Anna Kost: The ‘Shine A Light On’ Mix

This mix is made up entirely of her own unreleased material and demonstrates an unrivalled potential as she plots her next steps.

Listen below:

How did your journey into DJing and music production begin, and what first pulled you towards electronic music?

I’ve been making music since my early days studying it, always on the keys, covering tracks, and writing my own bits. Moving to Berlin in 2017 and taking in the scene made electronic production feel like a natural next step. It was just expanding how I compose, bringing what I did on the keys into a digital space.

As both a DJ and a producer, how do those two sides of your artistry influence each other?

Understanding how a track is built helps me DJ far more organically. I often mix from a producer’s perspective, treating tunes like parts of one continuous piece. Flipping that around, DJing teaches me how to structure and arrange my own tracks better. Eventually, the process becomes completely intuitive, you turn your brain off, write, and see what happens.

You grew up surrounded by very different kinds of music. Do you think those early influences still live somewhere in the music you make now, even if they’re not immediately obvious?

Absolutely. Studying classical pieces during my music studies gave me a great foundation and helped me intuitively understand how music actually works. That, alongside the pop, R&B, and funk my parents played at home, as well as the hip-hop and rock I found later, definitely still sit in my subconscious, shaping my daily creative choices.

Moving to Berlin seems to have been a huge turning point for you. How much influence does the city have on you?

Berlin’s a unique spot, and I’ve had a bit of a love-hate relationship with it at times. But I’m really grateful I landed here. Living in such a relentless creative environment forces you to step back and ask yourself how you got into all of this. Whether it was something I was always meant to do or just a turn of events I stumbled into, it gives my life a sense of direction, and being in this city constantly reinforces that.

You run your own label, 2247. What does having that space mean to you personally — is it simply a label, or does it represent a certain kind of creative freedom that you need as an artist?

2247 is a space where I can curate, express myself, and learn from mistakes. Many producers face blocks about putting work out, whether from perfectionism or raw vulnerability. Having my own corner where I control what the world hears is very liberating. I took a break over summer to release with other imprints, but we’re relaunching this autumn. For the next drop, I’ve brought in my dear friend and super talented producer Myles Serge. Keep an ear out this November!

If your music is an emotional snapshot of a particular time in your life, what do you think the music you’re making right now says about where you are as a person?

The tunes I’m making now are getting more unhinged and bold. I’m less boxed in, just blurring genres to see what lands. There are no rules, and having fun is the only way I avoid getting stuck in my ways. Having such an amazing community around me plays a massive part in that too. It’s always refreshing to hear how someone else interprets sound, which is why I constantly switch up the genres in my playlists, it keeps my mind open.