meets Stella Nutella
Interview
by Ari
Design by
Machinelf
11/15/04
When I
asked a visiting trance artist from Germany earlier this year, who the best
up-n’coming European trance DJ was, the answer came without a moment of
hesitation: Stella Nutella. And as the
last DJ to play at GM04 festival this summer, she sure put on a clinic! Stella is as surprising behind the decks, as
she is in the studio. In the past few
years, she’s been busy taking the ever-so-positive vibe of her sets around the
world. At the same time, she’s produced
solid trance tracks with everyone from Psypilot to Chromosome, from Aphid Moon
to Safi Connection. Now in a special
school for musicians and artists in Sweden, she looks toward new horizons with
an open mind and an open heart. As we
get ready to welcome her to NYC this Friday, here’s a collection of thoughts
and perspectives from the lady herself.
So you're
coming to the States again. What are
your impressions from this year's Gaian Mind open air festival in
Pennsylvania?
Actually it was my favorite party of
the summer! A real sweet hippie festival…
I loved the sweat lodge and the ceremonies. It was exciting to come and play in
a new country and find such pure vibes and meet so many great people. North
America feels fresh, like a new adventure to me…I’m happy to be back!
The US
trance movement must seem very 'underground' coming from Europe...
Yes, but in some parts of Europe
like in my home country Sweden it is also very underground. Maybe you wouldn’t
think so because many good tracks are being produced there, but in terms of
parties… The police and the authorities have made it impossible for any dance
scene to develop… so now there is hardly anything going on, unfortunately. L
Heard that
you lost your CD’s (had ‘em stolen) prior to your performance there (not that
it showed)… how did you manage that personal hell?
It happened on Wednesday in NYC and
I didn’t have to play until Sunday morning, so I had a few days to get over the
shock and to get a new set together. I spent a long day on the computer and had
some “key” tracks transferred from Israel and France, and a friend was just
arriving from Brazil with a bag full of new goodies. I was also amazed how
every single DJ at the festival offered me to borrow their cd cases; I would
like to say big thanks to everyone!!!! In fact in the end I ended up with a
huge bunch of great music and even in my 4 hour set I didn’t have time to play
even half of it.
It seems
you really enjoy playing extended morning sets. Do you prepare your material in advance, or is it more like you
play whatever seems proper at the moment?
I just tend to listen to a lot of
music beforehand, pick out some old favorites and of course go through all the
new stuff I have received, getting some ideas...
It’s hard to prepare a set list
because you have no idea what the vibe will be like! Once in the DJ booth, I just wanna go with the flow, play
whatever feels right for the moment and have fun together with the dancing
people!
Are your
musical roots mostly in industrial music?
Do you see any parallels between that music and trance?
Yes, when I was a moody teenager in
the cold North I got very into industrial music- I still love its dark feeling
at times! You can definitely find it in
some areas of psy-trance… think of labels such as Boshke Beats, they release
some great psy-industrial tracks. It’s
good to balance it out with some more fluffiness though! ;)
So you knew
early on in life that being an artist/performer was your calling?
Yes but when I was a kid I wanted to
become an actress. Me and a friend used to set up in school plays every Friday.
The DJ thing I never thought of before the idea just hit me one day in London.
Where I grew up in North Sweden there were no clubs with Djs… so I had never
thought about it before then.
How is
school going? Must be quite an
experience being surrounded by talented and creative people all the time...
Yeah, and especially since all the
students and teachers have a background in such different genres of music. We
sure get inspired from each other… I’m learning a lot!
How do you
plan to use all this new knowledge when you finish school?
I’m planning to continue expanding
my home studio and work in music production as much as I can… hopefully writing
tracks of many different styles -and creating new styles too! ;)
What is it
about you Swedes anyway… You’ve got the techno thing down like it’s 1st
grade math, same with progressive and now full-on… what next, world domination?
We have a good tradition and a good
self confidence; in all music genres Sweden have always been exporting a
helluvalot of music even though we are such a small country.
In trance ….Yes, of course we are
planning to take over the world!
Maybe we are so productive because
our winters are so incredibly long and dark and our studios are so cozy and
warm… we have the BEST central heating systems in the world so it’s easy to
hibernate in front of the computer and just make heaps of tracks, waiting for
the snow to melt outside!
You are quite
the collaborator when it comes to making music... do you find it as much of an educational experience for you as it
is fulfilling to you as an artist?
Yes, it’s very interesting to make
music with different people because there are hundreds of ways to do it -and no
real rules. Everyone has a different set-up and different little tricks… After
each co-write you walk out with tons of new knowledge and ideas.
But at the moment, I’m really into
writing tracks alone… I didn’t have the chance so much before because I didn’t
have my own studio. Now, I’m getting spoilt of not having to compromise with
anyone! ;)
What’s been
the most memorable collaboration so far and who would you like to work with in
the future?
The best collaboration so far was earlier
this year when I wrote a track called “Watching U” with a new project, Xuxuxu
which is me, Jiga from Analog Pussy and English DJ Sally Doolally. It was an
amazing experience because I had never written anything with other women
before, and we just connected so well, making it really easy to work. The track
is also dedicated to a friend who died, so it was a special thing in that way
too… A very unexpected thing is (thanks to Jiga`s persuading powers) that the
track has got me and Sally singing in it!
As for the future... I would love to
work with Infected Mushroom, that would be fun. Or Dino Psaras, another of my
all time favorites in psytrance.
What is
your next release and when is it coming out?
My compilation Accelerator 2.0 on
Turbo Trance has just been delayed, unfortunately. It will probably come in the
beginning of 2005 and will have some of my stuff on it. Apart from that… AP
records are soon to release Xuxuxu on vinyl.
What kind
of philosophy do you follow in life? Do
you think your success as an artist is a result of following these principles?
I truly believe that everything is
possible and magic is everywhere if you are open to it. Of course this
philosophy has flavored my life on all levels…I think my spiritual view on life
makes me tune in to the universal groove and it also helps my creativity flow! J
Do you
often play at all-female DJ parties?
Yes sometimes, the last one was in
Amsterdam a few months ago I think. These parties are always fun, usually both
the men and the women on the dancefloor are smiling and the energy gets extra
fluffy and sexy!
Why do you
think it is that musicians are mostly men?
You mean trance musicians I guess? I
don’t think it is true for every other genre…
Well I have been wondering this
because it is a scene where you would expect a lot of strong liberated women
that want to have the same musical fun as the boys. It is hard to find an
answer…. The fact that boys are more into computers, maybe? There is definitely
a lot of technical stuff to learn…
But I think it is changing, more and
more girls seem to get the idea to get into electronic music making. I hope so!
What are
your top five tracks to play at the moment?
Schatsi-Burnin`
Xuxuxu-watching u
Stella+psypilot- Pluto
Ninja-Showtime
Black n White-Stars
What’s your
tour schedule been like and where are you going from here?
More chilled than in a long time… I
have been hiding in the studio much more lately, my school is my main priority this
year and that feels very good, after travelling like a lunatic for quite a
while!
December is exam time and the only
gig I will be doing is New Year’s Eve.
And what’s
on New Years?
I’m playing a big club party in
Budapest. I love the scene in Eastern Europe, the people there are just 100%
going for it! There is a bit of a hype for this party and I have many friends
coming along, so I’m sure it’s gonna be a kicking one!
Finally, what’s
in store for us party people when you come to play on the 19th?
Lots of surprises and a Stellar
experience!
Thank you
very much and we look forward to seeing you soon!
Thank you! J