When you're a kid, your attention span is short like… well a kid's. You're supposed to be restless, adventurous, and hard to control. It's easy to get caught up in something but it's just as easy to lose sight of it once something shinier, louder, or cooler comes along. Nowadays, that kind of behavior is labeled as a psychological or mental condition to be treated with medication. If you were a psychiatrist, you'd probably think along the same lines after looking over Nosense's resume. The Russian producer and DJ has jumped around from genre to genre, position to position, and hasn't lost a step. He's followed his heart in pursuing new interests that presented themselves in his life and, as a result, cultivated a blend of styles that sounds like nonsense on paper but sounds great in reality.
Originally from Moscow, Nosense (Vladimir Kudenkov) had a "pretty boring" childhood. He also describes the period as "not the best of times and this was reflected in everything, including music." Since his family had no musical background and was also poor, Nosense found no support from them regarding his passion for music. That included a lack of formal musical training. TV and radio became his educational and entertainment portal and he was able to listen to music he had never experienced: KLF, The Prodigy, U96, T99, 2 Unlimited, and Capella. This new wave of music and the growing rave culture inspired him to want to become a DJ during the mid 90's. He took the initiative and eventually taught himself by trial and error.
While Nosense studied manuals for producing, mixing and mastering, and attended master classes taught by experienced DJs and producers, the greatest progress came from constant practice and hard work. Then in 2003, he took on his first DJ gig from the same man who had showed him the basic techniques of mixing. Nosense took the show on as practice, save for the fact that it was at one of the most legendary after hour clubs of Moscow called Mix. From there, his DJ career kicked into full swing.
But before he took on DJing as a regular job, Metal also found its place in Nosense's heart. Consequently, he learned how to play the guitar and became a member of a young Nu-Metal band. Then in 2008 he started his own electronic Metal band, All For Fake, as the lead guitarist and producer. They released three projects but it was only a matter of time before Nosense moved onto the next best thing for his career.
While working with All For Fake, Nosense had continued DJing and a new venue he had picked up, Plan B, often played Dubstep, Drum & Bass, and other Bass music. As Nosense put it, "After some time I fell in love with all this. The music seemed so fresh and brand new. I was inspired and I had no doubt that I had to create exactly this kind of music." Bass music in its many forms was the new priority. To help boost his start as a Bass music producer and DJ, he also took on the role of a club promoter. He fully immersed himself in the new genre in order to give himself the best shot at positioning himself for the top. Although All For Fake has been on a hiatus since, he's taken the lessons he's learned from the band's heyday and applied them to his solo career:
"My band was my first relatively successful musical project. With the band I released my first release, performed on large stages in front of an impressive number of people, tried out life on tour… All this helped me understand what a true artist is and helped me become a real musician. Now I could not imagine myself without heavy guitar music. It helps me throw out all the negative emotions in the right way. It does not prevent, and even helps me in, my work with Dance music. I still continue to write new songs in my spare time, hope to revive All For Fake, and return to Metal music in the near future, but now I have a lot of work as a Dance music producer, DJ and promoter.
A trip through Nosense's discography is like throwing some of your favorite Dance songs into a virtual blender, adding some more bass, and hitting the highest setting. It's perfect for those who have been hastily labeled as having an attention deficit disorder. His songs are constantly changing and keep you hooked in with their unique progression. The variation and evolving nature of the sound leaves us completely satisfied despite the lack of lead vocals. There may be no exact science to Nosense's production, but that's what has us so excited for his future. You can expect more work from him in collaboration with Dubay & The Buildzer from upstart Italian Trap label High Scream Records.
We proposed that his wild creativity draws power from his beard, similar to Samson from the story Samson and Delilah. He replied:
[Laughs] That's funny. I never thought about it. Maybe you're right. But to be honest, to experiment with my facial hair, I was inspired by my favorite American pro wrestler Jeff Hardy. This is for sure something no one knew before. Exclusively for digitaldjpool.com!
Last Call
1. What is your favorite movie of all time?Human Traffic
2. As a young DJ, who was the one DJ you looked up to?Westbam
3. As a DJ, what's your biggest pet peeve?Fake DJs like Paris Hilton, etc.
4. What is your current set up at home?DJ setup: Pioneer CDJ-200 (2x) and Behringer Pro Mixer DJX 700, Vestax VCI-100 Controller + M-Audio Fast Track C400, and Traktor DJ Studio 3
Production setup: E-MU 1820m, E-MU X-Board 49, M-Audio Oxygen 25, M-Audio Studiophile AV40 monitors
5. What's your favorite record of all time?The Prodigy – The Fat Of The Land
Keep up with Nosense on his Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and Twitter. And be sure to check out his music in our record pool by visiting High Scream Records' page.