Many years ago, at the Europalace club in Mainz-Kastel, Germany, a simple joke would change forever the life of a young woman who was passionate about clubbing and electronic music. At that time, Anna Reusch was only 15 years old, but already a regular at the club. So much so, that she became friends with the resident DJ.
– You take over now. I need to go to the toilet!
Anna didn’t hesitate. She took her friend’s headphones and stepped forward, ready to take the controls of a dancefloor for the first time in her life at the age of 15. Her friend returned immediately. It was just a joke, but it marked Anna Reusch for life: she wanted to produce music and become a DJ.
Anna Reusch is currently one of the classic names in German techno music. She is characterized by a quiet and restful lifestyle, away from the emotional whirlwinds that reside in big cities. Away, some might say – and they would not be wrong – from the intensity that her music transmits.
Before asking you about your recent release with Torsten Kanzler on 100% Pure Records, let’s put some light on your figure, for those who don’t know you (yet). Who is Anna Reusch?
(laughs) Okay, let’s see. I was born in Wiesbaden maaaany years ago. 😊 I grew up in the Rhein-Main area, gained my first musical experience around Frankfurt and moved to Dresden about seven years ago. Dresden is the most beautiful city in Germany for me because it is super relaxed, culturally inexhaustible, and small. The airport is just 30 minutes away and back then, the land prices were affordable. That is why my dream of buying a little farm came true. I live here with a lot of horses and other rescued animals because I love them like I love nature, the simple way of life and being outside every day.
As I said before, by the end of March your Flying EP , produced together with Torsten Kanzler, was released on 100% Pure Records. How did you end up collaborating with him?
We have known each other for a long time because we both have been working in the business for ages. In addition, we both live in the country, are passionate craftsmen and whenever we meet at a gig we only talk about family and house renovation. Torsten has always been one of my favourite colleagues. During one of these conversations, I had the spontaneous idea to ask him about remixing.
This is your debut on 100% Pure Records. What is your relationship with the Dutch label?
The label was Torsten’s idea, to be honest. We were looking for a label which fits for that sound and Torsten made a good choice. Dylan, the owner, is a super kind person.
The EP is made by two original tracks, a dark mix of one of them, and a raw mix of the other one. Is this kind of edits something usual in your releases or why is it like this?
I have had “Flying” and “Cannot See Us” ready for almost a year. Especially, I played “Flying” at every gig and it was working well every time. But nobody wanted to publish the two numbers. So, I asked Torsten to do remixes. We thought it would look bad if there were four tracks with my name on one EP and Torsten as a remixer for two in brackets. So, we said we did the whole EP together. In fact, there are two tracks by Torsten and two by me. I am super happy how well it fits together.
I would say “Flying” -both the original mix and the dark mix- is more big-crowd/big-room/massive dancefloor-oriented, while “Cannot See Us” -especially the original mix- is more introspective.
That is totally true, I feel the same. It is nice that you dealt with it so much!!
bouq, Tronic and Transmit Recordings are also labels where you released your work in the last year.
I broke away from bouq years ago because I could no longer identify with their sound. I also wanted to be completely free. When I finally found Dave Robertson, with whom I harmonize 100% in the studio, it was about finding a label that suits my sound. For the first EP, Tronic was the first label I could think of and they immediately accepted. Wow, I was happy. This resulted in a loyal relationship. At first, I thought: “Okay, I will send everything to Tronic and, if they don’t want it, I will send it to other ones.” I also had a lot of Tronic label parties in 2020 in my calendar, including Ibiza, but that will probably have to wait until 2021. I am very happy about the relaxed cooperation with the nice Christian [Smith]. I also play almost everything he publishes on his label. So, you could say everything fits.
Indeed, last April, your Come With Me EP was released on Tronic. What can you say about it and about your work in the rest of this 2020?
In my opinion, Come With Me is my best release so far. Three different tracks, all good in their own way. They represent my style. I don’t like to play monotonously, but dynamically and depending on the situation. I hope people like the EP as much as I do. Otherwise, I hope that I can deejay again this year. In September, I wanted to go back to Dave in the studio, I keep my fingers crossed that it works. Until then I will do regular podcasts, maybe one or two live streams again.
Was 2020 looking good before the lockdown? How are you facing this?
2020 would have been a great year for me. I already had a great debut in the Netherlands in January, and also in the USA in February. Almost all worth striving festivals for here in Germany were on the calendar, also Ibiza. And now, I just hope that we all can work again soon. Apart from the fact that since the end of February no income has been available to me, I love to celebrate the music together loudly. I miss it but I use the forced break to do a lot for myself, for my animals, for my farm. And maybe it is a chance for the scene to break out of the ‘big and bigger hamster wheel’.
Thank you, Anna. Stay safe.
Thanks to you. Stay healthy and positive. <3
(Cover Image: © Anna Reusch’s Press Kit)