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Q&A: TINI

Desolat’s rising star on her free Ibiza parties

How did your Ibiza weekly takeovers at Sirocco Beach go?
“It went really well. I mean, I was hoping it was going to be good and everything but it is better than what I expected. I am happy about the amazing feedback I was getting, everyone enjoyed the parties, a lot of the other DJs on the island also passed by each week to say 'Hi'. It became a really nice spot.”

You managed to get together a diverse line-up for the parties, what was the angle you wanted to achieve putting it together?
“All the DJs that I invited to play were either friends of mine or people I really like, DJs that I like what they play. I didn’t try to drop big names, I wanted to have people around me each week that I like to hang out with and enjoy playing music with, and on top of that a lot of them have never been or even played in Ibiza before, so I saw my party as a good platform to bring out new and interesting DJs.”

How did this all start for you, then?
“Yeah, well it started pretty much from listening to tapes that my brother brought home from London and Paris from parties, house mixtapes that friends from New York sent over. I kept listening to this music with him, I never actually thought about being a DJ travelling the world as a profession as I do now. I didn’t plan it, it just happened, I really got into the music and the scene really quickly. I was going out to two-step and garage parties that were big in Munich at the time, then I ended up at a record store buying my first vinyl records trying to mix them up at home. Also friends of my brother were DJs. One of them was a really big DJ and he left his record box at ours one day, and I grabbed it and played around. Somehow it really caught me and never let me go — I was hooked.”

You’ve managed to capture your own sound with your productions on Desolat as well as when you're DJing — how would you describe your style and sound?
“I would call it tINI sound, very bass-driven. I love rolling basslines, I like to play very deep, not necessarily slow-deep as it can be deep techno, it often depends on where I go. I love more organic, raw tracks, and I do like to play around with vocals a lot in my sets. I would say it's part of a journey every time, that totally depends on where you hear me.”

How did you manage to find time to get into the studio whilst over in Ibiza?
“Very good question, I did wonder myself how I managed to find the time to do everything. It was difficult as I had a hell of a schedule, starting with me touring Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and then back to Ibiza on a Monday night. Take Tuesday as my only day off, and then Wednesday was my party, only leaving Thursday to be able to checkout new music — and then back on the road again. So I had very little time to record, most of the stuff I did on the road. I had my laptop with me and then every now and again I got to go into the studio in Ibiza. I did a few things over at Guy Gerber’s place, getting to use some really cool analogue equipment, some nice synths and stuff. You know if you want to do it, it is possible but I had really no time for myself this summer.”

What have you got coming out next on Desolat?
“Next from my side there will be a remix for Tiger Skins alongside a Radio Slave remix, which will be a nice release. There are quite a few things coming out on Desolat, can’t say what they are for now but they are going to be good.”