Greenjack: the man behind IAMT Music Group

Today Radio Intense is welcoming the co-owner of IAMT Music Group - Greenjack. He usually doesn't speak much as believes that actions matter more than words. However, this time he couldn't resist and shared his experience. Read below Greenjack's opinion about the beginning of the career, the industry, and his new release "Rafter" on IAMT.
— Tell us about yourself. How did you start your career? How long have you been in the industry of electronic music?
— I have always done music. I started my DJ career in Ukraine in 2002 and was playing at different student parties. After that I became a Resident of several Ukrainian clubs which give me a jump for my music career. Since then I've had more than 1500 DJ gigs and hope that more to come.
— Why Greenjack? What is behind this name?
— In the Russian language and the Ukrainian the short version of my name sounds very similar to "Jack". And my surname starts from "Green", so it is a creative symbiose of my real name.
— You mention Ukraine a lot. Can you tell us more about the nightlife scene there?
— Definitely the scene in Ukraine is on the rise now, especially in Kyiv . A-list artists work on the developing of the industry. Such artists as Nastya, Artbat, Miss Monique and of course, Spartaque constantly generate new perspectives.

Of course, now I am very happy that Ukraine is associated as a country with first-class music. We hold high-standard music festivals which are no worse than European ones. For example, Ostrov, White Nights and Brave in Kyiv.
— Your new release on IAMT will be out this Friday on Beatport. Tell us more about the release and production process.
— Well, I was at home when I suddenly heard the sound of trumpet. I don't know what that was but sounded exactly like that. In the same time some track was playing on the background and I thought it would be nice to match these sounds together. And I did.
When track was ready, I sent it to Teenage Mutants and guys liked it and agreed to make a remix.
I also got a lot of good and positive feedbacks about the track. It means I'm going in the right direction.
— You usually release single releases. This time together with Teenage Mutants. Why did you change your mind?
— I've been following Teenage Mutants' releases lately and I like the way they work. I am happy that they agreed to remix my track, because the result is something special.
— We know you as a co-owner of IAMT Music. How it all started?
— I have known Spartaque for more than 13 years. At first, we were friends but in 2013 we decided to launch our mutual project Radio Intense to support Ukrainian local DJs. After several years working on the project, we understood that we are getting along very good regarding work and Spartaque suggested me to connect to the management process of Codex Recordings and IAMT Label. As everything was going smoothly, we decided to open new labels such as Area Verde and RIM and united everything under one name - IAMT Music Group.
— You have already been living in Barcelona for 1,5 year. What are the pros and cons of the city comparing to Kyiv?
— Pros: For a person who works in our industry, it is very important to a constant contact with other players on the market. Barcelona is one of the cities which can be called as "the capital of electronic music scene". There are a lot of artists, label owners and just good people who live here. In regular, before-covid19 life, almost every week you can see big names playing in the clubs. So Barcelona is a very good place for networking and communication.
Also, Barcelona is very close to Ibiza. It's very comfortable when you can go to "party island" just in 30 minutes.

Cons: Of course, I miss my friend from Kyiv, especially in the current world situation.
Also, it was very difficult when I came here without knowing any Spanish. But now it's better as I keep working on that in my free time.
— I have heard you went to Ibiza recently. How was the experience?
— Yes, it is true. The experience was different but cool. You know you don't expect this kinda life from Ibiza. However, there is still this vibe and energy which you get from the island. It is very interesting.

Anyway, I am sure that when we will be allowed partying again – we as DJs will get a lot of goose bumps all over our body and will enjoy playing as never before.
— By the way, about the current situation. How was your quarantine? How are you feeling about it?
— In short: this is S***!

But well, to be serious, the lockdown wasn't so bad as I spent more time working on myself, production and music, which gave me a clear schedule of the upcoming releases. You will hear about them very soon!

Another thing is that I had plat around with pioneer djm-v10 и toraiz sp-16. It was fun and interesting experience. I liked it in general.
— You are focusing a lot on Radio Intense. What can you recommend to those people who want to create similar channel?
— It is very difficult to create a new channel in business sense. Algorithms of Youtube are strange and almost not predictable. Nobody knows which videos will be popular. Of course, the size of the channel helps, as you have an audience to rely on. But in general, there are now written rules. You need to try options. What is important to remember? Stay professional and think how it could look on real TV, because web-cam time has passed and won't come back. Be creative, be talented because in the end, what matters is music.
— What about your plans for 2020?
— It is difficult to plan something right now. I don't know if my schedule gigs are going to happen or not, so we will see. However, another release will be out in November on Codex and more to come on other labels. But first and foremost, I hope that night clubs and countries boarders open. Fingers crossed!