When one thinks of Ukraine and techno, there’s one name that immediately comes to mind: Spartaque. Although he’s now firmly based in Barcelona, the multifaceted DJ/producer and label owner is not one to forget his roots, and is an individual who proudly sums up all that’s great about the country’s emerging techno scene. His CODEX label is a case in point. As prolific a label you’re as likely to witness in contemporary techno, it’s home not only to the label owner’s releases, but also a cleverly chosen cast of similarly-minded artists. Always creative and always busy, Spartaque’s latest endeavours sees him turn in a killer remix of Goncalo & Anna Tur’s Caught in the Club, delivering a dancefloor-focused workout of the type that only a producer of his repute can dish up. Now firmly focused in Barcelona, we quizzed Spartaque recently about government reactions, city life and his creative process — as well as the aforementioned remix…

WWD: Let’s start by talking about your current hometown of Barcelona, which seems like an obvious conversation point. The past year looks like it’s been really tough for people living there with no tourists. What’s been your take on this? Has the government done enough to protect jobs there do you think?

Yes indeed, I have been living in Barcelona for three and a half years and for the last year and a half it was not the same Barcelona I moved to. Indeed, the city is focused on tourism and I think a large number of businesses which work in the city were not going through the best times, including clubs. I have many friends who are engaged in club business and venues in Barcelona and we discussed with them how difficult it was during all these months without events and tourists in Barcelona. In any case, it was a great moment for the residents of the city, because many ratings indicated that Barcelona not only lives on tourism, but also suffers from it. It is associated with relatively inexpensive tourist activities. A lot of young people were coming to Barcelona and they often misbehaved in the city and, of course, it fostered growing discontent among the local residents. Therefore, we had a great opportunity to enjoy the city without tourists, without crowds of people with cameras, walking along the quiet streets without drunken people. It was a great time, but it’s time to get back into normal life and it’s time for Barcelona to become the city that hundreds of thousands of people come to a year. As for the question of whether the state has done enough to preserve jobs, it is difficult for me to assess this because I am a foreigner, I am from Ukraine and in this country we got used to rely only on ourselves, and in this case I also relied only on myself. Therefore, it is difficult for me to assess how successfully the government has carried out its social policy.

WWD: As your current hometown, is it still as magical as ever? Or do you now look at things a bit differently to others do you think? And do you find it a rich inspiration for your music?

The city is definitely magical and now I already look at it through the eyes of a local resident, but I never cease to admire it. And very often I catch myself thinking about how beautiful this city is, beautiful and comfortable for life. I think I’m lucky to live in Barcelona, because there is so much of everything in close proximity. And in principle, the attitude of local people towards leisure and their love to go out more, play sports, spend time actively with their family – this is what I really like. You will not see Catalans on weekends in shopping centers, as it is, for example, very common in Ukraine. People love to spend time cycling, swimming, and playing games on the beach. I think many, at least my compatriots, have a lot to learn. And of course Barcelona has always been and will be a source of inspiration. This is a place that attracts a large number of artists and it is not surprising I also often come across different ideas during my walks around the city and this is great.

WWD: You’ve been making a lot of music over the last while by the look of things. Did it take you a while to be in a good place to make music? Are you able to compartmentalise your feelings when making music or do you generally need to be in a positive mood?

You definitely need a good mood. I don’t know how you can produce music while being in a bad mood and what result I would have. When I’m in a bad mood, I feel frustrated and I don’t want to approach software at all. As for creative impulses, what is most important for me in creating music is synthesis, the search for something unusual. It is ideal to fill my head with ideas, if I understand that I will need to produce music today and there are certain deadlines that I have set for myself and I need to work, then I try to listen to a large amount of music, fill my head with ideas and then synthesize what I heard, what I was inspired by into something new. Basically, the whole creative process for me is the search for sound, the search for a groove, an idea. But I believe that the idea should be looked for, but not wait until they come.

WWD: Has working with Anna and Goncalo been great like this? Can you tell us a bit about how your remixes came to pass?

Yes, of course, Goncalo and Anna are cool guys, they are very nice. I knew a lot about them and I was delighted with their request for a remix. I was given complete freedom and felt great playing with vocals, trying to come up with something unusual and the main synth and drop that came out to me, are not standard sound for techno music and I hope that we will get into the Beatport charts, get support in Spotify playlists, and the track will resonate in the hearts of techno music lovers.

