Ninja Turntables: DJ Vadim at Yugong Yishan

For almost two decades, DJ Vadim has been DJing and producing some of the most innovative hip-hop and electronica around. He's worked solo, putting out records on the legendary Ninja Tune label as well as on his own BBE imprint. Vadim has collaborated with everyone from Stevie Wonder to Kraftwerk, from Paul Weller to Sly Stone. Even his wife, MC Yarah Bravo, is a regular collaborator, as Beijing will find out when Free the Wax bring the pair to perform at Yugong Yishan this Saturday. We asked Vadim a few questions about mixing marriage with your music, his Russian background, run-ins with the US censors and, in the spirit of this month's literary fever, what his reading habits entail. Here's what he had to say.

What memories do you have of your last Beijing show, when you played at Block 8?
We had a great time, though it was too short. So many things to see and do.

This time around, Yugong Yishan is an earthier, more underground venue – is that something you’ll welcome?
In reality, festivals are best because you can expose the music to more people, but my favorite venues are dingy underground dive bar-type places.

You and your wife, MC Yarah Bravo, have worked and toured together under various guises. Is there any danger of an on-stage marital tiff in Beijing?
Haha, well never say never! It's not easy being married and working together so closely, being together all the time, but I think we’ve worked out a good balance.

Growing up in London, what were the records, songs or artists that shaped you musically?
James Brown, reggae, breakbeat culture, Mo’ Wax and Ninja Tunes.

Your U.S.S.R. series of albums refer to your roots in the former Soviet Union. Aside from album titles, though, did you draw any musical influence from Russia?
Not really. Russia is more like a spiritual home than a musical home for me.

Have you returned to Russia many times to play? What have your experiences been like?
I play there every year, Moscow and St. Petersburg. It's always great. People are responsive even if they don't know the songs. Loads of energy – and of course vodka! Too much drinking ...

According to Wikipedia, you divide your time between homes in New York and Haiti. Is the Haiti connection true, or does it prove that journalists shouldn’t research interviews using Wikipedia?
You can't believe everything you read. I live in Cuba!

Point taken. Your track “Your Revolution” was banned from American radio in 1999. Did you see that coming?
It was retarded. It shows that despite the lip gloss and rhetoric, freedom and openness are nothing more than mere words in the USA.

What song, album or artist would you ban from radio?
Well, it's hard because I despise music that spreads hate, but banning anything pushes it underground, which can be more harmful. So I say let it all out.

This month Beijing is all about books. What are your favorites?
George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm, Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist.

And who would you like to write your biography?
Paulo Coelho.

What’s the first thing you listen to when you get out of bed?
My stomach rumbling!And what are you listening to now?
All kinds of stuff. Al Kent disco stuff, some old Chicago house, Busta Rhymes, and my own new stuff, which is coming later this year.

See DJ Vadim and MC Yarah Bravo on March 13. RMB 70, RMB 40 (advance), 9pm. Yugong Yishan (6404 2711)