Name: Mareen Nagel aka Mareena
Occupation: DJ, producer
Nationality: German
Recent release: Mareena teams up with JakoJako for Atlas der Gedanken, out now via Edition Dur.
Recommendations: Oh, I'd love to share a newer book by music producer Rick Rubin, that I'm currently reading, a beautiful synergy of creativity and spirituality, it's called: The Creative Act.
And finally, a track of course: To everyone who's newer into techno, I highly recommend to listen to Basic Channel - “Phylyps Trak II/II.” To me this is one of the most essential tracks when it comes to techno.

[Read our JakoJako interview]

If you enjoyed this Mareena interview and would like to stay up to date with her music and current live dates, visit her on Instagram, and Soundcloud.



What made it appealing to you to DJ yourself? What was it that you wanted to express and what, did you feel, did you have to add artistically?

At a very young age, I organized a “Kinder/Teen-Disco” every now and then in the village where I grew up. I played music from CDs and cassettes from my Hi-Fi tower, which I carried over to the “Dorfkneipe” (local pub). 80s and 90s pop, lots of Michael Jackson and some hip-hop. It took a few years until I could visit clubs, but then the magic of vinyl mixing hit me very quickly.

My main passion lies in creating an immersive and enjoyable experience for the audience with carefully pre-selected records and digital tracks. I love the power of music to connect with people on a deep level, to inspire them, and to move their bodies rhythmically.

Also, I strive to create a positive and uplifting atmosphere where everyone feels free to express themselves through dance and music.

Which other DJs were important for your development and what did you learn from them?

Oh, there are so many important DJs that have influenced me. Starting off near my home village, it was DJ Lazer who introduced me into beatmatching (a local amazing techno DJ). My Rostock homies Yavin and Sebastian Krohn (from the UKW club) deepened my knowledge. At techno parties, there were Electric Indigo & Eva Cazal who empowered me to DJ as a young girl and be confident with technic.

But there are many more to whom I am very grateful to this day. You know who you are…

What does a great DJ add to the clubbing experience?

Oh, there are many aspects I guess. For me personally, I love unpredictable shifts in sets like mixing different genres without interrupting the mood on the dancefloor. Lots of empathy for the crowd but also some sort of guidance.

For warm ups: setting up a good pace for the rest of the night and not banging it straight. Timing is crucial in clubbing, and a skilled DJ knows when to build up the energy.

And last but not least, a great track selection, tunes that are not easy to find and a unique signature in mixing.

Do you think that DJing creates a new form that can take on the qualities of a composition in its own right? Is this something you strive for?

DJing can definitely create a new form of artistic expression that takes on the qualities of a new composition. When a DJ mixes and blends different tracks, they create a unique sonic experience that can evoke emotions, tell a story, and convey a specific mood or atmosphere.

Skilled DJs have the ability to curate and sequence songs in a way that transforms individual tracks into a continuous musical journey. I strive for this particulary in my ambient sets. As I mostly mix them digitally, I have more creative freedom than with vinyl with more decks, looping function, and also adding sounds from my modular system to the tracks.

Technology has brought so many new aspects to DJing.

When digging for music to play at your sets, what do you listen for?  

Mostly groovy techno, electro, broken beats or ambient. And I listen to the tracks / records a lot of times until I buy them.

They need to fit my mood in the morning, evening or whenever. If I love them at any time, I'll buy. :-)


Mareena & JakoJako Interview Image by Mv Kummer

How would you describe the experience of DJing, physically and mentally? Do you listen – and DJ - with your eyes open or closed?

Better not with eyes closed; I would probably break the set-up ;). Joking aside, there are these gigs when every track you select is the right decision, it mixes itself almost, and the crowd is on fire, and you come into a state of trance / deep meditation yourself. Afterwards, you can hardly remember what happened in the last hours.

On the other hand, a gig can feel very long, and you constantly make weird decisions with the track selection, or you are not in sync with the crowd. If you are going through a rough time or had a bad day, it can be very disturbing to DJ. I mean, you need to press an inner button and function, and if that latter situation happens, it can be an absolute pain and leave you very frustrated.

But then again, we are just humans, aren’t we?

How does the decision making process work during a gig with regards to the inclusion of key records, the next transition and where you want the set to go? How far do you tend to plan ahead during a set?

