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 i:Vibes had the chance to share a few words with Russian's top trance DJ/producer, Bobina...
Bobina Releases Third Studio Album - ‘Again’
Russia is known for cold winters, tasty Vodka, a winning Ice Hockey tradition and Bobina, the country’s top trance act. Bobina (real name Dmitry Almazov) was founded in 2003 in Moscow. In 2004, the project released the first album ‘Catchy’, which quickly blew up trance floors and became the best selling EDM album in Russia. Two smash singles ‘Lazy World’ and ‘September Rain’ were supported by top trance DJs Paul van Dyk and Armin van Buuren. Dmitry did not take rest, but seemed to put a bed in his studio as the second album ‘Beautiful Friend’ was released in 2006 and sold 10,000 copies in the first week and became the best selling album in Russia. The music was played heavily on MTV Russia. He also remixed top artists like Armin van Buuren, Paul Oakenfold, Supermode and The Thrillseekers to further show his strong qualities in the studio. Since 2007, he has been busy producing the third album ‘Again’. This work has showcased ‘Lighthouse’, which was one of the most played tracks on Russia’s biggest FM stations, Europe Plus. The second single ‘Slow’ is a cover version of the famous Australian singer Kylie Minogue. His talent and success as a producer have not gone unnoticed as he won Best Russian DJ in 2007 and was the only Russian Trance artist to appear in the DJ Mag Top 100 poll in 2006 and 2007. He also was the only Russian artist to perform at Trance Energy. i:Vibes had a chat with the Russian superstar...
i:Vibes: Hi Dmitry. Thank you for taking some time for the interview. Since you started Bobina, you have only had success. What is your secret to your success in the Russian trance scene?
Bobina: Hey – I think there are no secrets but maybe a few rules to follow. My main rules: try to go your own way, do the music for yourself first of all and believe in what you’re doing. I never did music ‘for something’ or ‘for somebody’ it’s more like a hobby, just the thing I really like to do in the evenings. And then when you have something to show of course its necessary to make the right promotion to show your product to the people. So I don’t think I’ve told you anything new. :-)
i:Vibes: Where are you from in Russia and what was your childhood like?
Bobina: I was born in Moscow in 1982, and lived here all my life. I love Moscow, I love Russia. My childhood was really nothing special - just a typical childhood of the guy who was born here. And, I also remember when I was a kid – I always wanted to be a tram driver. This really worried my mum at the time!
i:Vibes: What was the deciding moment, where you knew that music would play an important role in your life?
Bobina: I always liked the music. Basically it was pop and rock music. I remember around 1995-1996 years when a lot of people here in Russia were interested in dance music (basically pumping house) – I didn’t find it that great. Then in 1999-2000 I was listening to Armin van Buuren’s set at my friend’s place… That was the music that amazed me. The first question I asked myself at the time was “How are they are doing it????” – that was really interesting for me and then I started to produce.
i:Vibes: What was the first EDM record that you bought and how did this record move you or influence you at that time?
Bobina: I don’t remember to be honest. I just remember that first trance tune which I really liked was Armin van Buuren - Communication. When I heard it – I realized that this is my thing!
i:Vibes: Who were your early musical inspirations and why?
Bobina: A lot of people keep telling me that Bobina’s style its not that trancey and never was 100% trance. I actually agree but the funny is thing that my first inspirations I got from Dutch trance masters like Ferry Corsten, Armin van Buuren and Tiesto.
i:Vibes: What type of schooling did you have? Did you go to University and what would you be doing if you were not a musician?
Bobina: School, then University (studied 5 years of Financial Management in University). If I was not a musician… hmm… hard to say. Even after I finished University a lot of people told me that finance was not for me. And yes that’s true. I actually don’t really like to count… even to think about the money.
i:Vibes: How did you get into the Russian Dance music scene? Was it difficult and did anyone assist you?
Bobina: The main thing in Russia was that all the main DJs here didn’t produce at the time. So for people it was really difficult to find a difference between compilation and artist album for example. It was really almost impossible to let people know in 2004 that Bobina’s album had my own tunes and DJs just mix other peoples’ records. Once again a lot of people thought at that time that if a DJ mixed a compilation it was his own music.
i:Vibes: What is the current state of the Russian trance scene? How do you get along with your Russian colleagues?
Bobina: I remember when Tiesto was in Moscow for the 1st time (was around 2003 if I’m not mistaken) – he said in an interview that “Russia is Holland 10 years ago”. I agree with him. Now it’s 2008. So I guess you know what was in Holland in 1998. Now the same in Russia with a lot of up and coming talented producers and some big trance festivals. Trance music is not that overplayed in Russia yet - that’s why a lot of people (and promoters as well) realized trance is melodic and easy to understand. That’s why the scene is growing really.
i:Vibes: Your first two albums ‘Catchy’ and ‘Beautiful Friend’ were huge hits. How has your sound developed from then to your current album ‘Again’?
