M_nus one

Lets be conventional, and start at the beginning. Dotted between the factories and vacant industrial buildings of Detroit is one of the most famous musical scenes in the world, managing to be influential and relevant beyond measure without ever bowing down to trends and hype. With an artist list spanning from the originators The Belleville Three through to the more recent Matthew Dear and Octave One, there is no denying the quality of Motor City’s techno output.

Although now based in Berlin, Detroit ex-pat and part of the endlessly touring M_nus gang, Magda is another name that is often cited when discussing the wealth of talent that has come off the Detroit production line over the years.

When do you think your musical career started? Would you say that your background of living in various cities has contributed to your sound and understanding of music overall? Is there any particular place or period of time that you feel influenced you the most?

I feel like my deeper interest in music definitely began in Detroit when I was a teenager and it is the place that shaped my sound the most. I began listening to bands before discovering techno and going out to various events opened my ears to the Detroit sound. That sound which could only come from such an interesting raw industrial wasteland. Living in different places definitely gives you a better perspective and understanding of music and life in general, since I moved to Europe I have learned so much in that respect. Detroit is the place where I learned nearly everything about electronic music. We used to hang out at a friend's place and he had the most incredible record collection full of obscure rarities of all kinds. thats when i discovered ESG, Shari Vari and other classics that influence me to this day.

I read that you spent time under Communist rule in Poland? Any memories of this time?

Yeah I remember we had to wait five years to get a telephone line installed in our flat and my mom had to bribe a priest to get our US visas after four years of waiting to reunite with my father. I also waited many hours in line at the grocery store when items arrived. People had money but nothing to spend it on because the shelves were empty. It didn't seem strange to me because thats all I knew and I had lots of fun there as a child.

Women are arguably under-represented within dance music. Do you feel that you have ever had to work harder in order to have your work noticed? Or did people take notice of you and your music sooner because you were a woman?

Being a female DJ was a big novelty then so sometimes promoters booked women just because they were women and that made it difficult to be taken seriously by your male counterparts. I'm so glad times have changed and the gender issue is going away more and more.

When did you create 'Gel & Weave'? Who did you run it with and what were the highlights of that time?

I started that party in 2001 in New York at a small club called open air. Bryan Kasenic (aka Spinoza) was the manager there and he gave me full freedom to do what I wanted. I loved being able to book the artists that inspired me at that time like Zip and Sammy Dee, Daniel Bell, and Theo Parrish. The highlight of that time was the "no dancing law". I felt like we were in footloose. The government made it very difficult and expensive for smaller venues to obtain a dancing license so if the police came and saw people dancing the bar would get slapped with a huge fine. It was pretty ridiculous. I had a red lightbulb in the DJ booth and when it flashed it meant turn the music down and everyone stop dancing because the cops are here.

How did you join the Minus family? What is your favourite output of the imprint?

I joined Minus in 1999 and worked in the office and in the upstairs studio digitizing vinyl and archiving music and different media. I really love Consumed because its very nostalgic. It's my favorite Plastikman album and I used to listen to it like crazy.

How would you describe your sound? How would you describe your Fabric to those who have not yet heard it?

I always have trouble answering that question. I like bass and dark grooves as long as they are funky. I also like to put in elements of disco, electro and obscure tracks because that's what makes it fun for me. I like to see what combinations can work as odd as they may be. The Fabric mix is quite personal and I'm not sure if it's for everyone.

How does your Fabric mix differ to your Fact and Friction release?

Wow, Fact and Friction, what a blast from the past. I made that mix in 1999 and it was quite stripped down. That's when I first discovered labels like Studio 1, Max Ernst and Playhouse so a lot of that kind of stuff is on it. I do remember throwing in some tracks from the label people which really makes me laugh now because it's the complete opposite of that. It's really housey and almost two step. The Fabric mix is quite different in my opinion. It's based more around continuing basslines and spooky sounds.

Do you have a particular selection process?

I always look for something interesting or out of the norm whether its house, techno, electro or whatever else. A good groove is important and it must sound warm in some way. There are a lot of elements I don't like so this shortens the selection process a lot. I love to edit and re-edit so even if i only like eight bars from a certain track that's fine. I'll take it and try to see what can come out of that. It's really fun.

How do you select the more experimental sounds in your mixes? What do you listen out for?

There isn't anything in particular. I especially love spooky and odd elements or tracks that have a big atmosphere.

What technology do you use in your music creation? Do you DJ with Serato or Ableton? How do you feel about the recent technological advances in music performances?

To DJ I use Traktor and an eventide delay at the moment. I dont want to complicate the set up too much or play too many loops and layers. I prefer to keep it simple and let the tracks breathe. I change my set up every year so I'm playing around with some gadgets to see what I like. At home in my studio I use both hardware and software and that works for me. I always try to use analog gear for basslines and kicks.

Finally, what artists and records are you listening to at the moment?

Lately I have been listening to lots of old experimental stuff like cluster. i think its the season change. It's getting cold and dark and you rarely feel like going outside in the rainy grey atmosphere.