Could you introduce yourself in a few words ?

OGONEK : My name is Valeri Sholevski , I am 25 years old. I listen to every kind of music that makes me feel something : Punk, Hardcore, Jazz, IDM (Intellignet Dance Music), Alternative, Lounge,.... I am a Drum’n’Bass (DnB) producer and a DJ, but I also produce and play electro clash, lounge, IDM…My second vibe is film making and crazy arts.

COOH : My name is Ivan Shopov, I am 24 years old. I like drawing and making music. I started drawing when I was very young, I attended a school of applied arts (ceramic) in my home town Troyan. After that I graduated at the National Academy Of Arts with a specialization in Fine Graphic Arts in Sofia. I have produced and mixed DnB for 5 years now. I’ve already released 10 vinyls and 6 bootleg CDs. sometimes I play IDM, Lounge productions. So this is my life : drawing graphics and making Electronic Music.

How would you describe DnB music ? Why did you decide to play this music ?

O : It’s like an exciting experience every time I play it. This music can take you everywhere, it is so powerful and dynamic, full of vibes. It can be either an easy nice melody or a very hard fat stuff.
I decided to play it because I wanted to feel my pants shaking, and because it makes me feel very good when my mind gives birth to crazy deep basslines combined with falling saw synths waves. And when you can share it with other people it’s an even greater pleasure.

C : DnB is the music that gives me the most powerful and energetic experience and vibe. It’s really dynamic and that's why I like it when I make a new tune and play it in a club : people go crazy for it and start dancing really fast. That gives me a lot of energy and sometimes I jump on the decks along with the crowd while I’m playing my tunes out !

When and how did you meet and decide to play together ?

O : I started producing DnB in 1998. Before I was in a Punk band, but when I heard that music I felt it as a more powerful and crazy weapon than breakbeat and techno. Something in my mind started growing, and I became addicted to this music. I started sampling some audio tapes. I took some beats from breakbeat tune, I made them faster and put over some crazy melodies. But my sound engineering was really bad and my computer really slow. After a while I finally found the Amen and the Think beat : tu tu ka taka taka tu ka tuka …it began…
I wanted to promote my stuff but nobody wanted to play unknown artists so I started playing my own tunes by myself and I set up an organization named Porno BPM. After one or two years I met COOH, who had just arrived from another city. We found something between us and we started learning DnB producing by ourselves. Everyday we found something new and crazy. So now at parties we play only our stuff and people go really crazy because every week we make new tunes that blow their heads out and don’t bore them. We are now members of a big DnB organization: H.M.S.U (Heavy Music and Sounds United)

C : I started playing bass guitar in a Hardcore Metal band when I was 16 years old. Two years later, I discovered computer music creation. Then I met Valeri and we found out lots of things that make us believe we could do something together. In 2002 we started promoting DnB along the boarders of Bulgaria, sending almost "patriotic" messages to the young generations and playing a lot in the busiest clubs in Sofia. We learnt a lot from this experience : how to drive the crowd crazy, how to make the sound of our tunes much heavier and fatter. As the years went by, we improved our technique significantly until we got the contemporary hard and dark DnB sound. After all these parties we are now much better at making really hard and smashing mixes, which could make even a dead man dance !

How do you work together ? Are you both producing & mixing ?

C : I am usually producing alone, but I also have plenty of tunes made with Valeri. We both started making DnB into deep by exchanging files and messing with programs during long studio sessions. And when we are playing together at a  party it’s more like an improvised mix of our own tunes, so we make some really hard sessions behind the decks.

O: Each time our mix is an improvisation, we never plan before the party. It’s like a battle between us. We have different styles in production, but we also have lots of productions made in common which are a really inhuman combination :=)

Who are the best producers & DJs in your opinion?

O : At the beginning my influences were Konflict, Goldie, Photek, Dillinja, Grooverider, Nicky Black Market, Bad Company… Now, my favourite are Noisia, Panacea, Nightwalker0… And maybe Kigami, Digital Soul and Cooh  because they are my neighbours :-)))
Outside DnB music, it’s the guys from WARP recordings like AFX, Autechre, Square Pusher that are my favourite producers and sound engineers.

C : My influences come from all the DnB out, and also from the IDM, Jazz and Funk music. At the beginning it was Adam F, Goldie , Photek , Grooverider , Bad Company, Ed Rush & Optical… The most impressive now are : Noisia, Tech Itch, Limewax, Raiden, Panacea and many more...
From the Experimental styles other than  DnB  I really like : Deadbeat, Telefon Tel Aviv, Aparat , AFX , Mouse on Mars ... a really huge list

Your track top 5 ?

O : I have a lot of tops in my head in any style like Punk, IDM, Trip-Hop, Jazz, Lounge, Alternative, Hardcore, Metal... :-)) So I cant choose but I really like to listen NIRVANA - Lithium : I am never tired of hearing it...

C : DnB top 5 : HARM - Scary ; Audio & Mackie - Euro 2004 Hooligans Anthem ; Adam F - Cyrcles ; Bad Company - The Nine ; Noisia - The Tide
Non DnB top 5 : TELEFON TEL AVIV - Bubble and Spike ; EDIT - dex ; SEVEN ARK - glass shattering under water ; DERU - Soulik (Lusine Icl remix) ; DEADBEAT - port au prince

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