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Ukrainian DJs Zlata and Maryjane on the road to success
Интервью · 27.03.2005
By Филипп Миронов
What made you both decide to become DJs? Where did you learn, where did you cut your teeth? How did your first set go?
Let's start with the last question, because our first set happened exactly 2 years ago, in Zaporozhye at a party at the club-restaurant "Billy Bones". We had see-through dresses by Sergey Byzov, under which we intended to cover our breasts with rhinestones so nothing would show. But naturally, in all the rush, we didn't manage to buy anything and hid behind our hair. We felt amazing, we were even afraid to drink alcohol so we could still mix.
We learned in the home setting of Alexey Kononov, also known as DJ Kon, who was our teacher. For 2 months we came to his place every evening - and off it went... Our friends and our producer - Dima Slukin, managing director of Party Salon agency - watched the process. Many didn't believe we mixed ourselves! They thought Kon did everything for us and we just smiled.
Both of us had wanted to be DJs separately. We got lucky: one day Kon and Slukin finally decided to make a project out of two girl DJs, came up to us and said - girls, come on, let's finally teach you to play - and that's how it all got rolling!
We learned in the home setting of Alexey Kononov, also known as DJ Kon, who was our teacher. For 2 months we came to his place every evening - and off it went... Our friends and our producer - Dima Slukin, managing director of Party Salon agency - watched the process. Many didn't believe we mixed ourselves! They thought Kon did everything for us and we just smiled.
Both of us had wanted to be DJs separately. We got lucky: one day Kon and Slukin finally decided to make a project out of two girl DJs, came up to us and said - girls, come on, let's finally teach you to play - and that's how it all got rolling!
Do you ever have conflicts over the choice of records? How do your sets work technically - do you take turns or divide up the duties?
We always play together, mixing record by record. We share one record bag between the two of us, so I can't really bring myself to call our arguments conflicts - more like remarks, along the lines of "I'd put on this track right now, not that one".
Lately the concept of girl DJs who are more about sex than about music has become really popular. Pimenov has Benzina, MR C from the club The End has the project Dollz (two Latin American girls), in St. Petersburg there's the strip-DJ Natasha Pritz. What do you think - do you fit into this trend, or do you represent something different, your own thing?
Unfortunately, we don't play topless. And frankly I don't believe you can play topless and still think about the music. Of course, the very fact that we were conceived as a project with 2 girls, one brunette, one blonde, dressed in beautiful gowns, says that we're still valued for more than just our playing. It seems to me that someone like Benzina can be invited to a club no more than once - to see what she gets up to (though I personally haven't seen it) - and that's it. That's why she's always touring from city to city, a different place every night. We, on the other hand, work more often in Kiev, and if we relied solely on our looks, we'd hardly be invited to work so often at the same venues. With us it's 50/50 - the visual to the music. The main thing is that we're not the kind of DJs who lower their eyes at the start of the set and raise them at the end. We dance and have fun, and it feels good.
What do you play? Name your top 5? Do you have any particular specialization (raves, fashion presentations, cramped clubs, beach clubs, etc.)?
We play modern electronic music. Usually it's called house. But in its various forms.
1. DJ Hell - Keep On Waiting
2. DEUX - Sun Rising Up
3. Skylark Pres. Buick Priject - Chancer
4. Who da Funk feat. Terra Deva - Staing me Red
5. Javi Mula feat. Luca G - Nothing Can Stop me
We have no particular specialization. We play in all the venues mentioned above - cramped clubs, beach clubs, big ones, at raves, and, of course, at presentations - we're girls, after all.
1. DJ Hell - Keep On Waiting
2. DEUX - Sun Rising Up
3. Skylark Pres. Buick Priject - Chancer
4. Who da Funk feat. Terra Deva - Staing me Red
5. Javi Mula feat. Luca G - Nothing Can Stop me
We have no particular specialization. We play in all the venues mentioned above - cramped clubs, beach clubs, big ones, at raves, and, of course, at presentations - we're girls, after all.
What's the most unusual crowd reaction you've had to deal with? Has anyone ever shouted something like "take off your bra!" during a set?
No one shouted "take off your bra". They'd just stand in front of the booth and start making movements resembling self-gratification. Unfortunately, people don't do anything supernatural - they barge behind the booth with drinks, start hugging and kissing, declaring their love, paying compliments. Although we'd really love it if there were some beautiful gestures after all.
How did the mood, the general climate in the Kiev scene change after the "Orange Revolution"?
Right now everything is back as it was. But while the revolution was going on, everything was different. It touched everyone deeply; after a party many Kiev DJs and club owners would drive to the Maidan and finish the night there. It left practically no one indifferent. Everyone was on edge, it hung in the air. In time, life returned to normal. Interestingly, it was the people who were supposed to come and entertain Kiev's residents who got scared off by the revolution. Thus one of the Montefiori brothers didn't come, nor did List, Yuri Antonov and Lee/Cabrera. Only Shushukin spent the whole revolution in Kiev.
They say about Mikheil Saakashvili in Tbilisi that he danced up a storm at a Bob Sinclar set. Do rumors and gossip of that kind about Yushchenko and Tymoshenko circulate in Ukraine or not? Are there any stories that show their "human side"?
About Yushchenko's "human side" - is that a question or a joke? No. Rumors of that kind about our new government don't go around. Maybe they just haven't reached us yet. Or maybe there really is no occasion for them.
How intense is Ukrainian nightlife in general? You've had the chance to travel around the country, so you can act as analysts here. What's the most pleasant and the most unpleasant thing about your clubs?
Ukrainian nightlife and Kiev nightlife are different things. In Kiev everything is livelier, of course, though even what does go on isn't enough. We'd like to be able to find fun not only from Thursday to Saturday, but also on Tuesday and Sunday. There are four or five clubs we actively visit in Kiev - "Ganesha", "Opium", "Tchaikovsky", "Arena", "Patipa". Something happens in the others sometimes too, of course, but - it really is only sometimes. And as for traveling around Ukraine - lively fun only happens in a few cities. In Odessa and Dnepropetrovsk, mostly.
In Moscow everyone is enthusiastically discussing the possibility of moving permanently to Kiev - what arguments can you offer to talk them out of it?
There aren't many Muscovites yet. A question in return - why should we talk them out of it? Please, come. It's good here. You spend less time getting around the city, and less money on living. The girls are beautiful, but the boys... In short - move here!
What are you going to play in Moscow? Where else are you planning to go (as tourist-guests now) here, to which clubs and eateries besides Fabrique? Which DJs do you hang out with here?
Well, we'll play it by ear. Although at Fabrique we'll probably play more "wedding" music - the club's format demands it. Where else we'll go - unclear. Wherever our Moscow friends take us - thank God, they can be trusted. And among the DJs we hang out with Sukhov, Panin, Deev, Kolya. With the rest too, but more on the surface.