Maybe one of the most successful female dj’s in the electronic scene , Magda recently left Minus to answer her own call . Her label Items and Things was founded some while ago , but now with she and friends Marc Houle and Troy Pierce decided to kick things off . Another short set recorded at Voltt Loves Summer – Amsterdam and broadcasted on Dance Department .

More info here.

Sunrise will start another season of parties in Bucharest this Saturday . So if you can’t get in Cluj Napoca on Friday , don’t worry Magda is coming in Bucharest the next day .

The event will take place at Atelierul De Productie (Splaiul Unirii 160) and , besides Magda , you can also enjoy sounds from Priku , Miss I and visuals by Videogram .

Entrance fee : 30 Ron (between 23:00 – 00:00)  , 50 ron after 00:00 .

More info here.

Magda is an artist who can never be pinned down, no matter the timeframe or time signature. Any one of the Detroit-raised/Berlin-based artist’s DJ sets or productions breeds a rare feel of mystique and discovery.

Recently Magda and her two friends and producers Troy Pierce and Marc Houle left Richie’s Minus in order to promote a different musical path , through the new and fresh Items and Things label .

Club Midi invites you this friday to see Magda in a new formula (expected) . Also check their facebook page , answer the question and you could win invitations for the upcoming event.

Maybe one of the most successful female dj’s in the electronic scene , Magda recently left Minus to answer her own call . Her label Items and Things was founded some while ago , but now with she and friends Marc Houle and Troy Pierce decided to kick things off . Another short set recorded at Voltt Loves Summer – Amsterdam and broadcasted on Dance Department .

More info here.

Troy Pierce, Marc Houle & Magda team up to present their first ever trio release on Items & Things, “Down & Out Vol 1″ – which takes its name from their newly created party series – events that are based around the dark & intimate, off the radar, and under the ground.

Troy Pierce starts things off with ‘Majikal,’ introducing the EP’s dark magic with a climbing bassline, scattering, almost anxious percussion and buoyant sound effects panned throughout. Ominous atmospheres and weighted textures produce a cinematic accompaniment to surveyors of uncharted terrain. Building a continual tension-and-release cycle, the track is a lucid whirlwind of sonic imagery and trickery, balancing visceral sounds with the otherworldly.

Magda teams up with Suade, a producer & friend from Newcastle that we’re sure to see more of, together they bring forth a true builder, a creeper; the type of track that reveals itself more with each layering sequence. A masterclass in dynamics, ‘Fixation’ is a dark groove that’s haunted by a chilling vocal, wavering synth vibrato, unexpected melodies, and juxtaposes of funk. Angular drums hit alongside swells of percussive echoes but, the focus of the track revolves around the bassline’s movement. As catchy as it is esoteric.

Marc Houle’s ‘Slowpe’ ends the EP with a slightly slower pace, but in a disconcerting way: taking it down a few notches this one that transports the listener to the strangest dimension yet. Filtered melodies start the track’s ascent, sounding like a trumpet that’s been bent out of shape and played from the void. With dark textures compactly knit into a condensed wall of sound, a low-slung bassline trades places with eerie chords and sparse percussion.

We will try to get a preview and will update the post , Down & Out will be released on 19th of September , until then enjoy a set from Troy Pierce from the Items and Things‘s Down & Out series .

Maybe one of the most successful female dj’s in the electronic scene , Magda recently left Minus to answer her own call . Her label Items and Things was founded some while ago , but now with she and friends Marc Houle and Troy Pierce decided to kick things off . This is a short set featuring Magda from Space Ibiza on Carl Cox‘s Revolution series .

Magda: Well, first of all, we release what we want, and decide the direction of the label. The three of us have to agree 100% on each release. With Minus we were just artists on a label. There’s always limitations when you’re not the owner of a label. There’s a totally different feeling to doing something on your own.

I wouldn’t say there’s one particular sound we’re veering towards. I mean yes, we have a certain taste, but we’re open-minded. The Madato release was more experimental, the Danny Benedettini one was more dance floor. It just depends, we don’t have an agenda in mind. Whatever inspires us, whatever we love. Nothing specific.

Tell me about Down & Out, the events arm of the label. How would you describe the spirit of the event?

Marc Houle: When we first came to Berlin, we were playing all these weird obscure locations, not main clubs. You’d have to  the address, go to an abandoned building, like with the Beat Street parties. It was really cool, you come to the city, explore different places. The past few years it’s been mostly playing all the top clubs. We just wanted to revisit that old school feeling of exploring the city and playing in new spots. And the music has a similar feel, it’s not the regular thing you hear at the main clubs, it’s a little bit weirder, more off center.

Magda: Basically we play in smaller locations, to get back to the underground feeling we were missing.

