Hailing from Ukraine and better known there as dj Burzhuy, Greenjack is now developing his career under his new name living in Barcelona, Spain. Starting his career in the early 2000s and having more than 20 years of experience, he continues to find a new sound, release his tracks on such big huge labels as CODEX, IAMT, Terminal M and develop his career as a businessman with his good friend and partner in crime – Spartaque. Winner of contests from Pioneer, Djsounds.com, Global Gathering, Promodj.com Co-owner of Radio Intense – one of the biggest streaming platforms of electronic music and IAMT Music Group – international record label group with the headquarters in Barcelona.
Hello Greenjack, great to speak to you! How’s the last year been for you?
Hello, last year has been very productive. I have released 6 successful releases and we brought our YouTube channel Radio Intense to a whole new level and swiftly improved IAMT Music Group. But all this was made from home, so it was not easy psychologically speaking.
Can you tell us the story behind the name?
The first part of my last name is pronounced similar to “Green” in Russian or Ukrainian and one of the short forms of my name is Jack. Well, due to the fact that I love green color – the choice of a nickname was pretty easy.
You’ve had some great releases, we really enjoyed your ‘Work It’ EP with Spartaque! What’s it been like producing during COVID?
I have to admit that a lack of travelling and new experiences had an impact on my inspiration. After all, music is often written under the impression of certain events, so when you are staying home for months it is impossible to find enough creativity. But with our mutual release with Spartaque, we live in the same city and see each other often, so it was easy for us to catch the right vibe and we produced a really cool release.
You’re well known for your skills as a DJ, how have you kept yourself sharp during the pandemic?
To be honest, for the last 10 years I have never had a DJ equipment at home, because when you are on tour – you always practice, almost every week. But with the onset of the pandemic, I felt the need to practice at least sometimes at home. Therefore, now I have a cozy DJ-place at home.
Has it been strange not being able to road test your tracks in a club environment?
Strange is the perfect word. Usually, there is a big time gap from producing a track to releasing it and I managed to test the tracks at events and gently finish them since it is obvious that on the big sound you will hear some mixing errors. But what I missed more was the very fact of playing my music in front of an audience rather than a camera.
Congratulations on your latest CODEX EP, how did it come together? What’s the inspiration behind ‘Back To Rave’ & ‘Grumble’?
The idea of “Back to Rave” appeared when me and Spartaque made a deal about Codex Showcase with Ukrainian festival “Atlas Weekend”. We told each other something alike “oh finally back to rave”. When I came back to the studio, I recorder a vocal sample and started to build up the track around it.
What gear did you use in the studio?
To be honest, I’m not a big nerd regarding this topic. I have a pair of Adam a7x monitors, an Alesis VI25 midi keyboard, and an RME sound card. This is quite enough for producing tracks at home. And for subtle mixing and mastering, there are studios such as W Sound Suite and Bridge48 in Barcelona. There, if you wish, you can rent interesting synthesizers to achieve the best sound.
Was this driving techno sound always the sound for you or did it evolve from something else?
Actually, at the start of my career, I was a House DJ and performed under a different nickname, but 6-7 years ago something changed in me and I began to pull towards techno. It was not logical to radically change that artist profile, so then I decided to start everything from scratch.
You’re a co-owner of the IAMT Music Group, sounds like an amazing role! What does it involve, and how did you get started there?
I have known Spartaque for about 15 years, we have already had joint projects with him, for example, Radio Intense. Since our partnership on this project has grown together – we decided to try to work together on labels and their management. After a few years, we can firmly say that our tandem is working perfectly. Each of us has its own strengths and weaknesses and we are working well together.
What have you got coming up in the future releases-wise on your labels?
IAMT Music Group imprints about 40 releases per month. But if we concentrate on techno labels, then by the end of the summer we will have the most powerful releases from Nakadia, Dok & Martin, Superstrobe, Spartaque, Stiv Hey, Nikolay Kirov and many many others.
How’re things looking in Barcelona for events now? Looks like there’s finally some light at the end of the tunnel!
Yes, finally, some daytime events have started again and there are rumors that clubs will soon be allowed to work, although with some restrictions. In any case, I am extremely happy that I am now on a small tour in Ukraine and have already managed to feel the return of nightlife.
Finally, if you could collaborate with any artist in the world who would it be?
Perhaps it would be Eric Prydz \ Cirez D, For me he is a legend.
