Visa Music Special – Vlad Fisun DJBuro 'Vinyl records of Ukrainian producers and labels'
New Ukrainian Sound: essentials from the Eastern Europe electronic scene in a vinyl-only triple deck set
A DJ set of techno, breaks, house and experimental compiled from vinyls of Ukrainian artists and labels played in the historical center of Kyiv.
Vlad Fisun, DJ and journalist, has been promoting progressive Ukrainian music for over 20 years. He played a vinyl-only set on three turntables that premiered on AristocratsTV (Kyiv) to commemorate Ukraine’s Independence Day.
“Vinyl is a sign of the artist’s commitment. It’s not cheap to produce and distribute. Artists take this risk consciously,” he said.
Over 15 years ago, Ukrainian producers and labels started making vinyl for DJs. How did Ukrainian media respond to this? In short, they didn't. Local labels and producers release new music but it’s usually written off by the local music community as 'underground' and only finds a market on foreign websites.
Even so, from the very beginning of Ukrainian independence there’s been an invisible layer of electronic music pioneers. It has developed for 30 years, with even the most talented musicians graduating to become ghost producers for local pop stars.
Even now, few Ukrainian musicians make it at home. More often they leave for the U.S. or Europe to pursue their creative interests and make a living.
“We called this set Trident, after Ukraine’s national symbol. Three sources of sound literally prick the listeners and don't let them get bored with the music. This technique allows you to play identical records with the interference effect, or make the transitions so confusing that even the owners of records can't recognize their tracks,” Fisun said.
The mix was recorded in the exhibition hall of Ukraine’s largest contemporary art center Mystetskyi Arsenal, which is currently closed due to quarantine.
The tracklist includes records of Ukrainian labels: Aby Sho Mzk, Thousand Kisses Place, Subself Records, Tvir, Kultura Zvuka, Eleatics Records, Rhythm Büro Records, Artreform and Propaganda Records, as well as releases of Ukrainian artists on foreign labels.
DZ’OB - Techno II (Aby Sho Mzk)
Vadim Griboedov - Explica (Subself Records)
Voin Oruwu - After All (Banoffee Pies)
Hidden Element - The Content Has No Sense (Thousand Kisses Place)
dOP - Carousel/Jennifer Cardini Remix (Eleatics Records)
Zadig - No-Face (Rhythm Büro Records)
Bodin & Jacob - PlsOzone (Tvir)
Harry Wills - Aroma Oeder Weg (Kultura Zvuka)
Alec Falconer & Kizoku - Ricard Refreshmen (Kultura Zvuka)
Nastia - Moment (Nilla)
Joss - I Want You To Give It A Listen (Artreform)
Luminer - Down Sweep (Artreform)
Gera Taraman - Purpur/Bruno Ponsato Remix (Propaganda Records)
Hidden Element - Strayed In Comparison/André Bratten Thousand Mix (Thousand Kisses Place)
A year ago, Vlad Fisun played a vinyl set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in the unfinished cooling tower of the 5th reactor. It was broadcast in more than 40 countries around the world.
