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APPAREL INTERVIEW:

Anton Kubikov

DJ,  Producer [Berlin]

 

We are very pleased to share with you all the conversation we had with our longtime friend Anton Kubikov, multifaceted and immensely talented musician who has repeatedly come into contact with the Apparel Music universe, also with the duo SCSI-9, and who’s an inspiration for us and for many other artists and electronic music lovers around the world. We felt the need to re-establish contact with him as we are curious to know how he’s doing and what’s going on in his life.

 
 
 
 

APPAREL INTERVIEW:

Anton Kubikov

DJ,  Producer [Russia]

 

We are very pleased to share with you all the conversation we had with our longtime friend Anton Kubikov, multifaceted and immensely talented musician who has repeatedly come into contact with the Apparel Music universe, also with the duo SCSI-9, and who’s an inspiration for us and for many other artists and electronic music lovers around the world. We felt the need to re-establish contact with him as we are curious to know how he’s doing and what’s going on in his life.

 
 
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Anton Kubikov Q&A

 

-Hi Anton, how are you and your family?

- I'm fine, thank you! And my family and cats are good too!

 

-Tell us about your typical day, if you have a routine and how you live it.

- So, lately the days have been all quite the same, but I have to say I like my routine. The morning starts with a coffee and a cigarette like in the old black and white movies… Then, after breakfast I usually go to the ‘area’ in my house dedicated to the studio and Anna (my wife) goes to fashion ‘area’ in our apartment. Our purpose is to try and create something new every day; of course we’re not always successful, but the most important thing is we always support each other with our projects. In the evening we have dinner and discuss some news or try to make plans for next day, week etc.

 

 

 
 
 

-You've come back to traveling for gigs, how do you feel this return to DJing after the break you took in recent years? What are the emotions/feelings that led you to make the decision to go back to playing and why did you decide to stop for a while?

- You know, the truth I never really decided to stop DJing. It’s just that, during the pandemic, it was much more difficult to get gigs so afterwards it really took some time to return to the same pace of work as before. So what I can tell about feelings..hmm.. I'm glad that people still enjoy dancing, drinking and having fun on the dance-floor, it means that going to the club is something that people need in order to release some tension and just live the moment, so I have fun with alongside them too. One of the nicest part of playing in clubs is I always manage to have good conversations, about everything, with the people I meet. Another great thing is the environment that is created in that specific moment, where people from different countries/backgrounds/societies are able to spend some time altogether under the same roof and share some pure, raw feelings that (who knows) they might never forget.

 

 
 
 

-We see you very active on Instagram and the way you use it is very interesting, giving small hints of the projects you are working on or simply using it as an archive of musical ideas which, then, form a collage of your personality. Tell us about your relationship with the social media

- It’s safe to say that my relationship to the social media is not really ‘modern’ and I'm not so active posting things about my private life nor commenting on hot news. What I can say is that, with time, I found my personal way to communicate with my audience on Instagram, and it’s by creating short stories putting together some abstract videos and scoring ‘em with my music. The process goes like this: when I make some fresh loop that I like, then I shoot some short video and put some FX on it with a very useful app. Then I create a short video adding the loop and I post it on Instagram, that is really it. It’s also really useful as it helps me to get a reaction everyday on some of my new music’s cuts, therefore understanding its potential. The cool thing is that I’m kinda learning that this practice is helping me to keep my skills (both on music and video making) sharp so I’m trying to create some new content everyday.

 
 
 
 

-The versatility of your productions is frankly amazing. You are able to always bring a touch of novelty and magic to everything you do. Tell us how you train your inspiration, how you keep it alive.

- Oh, inspiration… What can it be, mmmh, everything! You know, like, literally everything! The weather, the morning coffee, the mood in the family, a new book or new music. But more often the starting point is an idea in your head, then afterwards it is just about connecting that idea with the music tools that are available and see what comes out. Normally for me, when I’m in a good mood it’s much more fun as the music starts flowing and there’s no end to it, being it such an infinite universe of possibilities.

 
 

-We know that your wife is also an artist of sewing. Are you able to converge your two passions making them flow into some common project?

- Oh, yes we are! Firstly, if we need promote Anna's works somehow, I’m her model. I always wear her great t-shirts on my trips and my shows. We always try to connect our forms of art, for example last year I made a Dub-Techno album and Anna made the cover. I won’t disclose more as you will what came up, in records stores, next summer.

