With a few high-profile mix appearances and releases on Rekids, Underground Quality and Naif, Moscow's Nina Kraviz has become one of the most hotly-tipped names of 2009. But when RA's Ryan Keeling called up Russia to talk records, he found that there's much more to the story than DJing.

Nice feature. I like her views on DJ's who dont dance & those Dj's who mix tight, but boring! I totally agree, theres nothing worse than seeing a DJ spin with no passion, like a robot . Her "First Time" EP is one of the standout house EP's this year for me. Looking forward to hearing more from Nina in 2010.

Congratulations to Nina and her success. Well deserved, Nina has much talent and she is working very hard too!

Absolutely spot on! I would rather hear a roughly mixed set of cracking tracks then a perfect blend of sub-standard stuff. I love hearing the DJ actually playing the music, tweaking the EQ or getting the tracks back in time if they drift apart! The art of the DJ.
Loving Nina Kraviz's take on house music and the stuff she's been doing to date - look forward to all her future stuff!

what about a perfectly mixed set with perfect track selection, surely that is better? to me, hearing badly beat matched/rough mixes is off putting and throws me out of the vibe. the simple fact is that you need BOTH the mixing skills & the track selection to be a great dj, anyone saying one is more important than the other is kidding themselves.

nice interview, thanks RA and Nina.

on a side note i've heard some complain about the simplicity of her tracks, that's what works for me though. every element is right on point. her 'Free feat. Raphael M.' track from her UQ ep is probably my favorite 2009 track. try playing it at 8 AM, absolutely mind bending... and 'Hotter than july'?? holy shit.

Go Nina

I'm not saying bad DJing but great tracks, but its nice to know the DJ is up there working it for the crowd and not just clicking some buttons and messing with loops for the sheer hell of it. Even if a DJ makes a mess of a mix, if the next track in is a brilliant track then I find i've soon forgotten the mistakes and am enjoying the music! I'm not saying skills aren't important, just that the actual music is more so . .

yeah fair point, but generally if you make a mess of a mix you will also very likely kill the energy you've been building, so no matter how great the tune that is coming in, it will be tainted. you need to nail both.

i do agree with nina however that a dj should dance/be animated and look like they're enjoying themselves.

Really digging Nina's releases and general outlook on music/dj'ing.
Gotta say too.... she is absolutely gorgeous! dOh!

Oh yeah, never noticed before . . .







but yeah - wicked music!!

she's official

congrats Nina . !!!!! totally deserved spotlight . her UQ ep is extremely tasty !!!
keep up the fantastic work .

SOLID!

.

never heard of her before. i like her simple approach to music, cool voice, no gimmicks, just feeling. reminds me of rework on playhouse.

very sweet girl, too. nice...

)

i really agree and like Nina's approach to djing and dj's.
great article. thanx

phwaoorr!

I have posted some days ago a couple of her mixes here on RA. You can give a check:

1) Nina Kravitz - DJ Set @ RTS.FM (Moscow) - 31.10.09

2) Sex'N'Soul - 2007

Really like her views on DJing and the music... Definitely expect more big things from her.

Can do no wrong in 2009, much the same as the rest of the UQ crew. The Pain in the Ass EP is anything but...

Eh heh She got it going on. if the clap aint right we leaving. Awesome stuff Nina

mmm , she is so sexy , i dont care about her skills , or her views on music ... she's got a nice chest

I cannot agree with that kind of statement.

You dont need good tracks to make a good mix , at least in a club. ... you need tracks that have one or two elements that can make the difference when you cue them in ...

In a club , you need to build something with your mix ( or your selection ). Chaining very good tracks doesnt make a mix interesting at all ... Of course there are different approaches , but , saying that kind of thing doesnt make me want to book that kind of dj.

Mixing the right way is what makes a dj great , Blending well tracks , equing it right , cutting and launching basses at the right moment , etc ...
I can enjoy a mix even if it is not my music style , if the mix is good ...

If the selection is good , the beatmatching fine, but tracks are chained in a wrong way , 2 basses at the same times , elements that dont blend or whatever, tracks cueout randomly , bad timing, it is awfull , no matter if i dig the genre ...

yes you do.

well, i may have not expressed my self properly , and no , no i dont
cheers

She's Mine you hear me alllll mine I found her first!....hahahahahha

Sup people! Sup Nina K. voted ms moscow 2009, 2010, 2011 hahaha

Nina is the real! deal!

