Leo Hazree is a significant figure on the electronic music scene of Azerbaijan. He’s a music producer, DJ and founder of Sintetik, artist community in Baku. As a part of Sintetik, he’s heavily involved in local events and festivals. He’s not from queer community himself, however he stands for diversity, inclusivity and equality across various social groups. We’ve talked to Leo Hazree about his collaborations, strengths and vulnerabilities, as we hope that this interview is a small step to the open dialogue between the cultures and communities.

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Hi! To start with please share a few fun facts about yourself.

 

I believe that DJ must sound like DJ, not look like DJ. So I don’t pay much attention to artistic looks, tattoos, alternative fashion and etc.. Thats often leads to the strange confusions. I used to see that «lost face» in the front of me when I meet acquaintances from the «normal world» at club or on rave dance floor. The other way around, I use that effect when I need to surprise people waiting for a DJ to grab a contract and I come to meeting them in a corporate style suit.

 

I am crazy about cocoa. If one provides me with unlimited supply of tiramisu I will play for free all weekend long.

 

Tell us about your background. Which music and art influenced you and why?

 

I don’t have any music education. I am economist. A bad one, obviously. I think the 3 biggest achievements I got as a DJ are: starting a Sintetik club with my friend, helping with Unsound festival organisation in Baku, Azerbaijan, and providing support to other artist within Sintetik artist community. My key influencer is a cinema. I am big fan of art films. I consider it to be the most sophisticated art form and try to learn from it as much as I can. I wouldn’t name any particular culture that influenced me. I was born in Baku, studied in Milan, lived in many countries, speak 6 languages, so it is more of the mix of many cultures. The same applies to the music - it is layered cake of experience we create during our life.

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Having such a diverse experience, can you tell that your local music is somehow different from the rest of the world, including electronic music scene?

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Music in Azerbaijan traditionally is based on very rhythmic percussions and melodic rhythm sections. Also such a unique genres like mugam and related sufi style hypnotic sounds are popular among traditionalists. Despite that electronic dance music is not so popular. It might be due to other non musical reasons. Like bad night-life image among general public. Everything is changing very rapidly here. So I think we will see something very different in few years.

 

Sounds like Sintetic has made a significant impact to music scene…

 

Sintetik first venue functioned as a club for three years without interruptions. For couple of the years it was the only alternative electronic music spot in the city. The venue was a step stone for many local artists, event series. It was a gate to the new experience for many young souls. We hosted great artists from around the world like Zadig, Stanislav Tolkachev, Dj Pete, Fiedel and many others. After 3 intense years and leaving our first small venue behind, we shifted to providing bigger events in various locations of the city. Besides that we worked closely with cultural institutions like Goethe Institute providing multi-discipline artists with platform for their projects. Sintetik is crucial for a local artists as an access to variety of opportunities.

 

Do you see any changes in perception of new cultural and social communities, such as queer community for example?

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Some shift is obvious. Nowadays I see queer people on public quite often, hear about communities and groups, dedicated parties. I believe that majority of the society still perceives queer culture negatively, but hostility level decreases.

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What should happen so people become more tolerant to your opinion?

 

I think we have to switch to a person-to-person communication instead of a group-to-group one. Separation and grouping are the signs of the time we live in. Sometimes it reaches an absurd point when people just ignore everything else besides their small communities. Somebody should ignore those borders and make a first step. I want to give an example of a regular male being ok in any community., where people may feel vulnerable.

 

Have you ever felt being different from other people or vulnerable?

Of course I did. I believe everybody does, but not all of us have a courage (particularly men) to confess that. I think it is important to distinguish being different from being isolated or separated from the group of people. We are all different to some degree. Some of us even try very hard to underline that difference. All of that is fine, unless one gets into situation where a person feels alienated or rejected by the people around. The solution is to communicate and keep conversation going. In a majority of situations it is just a misunderstanding or lack of an information about each over that creates the monsters in our heads. I remember being avoided by the European classmates while studying abroad. I thought it is a sort of racism or something. That made me angry and insecure. You don’t feel fine if you are avoided by the people you have to interact on a daily basis. Only after we get into deeper interaction I found out that they thought the same about me, like it was me behaving very arrogantly. Just a little bit of a conversation missed created a very stupid situation.

