PURE Guest.009 Julia Govor
The first techno live set broke the silence of the pandemic in the U.S.
Julia Govor is a New York-based Russian DJ/Producer also the founder of JUJUKA label. She's collaborated with some of the most well-known electronic dance music producers and contemporary DJs or artists such as Ricardo Villalobos, Nina Kraviz and Jeroen Search. Her productions lean towards the groovy side of Techno while keeping it detail-loaded and hypnotic. She's most known as a producer who has her own unique and innovative sounds. Julia's biography reads like a myth. She spent her childhood in the military bases around the Black Sea, through the orthodox teachings of a Soviet era military education system where Russian classical music accompanied her growth years, making her fascinated with the complicated, dramatic, dark and melancholic nature of music, Julia considers this the crucial nexus for her particular taste in music.
From the remote military town in Abkhazia where she used to DJ on cassettes, she joined a marching band before relocating to Russia, she was part of the military band Moryachka. Also, she collected her first experience in the techno scene, armed with a TASCAM cassette player she would entertain fellow teenagers with a rudimentary DJ style "wasn't really DJing" but still planted the seed for something that would flourish into the career she has today.
2005, when she moved to Moscow, the era of the club scenes, techno, house, and minimal music was a new experience for her. When she enrolled in University in Moscow, she developed those fundamentals towards a career in journalism, DJ was remained a kind of side job, primarily for a bi-weekly student radio gig. In 2009, Julia started DJing in the club Arma17 in Moscow that was a beginning for her to reach the worldwide rave scenes. Then she left her music journalism job in MTV and turned into be a full-time DJ.
Julia was a singer before she approached the idea of producing. Comparing with the producers that were perhaps too shy to get on the microphone, her experience and particular skill set had made for an opportunity to work together. She started learning to produce with a computer out of curiosity. Her breakthrough track "Litmus" had released on Hypetone in 2014 and brought the name "Julia Govor" recognized by the western world. Her voice, cooing over a bed of frosty synths and dramatic harmonic progressions had found a great reception with the media and DJs alike. Since "Litmus," she released a handful of EPs with standout releases on trip recordings, Anagram, Pushmaster Discs gaining form as a producer through each release while making deeper impressions on the Techno circuit as a DJ.
Julia launched her label JUJUKA in 2018 to release her music. Initially, she worked with artists to include comics within the releases, but she's since shifted away from that model. "It's hard to do it the proper way," she says of fusing these two media. She wanted to focus on the music. Additionally, she has expanded to release music made by other producers as well. "Originally, I just wanted to do comics" she claims, "but it's turned into a record label." Julia's also hosted a few events around the USA under the JUJUKA banner.
2020 is a year without clubs and festivals. It is an opportunity for touring DJs to find out new music, to meet people who may become collaborators, and to get feedback on their works. "When everything is shut down the part of connecting through music disappeared because there are no shows," she says. "I decided I have to do something to stay in touch with all of these brilliant musicians." Julia wanted to do something to bring together her colleagues. What dropped on November 27 was the result of that mission. A 10 tracks compilation from JUJUKA is a broad techno collection with a diverse roster of producers, from Detroit-based experimental collective Pure Rave to Paraguayan dance music pioneer Victoria Mussi. Some of the artists are people she has known for quite a while through DJ circles. Others, she found through avenues like Bandcamp.
Nowadays, rave scenes and festivals all over the world have gradually resumed operation, and Julia has already returned to the itinerary of the tour. PURE Guest.009 Julia Govor's mix comes from her live recording at the Phoenix Warehouse Party by Techno Snobs.
PURE G Select:
Julia Govor – Drama C [JUJUKA]
Julia Govor – Broken Pencil [JUJUKA]
Julia Govor – 0031 [JUJUKA]
How and where was the mix recorded?
This mix is my recording (using 3 cdjs) 3h set from one of my first proper raves after the pandemic end of May 2021 in the United States.
It was in Arizona, Phoenix, for Techno Snobs promoters: I could not believe I am going to play in such a fantastic venue, actually it was just a simple warehouse with few smoke machines, red lights and proper sound system, small bar and few couches. It was a perfect amount of people, not too crowded. I felt very safe and inspired, Robert did a fantastic job to organize it.
Are you raver first or DJ? Do you think raving is one of the reasons that made you become a full-time DJ?
I first became a DJ, I was 6, but then I studied music journalism and cinematography. I worked in that territory. and then I went to my first rave in Romania and something changed. I just felt like I have energy to move others.
Do you have any rave suggestions about the USA and Russia? Which one are your favorite?
In the USA it is hard to license an event for 10 hours. It's more like a concert. all venues work from 10pm till 2am or 4.
Proper Rave needs more time that people could truly let go. So Russia definitely has more muscles.
In New York we have only one true place for raving is Nowadays, the venue runs non stop from Friday till Sunday night.
What do you focus on most when you are performing? What is the main idea behind a great rave?
My main focus is to be able to truly experiment.
Why did you choose to move to NYC instead of other cities or Europe? Can you talk about what particularly appeals to you?
I moved to NYC because of love! My husband is from here.
Would you say you worked at MTV and as a music journalist before was pivotal for your career?
Good communication skills are the keys!
2021.10.10