Bobina: With ‘Catchy’, I still remember a lot of people were shocked at the time to hear a Trance album in Russia in 2004 and people were like “WOW”. If I’m not mistaken that was the first real trance artist album from a Russian producer. Yes we had PPK before but they never released an artist album, maybe they did, but I don’t remember but anyway it wasn’t trance in my opinion. ‘Catchy’ became EDM No.1 here and also “The Most Pirated Album of the Year” Haha! I mean distribution wasn’t that big at the time and of course there were many regions here in Russia where it wasn’t possible to find official CDs – so pirated copies were pressed and sold. Many copies, as far as I know, were sold.
‘Beautiful Friend’ was more like a compilation made using just Bobina remixes (some of them were released before, some of them were exclusive) plus a record ‘Beautiful Friend’ and at that time I tried to experience some management / promotion things. Lets say I invested some money into Bobina where we did a video etc etc. The result was 10,000 copies sold only in 1 week which sounded like a miracle for me at the time (for a trance album!).
‘Again’ is completely different from the previous two. It’s more an ‘electronic music’ album than ‘just trance’ in my opinion. But this is more interesting for me now. I can do nothing with myself in this question at the moment. My personal opinion is that it’s much better than previous albums but I guess people who like pure trance will disagree with me.
i:Vibes: When you went into the studio for ‘Again’, what was the goal that you wanted to achieve with this album?
Bobina: The whole album was produced in 1.5 years. As I told you before, when I produce I don’t really think about the ‘goal’, but it’s just for myself first of all. And I produce like this – didn’t have a plan, didn’t think about styles etc. just track to track with some vocals, few instrumentals and when I had 8 tracks I understood “Hmm, why not try to release a new album?”. In my personal opinion when a producer concentrates too much on a specific goal, nothing will happen. Same with the hit. If I want to make a hit, it will never come. So for me it’s better not to think about such things. When I do a tune I never think like “This is for radio.” or “This is for trance DJs.”, but I just do what I feel. But when the record is ready, then yes I start to think what’s better to do with it.
i:Vibes: I listened to ‘Again’ and I like the album very much. You seemed to have made an album that has many catchy vocal tracks as well as breathtaking instrumental tracks. How difficult was getting this album made to your liking?
Bobina: Thanks! Yes the vocal records I’m really feeling at the moment. For me it’s just more interesting than producing instrumentals. It’s harder, that’s why its more interesting. I don’t really play too much vocal stuff in clubs, but I like to produce ‘VOXes’.
i:Vibes: ‘Invisible Touch’ is really a beautiful piece of music. What inspired you to make this track and what was the most difficult thing you had to do to get this track perfect?
Bobina: Oh everybody mentions this tune. What did you find in it? I think its one of the weakest tunes in the album. Firstly I really didn’t even want to include it in the album. And it’s the only one track which I play in clubs now only because a lot of people ask for it. At least in Russia in the beginning of some sets I see the phones with ‘Invisible Touch’ written on it. It’s standard trance, but maybe the melody makes it. Don’t have any special story about it sorry! :-)
i:Vibes: You also have numerous catchy vocal tracks with well known vocalists like Tiff Lacey and Elles Dde Graaf. What was it like working with these two women and what could you learn from them?
Bobina: They both are really great performers in my opinion. As we worked via the Internet, I can’t say that I learnt too much from them, but I’m still really happy I had a chance to make tunes with their vocals! Beautiful voices! Also we already performed with Elles a few times in Russia and she’s a pro I have to say!
i:Vibes: ‘The Last He Said’ is a stunning closing track with a dreamy atmosphere. What were you imagining as you were making this track? And why was this the closing track?
Bobina: Well, it’s better than ‘Invisible Touch’! :-) I did it in one night only. I had a HDD crash and was really depressed and made this tune and called it ‘The Last He Said’. Then I started to reproduce three tracks which had gone with my HDD.
When I already had all 11 tracks for ‘Again’ I just put it as the last one only because of the name to be honest! I just decided that ‘Lighthouse’ would be first and ‘The Last He Said’ – the last one! With other tunes it was more difficult to choose an order.
i:Vibes: When you’re in the studio, do you have a certain way as to how you go about producing a track? Some artists search for an atmosphere or develop a bassline. How do you do it?
Bobina: You see, I do the productions almost every evening. Basically I just try to do a strong bassline first. Then 90% of them I just leave on my PC. And when I have an idea for a tune, I play melodies or play around with vocals and just use some groove I already did before which fits the atmosphere, vocals or the melody. So I have about 100 unfinished tunes (in general just drums and bass in the project) at the moment and just use groove parts from them from time to time.
i:Vibes: Besides your PC or headphones, what is the most important piece of equipment that you have in your studio that you can’t live without?