I noticed that some people were asking if I co produced her UQ-023 First time EP.
and the answer is NOPE!
She is the real deal...vocals production writting....the whole nine!
I'm very proud of my Sister
Thanks RA for capturing Nina
And thank you people for supporting underground music!

Ed Jus-Ed That is....

"There should be something
wrong if a DJ doesn't dance."
she got me right there .
thumbs up.

+1

I have never felt so put out by a comment on here, ever! You don't need good music to be a good DJ? Absolutely ridiculous!! How do you think the art of DJing came about in the first place? When all DJ's had was their lovingly horded record collection and some basic beatmatching ability?

May I suggest you read a book - Frank Broughton and Bill Brewster's 'How to DJ (Properly)'. That's not me trying to be rude, I genuinely believe it will open your eyes to the TRUE art of DJing.

If I'm in a club and some DJ with masterful technical ability is dropping boring track after boring track I'm not going to want to know. Simple as.

i think what camus was trying to say is that its the WAY you do it rather than what you do it with, don't think he actually meant that you can play a good set with bad records...

He did write that though. Its all about the records

I beg to differ alt83!

It's sad that such an emphasis is placed on mixing rather than track selection. It's good to hear a DJ working the music and making sure all those mixes are delivered with precision so as to maximise the effect of each record, this is an artform in itself. Hell, even I enjoy being creative with my mixing. But to say that the music is just a means to an end in a DJ's performance?? Nah, I'd say the mixing is a means to an end.

I share Nina's philosophy towards DJing, being a record collector who simply wishes to share her wares with an audience. You want to wow the crowd with music, not the timing at which you twist an EQ. That just doesn't impress anyone. Yes good mixing can add to the energy of a set, but it doesn't create that energy on it's own merit.

Without the DJ's from 20-30 years ago - those trailblazers that created the idea that a DJ could be a performer, armed with a librarians knowledge of music and the ability to read a dancefloor and know which record would work at what time - we wouldn't be where we are today within the dance music scene. These were DJ's in the truest sense and I think the world of club music would benefit from more DJ's like Nina Kravitz and her introspective attitude to DJing.

Anth - you have hit the nail well and truly on the head! With you 100% on that - Music first and foremost!

are you disagreeing with me or camus? you quoted camus....

Both of you, technically

But yeah, you had made the point that you didn't believe camus had actually claimed that a DJ doesn't need good records to be a good DJ and I quoted him to illustrate the fact that he definitely did say that!

Housetunes - cheers dude. As you could probably tell, this is something I'm a touch passionate about!

ok got you, yeah for sure you need good tunage to play a good set, after all you can't polish a turd as it were, but you also need the skills to play a GREAT set, be that simple beat matching or knowing when to transition/cue, looping, fx etc.... a dj that has not got these skills and mixes 'roughly' as nina put it can never be a great dj. my 2 cents.

Steady on...

Nina's RTS.FM mix is indeed well worth checking - deep and sexy to the nth degree.

much like the lady herself... narf!

This again - Mixing vs Tracks Played... i cant be bothered to read the entire thread but personally i think you shouldnt have to compromise either way.

However in my experience people that say only the music counts generally cant mix for sh!t

My feelings exactly! There was me thinking I was the only one and some sort of pervert hehe

oh yes you do.
...and i'm moving to Moscow to court the sweet Nina.
great take on things.

Can't wait

yeah, Rework!
it was the first thing that thought about after listening to few of of her tracks on the player here

Was very impressed by this release while listening to it this morning. Kudos Nina!!

Seems like the RedBullAcademy is the place to be.
Someone in here who did made it to London 2010?

I met her in Moscow. She's definitely very passionate about house music and her work in the scene in Russia. Very ladylike.

It's really a shame that women have to put up with such questions.

Why is it that the EDM community seems to immediately assume that women do not produce their own music?



Nice.

Hopefully someone brings her to Los Angeles . I'd love to hear and feeel her music.

exactly my view, and on your last point you're 100% dead on.