E.T. is member and DJ-resident of ZVUK promo collective in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In his words, Et translated on Kazakh language means «meat» which perfectly describes music that he usually plays - saturated, rhythmic and fast. We’ve spoken to E.T. about his background, favourite music and perception of queer people in his homeland.

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Hi! To start with, please share 3 fun facts about yourself?

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1) I am Cancer sun, Leo rising and Taurus moon. Leo rising makes me outgoing and easy to get along with, whilst Taurus moon tends to get me introverted and shy. And it can be a struggle sometimes

2) I am bad at time management, there I said it :)

3) I love to pretend I am Hannah Montana, where on weekdays I work at the boring office and play exciting parties on weekend.

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What is your background, your biggest achievements or projects, which we should be absolutely aware of?

 

I am the member and DJ-resident of local promo collective «ZVUK» that is run by Nazira. Main goal for ZVUK is to build independent electronic scene without any stigmas, where everyone is welcomed. Alongside with a friend of mine and also a great artist Tangbosh I am the co-founder of local label of electronic and experimental music «Mobile Suburb» that focuses on developing and supporting our local underground artists. Oh and I just played my first Boiler Room here in Almaty as a part of local contemporary scene. Its was surreal moment.

 

Which music, art, culture influenced you and why?

 

As a child I was not exposed to a diverse of cultures, main source of information was television. So it is safe to say pop culture had it’s toll. My dad used to listen to a lot of oldchool disco and trance. My sisters listened to many r&b and hip-hop. My own journey with electronic music started with trance classics, t.A.T.u., prodigy, the knife, apex twin. My love and affinity towards club culture was also formed by «Party monster» movie - the atmosphere of freedom in self expression made me mesmerized back then, and still do these days. So I guess a bit of all this influences can be found in my works.

 

Who would be an artist/DJ of all times you’d like a collaboration with?

 

So hard to choose, but probably Arca or Sophie at the moment.

 

What are you plans and aspirations for the foreseeable future?

 

I recently hopped on learning music production and music theory more thoroughly. Hope to release more stuff soon.

 

How’s your music is different? What are you trying to tell with your music and mixes?

 

I consider music as a great medium for communication. All of my mixes represents specific period of my life that captures experiences and states of being for that exact moment. I prefer to pursue my mixes in a story-telling manner. I keen to play different genres within the length of one mix, highlight polarities of sounds, change moods of tracks and shifting rhythms in order to express momentum.

 

How is music and culture are different from other parts of the world?

 

I love our folk music, it usually has beautiful dramatic stories to it and accompanied by dombyra and kobyz (kazakh musical instruments). Check out Kazakh composer Akhmet Zhubanov - he is my favorite. When it comes to modern electronic scene, I would say that our scene is on the stage of development. It is absolutely sensible that our community is eager to explore more, dig deeper in the sonic adventures. New names merges regularly and I can’t wait for our scene to peak.

 

How is queer culture developed and perceived in your region? Do you see any shift over the past years? 

 

Our political and social views are pretty uptight and conservative. With the appearance of the internet, new independent medias, queer representation in Kazakhstan is now on better level than it used to be, with the change of post-soviet generation, young people seek radical changes, that are happening in society slowly but surely. But still there is a certain stigma around this topic. ZVUK promo collective and bUlt night club actually manifest themselves as safe spaces for queer people, and it’s is super important to have them.

 

Speaking about your mix for LVBZ. What is it about?

 

My mix is dedicated towards self-exploration and expression, I always try to push boundaries of the listeners further in the sonic realm. I try to focus on polarities.  Because life is never white or black, life is colorful! I tried to reflect such saturation and range in my mix.

 

What’s your favourite track in the mix?

 

Sophie - Immaterial

 

What is the best location and setting to listen to your mix?

 

Queer Parade while making love to a beautiful people.

 

If your mix was a color, which one it would be?

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Probably purple, because purple is made by mixing red and blue, where red stands for more rough and aggressive sonics, while blue represents relatively tranquil and mellow tracks.

 

Which moment is the most touching/emotional moment in your mix and why?

 

I personally find the whole mixing touching and emotional, but let me know what moment touched you the most, I would love to hear it from the listeners.

 

To finish with name 3 artists from your playlist which we should pay attention to and why?

 

Tangbosh is one of the most exciting artists on local scene at the moment.

Nazira - amazing DJ with extremely precise skill of feeling the audience. Giving me chills every time I listen to her. Also she plays internationally, one of the biggest places she played is Berghain.

Galya Bisengalieva - award winning kazakh/british violinist and composer. Her recent release Aralkum is tragic and beautiful and the same time. It’s dedicated to the shrinking of the Aral Sea, one of the worst man-made environmental disasters on the planet.

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Enjoy a fine selection of local tracks which E.T. has kindly selected for LVBZ.