Alright, guys! Today I’m bringing you an interview with the new guy: Proff. This Russian fella is heading straight to the top, already releasing on Anjuna Deep, with backup from guys like Jaytech. You heard his songs in last week’s Saturday Mix – and here he is.

Hey man!
Hey!

Let’s start from scratch; when, how and why did you start making music?
Well , my father is a professional musician. He plays english horn , piano and oboe
in best ochestras all over the Russia. And when i was seven , my parents realised that
i can be good musician as well , so besides of simple school i was study piano , sax and vocals.
The first time i heard electronic music when i was ten. It was trance on the local radio and
it shocked me. I didnt ever heard that electronic sound and synths can be used like that at that moment! So i started to search new records and discovering new genres of EDM. And that was the time , when i started my experiments with Yamaha’s PSR520 (simple workstation). At 15 i found local DJ school where i gained skills of spinning records. Then was 5 years of experiments , failures , local successes and expirience gaining. My first experiments was with trance music , but at 18 years my first releases was electro house music. But then i dicide to return to my roots, melodical stuff. So how was formed my sound. House groovy music with trance melodic and mood.

What programs and synths etc. do you use?
Im using PC (Yes , just a PC , not Mac) with Steinberg Nuendo on board. I like all the NI productions , Spectrasonics’s samplers is great as well and many more.

Please guide us through the general process how you make a track?
First of all is to find an idea. The main idea of the tune. It can be a whole melody ot just a few notes. I think it can be anything: Bass or the whole groove , nice pad , or just
some timbra – whatever what it plays. So im searching for that idea. It can come to my head istantly or i can just playin on a keyboard and finding it.
Okay , we have an idea now and we can start the track. Now im going to create a groove. Drums with the bass. Dont know why , but to create a good bass for me is
difficult usualy (Timbra and its rhythm). Then im creating some sequences and arpeggios. Okay, now track is actually ready. Its time to create its form – intro , drops etc… While im doin it , im editing all the parts in the track. When its ready , im converting all the tracks into wave files and paste them into new project. Now i can insert some events into track. Crashes , FXs , Uplifters , Downlifters , Sweeps etc. Then im mixing and mastering track and its ready=)

In the club, do you prefer to play live or DJ, and what equipment would you choose?
In the clubs im playing as a dj , but using some cool devices during play. Im using “Kaoscillator” and 2-octave synth “Novation Xio-Synth”

Sweet! You released your latest EP on Anjuna Deep. Did this get you more gigs? Did you find them or did they find you?
I want to say big thanks to James Cayser (Jaytech) who showed that tunes to James Grant and A&B guys. James Grant contact me when i was on a small tour in Turkey this summer
and i was very glad to sign the tracks for Anjuna. About the gigs , well , not yet. I have a few gigs here in Russia , but not abroad. And djing all over the worlds is just a big dream for now. Dream because i really love travelling:)

Could you tell us a bit of the house scene in Russia?
Maybe its wrong for me to say bad things about my homeland , but its really not quite good with Dance stage here. Most people dont know thier heroes:) For example: Some people dont know what is “Anjuna”, people who know what is Anjuna dont know that PROFF is a Russia guy.
Im sure that im best known abroad then here in Russia. And its only one example. There are a lot of great musicians from Russia best known abroad. Here are some of good projects from Russia: R-Tem , 4Mal , Ivan Spell , Mango , Re-Zone ,Poisonpro, Sergey Tkachev (Pilot) and many more….. And legal digital sales as extremly low here. The pirates have BIGGEST digital store in Russia (just imagine). Also im working as A&R manager in “Freestyle Records” here in Russia. We have exclusive label deals on our territory with labels like Ministry of Sound , Hed Kandi , Baroque (and all thier Chritical Rhythm label group) , Toolroom and many more. We are trying to solve that situation with digital market here, but its very hard and results wont be soon.

How does the future look for Proff?
I hope PROFF project will find its place in the world dance stage. Actually i dont want to be first like Armin , i just want to feel myself at the right place. I want to have a gigs all over the world and to produce the music i like. Hope that would come true for me sometime.

Last but not least, which are the five tracks you play most frequently at the moment?
Paul Keeley – Paper Jet
Starchaser Feat Lo-Fi Sugar – So High (Thomas Schwartz and Fausto Fanizza Remix)
Golden Girls – Kinetic (Tom Middleton 2008 Remix)
Ben Preston – Don’t Worry (Original Mix)
Sergey Tkachev ft. Anna Basel – Two Worlds (Original & my remixes as well)

Thanks a lot man, appriciate it!
Thank you!

/Ridge