Why did you move to Berlin?
I needed a change and some inspiration. I was living in New York before but even before that I had left Detroit because everything was going to shit. There were so many problems with the scene, like parties shut down, police and politics... So I moved to New York and lived there for a year. I was doing a small night there and brought some guys that I really liked out from Berlin.
So then you already had German friends?
I just knew people through friends. There was a pretty small community of people doing that kind of things at that time. And I played a lot of German stuff. So I invited them, they invited me back and after first two parties in Berlin I knew I had to move there.
I know a guy who used to live in The States and he’s so desperate to go back. He actually says that Europe is so much regulated.
Is he crazy? Where was he living? I played a gig in San Francisco a few weeks ago and they made me stop playing at 1:45! The law is so strict that you can get in real troubles if you won’t everybody get out of the club at 2:00 exactly. So 1:45 comes and the bouncer starts yelling. Totally shit atmosphere, people need a few minutes to put their things together and he shouts, “get the fuck out the club!” Even me, I was still packing my stuff when he said, “you gotta go!” Oh my God! It’s not that good things couldn’t happen there – they can and people want them.
Basically when Bush got elected I knew there was trouble ahead and that’s what has become. It’s all paranoid fear and you can really sense that. I feel much more free here.
Last time I heard a set from you it was electro, now it’s more minimal stuff you’ve been playing. Where does that radical change come from?
You must have heard the set from Munich. In the beginning I was playing all kinds of stuff. Detroit was very diverse and you could go either to electro, good house or a techno party, so we all got exposed to a lot of cool different music. I liked to play all of that. I was an electro DJ for a while at first, and then I was a house DJ for a long time. But in 1999 I was already asking myself what I was doing. At the same time I got impressed by some minimal stuff happening again and I really knew that this is direction I wanted to go in. I decided to do this music and I didn’t care if I got another gig or not.
But now, when I observe what’s going on, I see that one Friday people go to see Desyn Masiello and the other day they want Richie Hawtin. Don’t you have this feeling that the borders between genres get really blurred these days?
That’s the thing, it’s amazing! It’s getting more and more blurred, because so many more people have access to technology and they’re making really crazy shit, that is not defined! Especially “minimal” has this huge hype now. Minimal this, minimal that, minimal this - but to me, the stuff I’ve been playing is not minimal. I think people really need a label, they need to attach a name to something, but the best thing about it is that you can’t! People have been always asking me what kind of music I play – I don’t know.
But I always thought this “minimal and nothing else” way of thinking has come from Berlin.
Maybe...
Let’s talk about Richie and the company. You seem to be inseparable at the moment, appearing in so many different places. The same story is with Richie and Ricardo Villalobos – they’ve done a lot of gigs together. Looks like you’ve been circling around yourself only.
It’s because we really believe in this music. We’re not doing this for money, that’s for sure. We’re not kind of DJs who arrive at a club only to play their gig and then pack the bags and go out. We can wait to play for 24 hours if we can. When I see people freaking out, it’s worth it, it’s amazing! To me Rich was like a hero. Now we’re good friends, we all believe in each other and respect each other.
Behrouz recently said that “Richie Hawtin and the people he plays with [...] are like mafia: [...] they all go together from one place to another and then they play there together. [...] They’ve never been really interested in what people want to hear, they’ve simply played what they themselves liked”. What’s your comment on that?
What’s my comment? Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. If that’s how someone feels or perceives me, or Rich, it’s totally fine with me. But I know it’s pretty an egoistical statement. The thing to be a good DJ is working with the crowd well, playing for the crowd, not for myself. I’ve been really learning this through years, so what he says doesn’t really apply.
But try to look from the perspective of other people who don’t get bookings in all the clubs you’ve been playing frequently.
But why is that? Because it works apparently! For example Richard and Ricardo are the guarantee for a successful club night and they have been constantly asked to play together.
In Poland you need to invite a new star each week to get people to the club, but this is not the case in Germany. Here you can have one good DJ playing forever.
