Magda Talks

Magda has always had something of the night about her. Liberated from the clutches of New Yorks draconian attitude to club culture, she took to the Berlin underground. The notorious Beatstreet afterhour parties reignited the energy coursing through her veins… it’s been quite a ride since then! 

As an artist she’s difficult to pin down with her sound veering everywhere from funked-out space disco to the intricately-programmed, metallic feel of Detroit to stripped down techno, all the way to Italian horror film soundtracks. When she reconnected re-connected the dots in 2011 with Marc Houle and Troy Pierce they completed the triangle that now symbolises their label; Items & Things.

Ahead of her Items & Things ‘Down & Out’ party in the capital this weekend we caught up with Magda to cover a fair amount… 

Hi Magda, last time we spoke around the A Night With… Show we discussed the horror that might become Skype djing! Thankfully that’s not seen the light of day yet. What does technology in the electronic age mean to you these days?

Technology is a great window of opportunity for experimentation and should be used in a creative way. Its not meant to just simplify something or substitute ingenuity.

Ever thought about going back to this:

Ha! Reel to reel beat matching!! Yeah let’s do it at your next party

How are the stompboxes treating you?

Stomping and stomping. I love those gadgets. They just sound so great.

Items and Things 2 years on… How’s it been for you?

It’s been fun. We are growing steadily which i like. Step by step. We have some great releases scheduled for 2014 and our showcases have really gained a lot of support so i’m happy.

Does Berlin still hold or have the pull on you that it always has?

Berlin will always be like no place else. Its somewhat like anarchy island where anything goes.

If your sound was a visual thing, what would it look like?
A combination of a twitching malaysian mousedeer and:

If you had to send one record into space, to introduce extra terrestrials to human music, what record would you choose?

I hate to be obvious but it must be Kraftwerk Computer World

You can choose four members of a band to form a supergroup – who would be in it and what instruments would they be on?

Kim Gordon (vocals/bass), Stephen Morris (drums), Florian Schneider (synths/ vocals), Kevin Shields (guitar)

What was the music of your teenage rebellion?
Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Huggy Bear

First and last record bought?
(first) Michael Jackson – Thriller

(last) Moebius & Plank – En Route

Whats your favourite place on earth?
A mexican kitchen

Are you a kick drum, hi hat or a snare? And why?
Tough choice but i’d say a kick drum… I like low frequencies

What are you obsessed with at the moment?
Krautrock

What’s your answer to everything?
I don’t remember 

Magda plays Items & Things – Down & Out this Saturday. Full details and tickets here.