Caim, An Interveiw & Guest Mix
CAIM aka Vitaliy Prokopenko lives in St Petersburg in Russia and has been perfecting his sound over the last few years. His next single, "Hold My Breath" is a new track, running on from his work last year "Stay Bright / What You Need". This time, inspired by sentiments of his favorite artist SpectraSoul, he has made an extremely emotional track. We talk to him to find out more.
He has also delivered the next in our Shadow Boxers mix series, providing a 30 minute journey through some key selections and a majority of his own impeccable productions.
Track List:
HVOB - Zinc (Caim bootleg)
Creatures & Zound – Boutique
Caim - You Know
Caim - ID
Molecular – TWYCF
Caim – ID
Caim - Need Up
Caim - Hold my Breath
Caim - I GOT
Caim - ID
Caim - ID
Heartbeat - Perfect Fit (Caim bootleg)
Monty – Spatia
ID - ID
Thanks for taking time to talk to us and share your music! Tell us about the name CAIM, what it means and why you chose it?
The pseudonym Caim was invented spontaneously and honestly does not carry an informational and ideological burden. But from Wikipedia you can find out that this is a Gaelic translation of the Biblical Cain.
Go back to growing up and what kind of music you were into?
My passion for music began with alternative and rock. Groups such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, Rage against the machine.
Which first drum and bass tracks inspired you and why?
In 2003, he first heard the drum’n’bass, it was the Uk Apachi & Shy Fx Original Nuttah track. It is difficult to describe the emotions that I experienced then. It was a shock, in the good sense of the word. They wounded me in the heart.
How did you get into producing?
Actually, when I started to be interested in DNB music, I was wondering how it is created. And while still in school at the age of 14, I installed the first DAW on my computer and started experimenting.
Did you DJ first or was it production?
At first I started writing music. At that point in time, I did not have the opportunity to acquire players. The first turntables I purchased around 2008 were Technics 1210 mk2 and of course I immediately began to assemble my collection of dnb records.
Have you had any musical training or play any musical instruments?
I don’t have a musical education, but I have been studying guitar lessons for a long time. Therefore, I play it well, but in production I have not yet had the opportunity to apply this skill. But more than once I thought about this perhaps soon.
Which clubs did you play out in first and how is the scene in Russia?
I played at local events near St. Petersburg, at local open airs. Even in St. Petersburg there was a club "Пятница", where I also happened to play. The DNB scene in Russia looks much better than 10 years ago. There are world famous artists from Russia such as Enei, Black Barrel, Bop, Subwave, Eastcolors. There are very talented musicians and promoters in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In Moscow, Yuri 'Traffic' Fedotov makes great events with the arrival of foreign artists: parties of the series: Data, Burning Series parties from Occulti Music. In St. Petersburg, these are Live History Night, Гречафанк, 2DEEP by X-Cam.
Which are the biggest Russian dnb events, for our readers that may not know?
The largest events of this genre in Russia are the Pirate Station, World of Drum’n’bass, Drop the Bass. But, frankly, personally, I prefer smaller parties. Since the concentration of people who came to listen to this particular music or came to a particular DJ is much denser in the club than on a rave of a stadium scale.
What has been your favourite gig so far?
I really remember the party from the "170" series in St. Petersburg when Makoto arrived. The atmosphere was incredible and the sound and light level.
Tell me about the radio stations in Russia, do you have any drum and bass stations or any radios that like to play dnb?
If we talk about the FM band, then there is no radio where the whole broadcast of dnb music would be occupied. There are great radio shows such as BASSLAND from DJ Profit and Pirate Station from Dj Gvozd.
Do you listen to a lot of UK dnb artists and who are your favourite Russian artists?
Yes of course! Britain is a kind of cradle of the genre. You can list UK artists indefinitely. Of the young guys, they recently like AC13, Goddard. Favorite Russian artists .. Enei, Black Barrel, Impish, very cool sound from Ezor, Nami.
Tell us about your studio set up.
He is very simple. This is the Mac Book Pro, a pair of Mackie MR8 Mk2 monitors, a Focusrite Scarlett Solo, and a Midi keyboard.
Any favourite VSTs?
This is Massive, as a rule I wind the bass in it, FM 8 is also great for this. The entire line of FabFilter.
How do you start your tracks, with bassline ideas or drum work?
As a rule, I start with the drums, throw a couple of squares and then start picking up the bass. I’m looking for a groove that will catch me and already around it I’m building an arrangement of the track.
You started out on FL Studio but then moved to Ablеton Live. How and why did that happen and what do you think are the improvements?
About three years ago, I turned to Eastcolors for help to structure my production knowledge and revitalize it, because at that time I had a break in muses for about a year. With his submission, I moved to Ableton. For me, it seems more convenient in terms of work, especially regarding working with samples and Warping mode.
Tell us about Berlin Calling, It's All Gone Pete Tong and some of the others...
