Interview
The Sundowner. Mix #25 comes from Ukrainian DJ Annyrock, who recently moved to Berlin. Her roots come from hip-hop culture and breaking and her style is an infusion between House, Breakbeat, Trance and everything that…
The Sundowner. Mix #25 comes from Ukrainian DJ Annyrock, who recently moved to Berlin. Her roots come from hip-hop culture and breaking and her style is an infusion between House, Breakbeat, Trance and everything that will make the body move. We are more than happy to welcome her in our Sundowner. series. Get to know Anny better in the interview we had with her and enjoy one hour of her tasteful mix.
Inés: Hi Anny, how are you?
Anny: Hi Inés, I’m good! Super happy right now, was spending 2 lovely weeks with my bf from Kyiv whom I hadn’t seen since I moved to Berlin – almost half of the year!
Inés: Where did you grow up and how did that influence your sound?
Anny: I grew up in Kyiv ghetto and from my teenage years I was deeply involved in hip-hop culture and breaking. Hip-hop DJing instilled in me a passion for the groovy beats with fat bass lines that made one’s body move and I still feel it like the main influence from my background.
Inés: What has DJing brought you, or taught you, in your path and what have you changed since starting out?
Anny: I think the most important understanding I’ve got from this business is that a musical track, being already a completed composition by itself, can acquire an infinite number of new manifestations through a DJ who decides to play it in his set. How will he play it, mix it, what moment will be chosen to drop it, what tracks will be played before and after it – these are the factors that can transform the same track into completely different shapes. The skill to make all these moves in the right way – this is the thing I’m trying to grasp more and more in every set.
Inés: When you were living in Kyiv you were involved with Closer Connections, can you tell us more about the project and how you landed there?
Anny: In my opinion is the most flexible DJ school in Ukraine with the individual approach. The course for each student was based on his interview according to his specific requests, skills or the goals. CC is not only about the DJ school, first of all it is a community for sharing one’s knowledge and experience, making events, a studio available for practicing or recording the podcasts and now it’s even a shop of used musical equipment, the owner of CC invited me to join the team before its opening so I was able to take part in the first steps of the school. For me it was a big honour to become a part of it and I really miss that place.
