HÖR+

AIAIAI

Streaming live from the notorious HÖR studios in Berlin, we invite the most exciting DJs and producers from within our community to showcase their sound in a series of livestreams throughout the year.

Livestreams ·HÖR Berlin

HÖR played an imperative part in keeping the local and global electronic music scene alive during the Covid-19 lockdown, and paved the way for new producers and DJs to get their music out, through human curation, hard work and a fundamental desire to support upcoming artists and showcase a broad spectrum of music, with diversity at its core.

Scroll down to watch sets from our quarterly AIAIAI takeovers.

BEAUTIFUL

TAKEOVER:

OTIK

Since 2013 Ashley Thomas has steadily been building up his artillery of forward thinking hard hitting club music under his moniker Otik. In 2018 Otik joined the ranks of Rinse for a bi-monthly residency which gave him the opportunity to explore the deeper recesses of his record collection alongside guests such as Martyn, Andrea & Cosmin TRG. He has also contributed to mix series like Dekmantel, Crack Magazine, Lobster Theremin, Club Qu (named as Resident Advisor’s Mix Of The Day) and guested on radio stations like NTS and Worldwide FM whilst holding down a residency on Rinse France. In 2019 things stepped up on a production level. The year began with the ‘Stoned Ghost’ EP on Berlin’s Nous Disques imprint, which explored a more emotive dreamy side of UK Techno.

In quick succession Otik’s followed up with a debut outing on Midland’s Intergraded imprint with a track titled ‘Actress’ and later the experimental ‘Dioxide’ EP via DEXT Recordings. In 2020, Otik self-released 3 EPs on Bandcamp and his momentum continued in the same year with EPs on Gobstopper Records, Shall Not Fade and a return to both Intergraded and Keysound Recordings. His ’Trifecta’ EP marked a further progression in his career as he joined the roster of the Berlin based imprint Club Qu - one of the true champions of lockdown, their VR events have become legendary, projecting the feel of Berlin’s nightlife worldwide in the most forward thinking way. November 2021 was Otik’s debut on Martyn’s label 3024 with his ‘Soulo’ EP, which received early support from Mary Ann Hobbs on Radio 6 and saw Otik explore various tempos and genres, infusing Jungle and UK Techno with other components of his sound. He recently launched his own imprint Solar Body, with inaugural EP Psyops, a journey through Jungle, Footwork and Intelligent Breaks.

BEAUTIFUL

TAKEOVER:

WORKO

Tope (AKA worko) is a producer from London. They are constantly redefining their sound, comfortable from 75bpm to much faster, dancier BPMs. They pride themselves on making whatever they feel to make in the moment, not feeling the need to find a pocket for themselves musically. They are heavily inspired by all that they hear, and their eclectic taste is evident in their willingness to get stuck in with any genre they see fit. They are slowly allowing the outside world into the musical space that has been brewing inside their head for years with each release, trying to make their emotions legible through sound. Their first release on SHERELLE'S BEAUTIFUL - 'suxcess' - is an energetic burst of music - they aim to spotlight their flexibility in their upcoming releases. 

BEAUTIFUL

TAKEOVER:

FX093

Meddy under the FX093 alias is a Paris-based French self-taught producer and founder of the independent record label Switch. When it came to building up this musical project, FX093 got his inspiration from his own experience, meaning his everyday life as well and his background.

His creativity, determination and his revolt against social inequalities has led him to create an authentic artistic dynamic around the Do-It-Yourself culture. A purely economic approach in line with the environment of the northeast suburbs of Paris in which Meddy grew up. His tracks are mainly created with the means available commonplace objects and his iPhone microphone.

After 5 years of practice and various processes, FX093 established his musical identity between distorted synthesizers and strong percussions, all mixed with atmospheres as deep as melancholic.

BEAUTIFUL

TAKEOVER:

SHEBA Q

Sheba Q wants you to know that Jungle is the mother of Grime and the sister of Hip-Hop when she steps up to the turntables. Alongside being a jungle enthusiast, both new and old, she always draws for an eclectic selection, showcasing the true versatility the music has to offer.

When Sheba Q steps up to the turntables, she brings a deep level of knowledge and understanding to her performance with song selections that only a true music fanatic could display.

Sheba Q has come a long way, having produced and released tracks with Coco Bryce, Double O and her own EP with No Nation. Notable performances include Keep Hush, Boiler Room, Rupture, Outlook Festival, Distant Planet, Headspace, Queer Rave, Floorless, Materials, Planet Wax, Black Artist Database, Unorthodox, DJ Mag, Late Night Shopper, Hoots TV, Rudeboys and Rollups and much more.

