NEWS
EVENTS
An interview with Magdalena: "As an artist you never want to get too comfortable and feel like you’ve made it"
If you’ve heard of Diynamic, listened to their mixes or attended any of their parties, you are probably already acquainted with Magdalena. A member of the collective from its very early days, the DJ and producer has already built up quite a following for her sets, that can range from melodic and sunset ready to punchy festival techno. Her EP 'Elementum' released on the label earlier this year caused quite a stir on the Beatport charts and Ibiza dance floors.
Away from this well known group, however, Magdalena this year launched her very own standalone residency in Ibiza. Hosted every Friday at Blue Marlin - this season’s growing player for underground day parties on the White Isle - ‘Shadows’ hosted the likes of Solomun, Anja Schneider, Fur Coat and more, with a packed dance floor even at the very early stages of the Ibiza season. It’s a tying together of threads of sorts for the artist, who actually began her career promoting at Hamburg’s famed EGO club.
We caught up with the rising star to talk about her journey so far.
Let’s start from the very beginning; how did you come to be involved in the EGO club in Hamburg?
My good friends Solomun and Adriano Trolino had began to promote a DIY label party every week at the club, and everything fell into place so that after 2 months they took over the whole club. They very kindly asked me to come on board to help with the exciting new project.
What was your biggest achievement whilst working at EGO?
Just leading the club every week was a big achievement for me. Everything has to be so organised on every level logistics wise, you really have to pay great attention to detail, whilst seeming happy all the time as it’s meant to be a party! Once things were going well I also started taking over the bookings for the club, which was a great responsibility.
When did you first decide to try your hand at DJing and production?
Music runs in the family and I’d been learning for fun before, but to be honest the moment I first realised I could do it professionally was back in the days at EGO club in Hamburg when, after having closed the club up by myself at 10am, I decided to get on the decks and have a play. It was then that I could really visualise this becoming my future.
What was the music scene like in Hamburg at that time?
It was a really incredible and productive time for electronic music in the town. Berlin has long been known for its techno, but at that time I felt like as a city we were developing our own sound and starting to be recognised on the international stage. As well as Diynamic, labels like Pampa and Smallville were really putting melody and musicianship at the forefront of the city’s electronic music output – and still do!
This year you launched your Ibiza residency at Blue Marlin, SHADOWS. How has it all been going so far? Are there any events out of this that have stood out for you in particular this season?
I’m happy to report that it’s been going really well so far. I’ve played residencies at Blue Marlin in the past so I knew the team there would be able to deliver our vision. I guess the most memorable one so far would be the opening party, as it was so rewarding to have all our months of hard work come into reality. It was the first time Solomun at Blue Marlin, and the turn out surpassed all our expectations.
Have you been to any other parties aside from your own so far this summer?
Between all the travelling it can sometimes be difficult to fit more Ibiza partying in, especially as I love being out and enjoying the island by day so much. I do always try to get down to Solomun’s plus 1 party on Sundays at Pacha, I’ve also checked out Heart recently, and if I have time I might try to check out some more underground spots with my friends later this season too.
When was your very first Ibiza gig and what happened?
I remember it clearly like it was yesterday! It was at Cova Santa, a lovely outdoor venue and restaurant away from the main clubbing towns. I played for Diynamic Outdoor and everything went well - I was very excited and had lots of fun, and made new friends along the way.
Anja Shneider is playing at your residency and you’ve said before that she’s a good friend of yours. Can you tell us how you both met and do you get see each other often on tour?
I first met Anja when we booked her to play at EGO and hit it off immediately on the night. Obviously we can’t always plan to see each other but we try and play on some of the same bills when we can – when you’re travelling, it’s always a treat to see a friendly face. I was delighted she said yes to playing at Shadows!
We’ve been loving your latest EP, ‘Elementum’. How long does the whole process of putting an EP out take for you? Are you a perfectionist when it comes to releases or do you put tracks out as soon as you have the idea?
Thank you, that’s great to hear J I think most producers would agree it’s difficult to let go of a new production and release it into the public sphere – there’s always just one more tweak I want to make! I’d actually been producing for many years before I finally decided to start officially releasing things last year, as it took a long time for me to finally feel “good enough” about what I was making – I guess in that sense you could say I’m closer to a perfectionist.
What are the best and worst moments of your job? (Be honest!)
There are so many great moments it’s hard to choose the “best”. A few of my favourite things are meeting new people and making friends all over the world and seeing how dance music unites people across cultures, and trying incredible food everywhere! Travelling a lot in general is gruelling, but the worst moments come when the travel goes wrong – when flights are cancelled or delayed and it results in a cancelled gig I always feel so guilty, even if it’s not my fault. I recently had a gig at an incredible venue in Montpellier for the French live streaming and events company Cercle, it was one I was really looking forward to. I had two different flights cancelled and last minute managed to arrange to get there on two different long distance trains and buses and taxis – I finally made it with literally minutes to spare, but it was a close one!
Is there any one moment you can pick out from the last five years of your career where you really felt like you had made it? A “wow” moment?
As an artist you never want to get too comfortable and feel like you’ve made it. I’m always striving to be better and thinking about my next plan, but opening Shadows was definitely a highlight of this year because of all the work that went into it.
Can you name three upcoming artists that we should be looking out for?
Nølah, Perel and Artbat are just a few names that I am looking to book at one of my parties in the future, all really talented and lovely guys.
And finally, what are your plans for the rest of 2018?
Of course I have the rest of the Ibiza season to get through, and I am looking forward to travelling around the world with the rest of my Diynamic family for festivals and stages at Tomorrowland, in Istanbul, London and ADE. I have another production in the works too that I’ll be testing out at my future gigs, so keep your eyes peeled for more news on that soon
Don't miss Magdalena's last Shadows parties, this Friday the 14th and 21st September
She is also playing at Diynamic ADE and Diynamic Festival Sao Paulo
