Time for us to shine a spotlight on Panorama Bar’s resident, the inimitable Steffi! She’s back for more at Meat Free on December 3rd – this time alongside Virginia, Zenker Bros & Peter van Hoesen at Mantra Warehouse! If you’re liking what you hear then come and party with us!
1. Let’s start Steffi’s story. At 21, Steffi is living in Holland and starting to get into vinyl.
I think I started to seriously buy records in 1995. I was 21 when I really started to collect, in terms of going to the record shops every week, really following what was going on. My friends had a massive influence on me because they were really serious about buying music every week and mixing records. That made me very curious. It was easy for me to step into that whole vibe because they were so involved.
2. For her sins, Steffi also came through the route of being a promoter and throwing parties in Amsterdam.
When things got more serious, I moved to Amsterdam in 1998 and hooked up with Steven de Peven (Awanto3/Red Nose District) and we started a monthly electro night (real electro, that is not what they call electro these days) at ‘Mazzo’ (RIP). We also started to play as a collective, representing our concept called ‘Elechicks’ which stood for electro, IDM and banging booty 🙂
3. In 2000, Steffi set up Klakson, the label she runs with Dexter and Steven de Peven, her brothers in arms from the Mazzo days. Klakson ran strong until around 2010, and was an outlet for them to release on, with tracks such as ‘I Don’t Care’ bringing international acclaim.
Following this, Klakson has recently had a reboot, with a new Dexter 12″ – Troubles.
4. In 2007 Steffi quit her job as a freelance graphic designer, and moved to Berlin.
RA succinctly maps the breaks that happened in succession following Steffi’s move to Berlin: ‘the inclusion of the track ’24 Hours’ on Tama Sumo’s Panorama Bar 02 mix, and ‘Sadness’ on Prosumer’s following ’03’ CD, made her relationship with Ostgut Ton grow stronger.
This was confirmed with the moody ‘Kill Me’ EP, which preceded the arrival of her debut album ‘Yours & Mine‘ on the label, released in 2011.’
To add to that, Steffi’s released a full album in 2014 on Ostgut – the Power of Anonymity.
5. Steffi’s a firm believer in taking you on a journey as a DJ, which is something we and millions of others love about her. On her record collection:
I take what I like. It could be anything. It could be house, it could be ambient, techno, dubstep, New Wave, disco. For me, it doesn’t matter. I’m completely open. [My collection] goes from pop to new wave to disco to cosmic Italo, old school electro, new school electro, techno, IDM, trip-hop, everything. It’s so wide. [You’ve got] house, and then you’ve got Chicago, all these different kinds of house. It’s very wide.
And on her DJing style:
The most interesting thing about DJing is that everybody sees that in a different way. If people feel my vibe that means that they read a little bit of my mind, which is, of course, the biggest compliment. I value that a lot in a DJ, when somebody makes the effort to tell a story.
6. She’s also a firm believer in vinyl. If you think you’re into vinyl, are you in the slipped disc club?
I’ve had health problems in the past because of all the traveling I do and I actually slipped a disc from carrying my vinyl. It was so bad that I thought I’d have to switch to digital, which was something I wanted to avoid.
When asked if she’d ever swap to digital –
I hope to do it as long as possible but some situations don’t allow it unfortunately — like traveling to the states, or people who don’t care much about a fresh needle and the maintenance of a turntable.
If you’re in the market to listen to something, her Panorama Bar 05 brought her a lot of attention, and rightly so. It’s ace.
7. We reckon if Steffi’s going to recommend something for you to listen to, we’re pretty certain it’ll be this – Autechre’s first LP.
Autechre’s first LP for Warp is one I’ve bought countless times because I have a habit of giving it away to friends. If somebody is at my place and we’re talking about music and they tell me they haven’t heard Incunabula, I go straight to my collection and pull out a copy for them. This is a record that changed my life and by far had the biggest influence on me as a DJ. I must have done this at least ten times in the last two years, as giving it away is the only way I know they’re going to listen to it. I practically force the record onto people now, it’s that important to me.
8. Alongside Klakson, Steffi runs the label Dolly. This is the busier of the two labels, and has been a playground for artists such as Basic Soul Unit, Answer Code Request, Johannes Volk, XDB and The Oliverwho factory.
9. Steffi also has a lot of really excellent side projects and collabs. Let’s hit some of ‘em:
Third Side.
That’s Steffi and the Analogue Cops. If you haven’t heard them, they’re awesome – fully hardware, live set awesome. Their ‘Unified Fields’ LP is a must listen, released on Restoration Records, along with their Boiler Room.
Lucretio controls the MPC, I control the mixer with all the sounds, the effects and the Xoxbox and Marieu programmes the 909 and controls the other sampler. (Crack mag)
Doms and Deykers.
Steffi and Martyn – yep, it’s a great combo! Check out their Fonts for the People EP, and their Evidence From A Good Source album released on Martyn’s label 3024, this literally just dropped!
Steffi and Virginia.
You’ve been living in a cave if you haven’t heard this track! It’s an absolute club classic, with Steffi’s long term partner in crime Virginia (also playing for us on December 3rd) laying down the vocals on this. Enjoy!
10. Finally, Steffi in true no-nonsense style, when describing her perfect day:
No internet, no telephone, no bullshit!
