Dr. Rubinstein – free your mind and the rest will follow
Marina Rubinstein loves to DJ, but even when she’s perched in the booth, weaving together a invigorating assortment of hypnotic acid, ’90s rave and pumping techno, her mind is on the dancefloor. After all, it was on dancefloor that this Russian-born, Israeli-reared artist fell in love with techno in the first place. Long before she started playing records and adopted the Dr. Rubinstein moniker, she was a self-declared “true raver” in Tel Aviv, and it was during those long nights of partying that she eventually came to see dancing as a kind of meditation.
“When the music is right,” she explains, “you can free your mind and just dance without thinking of anything. For me, it’s the best feeling in life, something that brings absolute happiness.”
That “special feeling,” as she describes it, is something Rubinstein is constantly seeking, not just for herself, but also for those who come to see her play. While her ceaselessly cheery personality certainly goes a long way in this effort, it’s her adventurous spirit – not to mention her unabashed love of all things acid – that truly sets her apart as a DJ. Now based in Berlin, she’s become a regular at places like Berghain, but her talents have increasingly taken her around Europe and the globe to spin alongside a wide array of techno luminaries.
Elena Colombi – anarchist taste for music
Born in Italy and raised by an unconventional, free-spirited family, Elena Colombi relocated to London in 2008 and set up a successful series of parties that made her name on the underground scene. Now a respected DJ and radio host on NTS, Elena’s musical style taps into a wide array of influences and inspirations. For her, knowing and feeling music doesn’t mean specialising in one particular genre. Never one to pander to trends, she embraces the best elements of the past and future, paying particular attention to obscure and undiscovered artists. Industrial rhythms, pulsing techno, ambient atmospheres, synthesised sounds, freaky disco, balearic love affairs, proto-house, and more — anything goes and is perfectly balanced in her dynamic sets, whether on radio, in a club, or in her own collection of diverse yet coherent mixes. For a preview of Elena’s taste and selections you can listen back to her past shows on NTS Radio or check out her mixes for FACT Magazine and the Dekmantel podcast.
Throughout the course of 2017 Elena has moved from strength to strength, making her Japanese debut at AOYAMA Zero in Tokyo, playing with Interstellar Funk at Amsterdam’s De School, as well as playing Säule in Berlin, Opium in Vilnius & Rabitsa in Moscow. She’s also gained recognition from the established art world, going back to back with homegrown Manchester legend Jon K at the Whitworth Art Gallery, as well as bringing her selections to the Tate Modern in London for the Tate Lates series. On the festival circuit she’s made appearances at ADE, Field Day, Lente Kabinet and Field Maneuvers.
Kasja – “new kid on the block”
Kasja has only recently taken up DJ-ing seriously, although she has been stoking her love of dance and eclectic and subversive music genres since childhood, as is evident from her dynamic sets.
Over the past two months, she has DJ’ed at clubs such as Crkva, during the Rijeka Gori Queer Festival, Život (where she dished out two all-nighters), Rijeka tunnels, as part of the Outlook Launch Party, Kotač and Karlobar in Pula, as well as the beach bar Prasowski as part of the Kantrida FKK 2020 (European Neighbourhood of Culture). Her musical style and selection draw in masses that aren’t afraid to get down on the dancefloor and her sets are doused in happy old-school house with hints of minimal house, featuring somewhat darker genre deviations as she explores sounds that are neither repetitive nor monotonous – yet remain coherent.
Anna Calvi – an emotional songwriter
Having made a name for herself as an emotional songwriter, virtuoso guitarist and fascinating performer, she has been an invaluable part of the British music scene ever since she first emerged in 2011. Both of her albums, the eponymous debut and the follow-up One Breath from 2013, were nominated for the Mercury Prize, while her first album also earned her a BRIT Award nomination for Best New Artist. She has collaborated with greats such as Brian Eno and Marianne Faithful, as well as David Byrne, with whom she worked on the cover EP Strange Weather that was released in 2014. In 2017, she composed the score for the opera The Sandman under the tutelage of Robert Wilson.
Anna Calvi has been promoting her third album Hunter in Rijeka. This is an album of primal percussion, unrestrained guitars and superb lyricism in which Calvi stretches her vocal and guitar expressions outside the boundaries of her previous work and which she comments on by noting:
I’ve always liked the idea of the interplay between my voice and the guitar; I wanted to build on that and really evoke a feeling of freedom.
It was important to Calvi to make the album as powerful as it is vulnerable and as beautiful as it is harsh; to speak of the prey as much as the hunter. However, at the same time, she doesn’t want to label these characteristics as “male” or “female” – the whole point is that a person can become whatever they want to be, regardless of gender. The strength stems from the contrast itself, as well as the way it teeters between the extremes, allowing it to sound freer than ever.
2018.
Inga Mauer – no cheap thrills, just pure musical joy
Coming from St. Petersburg, Russia where she is a resident DJ in the famous club Stackenschneider she is now gaining attention in Europe. The music she serves up comes from a place of
love and knowledge in equal measures – no cheap thrills, just pure musical joy. Growing up in a remote village in the heart of Russia, Inga listened intensely to early Bunker Records, Cybernetic Broadcasting System (now intergalactic.fm), Trax, and UR recordings which have set the scene for her seductive sound: a mix of blistering atmospheres and dark emotions, flirting with a wide range of genres like Industrial Techno, EBM, New Wave and Disco.
This young talent is gaining a fast-growing reputation from Den Haag to Berlin, from Cologne to Tel Aviv, and completing a circle of influence as a desired guest on Intergalactic.fm.
Not only a great DJ, Inga is also a truly restless producer, constantly recording lunatic jams and wild rhythms in a world of no musical compromises. Expect great things to come this year when she starts releasing and opens your ears. Currently under the wing of the Bunker Records team, whilst working for Clone Records.