I have various intro tracks and always plan the first five to six tracks beforehand. That gives me relaxation when I start my slot and then take it from there.

As I practice mixing daily, I know what fits together and also have certain sequences of tracks that work perfectly. But I also like to surprise myself during my sets and mix up tracks where I didn’t have the chance to listen to them properly. I also like to play with tempo changes and set a whole new energy.

Ultimately, I always like to strike a balance between planning and adaptability.

Describe how the presence of audiences/dancers influences your mixing. How do you engage with them?

Last time, I played in a club and there was a clubber leaning at the DJ booth and scrolled the phone super bored in front of me. It was very disturbing. Even if I focus on those who dance and have a great time, stuff like this can put me off easily. There were some more situations like that also with other people chin stroking every mix. I learned to talk to them and ask if it's okay to stand out of my reach as it disturbs my vibe. But the good news is, there's also the other side. :-)

The audience's response will dictate whether I maintain with a steady groove or switch to a more energetic or relaxed vibe. Engaging with the audience is essential for me to create an enjoyable set.

By observing the dancefloor, reading the crowd's energy, I can ensure that the audience stays engaged and has a fantastic time on the dancefloor.

Online DJ mixes, created in the studio as a solitary event, have become ubiquitous. From your experience with the format, how does the experience and the way you DJ when you subtract the audience?

You can not find so many techno podcasts from me online because I find it very hard to mix techno without people dancing around me. That’s why I prefer to create deeper, introspective journeys as podcasts. It feels more authentic to me.

I actually do record every set in the club (if allowed and I don’t forget my recorder) but I find it hard to let it go out to public. I love the idea that music is for a specific moment and club and for those who were there. But I'm thinking to organize some podcast-parties in my studio soon. :-)

Technology has continually taken on more steps of DJing, producing and other "creative" tasks. From your point of view, where does "technology" end and "creativity" begin? Especially in the light of advances in AI, where do you see the role of humans in DJing versus that of technology?

It's essential to recognize that technology itself is not creative. It's the humans who use technology to express their creativity.

AI tools can't read a crowd or take risks based on the current situation in the room. These tools are more meant to optimize and follow predefined objectives.

So human DJs are still very important, with technology helping us to have the result we want.

Collaboration is a key part of almost every aspect of music making, but it is still rare in DJing. Do you have an idea why this is? Tell me about your own views on back-to-back DJing, interactions with live musicians or other forms of turning DJing into a more collective process.

This year has been a whirlwind of back-to-backs, and I loved every collaboration. There are more to come.

One aspect is that I can't foresee what will happen and have to know every single track that I'm taking with me to respond in a good and respectful way to my collab partner. You have to have empathy, leave out “the hard to mix records” and put your ego aside to create a synergy. I think this is not for everyone.

Also, it is a cost factor for the club or promoter to pay two DJs instead of one for a slot. I find b2bs very challenging, they always push me out of my comfort zone, and I love it.

DJing requires empathy, focus, time management, patience, and vision, among others. Are you finding that the way you play influences the way you live your life and vice versa?

Yes, I agree. You need to understand the audience and connect with them through music. It demands focus and concentration to mix tracks seamlessly and create a musical experience. A good time management is essential for organizing gigs which includes digging, preparing playlists, travelling … and of course balancing my DJing commitments with other aspects of my life.

And yeah, patience is crucial in building a career as a DJ, as it takes time and effort to develop a unique style and gain recognition in the industry. You need a vision and creativity to explore new sounds, experiment with different genres, and stay relevant in the musical landscape.

Conversely, my daily life influences my DJing as well. The music I play reflects my mood, emotions or life events.

Do you feel as though DJIng is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Oh, I love coffee. :-) But making a cup of coffee is more of a routine. Whereas DJing offers more freedom of expression and the outcome is always different although you use the same technical setup.

Let's imagine you lost all your music for one night and all there is left at the venue is a crate of records containing a random selection of music. How would you approach this set?

I would make a quick dig through the case and see if I know something in there and hope for the best, haha.

I actually did it for fun once in Skopje after my official gig there. I stayed for a few more days and my friend has an amazing bar (Radio Bar). After food, we ended up there for some drinks. I saw his record bag, and asked if it's okay to play for a bit with them. These were all house records and I knew some but to be honest, this was so much fun and I had no expectations.

Neither did anyone there and I ended up having an amazing time.