And this is what I love so much in Germany! It is absolutely my favourite place to play! People really go out for the music and you can interact with them. You play, they respond. If I suck, I want to know about it.
How about trainspotters?
I don’t mind at all. I know a lot of the stuff I play maybe isn’t available, but I have no problem telling people what it is. It’s not about being secret and holding this community that no one can enter.
Have you seen those t-shirts saying “Magda make the tea”? How did it all started?
How can I not see them? People wear them everywhere I go! There’s a guy from Detroit who came and did an article about what’s happening with Rich and Berlin. But the way he wrote his article was... like not about us at all. This “swanky apartment” and “minimal restaurants” – it’s ridiculous. He focused on those things instead of writing about what’s really going on. But I don’t think he did it intentionally. If I read this article I’d think like “God, what the fucking losers they are!” but press is really like that a lot. I knew that something was going to happen. And happened this Ubercoolische site (www.ubercoolische.com - SR). Well... it is totally fucked up and at the same time very funny. But I couldn’t figure out whether these guys really were serious and hated us, and we obviously were curious who did it. And then turned out they booked me, so they really like what we do. Anyway, I’m getting e-mails from all over the world “have you seen this?” I didn’t really read the whole thing but I guess I’m the tea maker, like servant. I met those guys from Ubercoolische in London and they’re really nice. All the money they make out of selling those t-shirts goes to charity. At least it’s what they say [laughs].
I saw a picture with you holding a kettle. This was before or after?
This was after, of course. This was in Belgium and there was a guy who brought a kettle to the DJ booth.
You have reached DJ Mag’s Top 100 this year. I guess you’re the first Polish DJ on this list.
Am I the first? No one else?
No. What do you feel?
[silence]. For sure it’s great. It means that more people will be interested, so it’s good for my name and for promotion. I’m honored and surprised – any stuff like that! But those pools... the top 10 is mostly trance, because this music is most popular.
So what do you think about DJs like Sasha, John Digweed, Paul Van Dyk...
I’m not interested in trance, it’s too obvious, it’s boring. It doesn’t do anything, it’s like a cheap pair of shoes. But I have to respect those people because they work very hard and they love what they do. But I’ve heard Tiesto and the other guys at least once and it simply doesn’t do it for me. Maybe I’m too picky?
I read an interview done with you on spring in which you said that by the end of the year people would be sick of your stuff. I don’t think we are. There’s this “Stop EP” coming out in December, but what else?
Well, definitely. I also have 3 remixes coming out around month, there’s EP I’ve done with Troy [Pierce – SR] and Mark [Houle – SR] called “Wanda’s Wig Wax” on Underline. Now I’m working on Minus mix, which should be done in January but should be actually out in March/ April.
Is it necessary for a DJ to produce and to have a label?
[silence] Unfortunately, these days if you want to have your name out, you can no longer do it to DJing. Not on that level. I am really one of the few, honestly. I’m really, really, really lucky. People won’t book you if they don’t hear what you’ve made, so yes, it is important and I wish it weren’t that way. There are tons of talented DJs that don’t necessary want to produce.
But you don’t produce because of that, do you?
No, I really enjoy it! And if I need a particular track for the club, I just make it myself; it’s so much easier. At least I can play it [laughs].
Tell me about how you perform as a DJ. You use a laptop with Ableton’s Live software and Final Scratch, then of course decks and CDJs. What else?
When I can, I like to use the CTRL mixer, that Rich’s dad made [Allen & Heath – SR]. Then EFX, Ableton and a little loop machine to record samples from what’s playing. The new mixer you can actually use as a keyboard and it works perfectly with Ableton and the turntables. But when I don’t have this mixer it’s difficult, so now what I have is a little sampler EFX machine and a loop machine and then just Final Scratch and records.
So you’re not a kind of girl who cannot program a washing machine.
No [laughs]. But I cannot do other things. I always get lost and I lose things. My brain only processes certain information.
Boyfriend?
O, it’s personal.
It’s great to have personal live as well.
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