Sak Noel
R-Tem (real name — Artyom Dmitrievich Kharchenko; born December 27, 1983, in Rostov-on-Don) is a Russian musician, DJ, composer and electronic music producer, also known for the projects KOOQLA and TYOMA. He began his professional career in 1998. Over the following years, Kharchenko released more than one hundred records, working across progressive house, breaks, house, techno, downtempo and other forms of electronic music. Among R-Tem’s key works are «Voiceless», which became the musical anthem of the «Republic of KaZantip 2005» festival, «M.S.F.G.», the albums «Voiceless», «Cloud of Sound» and «Touch», as well as the collaborative album «The Album One» with DJ Boyko.
At different stages, R-Tem’s music was released on Lost Language, Baroque Records, Uplifto, Bonzai and other European and Russian labels. Kharchenko also founded Snoochi Boochi Records, worked in radio broadcasting, participated in organising KaZantip’s music programme and later launched his own multi-genre label, Live on Mars.
Beginning of the career
Artyom Kharchenko began making electronic music in 1998. The following year, he met Rostov-based DJ and musician Sergey Boyko, with whom he created the joint project R-Tem & Boyko. Over several years, the duo recorded dozens of tracks and remixes, working mainly with house, progressive house and breaks.
This period marked Kharchenko’s transition from DJing to full-scale studio work. In addition to club sets, he began composing music, arranging and remixing, gradually developing his own production style.
R-Tem & Boyko — «The Album One»
In 2003, R-Tem and DJ Boyko released the collaborative album «The Album One». It contained 12 tracks and versions, including «Magic Fly», «Saxo», «U'03», «Scared», «Tears» and «2night». The music for the project was created by Artyom Kharchenko and Sergey Boyko.
«The Album One» reflects the early period of R-Tem, when house, progressive sounds and breaks coexisted in his music. After this release, Kharchenko increasingly concentrated on his own R-Tem project.
«Voiceless»
One of the most important tracks in R-Tem’s career was «Voiceless». The composition was created in late 2004 and released in 2005 on the British label Lost Language. The original version appeared on the compilation «Future Heroes Vol. 2».
A separate version, «Voiceless (Kazantip 2005 Mix)», became the anthem of the «Republic of KaZantip 2005». It later established itself as one of R-Tem’s most recognisable recordings and, almost two decades later, continued to be reissued in new versions and remixes.
«Voiceless» belongs to the progressive house sound of the mid-2000s: an extended development, gradual build-up of the arrangement, atmospheric synthesizer parts and the absence of a traditional vocal chorus make it a characteristic example of club-oriented electronic music from that era.
«M.S.F.G.»
In the autumn of 2005, Kharchenko recorded «M.S.F.G.», an abbreviation for Money, Success, Fame, Glamour. The phrase was inspired by the film «Party Monster». The composition was completed in October, and only a few weeks later the British label Baroque Records offered to release it.
Even before its official release, the track appeared in the sets and charts of European DJs. The commercial edition followed in 2006. «M.S.F.G.» was also included on R-Tem’s debut album «Voiceless».
Snoochi Boochi Records
At the end of 2005, Artyom Kharchenko founded his own label, Snoochi Boochi Records. The platform was created to release electronic music and work with artists from Russia and other countries. Releases by the KOOQLA project later also appeared on Snoochi Boochi.
Running his own label expanded Kharchenko’s activities beyond his personal discography: he became involved in discovering material, producing and developing other music projects.
Album «Voiceless»
In April 2006, R-Tem released his debut solo album «Voiceless». Uplifto served as the Russian publisher, while the album was represented in Ukraine by Virus Production. The album contains 11 tracks.
The tracklist includes:
- «Intro»;
- «Voiceless»;
- «Breathe»;
- «Sunrise»;
- «Mood»;
- «House Day»;
- «The Other Side»;
- «M.S.F.G.»;
- «Night Motion»;
- J-Punch — «Red Blood (R-Tem Remix)»;
- «Voiceless (Kazantip 2005 Mix)».
The album brought together the material that helped establish the R-Tem name beyond the Russian club scene. Progressive house formed the core of the record, complemented by breaks and more experimental electronic arrangements.
Maximuse
In the autumn of 2006, R-Tem launched the weekly original radio show Maximuse on the Ukrainian station Kiss FM. The programme featured new club-oriented electronic music, Kharchenko’s own productions and tracks by other producers.
At the end of the same year, the title Maximuse was also used for an R-Tem mix album. The original version contained 12 tracks, eight of which were by Kharchenko himself. The title track «Maximuse» later received a separate remix release featuring versions by Konstantin Yoodza, Kolabus, Dmit Kitz, Dub Makers and other producers.
