Magda Interview

Ahead of this weekends A Night With Magda 8 hour marathon we caught up with the first lady of Minus for her thoughts on a love of small clubs, Berlin, distilling her sound into just 8 hours, Travel and whole load more

You cut your teeth warming up for Claude Young & Daniel Bell. Not a bad little gig?! Can you tell us about the influence these legends have had on your sound?

Daniel Bell has been a huge influence. He is the master of true minimal funk and Bleep and knows how to combine sounds into something that cannot be pinned Down into one genre. His mix the button down mind of daniel bell opened my eyes to some incredible and fresh music years ago.

Berlin how do you find it these days? Everyone whos been there this summer says the vibes been amazing.

I love berlin. There are many smaller parties popping up everywhere right now. Thats what i love about the city, and even though the major clubs are filled with tons of tourists, there doesnt seem to be a lack of other parties around. Something for everybody. And yes the vibe is great!

Your essential mix was an incredibly varied affair and obviously reflects the massive breadth of electronic music youre into. Is this A Night With concept something youve ever attempted in any form before? How are you going to go about distilling Magda into just 8 hours?!

I used to do long sets quite often in the past, especially at after hours. I think the longest was 13 hours at club der visionnare in berlin. For this party im going to come up with a loose idea of what sounds to play around which hour but nothing specific. Im curious what will actually happen and in what frame of mind. Either way Ive been looking forward to this event for months. The london crowd is amazing.

You mention a love of Robert Johnson, what other small clubs around the world do you love playing at? Well certainly be pulling out all the stops with the venue for A Night With

There are many great clubs out there and sometimes in the most random places. There is a great club in cluj romania called midi. Amazing sound and visuals. Small, dark, and booming. I love clubs that work well acoustically. I want that bass to slap me in the face haha!. I heard the venue for this party is really special. I cant wait for the madness to begin.

Your debut album came out last year. Whats ahead musically for Magda in the next year?

So much exciting stuff is going on right now. Im putting all my energy into my label Items & Things and will record my second album in the fall. Im also going to startrReleasing special old school edits. As far as dj mixes, i just finished a new podcast for XLR8R which will be out august 16.

Travel has played an important part in the make up of your musical education upbringing. With the influx of the digital its not so important to travel? Discuss.

You mean like one day DJing from home through skype haha? I hope that day never comes. Its so important to have a live connection to people in a space face to face. You play off each other and thats what djing is about. Creating a special and spontaneous feeling or atmosphere that is not reproduced the same way again. So to answer your question, yes travel is very important.

Youre a lover of new technology in music / djing terms. How do you fare with the social networking side of things?

I used to really hate it because it sucked me in and before i knew it hours had gone by. Now everything is so dependent on social media that its very important to stay connected to people, especially fans. Its a bit more personal and I have grown to like it. Its a fun outlet for all the ridiculous moments in my travels and there is never a shortage of those.

You were a pioneer of both Final Skratch and Ableton. With a lot of people converting is there something new around the corner we should be looking out/ saving our money for?

I dont know i mean its a very personal choice. There are so many ways to DJ these days that its imporatnt to find out really what works best for you. Im always looking for new trinkets to add to my set up but i must say theres nothing better than the Eventide stompboxes. Great effects with an amazing rich analog sound.

Theres some amazing footage of you and Loco Dice at Exit Festival. What do you think makes that festival so special? Anything youve played at this year that has blown up like that?

That festival is special because its in the old city surrounded by beautiful castle walls. Its produced very well and on top of that they have quite the theatrics so the whole thing is very entertaining. I quite enjoyed bestival last year. They also do some crazy stuff. My friend played in a fake tree. The booth was up in the branches and everyone was dancing inside the tree. I felt like I was on acid.

Care to share any of the new artists or labels that are grabbing your attention lately that must be heard on the floor or indeed anywhere else?

Danny Benedettini is one to look out for. He just released on Items & Things (i must promote my label haha) and his sound is very special and in between genres. Everytime i play a track of his people go nuts. Thats a good sign.

Could you pick us a track to reflect each hour of A Night With Magda next month?

Yes, this week when im back from the weekend ill prepare a little preview

Wil

Magda brings us her A Night With next Saturday 13^th August