Introducing: Gramophonedzie

Introducing: Gramophonedzie

15 July, 2010 | 3.59AM

• Written by: Kornel Koch
• Filed under: Music News: gramophonedzie, introducing

Belgrade’s Gramophonedzie (Marko Milicevic) first broke through in 2009 with his hit ‘Why Don’t You’, incorporating soul and swing samples into feel-good filter house that earned the support of top-tier DJs, went to #12 in the UK sales charts, and logged over a million views on YouTube.

Since then, he’s remixed DJ Sneak, Mange Le Funk, Mowgli, the Young Punx, and more, bringing to each his unique filter-house touch, and he’s kept the singles coming with ‘Street Lady’, ‘More I Get’, and more; his DJ sets, meanwhile, are helping him make the transition to Balkan superstar to global superstar.

We caught up with him in a rare moment of downtime; read on for the interview.

First of all, we have to ask you what I’m sure everyone does: Where does the name Gramophonedzie come from?

It’s a silly combination of two words “Gramophone” and “Kamiondzije” (which in Serbian means truck drivers).

My friend and I were both spinning wheels, as it used to be with decks back in the days, and one night we also we had similar shirts with stripes. Our friends found it very funny that we really looked like drivers, and that name just happened and I kept it.

How did you discover electronic dance music, and what was the scene like in Belgrade when you were growing up?

I discovered electronic dance music in London, actually. When I was 12 or 13 years old I was wandering around Camden and found some reggae store. There were two Rasta guys spinning something that I found very fascinating—it was jungle, and I was totally mad about it until I discovered filtered house.

Back in Serbia, we were going through some pretty hard times, but EDS was something new to Belgrade. We had raves and the club Industria was bringing guys like Laurent Garnier, Moby, and Lady B. It was a very healthy musical environment.

How did you get started DJing and making music, and when did you first feel that you had finally discovered your own individual sound?

I started DJing when I was 15 and was into jungle – there were only three of us in Belgrade!

I switched to house music as that was the only way to get some gigs. After that switch I was lucky to be embraced by some of the older DJs from Belgrade and started playing everywhere in Serbia and throughout the Balkans.

As for my production, I got interested in it when I went to Red Bull Music Academy in Dublin in 2000. While I was there I got in touch with music equipment, as back then it was very expensive, and I had no way to even get in touch with something like that in Serbia. Over time, as computers started to become more powerful and you could make music with them, I started doing some beats. Later on, I studied sound design, got a university degree, and worked on films as well as some TV series and lots of commercials.

Just for personal pleasure, I started doing some jackin’ house, and over time it developed into my signature sound. I think the sound that characterizes my style is something that I found two years ago.

Have you kept up with any of your fellow classmates from the Academy?

Yes, especially with my friend Jean Paul Francois, who is based in Milan. He looks after a few labels and also does some distribution. He produces some nice deep house as Spiritual Blessings.

Apparently you wrote the theme for a local version of the Big Brother TV show. What other television work have you done?

I did numerous commercials in Serbia for brands like Peugeot and Coca-Cola, as well as some fashion shows and some banks. Just to name a few!

How do you explain your music and your career to your family members?

My family and friends were always into my career, following what I was doing, so they are very familiar with my job.

When I was 15 or 16, I couldn’t get into many clubs in Belgrade, but I was regularly playing out in the city, and because I was underage my mother or father were always dropping me off and picking me up from the clubs. They’ve been very supportive since I was that young and they still are.

Your gigs are taking you all over the world lately; what’s your favorite city or region to play?

Well, at the moment, I’m really enjoying everywhere I go, because I’m still exploring places, clubs, and people all around the world. I’ll probably have a better impression of it, and my favourite places, in some time.

Without giving away any secrets (unless you want to!), what kind of setup are you using to produce your music? Do you currently have a favorite piece of gear/software?

I used to use Nuendo 3 and have now moved over to Cubase 5.5.

I used Nuendo when I was working in post-production for dialogue in TV series, so I got to know the program inside out and was really quick using it. I also use UAD-1 plugins, and Powercore is something
that I can’t live without.

For the best monitoring I prefer Genelec 8020 or 8040. When I changed to Genelec I must say that my production improved 300%.

That’s all my gear!!

Are you a morning person or night owl?

Definitely a night owl. I was trying to get into “regular” life rhythms like other people, but there is just no way!

Which record do you wish you had made?

There are quite few, really. Michael Jackson’s ‘Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough’, Double 99’s ‘Ripgroove’, and Stardust’s ‘Music Sounds Better With You’.

When you’re not listening to electronic music, what do you listen to?

A bit of everything really. Jazz, trip-hop, brazilian, rock, pop – everything!!

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing with your life?

Probably a sound designer for films and TV series or something like that. If I could be a pilot, well, that would be interesting.

Tell us about your upcoming gigs and releases…

There is my second release for Positiva/Virgin, ‘Brazilian’, on the way. The instrumental for that is available now through Beatport on Nocturnal Groove. Hopefully there will be a third single and album too, but it is very early to talk about that yet.

Also there will be some other releases that are less commercial, and some remixes that I’m really looking forward to working on. My touring over the summer is very busy, all over Europe, and we’re looking at tours for the autumn in Brazil and Australia which I’m very excited about.

Gramophonedzie June Chart

Gramophonedzie on Beatport

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