Marc Houle: That’s what the name means: down in the underground and out of the mainstream. [laughs] But also, we don’t wanna get away from the main clubs, we still like going there, but we felt like we were only playing the big clubs and wanted something different.

Magda: Berlin has a great underground scene, and it’s always changing, there’s always something new popping up. Our first party was actually at a venue that doesn’t have a name yet. [laughs]

How long has this idea been in the works?

Magda: It’s been a slow process, but it really came together this summer. I think it just all made sense this year I suppose. We just all felt like it was time for change.

Is it hard to leave Minus?

Marc Houle: Of course. To leave an established label that the world knows and that you have so much history with is obviously difficult. But I think not leaving Minus would be more harmful, or more difficult than staying. Especially as we have all these ideas and plans in our head.

What will you miss about Minus?

Magda: Working with all of those artists all the time. But we’ll still keep an open relationship, we’re still friends—if I want, I can still release a single or an EP or something on Minus. It’s not like we’re turning our backs and not talking to each other anymore.

Marc Houle: Yeah, I mean Rich has been incredibly helpful to me and my career. But now I’m at a point where I have my own vision, I want to take my career into my own hands.

Why is it you three running a label together? What kind of artistic kinship do you share?

Magda: We can’t really speak for Troy because he’s in airplane at the moment. But basically we started Items & Things together, and I think it really worked because all three of us have very particular taste, so it really balances out when the three of us are involved and give feedback. Otherwise I don’t think it would be the same.

Will it be difficult to rebrand yourselves as non-Minus DJs?

Magda: I think that’s always a challenge, but that’s not really something I’m thinking about.

Marc Houle: I don’t feel like I need to run away from Minus, I’m very proud of my years there. As long as people keep an open mind and listen to the new sound, I’m happy.

If you’ll still release occasionally on Minus, what exactly does it mean that you’ve left the label?

Magda: Well, there was no drama, we didn’t have a big fight or fall out or anything like that. But the focus now is on Items & Things.

Marc Houle: Now for me, when I’m releasing records, I have 100 percent creative freedom to release whatever I want. If I do something weird or different, I don’t have anyone to answer to, I can just release it.

So at Minus it felt like you had someone to answer to?

Marc Houle: Minus had a very distinct artistic direction, they still do. Rich always has these ideas for the future, and he gears the label toward that vision. Not having to worry about that stuff in the past was great. But there comes a point where you do want to worry about that stuff. And the new label gives us a chance to do that.

Magda: We want the label to be as uncomplicated as possible, and really serve as a platform to promote new artists. That means no exclusivity agreements—we don’t really care if the artists release other places, because all we want to do is help them establish themselves, and get some good music out there.

How do you find the artists on Items & Things?

Magda: They send us demos, mostly through SoundCloud. Danny [Benedettini] was sending us music for years, and we always said, “mm, I don’t know, it has potential, but not yet.” But then after a while it was like “yes, OK, it’s ready.” So we’re really happy to release him, and it feels good.

Last night we found one of  Troy Pierce’s first promo for the new label , you can check it below . We wish Items&Things good luck and hope to hear from them soon .

Magda delighting us again with some great tracks and tells some stories about the beginning of her career , how she met Richie Hawtin or how Minus was born .

Reboot, Magda playing at Loft Beach in Mannheim.
Video: Jonathan Kloß for electrovagant.de – rhein-neckar-electronisch!

With the release of her solo STOP EP on Minus, Magda can finally afford to take stock of a whirlwind few years that have seen the insatiable demand for her very special blend of house and techno carry her the length and breadth of the globe.

November 2005 and Magda’s set is reaching its climax at London’s Fabric. One moment she’s pounding the crowd with her very own 48 Hour Crack In Your Bass, the next the hairs on the back of 500 necks simultaneously stand to attention as the moody chords from Strafe’s all time classic Set It Off produce a collective gasp of appreciation from the dancefloor. She’s in the zone, unphased by the raucous response she’s generating. Virtually hidden by the racks of fx units and monitors surrounding her, she remains a picture of calmness, dictating the play with a cool hand.

It’s easy to see why she’s one of the most exciting prospects to breakthrough in recent years.
Magda makes things happen. Always has done, always will do.

Currently residing in Berlin, a relative stone’s throw from her home town of Zywiec in Poland considering the nomadic existence of her childhood, she seems to have finally found a city that mirrors her own attitude to life – no restrictions and certainly no compromise. It’s a philosophy that also flows through Magda’s music particularly during her after hour sets. The ability to guide her audience through the dark recesses of contemporary minimalism before delivering them back safely into the light means her name is never far from the lips of discerning clubbers and fellow DJs alike.