 

 

 
 

-Following you on social media we often see you in the studio collaborating with other artists; can you tell us, also given your career with SCSI-9 together with Maxim Milutenko, what is the value of artistic collaboration for you and how do you approach this side of music production?

- To be honest I’m quite an individualist so for me it’s not easy to collaborate with somebody else, but in recent years I must say that I have worked on this attitude of mine and I have benefited from it, I found it interesting. It’s just a point to meet new ppl and create something new. it's a way to find yourself in the middle with other artists and create interesting things. However, I must say that, unfortunately, other artists are usually too ‘slow’ for my rhythms and for this reason I try to give more value to the randomness of collaborations, without necessarily planning them. If it happens and it works, great! Otherwise no problem. In any case, I can't wait to see the results of my latest collaborations, in the next couple of months.

 
 
 
 

-Now, let us ideally enter your studio for a moment. What does the studio represent for you, how do you feel when you close the door behind you and start creating? 

- Thanks for the nice question, let’s see…
 For the moment my studio is a ‘bedroom’ studio, so I can’t tell that it’s a professional place, but for me a corner in a room is more than enough to create my little magic. For me the studio represents a place of intimacy where I have no-one to suit but myself, which is fundamental for the good outcome of my projects. Regarding my creative process, I find it very important (if I have an idea) to have the right musical instrument to make it happen; usually I need just a few gear or even just one. I don’t need tons of equipment to produce my music and I try to get the best out of every instrument I own. As for now, I have several projects going on: two collaborations with international artists, a few fresh EPs on the way. Then I’ll have to finish another ‘Dance’ album before the end of the year and an Ambient one too so yes, I got quite a few things cooking.

 

-Thank you so much for giving us some time, we hope the future has a lot of great things coming-up for you and keep us updated on everything, please.

- Thank You for your interesting questions and for taking some time for me!

 
 

-We know that your wife is also an artist of sewing. Are you able to converge your two passions making them flow into some common project?

- Oh, yes we are! Firstly, if we need promote Anna's works somehow, I’m her model. I always wear her great t-shirts on my trips and my shows. We always try to connect our forms of art, for example last year I made a Dub-Techno album and Anna made the cover. I won’t disclose more as you will what came up, in records stores, next summer.

 

 

 

-Following you on social media we often see you in the studio collaborating with other artists; can you tell us, also given your career with SCSI-9 together with Maxim Milutenko, what is the value of artistic collaboration for you and how do you approach this side of music production?

- To be honest I’m quite an individualist so for me it’s not easy to collaborate with somebody else, but in recent years I must say that I have worked on this attitude of mine and I have benefited from it, I found it interesting. It’s just a point to meet new ppl and create something new. it's a way to find yourself in the middle with other artists and create interesting things. However, I must say that, unfortunately, other artists are usually too ‘slow’ for my rhythms and for this reason I try to give more value to the randomness of collaborations, without necessarily planning them. If it happens and it works, great! Otherwise no problem. In any case, I can't wait to see the results of my latest collaborations, in the next couple of months.

 
 

-Now, let us ideally enter your studio for a moment. What does the studio represent for you, how do you feel when you close the door behind you and start creating? 

- Thanks for the nice question, let’s see… For the moment my studio is a ‘bedroom’ studio, so I can’t tell that it’s a professional place, but for me a corner in a room is more than enough to create my little magic. For me the studio represents a place of intimacy where I have no-one to suit but myself, which is fundamental for the good outcome of my projects. Regarding my creative process, I find it very important (if I have an idea) to have the right musical instrument to make it happen; usually I need just a few gear or even just one. I don’t need tons of equipment to produce my music and I try to get the best out of every instrument I own. As for now, I have several projects going on: two collaborations with international artists, a few fresh EPs on the way. Then I’ll have to finish another ‘Dance’ album before the end of the year and an Ambient one too so yes, I got quite a few things cooking.

 

-Thank you so much for giving us some time, we hope the future has a lot of great things coming-up for you and keep us updated on everything, please.

- Thank You for your interesting questions and for taking some time for me!

 
 

Giuseppe D'Alessandro

Illustrator / Editor