Taking over the podcast mantle from Hot Creations and Snatch! duo Paul C & Paulo Martini is none other than Kittball co-founder Juliet Sikora. Sikora has been on a meteoric rise since collaboration ‘Set It Off’ with Tube & Berger went global and she hasn’t stopped to look around. The Dortmund artist has been hammering out delicious tech house cuts in the studio, releasing on the likes of Suara, Material and Mother Recordings in addition to a steady output on Kittball.

Sikora has stepped up with an engrossing hour-long mix full of exclusives, while also giving her thoughts on 2016 so far and just what exactly is going on behind the scenes at the label.

WWD: Where are you right now and what’s on the to-do list this week?

Right now I´m a bit tired after a loooooooooong night in the studio. I have bought the TR-8 and couldn´t stop playing with this little boy. I‘m totally in love with that new Roland friend. J Next week I have to do all the fantastic DJ duties, such as preparing a new podcast, working in the studio, interviews and listen to tonnes of new demos.

WWD: 2016 so far, what’s it been like for you?

Still now, the year has started amazingly. My track that came out on Suara has been rocking the Beatport charts for a month now. I also released a track released on Material, as well as a remix freshly out on Clair de Lune Rec. However, in terms of non-music related news Tube’s son Lando was born. It’s our little honorary member and new sunshine at the Kittball family!

WWD: Take us behind the scenes at Kittball, who does what in the current team?

With great pleasure! Let me introduce the Kittball family team to you a bit. First of all the patrons Tube & Berger obviously, as without them we wouldn´t be where we are today. They are the original founders of the label and asked me in 2009 if I would be interested to start it as co-founder together with them. Since then, I´m part of this crazy company and in charge of the label management. 2012 Paco started working for us as a booking agent, event manager and of course as DJ and producer. Since last year, he is also co-owner of the company as third member being responsible for all accruing tasks. We are also working with some strong associates in the background, among others Damian, who was in charge for Tube & Berger’s bookings in earlier days via a bigger agency. Actually he is whole-hearted into more commercial music on daily basis and working on these projects outside of Kittball, but being one of the best and structured agents we know and a very close friend of us in addition, we were glad to engage him to support our – and especially my booking – as one of our firm background members we can always rely on. He is also the guy behind the great press texts of our releases. Not to forget, we have our own artists like Paji as a live-act and producer with his electric violin or Wild Culture from Austria who started on our platform and had the chance to built their personal successes on that. We are very tight together and a thankful crew of very individual folks holding this company together!

WWD: How has the label developed since you first started?

It changed massively from a hobby to a life-task. We have our parties, stages on festivals, a booking agency, merchandise… so it’s a dream come true! BUT we are working on constant development and bigger expansion – that´s for sure!

WWD: Are you originally from Dortmund? We don’t hear much about the city by comparison to the likes of Berlin & Hamburg, how would you describe the musical environment there?

Hahaha, you didn´t hear a lot about Dortmund? Well, we have the world-famous soccer team called Borussia Dortmund which is more or less a direct competitor to FC Bayern München. But besides that, there are simply not many reasons Dortmund might be famous for being one of some former industrial cities in the Ruhr Area. We had a big electronic music movement in the 90’s like in any bigger German city, but nowadays it´s rather weak. Most clubs closed during the past years and so the scene died with them a bit. But the “underground“ scene is still active and we have the legendary MAYDAY here every year, which is one of the biggest indoor festivals in Germany and one of the most famous in Europe.

WWD: The one thing you’re most looking forward to this Summer?

I posted on my Facebook page; I miss the sand between my toes, the salty water on my skin and being attacked by ocean waves. The perfect description about what I´m missing at the moment, I guess.

WWD: Do you have Ibiza in your sights? Would showcases be something of interest for Kittball?

I would love to play on Ibiza this season, but unfortunately there’s nothing planned yet. We had some talks about Kittball events on the island, but we don´t think it´s the perfect moment now. In addition, the UK promoters dominate and influence the island at the moment highly.

WWD: Three tracks doing it for you right now?

P.A.C.O., Return of the Jaded – Nights Watch
Brett Johnson – Breath
Sidney Charles – I need you

WWD: You’ve just released on Suara. How did that come about?

To have your own label makes you independent, because you can handle everything in a way that you like. But it´s also important to release on other labels for variety too. About Suara in specific, to be very honest I had offered them ‘Larry’s Garage’ originally, but ironically they declined. After the success of the track having been released on Kittball instead, they came back to me later and requested demos for a release. That’s actually the story behind it.

WWD: What else production wise have you got coming up over the next few months?

I’ve recently finished a track with my mate Flo Mrzdk to be released in April and another release scheduled for May, both on Kittball. I’ve also got plenty of planned work in the studio with the likes of Mihalis Safras, King Brain and a new collaboration with my brothers from another mother Tube & Berger in progress as well. We will be remixing Kurd Maverick’s classic tune “The Rub“. So much new stuff to come!

WWD: Before we leave you, you’ve put together a brand new mix for us. What will one find inside?

It´s a mix of tracks I’ve enjoyed playing throughout the last couple of months. There’s some older stuff, some new tracks and an unreleased Juliet demo as a bonus 🙂 I hope you enjoy the 60 minutes as much as I did when I mixed it for WWD!

Follow: Juliet Sikora