Her family left Zywiec for Texas in 1984 when she was nine before finally settling in Detroit in 1986. All this travelling around from one starkly contrasting environment to another, taught her to deal with new challenges and to adapt to new situations pretty quickly, lessons that have subsequently helped her deal with the often hectic life of a touring DJ. Always the outsider, the concept of ‘home’ was never as straightforward as it is for some. Sometimes though, home isn’t a physical location, it’s a state of mind and when she first turned up at a warehouse party a couple of blocks from where she’d grown up in the tough district of Hamtramck, she knew she’d found it. This initial foray into the Detroit underground culminated in the mind-blowing experience that was Spastik – Richie Hawtin’s first Plastikman PA. She was hooked.

Within a few months, armed with a cheap pair of belt drive turntables and an unquenchable thirst for vinyl, she’d moved from one side of the shop counter to the other at the influential Record Time store and had also persuaded the bar where she worked to put on a monthly techno night with Claude Young and Daniel Bell. Her enthusiasm was totally infectious and they soon asked her to warm up for them. In conversation it’s clear to see how much the lack of attitude and unconditional support from Bell in particular has shaped Magda’s own way of doing things.

Then, inspired by her mother’s ‘dark and surreal’ art she decided to study Graphic Design in New York state but soon realised music was the most natural medium for her self expression. Nevertheless, this abstract influence can still be found in her music production, juxtaposing as she does warm, thick swathes of sound with jagged little hi hat patterns, sometimes lazy, sometimes clinical but always purposeful and expressive.

With the release of her solo STOP EP on Minus, Magda can finally afford to take stock of a whirlwind few years that have seen the insatiable demand for her very special blend of house and techno carry her the length and breadth of the globe.

November 2005 and Magda’s set is reaching its climax at London’s Fabric. One moment she’s pounding the crowd with her very own 48 Hour Crack In Your Bass, the next the hairs on the back of 500 necks simultaneously stand to attention as the moody chords from Strafe’s all time classic Set It Off produce a collective gasp of appreciation from the dancefloor. She’s in the zone, unphased by the raucous response she’s generating. Virtually hidden by the racks of fx units and monitors surrounding her, she remains a picture of calmness, dictating the play with a cool hand.

It’s easy to see why she’s one of the most exciting prospects to breakthrough in recent years.
Magda makes things happen. Always has done, always will do.

Currently residing in Berlin, a relative stone’s throw from her home town of Zywiec in Poland considering the nomadic existence of her childhood, she seems to have finally found a city that mirrors her own attitude to life – no restrictions and certainly no compromise. It’s a philosophy that also flows through Magda’s music particularly during her after hour sets. The ability to guide her audience through the dark recesses of contemporary minimalism before delivering them back safely into the light means her name is never far from the lips of discerning clubbers and fellow DJs alike.

Her family left Zywiec for Texas in 1984 when she was nine before finally settling in Detroit in 1986. All this travelling around from one starkly contrasting environment to another, taught her to deal with new challenges and to adapt to new situations pretty quickly, lessons that have subsequently helped her deal with the often hectic life of a touring DJ. Always the outsider, the concept of ‘home’ was never as straightforward as it is for some. Sometimes though, home isn’t a physical location, it’s a state of mind and when she first turned up at a warehouse party a couple of blocks from where she’d grown up in the tough district of Hamtramck, she knew she’d found it. This initial foray into the Detroit underground culminated in the mind-blowing experience that was Spastik – Richie Hawtin’s first Plastikman PA. She was hooked.

Within a few months, armed with a cheap pair of belt drive turntables and an unquenchable thirst for vinyl, she’d moved from one side of the shop counter to the other at the influential Record Time store and had also persuaded the bar where she worked to put on a monthly techno night with Claude Young and Daniel Bell. Her enthusiasm was totally infectious and they soon asked her to warm up for them. In conversation it’s clear to see how much the lack of attitude and unconditional support from Bell in particular has shaped Magda’s own way of doing things.

Then, inspired by her mother’s ‘dark and surreal’ art she decided to study Graphic Design in New York state but soon realised music was the most natural medium for her self expression. Nevertheless, this abstract influence can still be found in her music production, juxtaposing as she does warm, thick swathes of sound with jagged little hi hat patterns, sometimes lazy, sometimes clinical but always purposeful and expressive.

With the release of her solo STOP EP on Minus, Magda can finally afford to take stock of a whirlwind few years that have seen the insatiable demand for her very special blend of house and techno carry her the length and breadth of the globe.

