Olsvangèr serves up an impeccable dose of late night grooves and atmospheric burners for our most recent mix outing.

After some weeks of enjoying EU summer, we’re stoked to be back with a new mix offering by longtime favourite Olsvangèr. The Berlin-based artist, loved for his radiant and tripped-out take on 90’s rooted club music, recently released his latest EP on Kalahari Oyster Cult. With all proceeds going towards Save The Children – Gaza and West Bank Emergency, the release probably is Olsvangèr’s most comprehensive studio work to date, we would say, offering a sick variety of tasteful and inventive dance floor excursions.

With an eye on the release, we caught up with him to hear about the process of getting it together and his latest moves. Impressive as ever, he presented us with a masterful, 75 minute assembly of playful and groove-propulsed club tracks for our 63rd mix. Tune in below.

Hi Olsvanger, an absolute pleasure to have you with us! What has been on your mind recently and where do we find you today?

Thanks for the invitation, I follow the mix series closely. Well, the past year has been incredibly challenging for me both mentally and professionally. The entire world is facing catastrophes and widespread disappointment in its leaders. Social networks are gradually engineering people into a robotic state, trying to make us believe we are awake when we need to reconsider repeatedly. So many horrors are happening right now and I don’t want to look away, the crimes that Israel is currently committing, the occupation, and the apartheid must stop.

I don’t for a moment doubt the pain that reality is saturated with, but I do recommend to re-check our sources as we scroll, read and watch stuff online, my current exercise is questioning the information before allowing it to influence me, or to squeeze any kind of emotions or rage out of me, I’m zooming out and thinking.. have I verified it? Is the source reliable? given the pervasive interests, it’s simply crucial not to be naive on social media; our attention is extremely valuable and there are too many people, businesses or industries which are trying to draw it from us using endless manipulations.

You recently released your latest EP via Kalahari Oyster Cult, titled “Icy Hookups”, featuring four radiant dancefloor cuts. With all proceeds going towards Save The Children – Gaza and West Bank Emergency, can you tell us about the process of putting this release together and what it means to you personally?

I’m very proud of this EP. I put a tremendous amount of effort into it. This record came together with the great help of Colin (Rey Colino), the mastermind behind Kalahari Oyster Cult. We aimed to create an uncompromising EP with four vibrant and dominant tracks. These tracks were played on major stages even before mastering, which fueled our drive. For various reasons, the record sat ready for over a year before we finally decided to release it. 

Since the beginning, we agreed to donate the proceeds to Save the Children. In February, as we finalized and polished the final pack towards the release date, the humanitarian situation in Gaza was worsening. I felt a moral obligation to contribute and Save the Children, which supports children in all aspects of life, was the ideal choice. We have already donated more than 6000 euros, thanks to everyone’s support.

I see you’re fresh from organizing the second edition of your conceptual party series, titled “Olsvangèr invites”. What has been the inspiration behind this new project, what do you add to bring to the Berlin scene and who did you bring along for this latest installment?

The idea originated from my dear friend Enrico, the venue’s manager, who essentially threw me into the deep end. Event production was never my forte, but something about Orangerie captivated me immediately. It’s part of a monumental building with incredibly high ceilings, impressive arches, and a classic yet playful design. The cocktails are fantastic, and the staff is mostly queer and cute. The size also appealed to me, being a small, sexy, and intimate space, just how I like it. I felt an instant connection and decided to attempt something a bit different from the usual Berlin scene: a party starting at 8 pm, first with mingling and cocktails, gradually leading into the night with a peak around midnight featuring shades of house music, jazz, and eclectic danceable electronics.

We’re still refining the vision, which I believe should include a cinematic touch, not by projecting avant-garde films on the walls, but by incorporating that thrilling, sensual, seductive, edgy, almost soundtrack-ish feeling into the music. Orangerie’s theatrical ambiance, with its stage-like presence and huge curtains, perfectly complements this vision. We’ve hosted a few great talents so far as Evan Tail, Tania Just, Ori Raz, Aqua Veen, Tillary, and more to come soon.. 🙂

With a few sick musical works released recently, I’m curious to hear about your progression in music production and what you are hoping to encapsulate through your sound? Are there any studio projects you’ve been working on recently that you can share with us?

I have two records planned to be released on Tofistock this year, featuring experimental dance productions loaded with freaky oldskool samples and some Latin influences. In my new current studio research, I am attempting to distill a cinematic feel into the music more overtly, that’s my main musical mission nowadays, especially on dance productions mainly because it almost doesn’t exist in this field, I remember myself watching Matrix reloaded for the first time around and falling inlove with this Fluke track that soundtracking this insanely hypnotic dance scene in the cave, it really blew my mind… such a thrilling, rough and visual attitude for dance music which I’m very inspired by in my productions lately.

Beyond that, there are other extremely exciting projects coming this year on Tofistock, including mesmerizing albums by Mikey (MYKI), and Lily Haz. A third edition of our signature compilation ‘Hyper Love’ is also about to take place in the next months, this time featuring a very special guest. In addition – a few other compilations are planned on Tofistock for the near future, new concepts, new experiments.. Stay tuned!

What can you tell us about this mix you’ve put together for us? How did you approach the mix, what kind of energy can we expect?

This mix features impressive productions that have inspired my work in recent years. It includes playful and groovy tracks, many with unexpected elements and shameless bass roles. Almost everything is old and somewhat forgotten—proper dancefloor rollers with an experimental twist. I think it would sound great in a park, on a yacht, in a penthouse, or at Orangerie.

What else are you looking forward to in the next few months?

I’m collaborating with Tangle Agency on a tour in Australia in November. I’m very excited and looking forward to it. Most of the dates are already set, with a few still open. In December I’ll  be playing in the US for the first time, going on a mini tour of approx. 2 weeks, I’ll share details soon! A special moment for me was my Marrakesh/Morrocoo debut in July, My ancestry is Moroccan, and most of my family came from various cities in Morroco so I was thrilled to receive an invitation to perform there, I am truly grateful for this opportunity.

I wish everyone to cultivate compassion, see people as people, listen more, be open to new ideas, and have more conversations with people in real life and less behind the screen. The connection in the physical dimension has never been more essential than now.

One love,
Olsi