 

If so, could you please share any thoughts on how people could turn our vulnerability into power?

 

The concept of turning vulnerability into power means that constantly doing so you will end up without any vulnerability at all, but this is impossible. We are not perfect, vulnerability will always be a part of us. There are only two choices -- accept it or hide it. I think we should focus on what we do the best and just accept vulnerability as it is. To my knowledge, trying to turn it into something, concentrating on vulnerability too much only takes time and efforts leaving you burnt out. Let's focus on our powers and enjoy the life.

 

That said, we’d like to mention your collaboration with Eltaj Zeinalov. Could you please tell us about it?

 

Eltaj Zeynalov is a very interesting person. Besides photography he is in love with heavy metal and death core music, loves techno as well. I met him some years ago while early year of Sintetik club. Biker-like looking guy with beard and photo camera he had a strange walk. Later I found out that he had some serious health issues with his leg. I think having regular life for many years and then one day waking up with a disability shaped the way he sees the world and people around. He never tries to make things better in his photos (something expected from any photographer). Eltaj tries to reveal a real you. His photos feel like purified water, strange taste from very beginning then you get used to that and don’t want to change it for something else.

 

Picture used on this page has been shot by Eltaj Zeynalov.

 

Tell us about your creative process. How do you make your mixes, especially LVBZ mix. What is it about?

 

DJing and producing are totally different in terms of approaching the process. Moreover DJing with and without a direct connection to the audience also differs. While playing to the dance floor my job is to connect venue, ambience, and crowd using sound. It is all about creating that mental connection rather that trying to tell anything prescribed. It is spiritual, not narrative. While recording a podcast or playing on the radio without any feedback from the audience I try to create a kind of universal constant flow, like a reference line for a listener imagination to create an emotional story. Making my own music is more about the opposite - a detailed story first, then turning it into the sound. More like that of cinematograph, from a screenplay to a movie.

 

LVBZ mix shows a mental lifecycle of a regular citizen in Azerbaijan, from early years to mid-age. Some pass this cycle faster, some spend all life to do so. All those hormone levels and and high hopes rising from very beginning turn into volatile inconsistent passionate emotions. Then some boring routine pops up with disappointment feeling, and finally some relief comes with sarcastic and soft sounds. It ends with sudden and painful closing. You may notice some folk element in the begging and very aggressive and pumping nature in the first half of the mix what represents local caucasian youth mentality well.

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What’s your favourite track in the mix?

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Murad Baylarov - Dosh. Murad is a local producer and a really nice person. It starts around 38:30.

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

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Good over-the-ears headphones, long trip by train, grey cloudy sky.

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

 

Around 40:50 - 42:50. That transition is similar to that understanding, acceptance moment with following shift to productive, creative, efficient lifestyle ditching everything useless, refusing to waste your time.

 

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

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In order to make you feel the sound environment I was born to, I included many artist from previous generations. This was the heritage I faced. 

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Akif Islamzadeh had the iconic voice that shaped tastes of few generations. Still popular, he shaped pop music for a couple of decades or more. 

 

Alim Gasimov is one the greatest living voices on the planet. His voice is considered to be a national treasure and some say UNESCO protects it. Being genius of mugam he is not afraid to break the classic rules and step aside the frame of traditional genre. Many academics criticise him for that. 

 

Aziza Mustafazadeh is a daughter of legendary jazz maestro Vagif Mustafazadeh who’s music is among the first things you hear about Azerbaijan. In her performance included in the playlist she brilliantly mix traditional folk song, jazz, which is very popular in Baku, and heritage of her father.

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Enjoy a fine selection of local tracks which Leo Hazree has kindly selected for LVBZ.