Bobina: Of course my MIDI keyboard!!! Also nice pig (a toy!) which always sits on my right speaker - it’s a really important thing! Haha!
i:Vibes: What other releases can we await from you in 2008?
Bobina: Besides ‘Again’ I already completed a few remixes for Oakenfold feat. OneRepublic - Not Over which will be out soon on Perfecto and Morandi - Angels for Universal Music. Of course, ‘Slow’ is finally out soon on Maelstrom / New State Music and more singles are coming up!
i:Vibes: With what artist would you like to be locked away with in the studio for a day?
Bobina: With my girlfriend of course! :-)
i:Vibes: What is your opinion of the German trance scene? What artists do you like?
Bobina: There are a lot of names from Germany which everybody knows! As a DJ, I really like Paul van Dyk. The Euphonic label has lots of great releases. But I heard that at the moment the trance scene in Germany is not at its best… I like some ATB tunes and sometimes it’s really cool to listen to Scooter in the car! :-)
i:Vibes: You’re also a DJ. What is the most important thing for you as a DJ?
Bobina: I think it’s good equipment (sometimes it’s really a problem in Russia) plus good atmosphere in the club. I think these two are key to making a great night for me! How big the venue is is also important. Sometimes it could be a club for 500 people, but an atmosphere like a stadium if you know what I mean.
i:Vibes: How would you describe a three hour set by you?
Bobina: From progressive to trance. Sometimes even from house to trance. If it’s a three hour set then peak will be in the 2nd hour for sure. The 1st hour will be bit softer and 3rd hour, I guess depends on the crowd!
i:Vibes: You get booked a lot in Russia, but less out of Russia. Even though you are well known and have had many hits you don’t get booked outside Russia. Why do you think this is?
Bobina: Everybody knows that if you’re not a Top 10 DJ in the world then it’s possible to get bookings if you have the right agency and marketing! Now I start to work more about marketing outside Russia, which you’ll see soon. :-) Also the problem is that in Russia I have 8-10 dates per month, but we have only 4 weekends. That’s why it’s hard to find a ‘window’ for European gigs. But once again now I’m thinking about it how I want to find the right balance between Russia & outside Russia.
i:Vibes: What is the craziest experience that you have had as a DJ?
Bobina: I think the bomb on the dancefloor in Kazakhstan! It happened in the middle of my set. Imagine that I’m playing for 7000 people on the beach. Then *boom* and in 20 seconds the dancefloor became empty! 7000 people disappeared and five minutes later when they understood that no one died they are all back and started to cry “More! More!”. I finished the set, but it was bit hard. Also please notice that if you’re in Kazakhstan, never joke about “Borat”, because they won’t understand it. :-) You can joke about Vodka and bears in Russia, which is ok, but please don’t joke about “Borat” in Kazakhstan. :-)
i:Vibes: What are your current five favourite tracks?
Bobina: 01. Gareth Emery - This is That
02. Heatbeat - Nebula
03. Anton Firtich - Rain Over The Ocean
04. Bobina - Where Did You Go? (Dub Mix)
05. 4 Strings - Catch A Fall (First State 2nd Sound Remix)
i:Vibes: What are your five all time favourite tracks?
Bobina: Can’t choose 5… can say only 10... :-)
01. System F - Out Of The Blue
02. Delerium Feat. Sarah Mclachlan - Silence (Tiesto ISOS Remix)
03. Armin - Communication II (Armin Van Buuren Remake)
04. Paul Van Dyk - For An Angel
05. Madonna - What It Feels Like For A Girl (Above & Beyond remix)
06. Planet Funk - Chase The Sun
07. Chicane - Saltwater
08. The Prodigy - Breathe
09. Gouryella - Tenshi
10. Planet Perfecto - Bullet in the Gun
i:Vibes: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Bobina: Maybe I will produce music for a movie! At least I really would like to try!
i:Vibes: What are your hobbies?
Bobina: Music, first of all then standard hobbies of 21st Century: Internet, TV. Sometimes books!
i:Vibes: If you could play one last track in your last DJ set ever, what would you play?
Bobina: Wow – interesting question. I will tell you when it will happen! But guess it won’t be some special tune. I’m not the kind of person who will think about “the last set”. It easily can be that I’ll wake up next week and understand that DJing is not that interesting for me anymore, then the last tune will be the last track in my set that coming weekend. :-) I’m sure I won’t plan & prepare my last set just will make decision after the set “Ok. Enough. That was my last set.”. :-)
Bobina: No problems – thanks for the interesting questions – and thanks to all people who read this! Ciao!
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