‘I was such a little shit' - Stephanie Sykes Interview

Jaded, KHIDI and Atomic Jam. Three techno parties happening across London, Tbilisi and Birmingham. What do these far flung raves have in common? Stephanie Sykes.

The German born, Manchester based producer and DJ is a solid resident across a trio gatherings considered to be the cream of the techno crop. From London’s after-hours Jaded party at the temple of Corsica to Tbilisi’s prolific KHIDI club and not forgetting Birmingham's relentless Atomic Jam nights at the notorious Q Club, the young artist is a core figure behind each event.

An evidently hard worker balancing production time with three renowned residencies on opposite sides of the world, Sykes has well and truly broken the mould into the world of hard techno, spinning alongside MOTZ favourites like Under Black Helmet and fellow KHIDI resident Regal. A strong presence amongst the tight Jaded family helped make her mark on London’s loyal techno scene, while a set at KHIDI threw her in the spotlight of Georgia’s dedicated underground community who snapped her up as a regular fixture last year. Venturing to the midlands of England in Birmingham, Sykes ongoing Atomic Jam residency has seen her sounds complement pounding nights with Dave Clarke, Mark Broom and Mancunian heavy weight’s AnD well into the early hours.

Remixing Rebekah’s belter ‘Breathe’ by adding haunting, dub-heavy undertones and releasing her own oddball tunes like ‘Hypo ’ and ‘Perplex ’ on Full Panda Records, Sykes tracks are a little more chilling compared to her hardcore DJ sets, all the more reason we’re drawn into her realm.

We caught up with the unstoppable Sykes to talk hard house in Ibiza, her first illegitimate pair of 1210’s and her upcoming debut at London’s only 'women first' techno rave Koodeta...

When did this whole journey in music production and mixing begin for you?

Well it all began around 15 years ago. I was still at school doing my G.C.S.E's and I remember my dad wanting to reward me with a holiday for when I finished all the exams. I was around fifteen or sixteen years old. I knew I wanted to go to Ibiza with some girl friends who were a few years older than me. I think my dad thought it was safe haha. The holiday was a bit of an eye opener, I'd never been properly clubbing before and I think my first clubbing experience in Ibiza was a hard house event at Eden. It was a Lisa Lashes 'Lashed' event. I remember seeing her DJing and thinking 'wow this is really cool' then she climbs over the DJ booth into the crowd and starts dancing. During the holiday I also experienced going to a Manumission party. This was f****** crazy. The music was amazing, I felt really inspired by all the music and I knew I wanted to teach myself how to mix and somehow involve myself in the music scene. I was such a little shit when I got home, I hacked into my dads ebay account and bided on some Technic's 1210 turntables. At first I was just browsing but something in my head was saying do it, hit the button, bid, so I did and honestly I thought that I wouldn’t win them or anything, but then one week later my dad came down the stairs (at this point I'd completely forgotten about the shopping spree), I looked at his face and it was so red, he looked fuming, asking me what have you gone and done? Whoopsy!

Later on I bought a surprise box of techno and hard house records from ebay and had absolutely no idea what I was getting. This was the beginning of my music addiction, in particular hard house, I loved it back then. So I used these records to teach myself how to mix and beat match, it was a pretty random selection but I didn’t care. I felt ever so sorry for my parents, they were always telling me to turn it down. I used to record each mixing session onto a mixtape and listen back to it, judging whether it was a good mix or a dodgy mix. As much as I loved mixing records and collecting other people's music, I began to realise it wasn't enough for me to be able to express myself, so in 2009 I moved up to Manchester where I studied at the Manchester Midi School. This move was life altering for me and was what really sculpted me as an artist! At this stage all I was listening too and making was techno and electronica. My technician at the school was amazing and he really helped me to develop my own style. Now he's living in Berlin and his track just reached number one seller in the Juno techno charts so I had a good teacher.

You’re holding down a number of global residences at the moment, including one at KHIDI in Tbilisi, Georgia. How does a Manchester based artist end up with a DJ residency in such a far flung country?

Yes and I’m very grateful for my residencies. It was like a snowball. Firstly, I was asked to be Atomic Jam resident in 2014, then the year after that I was asked to come back every month at my beloved Jaded, then the year after that KHIDI asked me. I have three amazing families!

I don’t know really how it happened, I had never been to Tbilisi before, I had no connections over there whatsoever but was invited to play at KHIDI for the first time back in 2016. The gig went amazingly well and luckily I got invited back as a resident for 2017 alongside Regal, Phase Fatale, Boston 168 & Luigi Tozzi! I was so pleased because it was such an amazing club, one of the best I'd ever played in. At the time I remember thinking to myself ‘this must be what it feels like to play in Berghain' haha. I totally fell in love with the aesthetic and sound of the club, it was like a dream coming true for sure. Now I have really good connections over there. When you go to Tbilisi the people make you feel so welcome they feel like an extended part of your family. I highly recommend going.

What’s the underground scene like out there at the moment?

The scene out there is amazing, I'm seeing a lot of great line-ups week in week out. There are a lot of great clubs and festivals out there, for sure there is a huge music culture to be explored.

Are there any emerging artists coming out of Tbilisi that you’ve got your eyes and ears on?

Artist's I have my eye on include OTHR, Roman, Greenbeam & Leon. These guys are the other residents at KHIDI and they're really good!

Between KHIDI and the infamous after-hours Jaded party in London, where is your studio set up and how do you schedule production time between gigs and travelling?

I have a home studio now. I used to rent a studio which I loved in the sense that I could go there until all hours and make noise but sometimes I'd get there and wouldn’t feel inspired. With my set up being at home, I feel really comfortable and I don’t have to travel far when I get up which has its advantages, but sometimes it can be a bit intense like I'm on house arrest. At the moment I'm generally only writing music when I'm feeling inspired which could be all day or not at all.

There’s been a surge of high profile DJs standing up to sexism such as The Black Madonna, B.Traits and Miss Kittin for example, who have been quite vocal about equality in the industry and how to things must and will change. Where do you stand on the matter?

I support their values and am all for gender equality. I would love to see more females on line-ups but whether you're male or female you should be there on merit! I'm really supportive of other artists that I feel are really good, irrespective of their sex. Music should be genderless. It's the language of the earth that everybody understands.

Coming up on August 19th, you’re headlining Koodeta alongside up and coming London based artists Jasmin and Ireen Amnes. Do you think a girls only rave will have a different energy to the usual mixed gender nights you’ve previously played at?

I was really pleased to be invited to play for Koodeta because I've never been to an all female party before so it will be an exciting new experience for me. I'm looking forward to seeing how the energy differs from a regular party.

Resident Advisor have recently released ‘Real Scenes - London’ depicting the current state of nightlife in the capital and drawing attention to the progress in gender balanced bookings. Given your first hand experience on the scene, what is your opinion?

I think it's incredibly important to include new or up and coming talent to line-ups otherwise your limiting the scene. To see more women on the line ups is definitely a step in right direction and it is a really good time right now as it is happening more and more. I really believe in talent over politics and it's great to see balanced lineups becoming the norm as there are some incredible female DJs and producers out there!

Finally, what five tracks have inspired you to keep doing what you’re doing?

Quite a mix of styles, old and new but stuff that inspires me in the studio and on the dancefloor:

Autechre – Vletrmx21

Aphex Twin - Rhubarb

Lada – Lostbahnhof

Oake - Hélicorde

Remco Beekwilder - Rave Mood

Stephanie makes her Koodeta debut at Hackney's finest sausage factory this Saturday alongside Koodeta regulars Ireen Amnes and Jasmin for the collectives first day and night party. Tickets available here.