Rekord 61

With the Radio Slave remixes of his new single ‘Sverh’ out this week, we asked the up-and-coming Russian techno producer to introduce himself.

Who are you?

I am Alexander Babaev. I perform as Rekord 61. I live in Moscow and have a small business in Berlin – my own Konstruktiv imprint, where I release my music and find new artists whose ideas are close to mine.

What do you sound like?

I prefer to call it techno, but I know there might be different interpretations. The thing is, not all of my tracks sound like previous ones… Moreover I don’t follow any guidelines: today I can do a breaks song (‘Kaskad’), tomorrow a very melodic song (‘Pereval’) and the day after tomorrow something rough and sick, like ‘Razbeg’ or ‘Polyus’. But I am sure you still can make out techno in every track I did – techno is a natural way of thinking for me.

Why should we listen to you?

I’ll evolve my previous answer a bit. I understand techno as intelligent music first of all. Sitting in a studio, making new sounds, I want to bring a bit more intelligence in this insane modern world. As simple as that.

What have you released so far? What else have you got coming out in the near future?

A bunch of releases on Konstruktiv with remixes by big artists which I so love, like Perc, Spencer Parker, Phon.o, Anstam and others. And a couple of remixes as well. The remixing process I find as interesting as a full production, a good way to show my ideas, my personality and mix it with others’ stuff.

What song sums you up? Why?

At the moment I would say that it is the title track from Sverh EP which is coming later this month. This song combines everything I like: intelligence, impression and some vintage ‘ravey’ mood.

What or who is your biggest influence and why?

Today I would say, science. Modern and high-end technologies of tomorrow. Science keeps me thinking progressively.

Where can we hear your music?

The best places are my SoundCloud and YouTube channels. I prefer the YouTube channel as it is well organised.

Where will you be in five years’ time?

Travelling all over the world, playing music. Managing the big and well-known label Konstruktiv.

Tell us an interesting fact about yourself.

I cannot live without retro futurism (almost literally). Any kind of it like art, literature, music or movies excites me like nothing else. I think you can find something from vintage conceptions of the future in my music too.

Rekord 61’s Sverh (Radio Slave Remixes) are out on Monday January 21st on his Konstruktiv label. Find him on Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud and YouTube.