S.U.B. Podcast #18 Nino Flooder (Mk)

Merhaba. This week’s guest comes from the legendary Skopje vinyl house “Massiva”.

One of the youngest dj names that played in the golden years of Skopje (93-99). Passionate vinyl collector and a great technician. Member of the promotional group Pollux. True legend in Skopje. Podcast # 18 Nino a.k.a. Flooder.




https://soundcloud.com/dj-flooder






SUB: Are you aware that you are one of the biggest names in the Macedonian clubbing history?


Sure is a nice compliment which I can’t realize yet, because I don’t feel that way. I appreciate the nice words and the introduction, and most certainly all the people who share your point of view. Whenever I get the chance to communicate, party, or play music I don’t feel like that, I want to be casual and down to earth regarding everything I do. Thank you again.






SUB: I remembered you by filing in as a substitute for the second gig that Umek was suppose to do in Skopje, back in 99. You have played that night with PassNGR, and dropped Holy Ghost “Hand of god”. The club was filled with people from the IRC network, and you only had 17-18 years back then. Anyway even if this was not your first event, please describe us your first gigs and impressions of playing in a club?

Yes, Umek was announced but he could not make it, so we had pretty big space in order to play our music, which varied that night in different genres. It was in the beginning of my career, let us call it like that, and it meant a world to me. My first gig was one year before in the club Metropol, and it was together with the guys from Massiva, PassNGR, Dejan Tevdo, Shark (if I am not mistaken ) and Dj Gaby (Slovenia). The parties back then where I have been dj-ing, where full with enthusiasm and positive energy, and for me it was a different dimension, turntables, mixers, crazy crowd thirsty for music and with more open ears and minds. From my point of view I was not aware of my performances because honestly it was like a dream back then.




SUB: As i mentioned earlier, at the end of the 90’s. Skopje experienced a new cultural rebirth. Youth was living and communicating 24/7 via IRC networks. Lot’s of that core of people even today are friends and still are hooked on the current social networks. Somehow i think that people are not even aware that the whole club life happened because of this impact, of music, technology, and social networks combined together.

You yourself have experienced it, as a part of this core of people that has been online for more than 10 years.

I am interested in your point of view of these 10 years migrating from one to another social network, where the fuck are we going?




I must admit that the influence of the social networks back than really had a great impact on our general life, in communicating, hanging out together, and most important giving support to the events organized back then. I hope that we will not be stuck in our chairs and virtually be present at the parties, ha ha ha. In the past years the social networks have had their peak, Myspace was quite influential 4 years ago, Facebook now currently holding the throne, and special social networks for musicians like Soundcloud and Mixcloud are of great significance for the electronic music, and bringing together the people who share interests in it. My belief is that we are going to be attached to them as we were once dependent of the television, the radio or the newspapers. And we will try not be consumed from the social networks 100%.








SUB: You started as a kid who was hanging in the legendary vinyl shop “Masiva”.

Sooner than later you have become one of the legendary names that come out of that shop. At that time with out even turning 18, you have made yourself a name on the Macedonian techno scene. What do you remember most from that period?




I remember everything, ha ha ha! I have the feeling like it was yesterday, honestly. I remember the people, their enthusiasm and thirst for music, information regarding the artists, since Massiva Shop was opened in my neighborhood. Back then there was no internet access as it is now, the information were precious things to have, and only the older and more experienced had them, however were not selfish to share them. I think that every music that was present on the market back then found its way in everyone’s home or stereo system. I did not know a person which listened only to one genre of music, nor to speak or search only for a particular artist. The funniest thing was that we were sharing one magazine for one month which contained info for the clubbing life in Europe, the Dj magazine that is, before it went commercial. Until we finished the magazine there was already a new issue of it, so we had to find a “victim” to buy it and share it with the rest of the music lovers.






SUB: For those who don’t know, you are a passionate vinyl “junkie” or collector.

I can understand the whole passion and the elitism of the vinyl collector. Let’s make this clear, you are probably one of the rarest people in Macedonia that continued buying vinyl, while others just by a live performance vinyl and not even try to buy a digital track. But we are not here to judge them… Just as a lousy pokemon fan could say, you can’t catch them all, or in your case “You can’t by them all”. Are you aware that you are missing out a ton of quality music?

I plead guilty I am an addict, however I do it for myself, I haven’t stopped buying records for 17 years, it is something that has grown as a part of me and I don’t want it to go away. I can’t judge nor to speak for the others, and yes you are right, “you can’t have them all”. This rule makes me even more dedicated in sense that I still search for vinyls that I used to listen when I was a 12 yrs old child, and I could not get them at all, for me it is like an adventure game, and I can’t describe the feeling when I find something that I’ve been searching for that long.

I am aware, because I follow the digital releases as well, however I make lists of tracks which are good and wait for them to get released on vinyl, if this does not happen, I go to the next one in the list. I am not sad because I am missing music, I am sad that it does not get released on vinyl. As you said in the beginning can’t have them or win them all, I think that this is the beauty, you try to fill in the gap with something close or similar to something that you don’t have.






SUB: What new music genres do you follow these days?




Those are not new music genres that I follow, it is funk, soul and disco music. These genres present the roots to the electronic dance music the one as we know it. And it makes me even happier to see where all the music these days gets its groove from.






SUB: Favorite clubbing period in Skopje?


I cannot be modest and say only one period, can I say the period from which I have started attending the parties 94/95 until now. The periods were changing, hence the music and the magic that was within it. Each time there is something new and challenging is worth to remember.




SUB: Is it possible to see the whole Massiva team in one club night in Skopje, just for old time sakes?




I hope that this question will bring an initiative for this kind of event.




SUB: Do the Macedonian DJ’s deserve a serious booking agency?

Most certainly they do, however the things with the electronic music scene currently are not so keen on the djs side. Nowadays the dj has to be a little bit of everything; music producer, manager, businessman, agent, designer, and etc. I wish the things could be more simple as before.




SUB: I don’t like the current state of the clubbing life in Skopje. Divided, everyone is playing and making their on terms. Also the public is either scattered or there isn’t enough core clubbing movement. Your view of the current clubbing scene in Skopje?




Me neither, the history seems to be repeating itself once more and everyone has something “important” to say about the music, which is more or less addressed to the same target again, the audienc. My point of view for the current situation is that we are hitting rock bottom compared to the “golden days”. However the critical mass that was made from those days remains strong and balances more or less the whole situation. Our effort as djs, and in some aspect as promoters of the electronic dance music is to find fresh and new blodd, ha ha ha, meaning new kids which will give positive energy and movement of the current situation. The starting point should be some education first and then to let them choose theirs “cup of tea”, and remember the dance music knows no boundaries.




SUB: Are you planning to have a gig night on those Skopje 2014 rafts?

Probably YES, if Peter Pan or Captain Hook invites me over there to play to their jolly fellows.






SUB: Please describe to us how you prepare when you are going out on a club night?

In one word, chaos! Ha,ha,ha! First of all if the club where I am playing has no equipment, I pack my turntables, I place one on top of the other, take the mixer, grab my dj bags, put everything in the car, and I hit the road. Regarding the music selection, I have a standard pack of vinyls which I carrying with me, which I make throughout the whole week, by listening to the tracks on the internet, crazy eh?! Because I don’t have time to listen to them for the whole day, and the samples which are over the internet somehow give me enough clue what the track/vinyl is all about. After I make the core selection I put plus 40% of the tracks that I want to play to the audience, or to listen how they sound on a loud sound system, or I have never played them at all.

SUB: Any words of wisdom?

Love what you do regarding music, no matter how hard or how vague the whole thing might seem at the moment.