BULK Mix #11: Karla. By Tine Valentin

Tine Valentin (no, that’s not a fancy DJ moniker) has a lot of records. And she’s fucking good at spinning them. It’s really that simple. Regrettably, a lot of people seem to have the impression that a lot of her records are Perlon records. They are. But fortunately, she has a lot of other records as well. And how to play some of them is succinctly showcased in the mix below.When she leaves her Perlon records at home - which is the case more and more often these days - she is one of the few DJ’s in Copenhagen that can play a seemingly “up-to-date” (whatever that means) techno set without the other techno-heads being able to recognize a single track. That’s pretty amazing. And that means you’re in for a treat you can’t get the week after. -Unless Tine’s playing again.‘nuff said, press “play”, and read what she has to say about herself and the mix below. As always, download link is in ze bottom.TV: Well, at first I tried to think of names with K that I could link to someone in my past or present, someone who had an influence on my life in some way. Of course, now I can think of several, but at the time I drew a blank. So I took a different approach; random naming, and I liked the name Karla for this particular mix. To be totally honest I kind of forgot that I was supposed to name the mix a little bit until I was about to save the recording. Or rather, I thought about names starting with J a while ago, but I’m too slow sometimes. Ooops.In my living room using two decks and a mixer. I usually think a lot about how the mix should progress and stuff like that, but this time it was really random…and fun. I just picked out some records that I like and tried to make them fit together on the fly. Just like spinning in a club, a few constraints added of course. The mix might seem a bit messy, but I kind of like it that way. Randomness fitted into some kind of sequence. I get so bored when everything has to be 'perfect’. Perfect mixing, straight line from beginning to end. I used to focus a lot on these things, but nowadays it takes away my enthusiasm. Much admiration and respect for those who do it like that, it’s just not for me.One thing I have learned about myself regarding music is that whenever I try to make something fit into a strict form it usually ends up becoming something quite different from what I imagined, or just plain shit. Furthermore my records are a great big mess at the moment (need more racking!), so finding the 'right’ records proved to be a bit more challenging than expected. And even I get confused when I have to describe a 'Tine Valentin’ mix, cause I haven’t recorded that many mixes. I kind of hate recording at home…well, hate is a strong word, dislike maybe, and I used to play a bit more house-ish stuff, so the mixes which have been shared online is somewhat different from this one. I have a tendency to prefer my music deep and groovy though, regardless of genre. I guess this one is pretty much a TineValentin@present mix.As described in the section above I’m not really sure there is one definite answer to this question. I like to make a looong intro, but I think it bores people, so I tried another approach this time. Mood is of the utmost importance to me. A mix has to have soul in order for me to feel a connection to it. It’s why we do what we do, right? To make people feel stuff. Even annoyance is better than boredom. hehe.Thanks! That was an awesome night! I was so awestricken and scared of ruining the amazing mood in the room after his liveset that I had to use all of my energy to focus on the records, but he was so sweet and while the first record was spinning, he was packing something on the floor of the booth, and he looked up and said 'Oh, I love this record’. After that it was easier to relax for some reason. hehe. But to get to the actual question…I had known for some time that this gig was coming up, and as soon as I knew I started to think about what I wanted to play. It was the first time really that I got to play techno in a club, before that the gigs were always more house-related, so I was thrilled to get the opportunity to play some techno.A lot of DJs has inspired and still inspire me! Ricardo Villalobos pre Ibiza when his sets were more diverse and daring. Zip was my hero for many years because the mood is always amazing when he plays. Boris because his enthusiasm is radiant. Delta Funktionen because he is just consistently great. And a lot of other people. Every time I hear a great set I get inspired. I also find a lot of inspiration in local DJs and friends. You guys, the Cluster guys, some of the guys of the 'older generation’ - Kenneth Christiansen, Morten Kamper, Kong, Tania and so on. Sometimes we are so occupied with the 'stars’ that we forget all the nice things going on right before us.I get inspired every time I hear a good track, but I really suck at remembering names. Some of the artists that I have listened a lot to lately though is Luke Slater (mainly the old stuff), he has a nice way with melodies, borderline trance sometimes but always staying on the 'right’ side of the border. And Octave One who by the way gave an absolutely amazing live performance at the Strøm festival in Enghaveparken a couple of weeks ago. Mind-blowing stuff! Then there is the music of James Stinson. I have no words for the genius of his productions. And of course all the Danish producers who are doing a great job putting Denmark (back?) on the electronic music map. NS, 2400 Operator, S.A.M., Martinez and so on….Well, the one we already talked about was quite memorable. The first time I played b2b with Carsten Jensen, at the wedding of a friend and her gay husband. Now ex-husband. That was a fun party and for some reason the b2b-thing worked really well that night. Then there was the time I played in Nürnberg, that was a lot of fun too. Very nice people and a lovely mood. And there are surely a couple more times that I just can’t remember right now. Lots of fun moments.On Skype with a good friend - Maj aka Majskotten- always good for a peptalk. hehe. And then taking a shower I think. I like to do that when I have to clear my mind.Any time :)