These are wonderful films about musicians, about creativity and faith in the power of creativity. Berlin Calling film about the famous techno musician Paul Kalkbrenner. Even if you are not a fan of techno film is required to watch. I heard a terrific track from the movie, it's Sky And Sand Paul Kalkbrenner with his brother’s amazing vocals. It's All Gone Pete Tong - the story is certainly fictitious, but the film deserves attention as an interesting and instructive story.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, how is this affecting you at the moment?
On the one hand, I was left without work for this period of time and there is not much pleasant here, but on the other hand, there was a lot of time for creativity, which I use.
SpectraSoul and Break inspire you massivly, tell us about why.
Spectrasoul - I have been following their work for a long time. I love the depth of their tracks and how they immerse the listener in their work with their incredible melodics. Break for me is a master of technical sound, the density of its tracks just rolls over. He is a great mastering engineer and producer.
Below are 5 of your favourite tracks. Tell us about what you love about each of them.
High Contrast – Days Go By and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - London Electricity – The Drum And Bass Swindle - Visage – Fade to Grey (Noisia Rmx) - Chase & Status – More Than Alot, Hurt You, Streetlife, Take Me Away High Contrast.
Days Go By and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Stunning work of Lincoln. Days go By is the first version of this track. With vocals from the song Edge of seventeen (Stevie Nicks) A very life-affirming track for me. And Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with a slightly melancholy mood in the intro to the drop turns into a peppy movement with a dense bass line.
London Electricity – The Drum And Bass Swindle crashed into memory of course with his vocals) Also I think a very life-affirming track.
Visage – Fade to Grey (Noisia Rmx), I remember it was the first work that I heard from them and of course she put me to put it mildly. These poisonous reeses are sifting through until now.
Chase & Status – More Than Alot, Hurt You, Streetlife, Take Me Away I remember how very happy I was when I got their hands on the plate with the track Hurt You. In these tracks Sol and Will you can hear amazing vocal parts, combined with classic breaks and dense bass. I love them for the mood that they convey. It is difficult to describe, it is rather such minor states of the soul. Of course, these are pretty old works, and now the level of these artists in production has stepped far forward, but at the moment when I first heard these works they finally confirmed my love for this particular genre of music, for which I am immensely grateful. By the way, in December, Chase & Status came to St. Petersburg and it was unbearably nice to hear Take Me Away on their set
What has been your favourite release so far?
Favorite release .. oh there are a lot of them. I’ll mention Spectrasoul - How we Live with Say What (Midnight mix) and Air K + Cephei - All you Know with My Way. Very deep work, ready to listen to them on repeat.
Have you ever been to the UK and which events would you love to attend?
No, I have not been able to visit yet, but this is one of my dreams. By the way, I have a friend living in London who called me more than once. I hope someday I’ll still get there. About events in the UK, I heard a lot about Boomtown and Notting Hill and Hospitality.
If you could spend £10,000 on anything what would it be and why?
Oh, it's almost a million rubles. Would help parents with a summer house. To charity in favor of animals. Maybe I would buy an analog Moog synthesizer.
Great question! It would be a triumphal march from Verdi Aida's opera. He would inspire.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
In my free time, if I don’t do music, it’s usually films, series, books. Depends on the circumstances.
What do you think of the www.jungledrumandbass.co.uk website?
An excellent resource to keep abreast of the latest news and current trends in the world of dnb music.
If you could collab with one person, who would it be and why?
With myself would be from a 10 year old future. I would quickly show myself how to. But seriously .. then, I'm not a big fan of collaborations at this stage of creativity. Perhaps in the future I’ll look differently at this format of creativity.
Tell us something about you, we wouldn't know.
Hmm .. For example, about a year ago I had to leave to work in China, but fortunately this did not work out.
Tell us a little bit about you and your normal day.
I usually don't go to bed before two in the morning. And if I’m busy with a track or a mix, I can sit until the morning. At the same time, I try to get up no later than 12 such a mode. In my free time from work, I try to spend time with family.
Tomrorow, what are your plans?
Tomorrow I plan to leave the city until mid-May. To the cottage, to nature.
What's the lockdown like for you in Russia?
Quarantine in Russia ... it is rather such a regime of self-isolation. You sit at home at your own expense.
What's the plans and goals for the next 10 years?
Honestly, at the present time it is difficult to build such plans. The situation is mildly miserable.
Any shouts and thanks?
Thanks of course to Andrey 'Eastcolors' Terekhov for mentoring, I want to say thanks to Vitaliy 'INKOGNITIV' Shtyrkin for thousands of his tips! Thanks to Live History Kru, Ivan 'Xorgen' Nazin and Mikhail 'MI-KH' Khaliulin for their support and trust.
It's been fab catching up with you, all the best for the future and beyond :)
Interview by Missrepresent May 2020