November 2005 and Magda’s set is reaching its climax at London’s Fabric. One moment she’s pounding the crowd with her very own 48 Hour Crack In Your Bass, the next the hairs on the back of 500 necks simultaneously stand to attention as the moody chords from Strafe’s all time classic Set It Off produce a collective gasp of appreciation from the dancefloor. She’s in the zone, unphased by the raucous response she’s generating. Virtually hidden by the racks of fx units and monitors surrounding her, she remains a picture of calmness, dictating the play with a cool hand.

It’s easy to see why she’s one of the most exciting prospects to breakthrough in recent years.
Magda makes things happen. Always has done, always will do.

Currently residing in Berlin, a relative stone’s throw from her home town of Zywiec in Poland considering the nomadic existence of her childhood, she seems to have finally found a city that mirrors her own attitude to life – no restrictions and certainly no compromise. It’s a philosophy that also flows through Magda’s music particularly during her after hour sets. The ability to guide her audience through the dark recesses of contemporary minimalism before delivering them back safely into the light means her name is never far from the lips of discerning clubbers and fellow DJs alike.

Her family left Zywiec for Texas in 1984 when she was nine before finally settling in Detroit in 1986. All this travelling around from one starkly contrasting environment to another, taught her to deal with new challenges and to adapt to new situations pretty quickly, lessons that have subsequently helped her deal with the often hectic life of a touring DJ. Always the outsider, the concept of ‘home’ was never as straightforward as it is for some. Sometimes though, home isn’t a physical location, it’s a state of mind and when she first turned up at a warehouse party a couple of blocks from where she’d grown up in the tough district of Hamtramck, she knew she’d found it. This initial foray into the Detroit underground culminated in the mind-blowing experience that was Spastik – Richie Hawtin’s first Plastikman PA. She was hooked.

Within a few months, armed with a cheap pair of belt drive turntables and an unquenchable thirst for vinyl, she’d moved from one side of the shop counter to the other at the influential Record Time store and had also persuaded the bar where she worked to put on a monthly techno night with Claude Young and Daniel Bell. Her enthusiasm was totally infectious and they soon asked her to warm up for them. In conversation it’s clear to see how much the lack of attitude and unconditional support from Bell in particular has shaped Magda’s own way of doing things.

Then, inspired by her mother’s ‘dark and surreal’ art she decided to study Graphic Design in New York state but soon realised music was the most natural medium for her self expression. Nevertheless, this abstract influence can still be found in her music production, juxtaposing as she does warm, thick swathes of sound with jagged little hi hat patterns, sometimes lazy, sometimes clinical but always purposeful and expressive.

The label was founded in 2000 as a part of the Cocoon Music Event GmbH.

The company’s other branches are Cocoon Booking (for Sven Väth, Ricardo Villalobos, Josh Wink etc. and Cocoon Clubbing, which organises club events as well as outdoor events and tours. Since July 2004, Cocoon also runs its own Club, located in Frankfurt, and being one of the most innovative club locations worldwide.

Sven founded Cocoon Recordings in order to complete the Cocoon platform as a supporting tool for young artists in Electronic Music. The label philosophy is as simple as demanding: helping young producers and DJs to release their music without depending on Major Label structures. The musical style of the releases is mainly Techno.

The flagship of Cocoon Recordings’ releases is the Cocoon Compilation, which features exclusive tracks by Cocoon Artists as well as other new talents and is facing its seventh issue ‘G’, which is to be released in June 2007 and features tracks by Cobblestone Jazz, Deetron, MyMy, Chaim, Stephan Bodzin, Tiefschwarz, Marcel Dettmann, Aki Latvamäki, Audion, Phil Kieran, Jamie Jones and Onur Özer.

Another series is called “…in the Mix” and features the official Mix-CDs of Sven Väth. After each season in Ibiza, Sven releases his current set – something he did in 1999 for the first time ever during his twenty year long career – under the title “The Sound of the First Season”, which immediately entered the official German Compilation Charts at # 28. For instance, “The Sound of the Fifth Season”, a combined CD/DVD gives an impression behind the scenes of the CocoonClub Ibiza, one of the most successful parties on the island, and shortly, the current volume “The Sound of the Seventh Season” was released. Other Cocoon Artists featured in this series are Richie Hawtin (together with Sven on “The Sound of the Third Season”), Steve Bug, Ricardo Villalobos, Pascal FEOS, Frank Lorber, Toni Rios and Tobi Neumann.

Besides these two highly successful series, Cocoon Recordings releases artist albums and EPs by Cocoon Artists such as Roman Flügel, Dinky, Djinxx, Jacek Sienkiewicz, Frank Lorber, Legowelt, Richard Bartz, Oliver Bondzio, Oliver Koletzki, Daze Maxim, Dominik Eulberg, Guy Gerber and Pig&Dan.