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Nina Kraviz
19 October 2009 05:09:34
Meet Nina Kraviz. Endorsements for her talent are ringing out from some of the very highest figures in house and techno. Matt ‘Radio Slave’ Edwards likened her elegant, instinctive take on electronic music to that of Moodymann. In 2009 alone, her music has taken centre stage on compilations from Fabric, Osgut Ton and Cocoon. She is talented, beautiful and elusive. Her myspace simultaneously presents a host of riddles, yet pays scorching testament to her growing global status.
Signed to Rekids and Underground Quality despite only a few releases shows the vast potential of Nina Kraviz. Her love of Johnny Cash and Grace Jones is met with respect for artists inside the electronic scene with the likes of Cassy, Jus Ed and Prosumer. This melting pot guides her grooves that marry the enduring energy of her heroes with her own natural artistry. The raw urgency and directness of the Moscow based DJ/producer’s music contains both a rebellious streak yet an innate connection with the listener. She revels in music’s ability to twist emotions and turn them on a knife edge: ‘When I listen to Grace Jones I've Done it Again, I want to stay alone, switch off the phone and dance.’ An appreciation for music that tells a story, presenting a rich tapestry of textures and feeling has brought her to this point: ‘I need hours to describe my influences. It is not really genres that I've been into since I was first able to listen to music, but the very intimate feelings, emotions and smells that last, things that I remember while listening to music.’ It is this classicist assimilation of inspirations, along with those of nature and her everyday life, which adds an earthy depth to her music. Kraviz singles out Arthur Russell, Johnny Cash and Theo Parrish: ‘Not only because it sounds nice, but also because it describes what has always been turning me on in music in general. Emotion and nerve, music that makes your heart beat faster no matter what it is.’ Her rich musical heritage naturally led to exploring her creative side, winning a much coveted spot at the Redbull Music Academy in 2006. It was here that she first met Rekids boss Matt Edwards and simultaneously signalled her intent to play the game by her own rules: ‘I was a student and he was the teacher of course. It was second week of the Academy so everybody got really tired and sick of studies, studios and parties. Don't get me wrong, it was super nice and interesting there, but at some point it turned into an emotional overdose! We all needed a break. So me and five more people simply decided to run away but to do so we had to miss one lecture.’ This class happened to be Edward’s, who was due to talk about disco: 'I went to Matt and asked him what he was going to tell us? He said "disco". I told him it was my favorite thing to discuss, but I have to go shopping... that was our first and last talk that year. Then some time after we got in touch again and somehow I began sending him my music!’
The Red Bull Academy also provided Nina with a chance to show off her DJ skills: ‘The Academy’s show case during Sonar is three days of party time, with only participants playing. To my mind - the best party at Sonar. I played there in 2006 and that was off the hook. I played disco and in the middle of my set the electricity suddenly went, gone, amazing, boom! 5 minutes later the sound came back and the party entered a new energetic level. It was fantastic.” Although an admirer of the European scene, Kraviz feels no temptation to join the herds and relocate west to Berlin: ‘Russia and Moscow particularly is one the most pulsing spots in the world at the moment. There are at least five great clubs that will steal your time! For one city this is great, it is pretty much equal with Berlin.’ With a good representation of house, techno and disco, there is a knowledgeable and loyal following for cutting edge dance music in Moscow that often goes unnoticed by mainstream media. The Propaganda club is Kraviz’s current home, where her Voices party has seen performances from Radio Slave, Jus-Ed, Theo Parrish, Prosumer, Shed, Marcel Dettmann, Cassy, Mike Huckaby and Efdemin. Recently she fulfilled a personal dream, bringing Dopplereffekt live to the Russian capital: ‘That was damn good! As you see all the guests are very different but really good performers. Voices fits our scene perfectly. I try to invite not only interesting musicians but personalities that I respect. So when I am thinking who to invite I already know what kind of crowd I can expect on the dance floor. It is always a compromise to get a crowd in, though but I will never invite a guest just because they are trendy.’  The connection with the crowd is another driving force behind Nina’s rise, along with the character to play as she pleases: ‘I think you'll hate me if I say, “I play everything”, but somehow its true. I play good music. This is my main criterion. It forces me to play in different directions. But mainly I play house, disco and techno all in one set or sometimes separately... I also love surprises. It's like when you play your favorite 70s underground disco tune in the middle of a techno set and people just get the message, you can see it, you can feel the relation to the crowd. You smile and they know why.’
Talk of the Russian scene is dominated by file sharing sites and piracy, with Siteholder boss Daniel Mnookin recently quoted as saying his initial thoughts on seeing the first purchase on Beatport of his new release are: ‘Thank you for your support illegal Russian download site!’ Nina is a vinyl purist, far removed from these sites: ‘Actually I personally have never downloaded a single "free" track in my life. I don’t use Beatport or any other good web stores, I hate downloading something. I don’t use mp3 players and my I phone has no music on it.’ It is clear that the scene, which revolves around Nina and Voices, is similar to many such small pockets worldwide, where staying true to the original doctrine of house and techno music – with vinyl as its key proponent – is absolutely vital.
An absolute belief in the principles of their work is a ground zero requirement for any emerging artist. Throw in a devil-may-care attitude and an instinctive musical nuance and there are the building blocks for a stellar future in electronic music. Nina Kraviz has the world at her feet, but is still happy to let her own talents map out the route ahead: ‘God laughs at you when you say what is going to be next. He loves mixing human's plans. So I don't know. And that makes me feel even more happy.’ Ben Start
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