DubeatsAfter a brief hiatus due the pandemic, Russian label Minor Notes Recordings returns for their 7th release. During the first 6 releases they have gained a reputation as one of Russia’s finest exports of house music to the world, introducing many us to the likes of Scruscru, Baltimore Chop and Lowres. However, after nurturing his own artists it’s the turn of Guydee himself to shine and make a much-deserved debut on his own imprint. Over the last year Guy has taken some time out of releasing to rebuild his own sound and sharpen his production skills, now fresh out the studio he and has a full stack of new music to share with the world. First up is ‘В стол EP’, where Guydee presents 3 super deep compositions which include collages of organic sounds and original instruments by the man himself. Malta’s deep house don Melchior Sultana is also drafted in on remix duty and provides a sub-aquatic flip of the lead track ‘Svet’. As ever Minor Notes comes correct with releases on both Vinyl and Digital formats!
Artist: Guydee, Melchior Sultana
Title: Svet
Label: Minor Notes Recordings
Release Date: 2021-07-09
Interview With Guydee
Q1: Who is Guydee?
First, i am music lover. All time i remember myself i was trying to make everything: digging in the crates, collecting records, djing, beatmaking, composing, radio hosting, label management, creating and promoting events.
Starting with breakdance when i was 11 i started listen to funk & disco, which were used as soundtracks for a battles. Not a surprise, In the age of 14 i opened a new chapter for me, which included hip-hop, trip-hop, acid jazz and soul music via Solid Steel Radio Show, Ninja Tune releases, UK beats scene and the beginning of abstract hip-hop movement. Literally, everyday i was listen to new music for 6 hours at least. It’s crazy when you are only 15 and your brain is already exploding from this amount of beauties you heard. I started to create my own collection: archived and sorted music by genres, styles, moods and emotions, years and etc.
One time i caught myself thinking like a dj. Ok, this track have a real close drum section like another one track i know. What if i can make them play together? And it was a start of a big chapter in my life. I’m so thankful to my life that i can do what i love. It’s a big present, that i knew what i want to do since i was a teenager.
Through the years i have been a big fan of several music genres. But the main always were hip-hop, trip-hop, boogie and deep house. In addition, my new love is soviet jazz and all from Bill Evans.
Now im 31 and I have a lot of experience in all activities around music, but now i found myself more in music production, djing and music management, especially running and moving my label. That’s why im here talking with you, i think 😉
My day job is about music too. I’m creative team lead of producers, who creating educational music courses and special projects.
Q2: Tell about your new release on Minor Notes?
I think it’s my first serious release. For sure i already had some vinyls and digital EPs on labels such as Lagaffe Tales, Minor Notes, Simple Things, Frole, Kinky Vinyl + took a place on some compilations. But you know, when you start to produce you want to release everything – you searching for your style and your methods. For me it took 7 years from first demo until now.
Last 2 years i didn’t release anything, except 2-3 single tracks for Minor Notes vinyl compilations. But i was hard working in my studio to increase production level, searching my style, using creativity, MPC, Yamaha Motif XS6 and live instruments, such as keys and bass. Now i have a lot of material to go in a public scene.
The most logical thing to do was to start with a solo record on my home label, Minor Notes Recordings. I named it «Hidden», because every producer has a huge amount of unfinished work and periodically you need to force yourself to take them out, dust them off and bring them to a gloss. That’s what happened with the tracks on this record. I just got tired of writing for myself and wanted to get back to releasing my stuff, which I’m confident in.
Buy Link: https://chatnoir-store.com/release/1617809888/GuyDee-Hidden
Q3: Who are your greatest influences?
It’s a very hard for me to choose only three producers, so i would love to choose tracks, which made me who i am)
1) Al Hudson & The Soul Partners – Spread Love
I can name this track as a main influence for me through the years. This is a perfect music production, when vocal can start in a half of track. 8 minutes you are listen to this beauty and every time get goosebumps. I think that music like this will stay for ages. Truly legendary disco vibe, which remember me why i started to go deeper with music everytime.