Sheba Q was also nominated for DJ Mag's Breakthrough DJ 2021.

BEAUTIFUL

TAKEOVER:

KESSLER

Kessler aka Eddy Kennedy is proving himself as a staple of modern electronic music. Tipped as one of the most exciting producers and selectors, collecting records & studying production from an early age enabled him to showcase his deep passion for music. An eclectic taste is well and truly reflected through Kessler’s creative & unique style, portrayed through an array of releases on Shall Not Fade, Holding Hands, Club Glow, Hospital Records and more. Influenced but not limited to the cut throat amen breaks of drum & bass and jungle, warped twisted rhythms typical of Ilian Tape & Warp right through to drunken drummer grooves of J Dilla.

Having nurtured his sound in the UK & Ireland, Kessler relocated to Rotterdam to continue growing his fluid, forward thinking & genre defying aesthetic which you can hear in ‘Ambivalent’ & ‘Foul Play’, He created a dynamic signature of immersive breaks & bass-driven music, receiving praise along the way, and debuting his output across multiple reputable stations like BBC Radio 1, Rinse FM & NTS. Also sought out for his selections, where he outlines his distinct connection with unrestricted electro, garage, jungle & techno, Kessler has gained a reputation for tough and diverse sets that command the dancefloor, landing a residency on Rinse FM, racking up on guest appearances on Rinse France, Balamii, BBC R1/ R1xtra and podcasts for the likes of Mixmag, FEEL MY BICEP, DJ Mag, Lobster Theremin, Ransom Note to name a few.

Despite worldwide setbacks, 2021 still saw great achievements for the breakbeat aficionado, earning a nomination for Breakthrough Producer in DJ Mag's Best of British Awards and a landmark Boiler Room performance on home soil at AVA Festival. 2022 continues the momentum with an illustrious touring schedule, including appearances at coveted festivals like Dekmantel, Warehouse Project & Waterworks, exploring the possibilities of live performance and a strong string of releases yet to come, exploring various sonics to cast from his creative bow.

Kessler also boasts his own club imprints Footwork & Meraki, which sees him curate line-ups within the realm of footwork, jungle, electro, breaks & driven techno.

BEAUTIFUL

TAKEOVER:

SCAPA

SCAPA is a London born, Manchester based producer and DJ. With aspirations to compose music for video games, her sound is a fusion of synth focused, sound design elements and electronic glitches that have a heavy presence throughout her tracks. Having been immensely influenced by Manchester’s scene, it is only fitting that her first releases were part of two of the city’s underground music fundraisers in 2020, followed by her contribution to SHERELLE’s critically acclaimed BEAUTIFUL VOL. 1 LP in 2021. With production spanning from the experimental solo EP release “i deserve nice things” in November 2021 to Afropop tracks produced as part of her Asa Baako x SEEN residency, SCAPA has already proved her versatility as an artist.

Though her DJ career was born out of lockdown, SCAPA’s growth has been rapid - from creating mixes for stations throughout the UK and regularly playing for Manchester collectives such as Shifting Spheres, Left, Right & Centre and RebeccaNeverBecky, to DJing for the likes of international sensation Amaarae and at Manchester International Festival. When not producing or DJing SCAPA can be found teaching production workshops to women and non-binary people in efforts to address the extreme gender imbalance in music.

BEAUTIFUL

TAKEOVER:

NO NATION

Rooted in the sounds of Jazz, Progressive Rock and Fusion, No Nation quickly cemented himself within Soul, RnB and Old School Hip Hop club scenes with a residency at Vibe (London) and appearances at events like Old School Sundays & GotSoul Sundays as well as international bookings across the globe.

As a producer his music is something to be savoured. Drawing inspiration from music on labels such as Inperspective and Scientific Wax, he combines dynamic and diverse fusion of soulful sounds, chopped breaks and samples - sure to leave a lasting impression. Along with production partner Sheba Q, No Nation has several features of Bristol-based dance label Slippery Sounds, London leftfield label Diffrent Music and most recently Sherelle's new imprint BEAUTIFUL music.

OPHÉLIE

B2B

O.N.A 

Born and raised in the South-West of France, ophélie is a Berlin-based DJ with a strong taste for bass-heavy music in all its forms, pop-infused emotional bangers, and jungle. Her Refuge Worldwide residency, Therapy Dog, is the perfect opportunity for her to explore the different genres she’s into and share the decks with friends and artists she admires. As part of the Open Music Lab, a Berlin-based non-profit collective offering free music workshops and courses for people from marginalised communities to connect and create together, she's interested in ways to support young artists outside the mainstream, in the hope to build a more equitable music scene.