Cloud of Sound
The next major release was the album «Cloud of Sound», originally issued in 2007. On this material, R-Tem continued to work at the intersection of progressive house, breaks and electronic music, paying greater attention to vocal compositions and collaborations. The album was later reissued digitally and became part of the Bonzai catalogue.
One of the notable works from this period was «Cloud of Sound» featuring vocals by Nata TJ. Kharchenko’s discography also included another collaborative release with her, «No Game to Play».
«Touch»
In 2008, R-Tem released the album «Touch» on Baroque Records. By that time, his music had already moved noticeably beyond a single progressive house framework: the releases combined house, tech house, electro, breaks and more relaxed forms of electronic music.
The period from 2005 to 2008 became one of the most intensive in R-Tem’s early discography: within several years, «Voiceless», «Maximuse», «Cloud of Sound», «Touch», numerous singles, remixes and collaborative projects were released.
KaZantip
Artyom Kharchenko’s connection with the «Republic of KaZantip» was not limited to «Voiceless». In addition to working on musical themes for the festival, he participated in forming the concert programme and organising live performances. In different years, Kharchenko was responsible for the festival’s live direction and worked on bringing electronic bands and musicians into its programme.
In the summer of 2006, with support from Kiss FM, R-Tem organised a large-scale programme on KaZantip’s main arena featuring Ben Lost, Martin Müller, Sabitov, Yulia Yula, Arkady Air and other artists.
KOOQLA
A separate stage in Kharchenko’s career was the project KOOQLA. The first recordings emerged from his collaboration with Ukrainian singer Natalia Zhyzhchenko, who later became widely known as a member of ONUKA. Kharchenko and Zhyzhchenko began working together in the studio in the mid-2000s, although KOOQLA as a full-scale project was officially presented in 2009.
Unlike the club-oriented R-Tem, KOOQLA was conceived as a live electronic project with vocals and live instruments. The music combined downtempo, trip-hop, breaks, electronica and more experimental forms.
«Paranormal»
KOOQLA’s debut album «Paranormal» was released in 2009 on Snoochi Boochi Records and contained 11 tracks. These included «Leave Me Now», «Fake», «Forecast», «Paranoia», «Deep End», «Voicetoy», «In My Mind», «Silence» and «15 Levels». Natalia Zhyzhchenko recorded a significant share of the vocal parts and lyrics.
After the album’s release, KOOQLA performed a full live programme on KaZantip’s main stage in 2009.
First «Golden Gargoyle»
In 2009, KOOQLA received the Moscow independent music award «Golden Gargoyle». The project won in the «Dance Project» category.
By that point, R-Tem and KOOQLA already existed in parallel. R-Tem remained primarily Kharchenko’s personal club and DJ project, while KOOQLA developed as an electronic band with vocalists and live performances.
Nata Smirina and the album «Fruit»
At the beginning of 2010, the KOOQLA line-up changed, with Nata Smirina becoming the new vocalist. She participated in writing lyrics and recorded vocal parts for the project’s new material. One of their first joint compositions was «Mute».
KOOQLA’s second album was titled «Fruit». It contained ten tracks: «Myself», «My Blue Tale», «Fuck It», «Soulmate», «Mute», «Fruit», «Roots», «Lie», «Hurricane» and «Night». The release continued the project’s more melodic and vocal-oriented direction while retaining its electronic foundation and elements of trip-hop and downtempo.
KOOQLA performed not only in clubs: the project appeared at festivals, toured Europe and opened for Morcheeba at the «Stereoleto» festival.
R-Tem and KOOQLA — different projects
R-Tem and KOOQLA represented two different sides of Artyom Kharchenko’s work. Under the R-Tem name, he worked primarily as a club producer and DJ, releasing progressive house, tech house, breaks and other forms of dance-oriented electronic music. KOOQLA was created as a full-scale live project in which electronic production was combined with vocals and concert performance.
For this reason, the discographies of the two projects should not be merged: «Voiceless», «Cloud of Sound» and «Touch» belong to R-Tem, while «Paranormal» and «Fruit» belong to KOOQLA.
TYOMA
Kharchenko’s next independent project was called TYOMA. It appeared considerably later than KOOQLA, with the first full releases of the new period dating to the mid-2010s. In 2015, the EP «1st» was released, followed in 2016 by the debut album «Mirror».
TYOMA was not a continuation of R-Tem or KOOQLA under a new name. Kharchenko used the new alias for a different musical concept based on a combination of electronic rhythms, cinematic arrangements, orchestral elements and more experimental song structures.
«Mirror»
TYOMA’s first full-length album, «Mirror», was released in 2016 on the Live on Mars label. During this period, synthetic timbres were combined with orchestral elements, while the compositions themselves were noticeably less tied to a standard club format than R-Tem’s early work.
