ARTIST OF THE MOMENT: Marie Lung

Girl, I’ll house you! Who doesn’t remember that infamous Jungle Brothers line from 1988?! Well, if you don’t, we have someone here who absolutely embodies that feeling: Marie Lung. Hailing from Hamburg and now being based in Berlin the vinyl aficionada knows how to make a dancefloor go wild and to re-create this special feeling of house like not so many are able to nowadays. Trust me, I joined her on a few gigs and I couldn’t stop vibing, and that’s why we invited her here. Apart from her qualities as a true dancefloor director in the best sense of the word she now embarked on a journey as a producer and is about to release her first EP “Ivy Blues” on the Manchester-based label Dreaming Forever. What we have here is a heartwarming and bouncing house record, built to last and coming with remixes of two of our dearest producers: Session Victim’s “ how much can you vibe” - Matthias Reiling and space material sprinkler .VRIL. All of that adds up to an exceptional and versatile EP. Marie and I had a good chat about house and vinyl (hey nerds!) amongst other things.

photo by Soela

Hi Marie, super nice to have you on the mix series and be able to connect with you on your first release. But before we get into that: I’ve read (and experienced!) that you are a club kid heart first and foremost. So, what was the first experience in a club environment that kicked your love for music off?
Hey, thank you for having me. I’m a huge fan of Delayed and I’m honored to be part of it now. For many people, their love for music in a club environment can be traced back to a specific experience, such as hearing a favorite song for the first time, being introduced to a new genre of music, or attending a memorable event. It could also be a combination of factors such as the energy of the crowd, the atmosphere, the lighting, and the sound system. For me, it was a mixture of different factors: growing up in Hamburg I took my first disco baby steps together with my friends in the basement of “Haus 73”, “The Golden Pudel Club” or at “Uebel und Gefährlich” and later on at “Golem” (r.i.p.). These clubs introduced me to a whole new world of music and social interaction. The sense of community and shared experience in a club environment with your friends or a stranger on the dancefloor was very powerful to me back then and still is.

You are known for playing different variations of house. House is most commonly associated with a feeling of love, freedom and togetherness beyond the music. What ignited your passion for house?
So, house music and I weren’t a love-at-first-sight story. It took us a while to get used to and float with each other. When I first started DJing 10 years ago I was obsessed with second-hand techno vinyls. Especially US techno artists like Robert Hood, Josh Wink, Jeff Mills, Juan Atkins and Luke Slater really did it for me. I have to say Nina Kraviz’s sets back then had a huge influence on me too and I discovered a lot of music through her. After a while, I wanted to move on with my music style and fell madly in love with 90s House music and its gems which I (till now) mainly find on YouTube and Discogs. I can spend hours just scrolling through Youtube and listening to unheard music. At this point, I give you some good advice: Don’t go on Discogs when you’re coming home from a party. It can get really expensive :D My passion for house music is fueled by the emotions that the music evokes. The music can transport the listener to another place and time. For me one really important fact was that house music could make me forget my troubles and I could fully lose myself in the moment. A meditative state of mind if you will. I love that about music in general. The passion for house music continues to burn bright, and it shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

As a DJ you focus on vinyl. The set you made for us is pure vinyl. Now, I don’t want to go into a discussion on what the right “form” is, but curious to hear your own consideration on that and why you chose one over the other.
It always has been the vinyl format for me personally. I just love it so much and everything that comes with it. The feel, the look, the story behind it... There are too many reasons I would always choose vinyl over MP3.
Just to name a few:

- I think we already live in a pretty fast-forward world with a lot of screens and digital formats. When I DJ and when I want to get in that meditation-like state I don’t want to look at a screen. My first move when I enter the DJ booth is to turn off all the CDJs with their bright lights.

- Every single vinyl I own, I remember where I got it from. Where and when I bought it. In what state of mind I was at that point - I just need to look at it without reading the title and I know and feel exactly in what kind of setting it fits. I love that about records. They are connected to a certain feeling. MP3s could never give that to me.

So you must have acquired quite a collection over time. I always love to know what are the records that never leave your bag or that you would never trade?

Delano Smith – “Midnight Hours”
Head Nodding Society - “Nudge up”
Mr. G – “Consequences”

Influence of Mr. G
Since I play records, Mr G played a big part in my love for house music and his 12’’s rarely leave my bag. He has been active in the house music scene for several decades and has left a lasting influence on both the sound and the culture of house music. Furthermore, I like him for his excellent sampling skills and deep groovy basslines. For me, his productions never fail when it comes to creating a solid groove that keeps the energy flowing on the dance floor.

I had the chance to enjoy a few of your sets and the energy is usually absolutely high and joyful. You play many of the clubs and festivals in and around Berlin and in Germany. What is a club or floor that you really like to play and what are you looking for?

Last year I had a few highlights I would have never dreamed of playing a couple of years ago. Like Robert Johnson Club in Offenbach, Heideglühen and Tresor in Berlin or Nachtiville Festival really blew my mind. Right now, I look forward to my debut in Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete Club, where Prosumer invited me to play.

In the next few days you will celebrate your first release “Ivy Blues” on the label Dreaming Forever. Congratulations! It is a beautiful house release with a lot of groove and a pinch of vintage melancholy. Tell us a bit more about your road to making music yourself and how this release came together?

I’m dabbling in beat-making and production for quite a while now. I think it all started when I got myself a Fender Rhodes Piano during the pandemic and further on traded the full Ableton live suite version for a few liters of olive oil. Well, that’s another story. In 2021, I did a stream for HÖR and after that, I got a message from Manchester-based Jozef K saying that he liked my HÖR stream and if I would be interested in sending him music for a potential release. He was about to launch his own label “DREAMING FOREVER'' and was looking for music. So that got me really hooked to keep on going. After a while, I sent him my first two drafts. And he seemed to like it right away. In the further course, I’m really happy that I could convince Matthias Reiling and .VRIL to do remixes. I love the outcome. I could not be happier with it. The record will hit stores on November 10th.

The second track, “This Could Be Us”, features a beautiful voice sample. Do you want to reveal where it’s from?

Not really, but she’s still, she’s still Jenny from the block ;)

Looking ahead to the release and then club season upon us, what do you look most forward to this time?

I’ll definitely look forward to club season. It’s my favorite season, to be honest. There’s nothing better than a hot and sweaty vibe at a dark rave cage. As luck would have it, I believe that my upcoming release fits perfectly into a nice and cozy autumn rave setting. I’m hyped and really looking forward to this year’s club season.