agraba – can he ‘do it again’?

The first time i heard the track ‘Do it again’ was when i got the promo from the new label ‘By Awake’ in my hands.

Short after we did an interview with Alex Schomann, cofounder of the new label By Awake (read the interview here). It is one of those tracks you just keep pressing repeat because it is different, innovative, hypnotic, sexy and – first of all – fuck..g groovy. Starting with a dubstyle intro featuring the incredible voice of ‘Escenda‘ it soon becomes a 4/4 beat-driven monstertrack that moves any dancefloor. We meet with the man behind this track, Murzaev Aramat, better known as Agraba:

Hello Murzaev, or shall we call you Agraba? It is a pleasure to meet the man behind such an incredible track as there is ‘Do it again’.

It will be better to call me Agraba. Thank you for your compliments for “Do it again (feat. Escenda)”, I am glad you like it!

You come from the south of Russia, from Krasnodar, tell us how is the electronic scene there? And how did you get in touch with it?

Yes, I am from the beautiful, sunny city called Krasnodar. South Russia is very big and there are different events periodically, but the most interesting part comes in the summer on the coast of the Black Sea. I make music from an early age. The first stage was a rock band, the second – was electronic music.

As a musician, what instruments do you play?

I play the piano, a little bit on drums and guitar.

We hear that you are a real artist in all senses, how would you define your style of music?

I don’t want to associate my style with one particular, I just call it electronic music.

You are DJ, producer, musician and promoter all in one person, how do you find time to do it all?

This is my life, I live so and all my time I give to my music.

Tell us about your own events.

At the time when I lived in the South of Russia, I organized conceptual parties and they were one of the most successful. It all gave me a great experience for my future development.

How is the scene in Russia developing?

A lot of talented young producers begin to appear and I am pleased that this happens.

Tell us about one of your latest productions, the before mentioned ‘Do it again’ on By Awake Records – honestly this record makes me shiver each time i listen to it and people come running asking what it is wherever i play it. How did this track come to life and who is behind the great twisted vocals?

During the tour, the idea of writing this track came to me when I was riding the train. As voice for the track I used a Russian singer, her name is Escenda.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

It is  difficult to select one thing. In my view, there is inspiration in everything that surrounds us.

You are a constant resident in Kazantip, what makes this festival so special?

I think that freedom, music and love, make it special.

Any upcoming releases?

In the near future there will be released new tracks on My Favorite Robot, Akbal music and Highway Records. But my main work is the creation of Live performance which I started from the beginning of this year. I plan to release it as an album.

How does your perfect day look like?

I live in one of the musical cities of Europe, in Berlin. And in the apartment that I rented, I spend most of my time, writing music. It is for me as a music temple. That is how my perfect day looks like!

Did you ever come down to Ibiza?

Unfortunately not, but I have a great desire to visit this legendary place.

Well, we are sure that this will no take too long as you do fit perfectly on our island. Hope to see you soon performing somewhere, take care and keep groovin’.

Thank you,

Agraba

listen to a snippet of ‘Do it again’ here:

more info on Agraba:

residentadvisor/agraba