After being introduced to electronic music at the age of 15, Germany’s own Magdalena has become a breakthrough artist, promoter and DJ. She’s created a captivating party series entitled SHADOWS, with events held across Ibiza, Europe, and North America, and has brought in high profile bookings such as Solomun, Tale of Us, Nicole Moudaber, Hernan Cattaneo, La Fleur and many more. She has an impressive discography spanning across boutique labels Diynamic, Mobilee and Kitball, to name a few. In 2017, Magdalena released her first full-length EP, ‘Morphosfalter’ on Anja Schneider’s Leena Music imprint and just dropped her latest release on RÜFÜS DU SOL’s epic, Surrender Remixes.
She sat down with SPIN to talk about Sundream Tulum, Surrender Remixes, her party series SHADOWS, and much more. Stream Surrender Remixes here and check out Magdalena’s electrifying SET below! Want more SETS? Head over to SPIN TV to keep up with all the latest and greatest DJ/producers breaking through the electronic sphere.
Who is Magdelena and what do you stand for?
Well I guess Magdalena must be me (haha). I’m a deejay, I produce music and I get to travel around the world to make people dance happily on the dance floor.
Tell us about your sound – where does your style originate from and what have been your biggest visual, social, and sonic influences?
My sound is actually coming from an R&B background. That’s what I listened to when I grew up in Hamburg and until now thi influence still lets me always add a groovy touch to my style.
Was there a definitive turning point to your success?
That’s a funny story. It was with the track Mountains of es Cubells, where I used the voice message from my friend Steve in the track. He was at an afterparty in Ibiza, got a bit lost, sent me a voice message and I made a track out of it. Go and listen to the track if you haven’t done it yet.
When did you realize the magnitude of your impact within the industry/community?
I don’t think there was a specific moment. The gigs that I played got bigger and bigger over time and more and more people kept telling me that they love my music.
How was Sundream Tulum with RDS and what was your favorite moment?
Playing at the Sundream Festival was a real honor to me. Personally I’m a big fan of the music of RÜFÜS DU SOL and when they invited me to play not once but even on two weekends felt really special already. On the first weekend the Rüfüs boys asked me to play Mountains of Es Cubelles, but I actually don’t have the track on the USs I brought, so one of them pulled up their USB with the track on it and we had a small B2B session. That was really fun!
Did this experience impact your decision to remix them for the Surrender Remixes album? How did this come about?
We had a very good time together in Tulum. After our show on the second weekend they asked me if I would like to be a part of their remix andlum and this is how this came together. Of course it was a no-brainer for me to happily take the remix request.
How was it like expanding your party series SHADOWS from Ibiza to various places like Berlin, Tulum, Miami, and Istanbul and where would you like to go next with it?
Starting SHADOWS and taking it out to the world felt like the next step for me in my career a few years ago. We’ve done amazing shows and been all around the globe with it, but lately I decided to give SHADOWS a small summer break. Putting on these parties is always a lot of work for me and my team and we felt like it’s better to reflect on the past for a few months and then to start a fresh idea of SHADOWS in 2023. I don’t want to say much about what we have planned, but it will come..
Where do you want to go next with your music and what can your fans expect from future releases?
I finished a couple more tracks, which we will release over the next couple of months. And on top of that we are planning some remixes of Magdalena originals.
Where have you not performed yet that you want to perform at?
Hmmm good question. I’ve been to so many places that I kinda stopped counting. South America is always a lot of fun, so maybe travel to a few more places there. But all in all I’m quite happy about where I’ve been so far.
In what ways have you pushed yourself beyond existing self-imposed limitations?
Since I was young I always worked hard. I am a perfectionist, I am also passionate , and this you can see reflected in my work. And this is a point where I couldn’t really let go of the work and became a bit of a workaholic. This helped me to get to a point where I am now, but at high cost. Luckily I’ve realized this now and am working on this. So to answer your questions: I guess in all aspects I’ve pushed myself beyond self-imposed limitations. But that isn’t really so healthy…
What’s next for Magdelena?
Next is to make sure that I take a bit more time for myself haha. And after that: More exciting shows, more new music and more memories with you all on the dancefloor!
What do you wish for the future of electronic music? In what ways would you like to see it evolve?
I think our scene is at a very healthy point, criticizing itself and working on issues that have been around for a long time. For the future of electronic music I hope that what we have now stays and maybe even develops a bit further.
Any last words for the SPIN-verse?
Thank you, take care of yourself and your loved ones and enjoy this free summer after being locked up for so long.
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