One of the central tracks of the project was «Unclose». After «Mirror», TYOMA’s discography continued with the EP «Bipolar».
Second «Golden Gargoyle»
In 2016, TYOMA received the «Golden Gargoyle» award in the «Dance Project» category. Thus, Artyom Kharchenko’s projects won the award twice: KOOQLA in 2009 and TYOMA in 2016.
Live on Mars
To release TYOMA and other electronic artists, Kharchenko created the multi-genre label Live on Mars. Its catalogue was not limited to a single style: the focus was on electronic music, experimental production and projects that did not necessarily fit conventional club classifications.
The name Live on Mars is also connected with Kharchenko’s festival work at KaZantip, where he organised programmes involving live electronic bands and musicians.
Musical style
Throughout his career, Artyom Kharchenko changed his approach to electronic music several times, making it impossible to describe his entire discography with a single genre.
R-Tem in the mid-2000s was primarily associated with progressive house and breaks. «Voiceless», «M.S.F.G.», «Breathe» and other tracks are characterised by extended club arrangements, gradual development of musical themes and close attention to space within the mix.
KOOQLA shifted the focus toward downtempo, trip-hop, electronica and song-based forms. Female vocals, live performance and the construction of a complete concert programme played a much greater role.
TYOMA marked another change in direction: club electronics were combined with cinematic sound, acoustic and orchestral elements, complex rhythmic structures and a freer compositional approach.
Work with other artists
Over the years, Kharchenko collaborated with Russian, Ukrainian and international musicians. His studio and live partners included DJ Boyko, Ben Lost, John Graham, Moussa Clarke, Nata TJ, Natalia Zhyzhchenko, Nata Smirina, DJ Electric and other artists from the electronic scene.
His collaboration with Ben Lost, with whom R-Tem recorded the material «Green & Red», occupies a particular place, as does his work with Nata TJ on «Cloud of Sound» and «No Game to Play». His catalogue also includes numerous remixes of music by other producers.
Original radio show
The radio show Maximuse, launched in 2006 on Kiss FM Ukraine, became a long-running independent direction in R-Tem’s work. The project archive contains hundreds of episodes in which Kharchenko presented his own selection of new electronic music.
The radio format allowed him to work with a significantly wider range of music than in his own club releases while also introducing audiences to new producers.
Activities beyond the studio
Kharchenko’s activities were not limited to music. He worked with digital services for artists and promoters, participated in music conferences and gave lectures on technology, music promotion and copyright. His professional biography also includes Simple Idea Production and work on software products for the music market.
At the same time, creating music remained the central direction throughout his career — from R-Tem’s club releases to KOOQLA’s live electronic sound and TYOMA’s independent aesthetic.
The return of «Voiceless»
Almost twenty years after KaZantip 2005, «Voiceless» returned to R-Tem’s current catalogue. In 2023, the original versions and Kazantip Mix were reissued, while in 2025 a remastered version of «Voiceless (Kazantip 2005 Mix)» was released.
At the end of 2025, «Voiceless (Klimov Remix)» appeared, followed in 2026 by new remixes and an updated «Voiceless» release, including a collaboration between R-Tem and Miha Proton. In this way, one of the defining compositions of his early period continued to exist within the artist’s contemporary electronic discography.
Main R-Tem discography
Studio and major releases
- «The Album One» — with DJ Boyko, 2003
- «Voiceless» — 2006
- «Maximuse» — mix album, 2006
- «Cloud of Sound» — 2007
- «Touch» — 2008
Selected R-Tem tracks
- «Voiceless»
- «Voiceless (Kazantip 2005 Mix)»
- «Breathe»
- «M.S.F.G.»
- «Sunrise»
- «Maximuse»
- «Cloud of Sound»
- «Green & Red»
- «No Game to Play»
- «Never-Ending Summer»
KOOQLA discography
- «Paranormal» — 2009
- «Fruit» — 2010
Main TYOMA releases
- «1st» — EP, 2015
- «Mirror» — 2016
- «Bipolar» — EP, 2017
R-Tem, KOOQLA and TYOMA
The three main names in Artyom Kharchenko’s discography correspond to different stages of his work. R-Tem emerged from the club scene of the late 1990s and 2000s and is primarily associated with progressive house, breaks and DJ culture. KOOQLA became an electronic live project with vocals, downtempo and trip-hop elements. TYOMA appeared in the mid-2010s and continued Kharchenko’s experiments in a more cinematic and genre-fluid form of electronic music.
Behind these different discographies lies one continuous production career that began in Rostov-on-Don in 1998. From collaborative recordings with DJ Boyko and the KaZantip anthem to KOOQLA, TYOMA, his own record labels and new versions of «Voiceless», Kharchenko consistently worked not only as a DJ, but also as a songwriter, composer and electronic music producer.
