable friends living there. And in the city of Bern, in Switzerland, because it was my Birthday at the time.
What do you earn the most money from? Performances, selling discs, selling autographs, or maybe you have your own business?
I earn exclusively from performances. And then I immediately spend it on vinyl, on gear, on releasing new musicians and on alcohol, of course.
And which musician would you go into the trenches with?
With Meshkov, with Zorkin, with Michael Mayer, with Gui Boratto I'd go a couple of times... he probably cooks well (laughs).
Name your favourites in three areas: music, film, literature?
Music: Matthew Herbert and Ricardo Villalobos
Film: Takeshi Kitano
Literature: Lars Saabye Christensen ("The Half Brother") and Michel Tournier
Film: Takeshi Kitano
Literature: Lars Saabye Christensen ("The Half Brother") and Michel Tournier
And, finally, recommend us something to listen to.
Listen to Kollektiv Turmstrasse!→
We thank "Sup-cafe" for providing the
premises and for help in organizing the shoot.