Alongside her contribution to the Paradox series, Julia Govor shared her thoughts about her career, inspirations and aspirations. Enjoy the read !
- Being from Russia, Give us some background on what kind of music you grew up with, and music that you currently listen to ? How has it / does it influence or mixed with what you do as Julia Govor ?
I think it’s not really a matter of what kind of music I grew up with or what inspires me today because the most important thing is what I deliver for listeners in the present moment on а dancefloor or as a music producer. We live in a time in which information flows very quickly and the quantity of information, including music, is endless. For some people my love of complex soviet music won’t make any sense because what was sophisticated, innovative music for me yesterday might be very simple music for others tomorrow. What’s the point of looking back? It’s my personal history and I prefer to keep it to myself. I try not to stick to time or places, instead I like to convey pure feeling and explain less. During the USSR era – everything felt new and fresh, very exciting. The music I hear today gives me the same feeling, because I am constantly searching for things I never heard before or things which make me nostalgic.
- You are described as a producer with unique and innovative sounds. Talk us about your creative space for mixing/producing. What gear are you working with and is there a particular piece of gear you tend to use more than others for productions?
I use Ableton Live the most but for me it’s less about having a vision or trying to break free from sounds I heard before. Who would you like to be: a visionary or perfectionist? A pioneer or explorer or a throwback music producer? All those are great options, but only an artist can decide what is the most important for themself. At the moment, I feel comfortable experimenting with sounds that make others feel uncomfortable. How do I know that I made someone uncomfortable? When I receive feedback with comments that I need to change this or add that.
- What sound does your label Jujuka stand for ? How did it emerge ?
There are no specific sounds, but there is an emotional aspect–emotions in music are born from life experiences and that is not about maturity or gear. The more experienced an artist, the more they have courage to experiment and take some risks. Artists have nothing to lose and have tried different ways of expressing themselves. That’s the secret formula for JUJUKA!
- Your split vinyl EP with Emit was released on Jujuka in 2020, including a collaboration with Ricardo Villalobos. How was working for this EP and how would you describe the project itself ?
EMIT is the project of Kamran Sadeghi who decided to take a risk and try a completely new venture. Emotionally, his new project/tracks hit the wall and the only way out was to take off in a different direction. When I listened to his new tracks, I felt like I was flying in space! They inspired me so much that I wanted to write music in a new way and make my own samples. The sample of Ricardo’s voice where he confesses that he doesn’t like to sleep is a clip I took from my old video interview, when we hadn’t slept for a few days at one festival. There we decided to record a crazy, impromptu interview and shock people with Ricardo’s confession! Ricardo did a remix on one of my first records back in 2015 it sounds like perfection. “villalobohobosobo crack pook pook” is my version of a remix Ricardo’s voice turned into reggaeton 🙂
- During this Covid period, you’ve released a compilation on Jujuka, “Indefinite Uncertainty”. We can find artists that you know well, with whom you already collaborated, and others that you didn’t know. How do you select these artists ?
- Is there a record or an artist that has been inspiring your work lately ??
EMIT “LIFE TIME” EP – Data Love track
- Selecting is part of your career since you are also curator of the series of events, Radial, which you co-founded with Kamran Sadeghi. Can you tell us more about this project ? How did this come to you ? and what is the idea behind this project ?
The idea for this event series was born after we realized that NYC is fully focused on politics, not on music: we wanted to offer artists an opportunity to truly experiment with their ideas–a focused listening environment is ideal for that. Kamran is the curator; I just love to host artists and guests. hehe
- How did you record the podcast for Paradox ? Can you pick a record from the mix and tell us why you like it or how you found it ?
This is my set from Mutabor club in Moscow. It was my birthday so I played all my favorite tracks, fast, uplifting, minimalistic and percussive. With new music from Ch40, DJ Lilly and myself.
- Any upcoming projects in 2022 you’re looking forward to ?
My first album and our first Jujuka record party in Brooklyn February 11.2022
Interview by: Pauline Wable
Editorial team: Alae Ramdani