Meet DJ Fenix: ‘Vladimir Putin’s official DJ’
Alex Mamonov, best known in Russia as DJ Fenix, may just be the country’s newest celebrity — at least among its political elite. Having earned the honor of becoming the first person to ever DJ at the Kremlin, Fenix has built up a sturdy résumé featuring Putin’s second inauguration and private gigs for Russia’s prime minister, Dmitri Medvedev.
Fenix, dubbed ‘Putin’s official DJ,’ explained that he began to receive attention after the Music Box Awards (a celebration of music in the post-Soviet states), for which he produced the event’s anthem. Now an honorary member of Russia’s social elite, he confesses that while some affiliates are political figures. In an interview with The Guardian, he said: “the circle of people is very big.” In Russia, it is not always about those with the most power but those with the most money.
Fenix praises Kazantip, the Ukraine’s most renowned electronic music festival, for catalyzing the current “EDM boom” taking place in the region. Taking inspiration from stars such as deadmau5, Skrillex and Zedd, he hopes that his added efforts in production such as CO2 blasts will help his audience “connect with the idea of Fenix rising from fire.”
Despite the upsurge in electronic music, DJ Fenix is enthusiastic for the day that the genre is accepted on a more universal level: “I see some people who don’t understand my music, and people who like it and start to dance.”
For now, Alex and his manager Rusev travel between New York and Moscow to enhance his status as a global phenomenon. Though he is appreciative of the title ‘Putin’s official DJ,’ he would much rather contribute to the “new generation of EDM.”
Via: The Guardian
Photo courtesy of DJ Fenix
Categories: News