interview by MAREK BARTEK

For the holiday period, Berlin-based Slovenian DJ GLIA prepared for us an early present in the form of exclusive DJ set. As we catch up and look back at what 2023 brought to the rising star of techno scene and what her plans are for 2024, enjoy the hypnotic beat mixed with groove elements. Happy Holidays, everyone!

We had a talk at the beginning of this year (find the full interview here). How was this year for you as an artist?
Year 2023 was actually quite challenging for me. I went through a series of changes in my personal life that affected my artistic flow, consciousness, soul, and spirit. I came to several new realizations about my artistic direction, who I want to be as an artist, the kind of music I want to play, where I want to play, and what I want to produce.

That being said, 2023 has been a super productive year! I feel like I’m finally building a solid foundation for myself as an artist – even though I’ve been in this for 10 years. The confidence and trust in my creativity is something that’s new. 

In the beginning of the year, I created my own brand, “The Sugar Factory,” which releases live recordings of sets from various artists. The idea behind the brand is to introduce the audience ” Extra sweet DJ kicks for dirty beatz.’’ You can check our recent sets on our YouTube channel!

I also continued my journey through the year with various international gigs in Berlin, Poland, the Netherlands, Portugal, and debuted in Tel Aviv, which ended up being one of my favorite gigs of the year. The energy and intimacy I managed to build with the audience was beautiful.

In September, I released a new EP, “Something on the Brain,” on Diffuse Reality Records. It consists of four hard-driving techno tracks for pumping up the dance floor ranging from acid, peak time techno and break beats.

I was also lucky to collaborate with my original track ‘’The Art of Losing Yourself’’ on Numéro Netherlands’ Calvin Editorial and produced sooooo much new music!

How would you describe the set you’ve prepared for us?

The set I have prepared for you is a mixture of hypnotic beats mixed with a lot of groove elements. It consists of various tracks from several artists, ranging from trance, hypnotic techno, as well as groovy techno. The red lining is the drive that keeps the listener movin’.

How do you translate the identity of Numéro Netherlands into a set?
Translating Numéro’s identity into the set was not difficult at all. When I think about Numéro Netherlands, I think about color, boldness, youth, rawness, drive, emotion, and just so much fire.

What inspires you these days?
This year was full of ups and downs, and learning how to utilize the whole spectrum of emotion has been something I started to explore. No emotion is inherently good or bad; however, our human experience can consist of emotions that make us uncomfortable. Transforming ‘uncomfortable’ emotions into art has been something that has fueled me up this year. Sadness inspires me, heartbreak inspires me, loneliness inspires me. I feel like I can get so creative with these emotions; I feel I dwell much deeper than I do with being comfortable.

I also have been getting inspired by the electronic music community recently. I feel like we’re finally entering a more creative era of electronic music, slowly breaking the chains of the ‘’COVID techno’’ that was popular for the past few years and coming back to the old school vibes! I feel like Alarico and DJ Gigola are my favorite artists of the year, who absolutely crushed the techno scene. Gigola’ recent album Fluid Meditations is something that blew my mind when it came out and inspired me to stay true to my style and be as fucking creative as I can! Similarly Alarico’s production with hi hats, repetitive vocals & stingy synths set the techno production community to an absolutely new  – more creative standard.

I also keep getting inspired by my surroundings, nature and city life. I love watching the form of life, objects, people, plants, traffic and stories. When living in Berlin, getting inspired is the last thing I’m concerned about. I feel like we can be inspired by literally anything if we just look and listen!

Lastly I’d mention that I have the greatest gift in life and that is a strong relationship with my friends that are involved in my life and I simply love how each of them inspires me daily in so many different ways.

What are you working on these days, and can we look forward to coming in 2024?
I moved back to Berlin at the end of November. Since then, my best friend and I have been working on a new event concept and brand, which is something that’s coming out in March, and we are super stoked for it – so excited to share that with you soon! We are also planning to slowly develop our label from the same brand. I see so many issues with how the electronic music industry is currently standing, especially when it comes to labels and getting your music out there.

Besides that, I’m constantly in the loop of creating new music, challenging myself creatively, and transforming all emotions into creativity. I’m looking forward to the new year and all the new releases that are coming up on my end, as well as many new exciting gigs!