O.N.A, a Refuge Worldwide resident, is a dynamic artist whose DJ mixes vary from blues to breaks, ambient and beyond. Born and raised in Manchester, U.K, O.N.A’s monthly radio show on Refuge Worldwide reflects the quality of diasporic underground music communities around the world as well as the rich musical heritage of his Cameroonian background. 

Since the relaxing of pandemic restrictions, O.N.A has played gigs in London and Berlin, including opening for electronic music pioneers and legends A Guy Called Gerald and DJ Flight. O.N.A will next be closing Berlin’s CTM festival 2022 with an explorative and experimental all night set as part of a collective of Refuge Worldwide artists and DJs. O.N.A also works as a creative strategist, music producer and sound designer from his East Berlin studio. 

As a creative strategist, O.N.A’s work has focussed on projects supporting marginalised groups. O.N.A is currently the lead Creative Strategist for Black Artist Database (B.A.D.), an international community based platform centred around a database of Black owned record labels, artists, producers, bands and creative professionals. B.A.D. undertakes various projects and initiatives to uplift Black voices within the electronic music community and industry. 

BERLIN BUNNY

Berlin Bunny is an artist, photographer, graphic designer and co-runner of KEYI Magazine, born in Poland, but based in Berlin over the past decade, and partly living in Shenzhen, China. In 2012 she started out as a vinyl collector, and in 2017 she started to mix music in public, combing her strong alternative electro punk music background with techno, strongly inspired by Berlin's underground scene. Since then you can catch her gigs in Asia and around Europe - mostly in Germany, Poland and China.

CHLOE LULA

Chloé Lula is a Berlin-based DJ producer and journalist. She is the Managing Editor of Resident Advisor the Editorial Director of Refuge Worldwide Radio and the Critical Beats columnist at The Wire magazine.

She received her master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School in 2020 and is a fellow with the Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting.

Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post the New York Times Politico and Esquire among other major publications where she covers gender justice human rights and their touch points with music and activism.

She put out her debut EP, ‘Errant Bodies,’ on aufnahme + wiedergabe this spring, and will release with Berlin's Instruments of Discipline and Ciarra Black’s Pendulum imprints in early 2022.

SAINT LUDO

Saint Ludo is a DJ and radio presenter from California via Italy, now based in London. A main staple at both foundation fm and Keep Hush. Raised on hip-hop and rap - now grime is the predominant element in her mixes, which are tied together by bounce, funky, bass and club beats - making her mixing a unique blend of vocal samples placed over unexpected beats and instrumentals.

Amongst many gigs, she was on the Princess Nokia Euro tour '20, played Alexandra Palace, Wireless festival, Boiler Room festival, and having appeared on BBC 1xtra, Kiss FM, NTS Radio, Reprezent, Dublab in LA, Balamii & more - you can catch her djing all over the UK and Europe.

SOLID BLAKE

B2B

LUZ1E

Pushing robotic body music to its kinetic and cathartic limits as both DJ and producer, Solid Blake's precision is remarkable. With productions described by Mixmag as "percussion palpitating below wild synth bursts," this is an artist rightfully earning her praises developing a reputation for impacting crowds with her gritty cross-pollinated strains of electronic club music.

Eclecticism is the keyword when it comes to the musical taste of LUZ1E. Based on her love of harsh drums, weird bleeps and bouncy basslines, she interweaves dark Electro with complex Breaks, Techno and the occasional dreamy bop.

Born and raised in Frankfurt she quickly developed a keen interest in electronic music when her brother introduced her to early House music. Inspired by the dance sound of Detroit, Chicago, New York and the UK she translates the diverse sonic influences into her sets and productions, which build a bridge between classic tunes and new sounds combining them into a notion of futuretroism.

Headphones ·TMA-2

TMA-2

DJ

Responsibly designed modular DJ headphones - built to last.

The TMA-2 DJ headphones have been developed with professional artists across a variety of genres, and put to the test on stages all around the world.

The titanium-coated S02 speaker unit delivers a punchy and intense sound representation focused on bass and low-end dynamics. Combining the durable H02 nylon headband and the E02 on-ear PU leather earpads providing high isolation, results in a powerful, sturdy headphone suitable for live performance and electronic/bass heavy music.

The modular design of the TMA-2 headphone family allows you to upgrade or exchange parts of your headphone as technology or needs evolve, to extend the functional lifetime of the product and create less waste for the planet.