Anastasia Kristensen
DJ | Producer | Label Manager
If Anastasia Kristensen were a plant, she’d be an ‘Aechmea Blue Rain’. The flower is an amalgam of stark purple, light pinks and dashes of electric blue sitting on sharp-tongued green leaves. As a DJ and producer, her track selections, releases on Houndstooth and Hotflush Recordings, and remixes for Special Request and Daniel Avery reflect the kaleidoscopic of colours in the plant. Having spent years building a record collection of every conceivable genre, Anastasia’s ear is open to anything and everything, and this certainly shows in her fiery mixes and productions.
There’s no strict sound which the Russian born, Copenhagen-based artist follows. A typical set can start with wonky electro before edging into breakbeat followed by UK techno which barrels into trance-tinged euphoria - and that’s just the first 20 minutes. You can absolutely expect a backspin, vicious fader flicks and playful vocals thrown in along the way with little chance to gather your thoughts in between; once Anastasia is behind the decks, you’re no longer in the safe zone of the 4/4 orb.
Before the pandemic, Anastasia was touring heavily and had played at Berghain’s Säule and main floor during CTM, Griessmuehle, fabric London, FOLD, Awakenings, Ampere, a rowdy Boiler Room at an undisclosed location in Lisbon, and many other clubs and festivals across the whole world spanning from South America, through Morocco to Asia. She was due to play Junction 2 in London two weeks ago but like countless events, it’s been postponed for now.
As countries slowly ease some lockdown restrictions, some sort of normalcy is potentially on the horizon. Anastasia shares a memory from just before the pandemic hit, as well as her thoughts on how the scene can move forward in other aspects outside of the Covid-19 cataclysm…
Photo: Luke Dyson
Where was this photo taken and why did you choose it? What was the music vibe at the time?
This was taken at my last London gig at the Sphere event at the new Magazine London. The music vibe was bouncy, sexy and that lighting in the venue just created an incredible atmosphere.
Where in the world have you been going through lockdown and how have you adjusted to the sudden change it has brought to your schedule?
I was actually travelling through Japan and Singapore at the time when Europe called on lockdown. It was surreal to come back home to Copenhagen, where the airport was already empty but full of warnings for social distancing in every corner. Not sure If I ever will adjust, but it's been nice to get regular sleep pattern.
What kind of music have you been listening to or sorting through from your own collection at home?
Loads of 80s classics, but actually club music too, because I really miss going out and playing out.
Gerd Janson played a socially distant party with stringent hygiene rules in place in Germany a few weeks ago. Do you think this is the way forward for the events industry? Or do you have a different vision of what the future of parties looks like?
I am not sure how I feel about this. It could be a way forward to begin with, but hopefully for a very short amount of time - because this is a huge compromise to what clubbing stands for.
What would be your ideal post-pandemic celebration?
I am really occupied with the ongoing movement within the black community. I hope post-pandemic reality will also implement diversity and active anti-racial behaviour in our sphere. We owe everything to black culture and it's time for all members of the scene to implement positive changes actively. That would be the ideal celebration.
Any tips on how to look after your mind and body during this time as well as trying to stay motivated as an artist?
Take a break from the internet, go for a walk, call your friend and convince yourself it’s temporary. It is like - accepting this new reality but only half way through, try not to give up on your dreams, visions and destinations because our every day has been sat on a pause. I think it's very important.
Listen to Anastasia’s most recent isolated livestream set for Hackstage here and follow her below: