75 minutes of percussion-loaded steppers and proggy goods by Brussels-based rising star ttyfal.

Blooming after the cold winter, ttyfal warms us up with a hot mix that slowly and skillfully builds into some serious grooves. Emerging from Leipzig, the Brussels-based star is making waves, playing at some of the hottest clubs and parties around including Nachti, Salon des Amateurs and Gayhaze. Buckle up for a deep dive into a 2000s prog-infused journey.

We caught up on the first day of spring to talk about ttyfal’s exciting agenda, her moniker Duo Paradise and our shared passion for 00s grooves. Dive in below!

Heyy Amy! It’s such a pleasure to have you with us today. How’s things, and where can we find you on this first day of spring?

Hi Jaimy! Super honoured to be able to contribute to the series – thank you so much for having me. I’m doing very well currently, really enjoying the weather and overall energy the spring is bringing. I’m spending my day off work on my terrace under the sun, digging mostly. Later I’m going to the Sono Ventura record store to celebrate Brussels local KOMA’s album release and then I’ll hang out a bit at Gimic Radio, a space that has slowly become my second living room.

Speaking of spring, while peeking into your agenda, I can definitely say there are some exciting times ahead. What’s your approach on this, any special rituals while preparing?

Yesss, I’m very excited for the times to come! No special rituals, I always try to understand the concept of the event I’m playing at as thoroughly as possible before prepping my playlists. Generally, I have a strong vision for the vibe I want to convey and how it’s gonna fit into the timetable and I let that guide me.

What else are you looking forward to this year?

After now having spent my first full year in Brussels, I’m super excited to enjoy summer in the city with the friends I’ve made along the way. I’m also really excited to do some more travelling and make some use of the geographical advantage that Belgium has in between the Netherlands and France. That being said, I can’t wait to experience the local festivals a bit more this year, as I will be going to Horst and playing at Paradise City and XRDS, for example.

As you’re sharing the name of Duo Paradiso I’m curious about the project, any things in the works you’d like to share with us? And where do you draw your inspiration from when creating music?

Duo Paradiso was born out of myself wanting to learn more about production and Albi (Chocolate Grinder) teaching me. The workflow was so organic between us that we knew we had to make something more out of the project and that’s how two EPs and a few singles came to be. After I moved countries last year, it was quite tough to keep this organic workflow up remotely. And as there’s been quite a few changes in our respective personal lives that make it tough to lay the focus on production, the project is unfortunately a bit on hold at the moment.

Generally, we drew our inspiration from each other – we have quite different music tastes and would spend hours showing each other tracks that we would then use as loose inspo. For a long while, both of us were really into what Bliss Inc. was doing and were then really happy to have him do a remix for our first EP.

There’s a fine line between producing and digging that can sometimes be tricky to balance. How do you find this for yourself?

The time we spent producing for the Duo Paradiso project was so separated from my digging process that it was actually quite easy to balance! Producing was always done at Albi’s place, so a very fixed time and place ordeal, while digging to me is very spontaneous and done in moments when I really feel like it. Currently, I’m quite happy to focus on DJing only but I can see myself getting back into producing soon.

We both share a great passion for 00s grooves. Those irresistible rhythms can be so driving, yet so sexy. What’s your feel on this? 

Ahhh I could talk about this for hours! As soon as I fell into the 2000’s rabbit hole, I never really managed to climb out of it (and not sure I ever will). I love how 2000’s house really strips down what makes a track groovy: percussions that are on point, a SOLID bassline, cheeky vocals and some understated synths. That’s really all you need. Funnily enough, one of the standout tracks of the set (around the 33 minute mark) for me is the one out of two that weren’t released between 2000 and 2007, but 2017.

Finally, can you tell us a bit about the mix you’ve put together for us? How did you approach it, and what kind of energy can we expect?

I would love to! With this mix, I wanted to channel the energy that spring is bringing, all the while taking an approach to what a club set from me would look like somewhere between the opening hours and peak time. The beginning goes from moody and sensual to then playful and uplifting in the middle, while the final tracks really keep the energy high and bring it back to a more clubby feel. Think outdoor festival forest stage in the later hours of the afternoon, with the fog machine going off heavily.