O'FortyFour - Rough Edges

Kyiv-born and Barcelona-based, O'Forty'Four (aka Pahatam) has spent over twenty years behind the decks and in the studio. A Closer club resident and a quietly central figure across Ukraine's underground. He brings a refined, understated taste to everything he touches. For Zabam, he built a set out of minimal and adjacent sounds he'd spent years digging through but never fully explored in his own work. We talked about where that record collection came from, and why he'd rather leave the imperfections in.

Listening to this mix, the concept and style really got me. It felt niche, and there was this strong sense of Ukrainian culture running through it, even some Ukrainian birdsong slipped in. Knowing Closer's history, that handwriting resonates with me. Where did this one start for you? Did you know from the first track what message you wanted to make, or did it happen differently? 

Honestly, this podcast is really just a reflection of a few years of digging into a genre I'd never fully immersed myself in before. I spent a lot of time exploring that sound, buying records, and discovering artists and tracks that I hadn't paid enough attention to before.

Over time, this became the kind of music that felt closest to me. By then I had already bought a lot of records and spent countless hours searching. Once I felt I had enough material, I started listening through everything again from scratch. That's usually how it goes: you keep buying records, often because of one particular track, and end up overlooking others completely. But when you go back and listen to every side, you start discovering hidden gems you hadn't paid attention to before.

At some point, I realised I wanted to put together a mix that captured exactly that mood. In the end, it became a mix that brings together all the different things I'd been drawn to over the last few years.

Taste is always evolving, you can't stay stuck in one genre. I was also curious about the vocal intro that opens the set, that mood resonates with everything happening in the world, in Ukraine. Where did you find that record, and why open with it?

Actually, it's not a record. It's a piece of dialogue from the 1971 Ukrainian film Idu do tebe (I Am Coming to You). 

The scene brings together two remarkable Ukrainian writers, Lesya Ukrainka and Olha Kobylianska. Kobylianska, who arrives in Kyiv from Bukovyna, says: "You showed me Kyiv, and it left a deep impression on me. Here, everyone can see for themselves that Ukrainians have existed, still exist, and always will exist."

Whether this was an actual conversation between Lesya Ukrainka and Olha Kobylianska or a piece of artistic interpretation, we'll probably never know. More than fifty years after the film was made, though, the line has lost none of its power. That's what resonated with me and why I chose it as the intro to this mix.

That's genuinely moving, gives me chills. Tell me about your selection process. Is there a ritual to it? Do you record alone? How do you get into the right state of mind?

There's no real ritual, to be honest. Every mix comes together a little differently. Even with this one, I originally imagined it very differently.

Usually, I start by pulling together a large batch of records that I think will work well together and share a similar mood. That's the first pass. Then, as I go through them, I start testing whether that first impression actually holds up.

From that bigger batch, a smaller one gets selected. From there, I slowly build the sequence: what to open with, what comes next, what sits in the middle, and how the mix should end.

That sounds incredibly systematic. I also picked up on something tied to a specific era of electronic music. Is this 2000s minimal, or how would you describe it?

You're right. Looking at it by year, I'd say it's mostly the second half of the 2000s. That was the timeframe I intentionally focused on while digging for this mix, because that's where I found the sound I feel closest to right now. So no, you weren't imagining it.

Your selection is completely outside current trends, and yet it's still incredibly good. Have you ever worried that being this specific means fewer people will find it?

I honestly never worry about that. Whether I'm playing in a club or putting together a podcast, I'm always choosing records I genuinely love, but that selection naturally evolves over time. Some records stay with me for years and keep finding their way into different sets. Some feel perfect for a club, while others work much better in a podcast or a home listening environment.

Sometimes a record arrives, you spend a week or two with it, and realize it wasn't quite what you thought it was. That happens. Those usually don't stay in the collection for long. I think anyone who collects records knows that a hundred percent hit rate simply doesn't exist.

A hundred percent. So, honestly, did you record this mix in one take?

There were a couple of takes, yeah. Not the first try, but just a couple of takes, and then some light editing. Mostly minor level and EQ adjustments.

And the intro we talked about, that film clip, I ran it through a few effects, including a Microcosm pedal I recently bought and really love. It creates subtle glitch effects: the phrase playing in reverse, repeating a few times, things like that.

That artistic handwriting really comes through, adding your own layer. I also noticed some very alive, little imperfections in the mix, not polished to perfection. What's your take on that?

The truth is, I'm not a fan of overly polished mixes, or overly polished art in general. That feels especially relevant today, with technology evolving so quickly. AI can already recreate a lot of things, but I think what feels truly human lives in the imperfections.

The small flaws, the rough edges, even the occasional imperfect mix, those are often the things that make something feel real.

I'd much rather choose a track that's a little rough around the edges but built around a genuinely original idea than one that's perfectly mixed, polished, and crystal clear, but has nothing new to say.

That really resonates with me. A lot of people struggle with perfectionism and hold back from releasing things because of it. Did this come naturally to you, or did you have to work through it?

I honestly don't know exactly when it happened. It developed alongside my sense of myself as a producer. The music I want to buy and the music I want to make. I don't think you'll find anything overly polished or formulaic in my own tracks either, at least I hope not. That's how I want them to sound, and everything I do is in service of that.

Over time, I realised I was approaching DJing the same way I approach producing. To me, perfection is no longer about perfection.

Of course, there are moments where I'm making adjustments live, in real time. I'd rather people listen to the mix as a whole than focus on those individual moments. What matters is the idea.

A hundred percent. Did you use only vinyl for this mix?

Just records. That's how I usually play and how I usually record mixes. It's actually quite rare for me to play digital.

I'd been collecting this music for quite some time because I wanted to put together exactly this kind of mix. I hadn't made a mix in a while, and I'm really happy I finally did. I hope other people enjoy it too.

Thank you for this dope mix, and for sharing your process and everything behind it.

Thank's for having me!