Music Talk: Kito Jempere x Lobito Brigante

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by Kito Jempere

Music Talk: Kito Jempere x Lobito Brigante

7 May 2024

Lobito Brigante, Co-Owner of Electric Pawn Shop, and Kito Jempere, a worldwide acclaimed DJ and producer, “King of collaborations” (DFA, Haddaway, Hell Yeah Recordings, Lo Recordings, Jimi Tenor, Red Snapper, and more), met for a conversation. Was it about music? Absolutely. They also shared the intriguing stories behind their names and delved into the immense significance of the city they live in.

Before reading, save the date: come to Electric Pawn Shop on May, 11th to listen to Kito and Lobito — it is going to be a dance-floor euphoria!

Kito Jempere asks Lobito Brigante

— First of all, I want to declare that I have been a big fan of Electric Pawn Shop since day one. I vividly recall stepping into the Electric Pawn Shop on its very first day of opening. From that moment on, it quickly became my go-to spot to hang out and bring friends. Respect for that. It is clear to see the diverse influences, travels, and interactions that have shaped the place.

I typically don't like to talk much about myself, and I assume it is the same for everyone, but I am curious if you could give me a little background about yourself. Like how you got started, your path to Electric Pawn Shop, and what your upcoming plans are.

— Thank you very much, man! I am always humbled when people really appreciate and understand what we have tried to create with the space! I am not a huge fan of talking about myself, but here goes: I am originally from Spain, from Castellón De La Plana, with a heavy influence of Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the UK from my mother’s side of the family. I studied Arabic at university and lived and travelled around the Arab world before settling in Dubai. I have been a DJ since my teens, but I also worked a lot of other jobs. Believe it or not, one of my first jobs was as a part-time debt collector!

— How many years have you been DJing now? How do you feel the DJ job has changed through the years and territories? What have you discovered on this long journey? Is there something you have lost along the way, something you want to bring back, or something that makes you happy with what is happening in the DJ world today?

— Well, it has been over 20 years now of DJing. I started on vinyl records while I was a student in London, studying Arabic. I began to realise I was pretty good at it, and my gigs started getting bigger and bigger. I warmed up in front of thousands of people for major hip-hop acts like Dead Prez, Ozomatli, TY (Rest in Peace), Pharoahe Monch, De La Soul, and Last Poets. Additionally, I played at local and national B-Boy (breakdance) competitions and got booked for shows and festivals across Europe.

When I moved to Dubai, I had to start from scratch because there wasn't much going on. I pioneered the first international B-Boy events in the region and created street art and music festivals like Street Nights. Meanwhile, I continued performing overseas as a backing DJ for The Beatnuts and warming up at festivals for major acts like Snoop Dogg, Sean Paul, and Fatboy Slim, among others. In 2018, I also launched the Turntable Symphonograph Orchestra, the world's first (and best) performing DJ orchestra, with two sold-out shows at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

Honestly, what I miss most is being in a small room filled with dancers who are too busy enjoying themselves to check their phones or record videos for social media. I miss the days when people lived in the moment instead of constantly recording it. If you are too busy recording, are you really experiencing it? Just throw some shapes on the floor instead!

Also, let's put an end to the vinyl elitism. Technology is a good thing if used correctly, and as long as the sound quality is high, whether it is vinyl or digital, it doesn't matter. The two can work well together.

— How is Dubai influencing your music life? What are Dubai's most inspiring moments/spots for you?

— As someone who studied Arabic and its culture, I find Dubai to be a constant source of inspiration. I came here more for cultural reasons, whereas most people come as mercenaries looking for money. Those who say the city is superficial just haven’t been digging deep enough.

Instagram: @lobitobrigante

— The second question I hate is, “Where does your DJ name come from?” However, as an interviewer, I aim to navigate through both comfortable and uncomfortable (or sometimes even silly) questions. So, why “Lobito Brigante”? It is not your real name, is it?

— Haha, you are right; it is not my legal name! “Lobito” has been my street moniker for a long time. The “Brigante” part comes from a movie called “Carlito’s Way” where the main character is called Carlito Brigante. He is a doomed character who lives a full life, and the film carries many profound lessons.

So, combining it with “Lobito,” which means “little wolf” in Spanish, felt fitting. I chose “Lobito” for various reasons, including a memorable encounter with a Spanish wolf when I was a child playing in the snowy mountains of Spain.

— Dubai is the city of the future. How do you see your own future in Dubai, the future of music that we love so much and the future of DJing, of course?

— One of the greatest things about Dubai is how open it is to new ideas and new cultures; it is extremely tolerant and has led the way to intellectual and creative growth, which is what the Arab world was best at hundreds of years ago when it preserved Greek knowledge and culture, developed science and mathematics, and introduced many of these things to Europe. Our histories are always intertwined, much deeper than people admit.

Now, it is Lobito’s turn to ask Kito

— So, Kito, I am interested in learning more about you, as we have mutual friends worldwide in the music community. Tell me about yourself, and let’s start with your name. Kito isn’t your real name, right?

— Yeah, I remember from our very first meeting, we were like, "Yeah, we have a strong mutual community," and that is the best part of doing music, actually. You can go anywhere and already have friends you have never met before.

