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Interview: Magdalena talks about playing at celebration of 'Warung Beach Club 19 years' in Brazil
When we talk about inspiring artists, Magdalena, without a doubt, cannot go unnoticed. A complete artist who has been immersed in the world of dance music since she was 15 years old – under the influence of her brother, Solomun – and when we say complete, we mean to understand and occupy spaces that go beyond the stage: Magdalena is one of the names for behind the renowned Diynamic label; with your solo venture, SHADOWS, which takes place in Ibiza; he was behind the management of the famous and defunct club EGO, in Hamburg, where he also started DJing and soon became a resident, which opened his eyes to what was to come.
Whether playing or developing other projects, Magdalena is in constant motion and is a true Business Woman. All her experience in various areas of the electronic music market contributed to her making her name in the international underground scene as a DJ, going through big clubs with her label parties and also Mobilee parties, of her friend Anja Schneider – who influenced her enough for Magdalena to become a DJ (women helping women, yes!)
His in-studio productions are also an appreciation on their own. With great remixes and some Ep's released on labels such as Mobilee, Movement and Click Records, Magdalena has established herself as one of the greatest female artists in the underground scene, creating a unique identity with a lot of melody and striking atmosphere.
His latest EP, Outlines, produced during the lockdown period caused by the pandemic, and released by the English label Bedrock Records, consolidates once again his identity in melodic techno leading us on a great introspective journey.
And then we arrived in Brazil. Magdalena has had a close relationship with the country for many years as a raver, and Warung is one of her passions. All her feeling as an artist brought her to the temple to perform for the first time in 2018, and she recently returned to the decks to celebrate the club's 19th anniversary. And what a celebration!
Magdalena is one of the great female artists who have been through Warung, joining the list alongside artists such as Nicole Moudaber, Nastia, Anna, Blancah, Eli Iwasa and Aninha. Although in a much smaller number, seeing women stand out worldwide opens even more ways for other women to build a solid history in music, and mainly, conquer the same place of importance in the line ups of the biggest clubs and festivals in the world.
Check out our chat with Magdalena about her recent visit to Brazil!
You have had a very close relationship with Warung for a long time. What makes the club so special compared to other clubs outside Brazil, in your opinion?
Playing at Warung is always magical to me. Probably it’s a lot of factors that come together at this club. The location is stunning, the people on the dancefloor are full of energy, even in the early morning hours after a whole night of partying and last but not least the hospitality is great and the staff of the place is super nice. All in all a great mixture.
Before you started playing, you managed several projects through the Diynamic label, you were a booker, you managed a club... What was it like for you to leave behind the scenes and become one of the most relevant artists in the underground scene today?
First of all thank you for calling me ‘one of the most relevant artists in the underground scene’. I would not have dreamed of being called something like this a few years ago.
I think it really helped me that I already worked in the industry before becoming an artist. I was able to build a big network of contacts and really knew the scene and the music inside out, when I started deejaying. For sure this solid foundation is a big part of my success today.
In what ways do you think all this behind-the-scenes experience helped you build your career?
Specifically it helped me to toughen up. The dance music world behind the scenes used to be quite male dominated when I started and I really had to fight my way through it all. Even today nothing can really make me trip and this is because of the toughness I gained back in the days.
You also have a strong identity within the studio, with strong tones and melodies. His latest EP, Outlines, shows this characteristic. How does your workflow work when developing tracks?
When I’m in the studio I usually sit down and start jamming, without worrying too music about having the exact EQ details right. I try to have a creative flow and throw together some ideas. If I still like those ideas the next day then I put them together in a proper track and we start to work on the details. This was the same process for my Outlines EP, when the three tracks of the EP got produced during the lockdown.
Speaking a little about reference, which artists influenced the most in the construction of your sound identity?
I generally don’t like to point out individual artists, because there are so many amazing producers out there. All in all I’d say that I am influenced by the artists who release on Diynamic of course and also Afterlife is doing a really good job with their release. But there are so many more undiscovered underground producers who send me their music and which I play in my sets, that I don’tz want to name one specifically.
Now that clubs and festivals are returning to normalcy, what are your expectations and projects for 2022?
Exciting things. Of course we’ll do our yearly SHADOWS event in Tulum at the beginning of January again and from there my team is working on more dates in South America, the USA, Europa and Asia again. In the Summer we plan to do ten more SHADOWS parties at Cova Santa in Ibiza and next to that we are already working on a very exciting project which I can tell you more about in the future.
And to conclude: As a female artist who occupies several spaces of power in the electronic music market, what advice would you give to women who wish to follow the same path?
My biggest advise would be not to be scared and to just go for it. The music industry can be very scary for young female artists, but a lot has changed recently and it’s not as dark any more as it used to be, so take your chance and rock it. The industry needs more female deejays!