WWD: Did you come to production or Djing first? And how does that affect how you make music do you reckon?

Yes, firstly I started writing music and then only decided that if I want to realize myself as a musician producing electronic music, I should become a DJ. Although I wanted to do this from early childhood. I remember that when I was asked who I want to be in future, I said a DJ and therefore I feel very good in my profession. I think that the paths are different for everyone. Someone comes to music through DJing, someone comes to DJing through music like me. The main thing is the result. If the result is successful, then it doesn’t matter what the path was.

WWD: Have you enjoyed the last year having extra time at home, to discover new things, learn things about yourself, pick up new hobbies, or have you just missed life on tour?

Definitely I spent a very interesting time at home and I was very busy and I was not only in search, I was in discovery of myself. We were actively involved in the development of the IAMT music company. This is our label, which deals with both the release of music and the management of labels and we have a lot of sublabels. We were developing it very successfully during the lockdown, when it was impossible to play. We were developing our business, learning how to do business, learning from mistakes and moving forward very confidently. Therefore, during the quarantine, I opened myself from a new side and this side allows me to look very confidently into the future, because I understand that I can evolve not only as a musician, but also as a business owner. Helping other artists fulfill their potential is very important to me. Therefore,I didn’t have time to miss the gigs.

WWD: What did you miss the most about not being on the road? Was there a part of you that was thankful for the break?

Probably most of all I am grateful for the break and for the time that I have to spend with my family and this is what I missed when I was on the road because almost all parents from my daughter’s class had a great time with their family. And this is what my family did not get at all. Now after the lockdown has passed, I understand that I intend to behave differently, since I had the opportunity to reconsider my views and values. And of course I am very grateful for this break, which I got thanks to Covid.

WWD: Tell us about your work with Radio Intense. The station has really blown up in recent times… how have they done it?

Yes, we are absolutely delighted with my partner Greenjack, watching what RadioIntense has come to. The channel attracts more and more great DJs. Artists can deliver more and more great content and everyone benefits from it. Our task was to achieve a certain synergy, to give artists the opportunity to fulfill their potential and get alternative access to music when we created this channel 8 years ago. Now it develops very well largely due to Greenjack, who spends a lot of time on this project. And of course, I am very happy to see these positive results that are now happening with the channel, which also give me more opportunities for developing my career, as well as developing the career of artists who are now part of our management.

WWD: You’ll be back on the road soon, we guess. Has the last year changed how you approach and search and find music? What should we expect from a Spartaque DJ set in 2021?

Yes, I also hope that I will start playing soon, I miss it very much. I listen to many demos and promo as always. The general approach to music search has not changed. Considering the amount of material that IAMT Music is releasing on Codex, IAMT, IAMT Red, Numen, Set About, Silver M, Made In Brussels techno labels, we have enough music to play new material every week. We release a lot of techno music and I am very happy to support our music as much as possible, so I think the emphasis will definitely shift towards our catalog. But I always look into the trends very carefully and listen to other labels releases and of course if I like the music I will play it. I really love playing new music, but I also don’t forget about the classic tracks.

WWD: Have you kept on buying new music this last year? Will you play lots when you start touring again or will you be digging out the classics for good time vibes or what?

Yes, as I already began to answer in the previous question, I continued to buy music, not so much, but I continued to listen to music. Will I play a lot of new music, I definitely will, but I will focus on our catalog and finally put on a couple of classic tracks from which everyone has goosebumps, too, I do not see any problems in this.

WWD: What else have you got coming up/are you working on? And what’s up next for you outside of music?

I have a lot of plans, we’ve already confirmed a few CODEX Showcases in Ukraine. I hope that we can agree and confirm our events in Spain soon. It is quite possible that we will make CODEX Showcases in other countries, we will more actively seek partners, we will more actively develop our company IAMT Music. We have a lot of interesting projects in our heads and definitely we will not stop, because we are always grateful for what we have but never dissatisfied with it. I think we will develop the profiles of other artists a lot. We are currently managing an up-and-coming superstar Xenia and I am just in awe of what is happening with her profile. We manage her Numen label. We have already signed Fatima’s label Silver M. When the artists start playing more, they will have less time to manage their labels, and we can come to their aid. Therefore, business development, the development of my profile, the development of artist profiles are the main areas that I plan to work on in the near future. But of course everything will be related to music.

Goncalo & Anna Tur’s Caught in the Club is out not to pre-order on Beatport. Buy/listen to the link on all platforms here