2) Mr. Scruff – Jazz Potato
When i heard this jam first time i was 14, i think. It was included in the one of my favorites issues of dj mix series called Another Late Night from indie-label Late Night Tales. No need to tell much about Mr. Scruff, because he is a big hero and awesome producer, who inspired army of today electronic artists. But this track is not so popular as others. Just let it play again now and remember how 1997 sounds like!
3) Tortoise – Monica
I never was deep into rock music or something around that. But one time i heard this post experimental rock brilliant and started to dig instrumentals like this. It’s very hard to find familiar funky or deep grooves in this kinda music, but it’s a key. We should never stay only in one way of thinking, we should always try to find new visions of sound. This track remember me to be creative everytime.
Q4: Can you let us about scene in Russia? What artists do you love past and present that have inspired and encouraged you and what parties that you love going to have helped your musical evolution.
Our mentality and our history encourage us to make original experiments. Yes, we did not invent house and techno, did not participate in the formation of hip-hop, but we are proud that our sound is becoming very recognizable.
I am a big fan of the French school of electronic music and I think that we are close in style to them. In our music, there are a lot of emotions, hidden desires: to express yourself, to tell the truth, to resist and establish yourself. Our scene was born in the 90s and went through a strange path in a very strange time. As a result, of course, we lagged behind Europe and the United States in terms of club culture development. But we’ve never had a shortage of talent who are born to make music but have to work in a taxi to feed themselves. Our task is to create in Russia such conditions in which everyone is engaged in their own business.
Now in Russia there are several cities with a massive club life – this is Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan. Other cities are trying to do something, but it can not yet be called large-scale.
However, there are Russian cities like Ekaterinburg, Ufa, Nizhny Novgorod, Irkutsk, Novosibisk, Chelyabinsk, which are literally factories producing tomorrow stars of music underground. I think in a next 5-10 years all music world will remember my words. The level of production is rising every minute and this is not about copying anybody’s style. It’s about creating our own signature sound.
Let’s go to the names (somebody is already well known, somebody is going to be a star): Anton Zap, Tripmastaz, BMB SpaceKid, Anton Kubikov, Scruscru, Arsenii, Lay-Far, Thierry Tomas, BRTS, Lowres, Dj Cat, Phil Gerus, Hoavi, Artyom Xio, Pavel Iudin, Ki.Mi, Street Choice, to name a few 😉
In Moscow i love to visit and play at my own parties from Minor Notes label, parties from Deficit Community, Sanchez Thursdays at Propaganda Club and some parties from my friends.
In Saint-Petersburg it’s always Near Mint vinyl parties by Velvet in Stackenschneider club.
Q5: How have you been keeping busy during lockdown?
This may sound strange, but I am grateful for this time. I was able to stop and rethink many of my actions, to determine what is really important and what distracts me. Thank God, both me and my family, covid avoided, although we were ill with it.
I worked a lot, read a lot, searched and made a lot of music, talked and collaborated with musicians, worked on the label. I practiced playing the keys, and just chilling. To a greater extent, I have grown spiritually and emotionally.
I hope this long and hard period will clear scene from a fakes, but will spotlight the best of.
Q6: What else can we expect from you over the next year?
As i said in a previous answer i made a lot of good music. It was a big pause in my own production releasing for last 2 years, because i raised my own style, making 150+ demos in different genres from hip-hop to techno. To be honest, i think i have 15-20 really great tracks, which is ready to go. I don’t want to be a guy, who release music only on my own label, so now im searching and choosing labels, which are close with a flow and a vision to the modern dance vibes with mine. So let’s see how it goes and i hope we can expect something coming out soon. All in all quality is a key, not quantity)
For more info please check:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dmitry.guydee/
Artist Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/Guydee