Alexandra Stan
Spartaque (real name — Vitaliy Babiy, Ukrainian: Віталій Бабій; born October 20, 1986, in Kharkiv) is a Ukrainian DJ, music producer and label founder working primarily in techno. He began his career on the Ukrainian electronic scene in the mid-2000s and later became a regular performer in Europe and other parts of the world. Over the years, his music evolved from house and minimal techno toward harder peak-time and driving techno.
Spartaque founded the labels IAMT and Codex Recordings, around which IAMT Music Group later developed. Together with Greenjack, he also participated in the creation of the Radio Intense project. Since the mid-2010s, Babiy’s work has involved not only DJing and his own releases but also the development of independent electronic labels, scouting new artists and organizing club events.
Early years in Kharkiv
Vitaliy Babiy was born and raised in Kharkiv. He became interested in electronic music as a teenager. According to his recollections, house became his main passion at around the age of sixteen, and he began producing his own tracks before DJing turned into a profession.
During his first years, Babiy experimented with different forms of dance music and shared his own recordings with acquaintances. By the early 2000s, he was already producing music regularly, and at around seventeen he began performing as a DJ.
His early music was closer to progressive house, house and minimal techno. The harder techno sound that would later become most closely associated with the name Spartaque developed gradually.
First performances and Password
One of the first notable events in his career was Jeans DJ Parade 2005 in Kharkiv. Spartaque performed in front of an audience of several thousand people on Freedom Square and finished second in the competition.
Around the same period, one of his first officially released original tracks appeared — «Password». The track was released by the Ukrainian label Virus Music and was included on the Top Hit TopDJ compilation.
It was followed by «Bound», «Priority», the collaboration «Zefir» with 2Special and remixes of tracks by other Ukrainian electronic musicians.
In 2006, Spartaque became a resident DJ at the Kharkiv club «Маска», one of the city’s notable club venues of that period.
Global Gathering Ukraine
An important milestone was Global Gathering Ukraine 2007, the first Ukrainian edition of the international Global Gathering festival series. Spartaque appeared on the lineup alongside Sasha, John Digweed, Erick Morillo, James Zabiela, Green Velvet, Steve Angello and Ukrainian DJs.
After this, his touring activity expanded considerably. Babiy moved from Kharkiv to Kyiv, performed at Ukrainian clubs and festivals, took part in Kiss FM events and continued releasing his own music.
In the TopDJ ranking for the 2007–2008 season, Spartaque placed third among Ukrainian DJs, while «Zefir» took first place in the tracks category.
From house and minimal techno to techno
Spartaque’s early recordings differ noticeably from his later catalog. In the mid-2000s, his name was primarily associated with progressive house, tech house and minimal techno.
Over time, Babiy moved increasingly toward techno. The tempo became faster, the arrangements denser, and the tracks began to feature harder basslines, repetitive percussion patterns and extended buildups designed for the club dance floor.
This evolution was gradual and became especially noticeable during the 2010s, when Spartaque began focusing more strongly on the European techno scene and releasing material through international labels.
Perfect Groove Foundation
In 2008, Spartaque and DJ Bruno founded the digital label Perfect Groove Foundation. The project became Babiy’s first major experience in the record-label business.
In addition to releasing his own music, working with the label gave him experience in selecting material, communicating with producers and digital distribution — an area that would later become a significant part of his professional activity.
IAMT
The next stage was the I AM TECHNO project. It was originally conceived as an idea combining a festival format, club events and a music label.
In 2010, a team of Ukrainian techno musicians formed around I AM TECHNO, including Spartaque, Egor Boss and Mays. The concept combined festival and club events with its own music label. Later, the record-label side continued under the abbreviated name IAMT (I Am Techno).
After the original festival format ended, Spartaque focused on developing IAMT as an independent techno label. Releases by Ukrainian and international producers began appearing on the imprint.
The name retained its original meaning — I Am Techno.
Codex Recordings
In 2015, Spartaque founded Codex Recordings. The new label was directly connected with changes in his own music.
Babiy has said that by that time he wanted to distance himself from his reputation as a minimal techno producer and present a new sound — harder and closer to the contemporary European techno scene. Codex was initially conceived primarily as a platform for Spartaque’s own tracks and remixes of them, but it later developed into a full-fledged international label.
The main direction of Codex became peak-time / driving techno. In addition to Spartaque himself, the label has released music by numerous European, American and Latin American producers.
