Ahead of his return to Hong Kong, the Russian-born DJ and producer tells Leon Lee how magpie mind and tireless work ethic have made him hot property.

Once described as the John Coltrane of hip hop, DJ Vadim (aka Vadim Peare) mixes soul, jazz, reggae, electronica and more into his sticky sonic creations. Perhaps best known for his work on the seminal Ninja Tune label, Vadim has also had his own label (Jazz Fudge) since 1994, and is currently signed to British imprint Barely Breaking Even (BBE). Besides DJing, he works as an A&R man, producer, promoter, radio host, and even, on occasion, as a painter. He also formed the hip hop collective One Self with Yarah Bravo – who will perform with him at his Hong Kong show – and Blu Rum 13, and has produced music for Spanish rappers group 7 Notas 7 Colores. Averaging 170 shows around the world each year, it was surely only a matter of time before he made it back to our shores following his last visit in 2002.

What are you up to today?
Well, you want to know how glamorous my life is? I was up at 3am this morning fixing a leak under my kitchen sink.

I guess we can add plumber to your long list of job titles. Don’t you get tired? How many hours do you sleep a night?
Sometimes it does get tiring, sometimes it doesn’t. I’d like to say I get seven hours sleep a night, but sometimes I’d be lucky to get one or two.

Any plans to slow down?
Yeah, that’s called death.

Actually, is it true you recently had a battle with cancer?
I had a melanoma in my left eye at the end of 2008. It was in the eye and they basically cut my eye open and cut the cancer out.

Did that experience change your approach to work?
The experience changed me in a lot of different ways. To go through something life-threatening, you start to reassess what’s important. And now, for example, I try to enjoy a lot more things because you don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. I could be dead.

Hopefully not.
You know, Hong Kong’s a busy city, people running around doing their work. It’s like London. People are super busy, darting around left, right, and centre. But you can easily forget to enjoy yourself. Your life can just become work and nothing else.

You’ve collaborated with a lot of great musicians in your career, from DJ Krush to The Roots and Public Enemy. Is there anyone with whom you particularly enjoyed working?
All the people I’ve worked with have different stories. Sometimes I don’t even meet them. I never met Stevie Wonder, but it was definitely great to remix his work. I guess the person that I loved working with the most is my wife (aka MC Yarah Bravo).

Do you guys have disagreements over music?
Yeah, of course, we fight like cat and dog. But we can also get through it, so it’s hard, but easy. I mean it’s not like she’s also a producer. I’m the producer, I make the music and she writes words and poetry and sings. They’re two creative things, but it’s not exactly the same so maybe if we were both producers, we wouldn’t get on so well.

What got you interested in DJing in the first place?
I’ve always listened to music. My friends and I were into hip hop in ‘84. Around ‘87, my friend got a set of turntables and I went around his house. I was like 14 and we were messing around. It was amazing, great fun. So I saved up some money and in ‘89 I bought my own decks. Then I started buying records and it went on from there. I guess you’re a product of your environment and of the people you hang with when you’re younger.

Who are you listening to right now?
I have all kinds of stuff on my iPod. I listen to The Doors, Creedence Clearwater Revival. I listen to The Roots, Flying Lotus, De La Soul, Jill Scott, Amy Winehouse, all kinds of things. I just like music. There’s very few genres I don’t like. A good song is a good song, a good artist is a good artist.

You’ve played cities all over the world. Which has the best audiences?
Just for shows, maybe Paris. Simply because I think in France they have a culture for really listening and appreciating musical work. They spend so much money on culture and giving free concerts in the city that they’ve cultivated this thirst for all culture, which I don’t think you have in many other places around the world.

What can we expect from you in 2010?
I have a new group, they’re called The Electric. It’s basically myself on production, a guy called Lil Ste from Jamaica on keyboards, Pugslee Atomz from Chicago is MC, and Sabira Jade from the UK, she’s singing. It’s a mixture of soul, electronica, hip hop and live instrumentation. We’ve recorded an album and I’m right at the finishing stage. We’re 95 per cent through.

What do you have planned for your set in Hong Kong?
I’m actually working on that right now. It’s going to be a surprise.

DJ Vadim & Yarah Bravo plays Grappa’s Cellar on Mar 26. Tickets $280 adv., $320 door (incl. 3 free drinks); White Noise Records, 2591 0499.