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Xenia Beliayeva: I Have Something to Say
Интервью · 11.05.2010
By Маргарита Аминева
On May 21, the German label Shitkatapult releases the debut album Ever Since by Ksenia Belyaeva – a girl with Russian roots who spent most of her adult life in Germany, where she cultivated in herself a love and talent for electronic music. We met up with Ksenia in Moscow during a break between her Russian shows and learned some interesting facts about her biography, asked about the release and about her collaboration with Miss Kittin...
44100Hz: When and why did you move to Germany?
X.B.
: About 20 years ago, we moved there together with my mom, because she married a foreigner. First I lived in Dusseldorf, then in Cologne, and now in Hamburg.
44100Hz: Was it hard to settle into a foreign country?
X.B.
: No, I did well at school, German came easily to me right away. When school ended, I realized I wanted to work in music. There were several options: go into management, some record company, or radio. In the end I first got a job in television – the Viva channel – picking music videos. Then I was offered a job at a label – Ladomat 2000 – in Hamburg. I agreed – decided to give it a try.
44100Hz: What did you do there?
X.B.
: I selected artists, listened to various demos, signed contracts. Originally I went to Hamburg for a year. But then I fell in love with the company, and the company fell in love with me. That's also where I found a boyfriend, and in the end I still live in this city to this day!
44100Hz: Which up-and-coming musicians did you sign who are now famous?
X.B.
: There are many. All the artists went their own way; we're talking about a span of 12 years here. There are the labels DIAL with Lawrence and Carsten Jost, Playhouse and Klang Elektronik, Sensorama, Golden Boy & Miss Kittin, Hans Nieswandt, who has now taken up writing. Probably the most popular project is the American band Gossip, which released their first album on our label L'age D'or.
44100Hz: Didn't you go through a punk phase as a kid?
X.B.
: I can't say I did. But I do have a piercing and a tattoo.
44100Hz: In what places?
X.B.
: A little ring in my navel and a tattoo on my side in the shape of a dragon – it brings good luck.
44100Hz: How did you move into DJing?
X.B.
: I haven't mentioned yet that I worked in a vinyl shop. All my friends around me were also involved in music one way or another. And everything that followed just fell into place so that music was all around me.
44100Hz: And you were invited to play at a fashion show?
X.B.
: Yes, I used to do odd jobs as an extra, and at some point I volunteered to play at a show. Everyone was pleased. From time to time I still do it for designer friends. Last year I made music for the Frankfurt designer Lockstoff, and this year for a Hamburg fashion designer – Nadja Lakluk.
44100Hz: How would you explain to someone new what kind of music you write and play?
X.B.
: I don't describe my music, that's not my style. I give them a CD and take my new acquaintance along to a gig.
44100Hz: Almost all your tracks have vocals, and so does the new album. Why is that so interesting to you?
X.B.
: First, I have something to say. I write all the lyrics myself. Second, when there's a voice in the music, it's more recognizable. There are so many electronic producers around now, and all their tracks sound alike.
44100Hz: You probably write poetry too? In what language?
X.B.
: I do, in English and German. In Russian it's hard.
44100Hz: What are they about?
X.B.
: All about some emotions and love for something
44100Hz: Do you read books in Russian?
X.B.
: I try to. My grandmother is a librarian. I mostly read Russian classics. Right now, for example, «Anna Karenina». For some reason it wasn't interesting in childhood, but now is just the right time.
44100Hz: How did you meet Laurent Garnier and Kraftwerk?
X.B.
: As usual, it was all down to chance. At a party in a design studio where I was helping out, one of the members of Kraftwerk – Florian Schneider – happened to hear my tape and offered me a warm-up slot with Laurent at Kraftwerk's first concert in 10 years, at ZKM-Karlsruhe. Can you imagine how surprised I was? Until then I'd only managed to play in some bars, small clubs, and here was a party for 15 thousand people!
44100Hz: I can imagine, all the more so since back then there weren't many female artists.
X.B.
: Yes, of course, although Miss Kittin and Ellen Allien were already active back then. You could say I belong to the second generation of female DJs.
44100Hz: Who did you write the track Ever Since for?
X.B.
: For my best friend. The track as a whole is about relationships between people, about how you should cherish one another, about that state when you'd put your hands in the fire for someone close to you.
44100Hz: Objectively, you're better known in Germany than here. And there isn't much information about you.
X.B.
: That's true; in Germany I sometimes give interviews, whereas on the Russian-language Internet I often come across incorrect information about myself. I think it happens because of errors in translation from one language to another.
44100Hz: How do you feel about Russia in general? Your father and grandmothers live here. Do you enjoy coming here?
X.B.
: For a while I thought about coming to Moscow and trying to live here for a couple of years, to see how everything works, since I hardly know anything. But that idea quickly fell away. On the one hand, I can no longer abandon my work and family in Germany. On the other, it's not at all easy to live here. Everything is harsh. I've been in Moscow less than a week, yet in that time I've already run into unfriendly, aggressive people several times, which I'm not used to.
44100Hz: What's in store for you over the next couple of weeks?
X.B.
: The tour in Russia will wrap up, I'll go back home, and there we'll have a gathering organized by Budde Music Publishing, which publishes the musicians we work with. A special dinner is being prepared for us at a house by a lake, where producers from different labels will come together – about 30 artists, including some from Shitkatapult – to get to know one another and mingle. I'm involved in music promotion on the side, after all. Then on May 21 my first album Ever Since comes out, and its launch will take place in Berlin at the club Maria and in Hamburg at the club Ballsaal.
44100Hz: You recorded a joint track, DNA, with Miss Kittin. How did the collaboration come about?
X.B.
: At the music company where I worked, an album by Miss Kittin and Golden Boy came out, and I signed the contract. We've known each other ever since. I'd always wanted to sing a duet with a woman. But it's hard to find a partner to match my voice. Miss Kittin is the only woman whose vocals fully suited me. I suggested we record a song, and she agreed. A funny situation arose – around the same time we both watched the same film, «The Island», directed by Michael Bay, which is precisely about clones and DNA. That's what we built on. I sent her a short snippet of music, she added lyrics in English, I attached Russian speech, and after a while everything was ready.
44100Hz: And would you like to go off and live on an island forever?
X.B.
: No. I periodically go on tour to the seaside in different countries, or just on vacation, and that's enough for me.
44100Hz: What flaws do you have?
X.B.
: I can be intolerant sometimes. Also, I'm often misunderstood – I can hurt someone with my words and not even notice it, too blunt.
44100Hz: What can you be tempted with?
X.B.
: My grandmother's cabbage pirozhki!
44100Hz: What brand are your headphones?
X.B.
: Sennheiser!
44100Hz: Do you listen to any internet radio?
X.B.
: No. Among entertainment sites, besides news-and-music ones, I also prefer photography blogs.
44100Hz: Are you more interested in black-and-white or color photography?
X.B.
: I just love good photographs that capture a special moment; whether they're black-and-white or color doesn't matter.
44100Hz: What can you manage to do in three days in Hamburg?
X.B.
: First, go to the port. Lots of young artists and designers live in the Schanzenviertel district; there are tons of bars, restaurants, galleries and shops there. Second, take a stroll along the Reeperbahn. That's our kind of party street, where all sorts of clubs, theaters and bars are located.
44100Hz: What has this day brought you?
X.B.
: I'm still waiting. The day is still young. Nothing has had time to happen yet…