"Kito" isn’t my real name. It was a DJ alias I used from 2010 to 2013 when I was travelling a lot. My real name is Kirill. It is not common, though the Cyrillic alphabet is derived from my name; Kirill and Methodius did it. So, I was travelling a lot under my second DJ name (Kito is the third), The Saint Petersburg Disco Spin Club (SPDSC). Ha-ha. Well, you can't really say, "The Saint Petersburg Disco Spin Club, do you want another drink?" or "The Saint Petersburg Disco Spin Club, do you want your monitor line louder?" And if I played, let’s say, in Helsinki's finest Nola Bar, if anyone came to the booth while loud disco music was playing, people would be like, "WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" And I would say, "KIRILL." "WHAT???" "KIRILL." "WHAT???" "KITO", haha.

But generally, my DJ name came about after Jimpster was playing with me, took SPDSC records, and said he wanted to listen to something for Freerange, which was my dream label and the number one deep house label in the world, coming from the UK and from the son of the drummer of Shakatak. WOW. So, I was totally in. Once the demos were done and the pre-masters were ready for release, Jamie said, "Don't you think SPDSC is too long of a name? Take something new, and you can go far with it." So I did it. It went quite fast. I remember my mother telling me that I was born under three signs of the Japanese emperor: it was a Tuesday, it was raining, and she saw a big black dog in her dreams before she woke up to deliver me. I was like, OK. "Emperor of Japan," "Japan Emperor," "JEmperor," "Jempere." Yes, in a Finnish manner (remember the Kito story). "Kito" is a mix of "Kiitos" (thanks in Finnish) and "Kyoto" (my favourite city). So... that is how it appeared.

Photo: Kito's personal archive

— Tell us about your journey. How did you start your music career, and where do you see yourself in the coming years? Have you evolved a lot as an artist, or is your initial vision still the same?

— Oh! From the perspective of 2024, I see it as a full circle. I am now circling back to the things I had in 2003-2004. On the new album, I am playing the same guitar I got back in my school years, sounding like a school band again, and I am in love with myself all over again. It has been a long journey, and I am happy to embark on round two. I wouldn't say there is anything I want to change. It was the 10th anniversary of Kito Jempere in 2023, and I released a book titled "A Book Of Kito." You can still purchase it if you want to delve deeper into my timeline. It consists of 13 chapters detailing how the past 10 years unfolded. Before 2013, I played in punk-rock bands, and jazz-experimental bands, DJ-ed everything from indie-rock to drone, assembled a disco orchestra, performed with a 30-piece orchestra, played in rooms with audiences ranging from 5 to 6000 people, worked as the head of A&R for Chicago's label Glenview Records, and ran a label. Well... I can't really say how I manage all of these, but I feel like I am still not doing enough. So, let's just say, "I am only learning."

Photo: Kito's personal archive

— Dubai is home now to a lot of creatives from Russia who have come here for various reasons. Tell me a bit about why Dubai is special for you. Has it inspired you in any way?

— I have always been and still am travelling a lot. I can't really say how many of my friends in Dubai are Russian or how many are from the UK, US, France, and so on. I think the F&B sector in Dubai is booming like crazy! I meet friends from my F&B life literally around every corner.

My journey with Dubai started in May 2022. Somehow, I had never visited it before. I have music friends in every city in the world — or at least friends who travel to those cities frequently. So, when I travel, I usually ask them for tips and tricks.

I made a few calls and was really surprised that not many of my, let's say, Balearic crowd were travelling here to perform. I felt like I was coming in under the radar. I was shocked that the image of Dubai outside of Dubai was not what I experienced in the end. As you said in response to my question: "You haven't dug deep enough." That is exactly how I feel about Dubai. Dubai is a city with many layers, and each time, I feel like I am uncovering a new one. This applies to any sector I am involved in: F&B, leisure, business, kids, adults, hipsters, skaters, sailors... the list goes on forever. My kid is a big fan of Dubai, and my wife might prefer a trip to Dubai more than anything else now. She has her own vision of the city: she says Dubai is the future. She loves the energy that makes you believe the future is actually coming.

We had a small SIMACH showcase at the end of 2022, and I spent a week here with my friend, the world-famous fashion designer Denis Simachev. One day, we went to the desert, and that totally blew my mind — the combination of the city and the tranquillity of the desert. THAT IS THE ONE. That is the moment to live and draw inspiration from. Overall, I would say Dubai is definitely a chapter for me, and I am just beginning to explore it.

— Give us five records that have inspired you as a musician.

— Well, it is tricky. As my collection grows over the years, it has started to be harder and harder to understand what really inspired me that much. So, I will name a few records that opened borders for me and showed me that I can do anything. Here is the list of them with key tracks for me:

— Pixies "Surfer Rose" 1988, key track: "Something Against You"

— Jaga Jazzist "The Stix", key track: "I Could Have Killed Him In Sauna"

— Aphex Twin "Come To Daddy", key track: "Flim"

— Oneohtrix Point Never "Magic", key track: "Long Way Home"

— Lost Highway Soundtrack, key track: "I’m Deranged" by David Bowie

by Kito Jempere