Radio Intense and Greenjack
A separate part of Spartaque’s activity is connected with Ukrainian DJ and entrepreneur Greenjack — real name Yevhen Hrynevych.
The musicians had known each other for many years, and in 2013 they launched the joint project Radio Intense. Its original purpose was to create a media platform where Ukrainian DJs could record and broadcast their sets.
Greenjack later became involved in the management of IAMT and Codex. The partners began developing additional labels and brought their activities together under the name IAMT Music Group.
For this reason, the claim that Spartaque and Greenjack founded IAMT together is inaccurate: IAMT existed before their joint business. Their collaboration began with Radio Intense and later expanded into label management and new music projects.
IAMT Music Group
Over time, the original IAMT developed into a larger music organization. IAMT Music Group works with electronic music releases, distribution, publishing and the management of several labels with different musical profiles.
Spartaque remains the founder of the group and participates in its strategic management. At the same time, individual divisions are developed by their own teams and have different musical focuses.
At different times, the group has included projects focused on peak-time techno, melodic techno, progressive house and other areas of electronic music.
By 2026, IAMT Music Group had grown into a structure comprising fourteen labels, a music publishing division and its own technological services for managing releases. Vitaliy Babiy remains the group’s founder and CEO, combining company management with his career as Spartaque.
International career
After the Ukrainian stage of his career, Spartaque increasingly performed outside the country. His touring history includes club and festival appearances across Europe, North America and South America.
Among the festivals and major events where he has performed are Global Gathering, КаZантип, Mayday and other electronic music events.
Over time, a significant part of his professional activity shifted to Western Europe. Spartaque settled in Barcelona, where he continued working on Codex and other IAMT Music Group projects.
Barcelona became one of the main locations for Codex events: label showcases were regularly held at INPUT High Fidelity Dance Club.
Releases and production work
Over the course of his career, Spartaque has released hundreds of original tracks and remixes. His work has appeared both on his own IAMT and Codex labels and on third-party techno labels, including Terminal M, Natura Viva and several other European companies.
Tracks from different periods include:
- «Password»;
- «Bound»;
- «Zefir» — with 2Special;
- «Killing Me Softly»;
- «Close Your Eyes»;
- «135 BPM»;
- «Fabula» — with Greenjack;
- «Work It» — with Greenjack;
- «Together» — with Greenjack;
- «Cross the Line».
Unlike pop and rock artists, Spartaque’s discography is built mainly around singles and EPs rather than full-length albums. This reflects the practices of the club techno scene, where individual tracks are created primarily for DJ sets.
Spartaque Supreme
A notable part of his media activity has been the original mix project Spartaque Supreme. Numerous episodes featuring selections of current techno and recordings of live sets were released under this title.
The project allowed Spartaque not only to present his own releases but also to feature music by other producers connected with his current club sound.
Musical style
Spartaque’s musical biography covers several distinct phases. At the beginning of his career, he worked with house, progressive house and minimal techno. Later, techno became his main direction.
His mature-period sound is characterized by a fast four-on-the-floor rhythm, a heavy bass foundation, industrial timbres, short synthesizer motifs and a gradual buildup of tension.
Within the Codex catalog, this direction is usually described as peak-time / driving techno. At the same time, Spartaque periodically works with more melodic or experimental forms of electronic music.
Spartaque as a label founder
Entrepreneurial activity became an important part of his career as early as the late 2000s. Perfect Groove Foundation was followed by IAMT and Codex, and later by the larger IAMT Music Group structure.
For Spartaque, label work involves more than releasing his own tracks. He works with demo selection, catalog development, artist scouting, release organization and the development of music-related services.
His professional activity is therefore divided between two areas: his own creative work and the infrastructure through which music by other producers is released.
Spartaque and the Ukrainian electronic scene
Spartaque’s career began in Kharkiv during a period when Ukraine’s club infrastructure was developing rapidly: major radio stations, clubs, DJ competitions and the first international electronic music festivals were all active.
Jeans DJ Parade, Virus Music, Kiss FM and Global Gathering Ukraine were among the early platforms that helped take his name beyond the Kharkiv scene.
Later, international work and the development of his own labels gradually moved the project beyond its local Ukrainian context. Nevertheless, it was the Ukrainian stage — from his first recordings and Kharkiv clubs to Global Gathering and the launch of his own publishing projects — that formed the foundation of Spartaque’s later career.
