Sex-Soaked Berlin Electro
If sex were a marketable commodity, Fidelity Kastrow would be a millionaire. Wait a minute, it is… so why hasn’t Kastrow been crowned queen of Europe’s nightclubs yet?
Probably because she spends as much time with her nose buried in textbooks as she does conducting dance floor orgies from the DJ booth.
With a chugging dance floor hit called “I Like it 69”, Fidelity lives up to her reputation as a nymphomaniac with a dual addiction for groove. One promoter described her tunes as “sex-soaked electro”. You’ll have to catch her regular sets in Berlin and the UK to find out if that’s true.
Best of all, she’s a BEAST. Fidelity grew up in East Berlin, and returns often to play clubs like the legendary Tresor. Last summer she popped up at Club Porat in Vodice, Croatia, and the Neofest Peace Festival in Banja Luka, Bosnia.
Interview by – Joel Alas – joel@beastnation.com
B EAST: You’re studying Chinese? Why do they call England ‘Hero Land’?!
Fidelity: I study in Berlin, with philosophy as a major and a minor specialising in East Asia – plus Chinese. Not the most pragmatic or lucrative choice of subjects, but it’s what I truly love. Philosophy is like food for me (I love to think the unthinkable) and since my childhood I felt a magic magnetism coming from East Asia.
B EAST: How is Berlin these days? I get sick of people telling me it’s over…
I’d say Berlin is as hot as ever. Yes on one hand the established Berlin club scene tends to be a little bit resistant to upcoming fresh trends (as well as fresh flesh, excuse the pun!) and a bit stuck with the status quo (i.e. I don’t like minimal). But on the other hand there is no place that has more variety and allows people to experiment without the pressure of instantly succeeding. You can be artistic and avant-garde and people let you perform without the pressure of filling the cash box immediately. And one of Berlin’s greatest assets is its uncompromising open mindedness.
B EAST: Do you create your own beats as well as mix others?
I’ve made two tracks with fellow Flesh artist Corvin Dalek from Hungary who’s based in Berlin and Budapest: “I Like It 69” and “Manchmal Tut Es Weh”. On both tracks I’ve come up with the lyrics and vocals plus contributed ideas in the production process. “I Like It 69” is my personal favourite at the moment which I like to drop in my DJ-sets when the crowd is steaming and sweating, since “…the smell of sweat makes me wet…”
B EAST: Travelling is exhilarating yet exhausting. How do you deal with Sundays when you’re on the road?
Oh my goodness, they are giving the word tough a new meaning! On these Sundays I’m sitting on trains, planes and/or automobiles trying to plough through my philosophy homework, which means reading utterly complicated texts about the big questions in life and beyond while trying to stay awake and not miss my connection. I wear ear plugs and force myself through every paragraph nibbling on Red Bull and making little notes on the margins, continuing with a slogan along the lines of: Try to get it, dead or alive!”
B EAST: What’s your favourite red fashion item?
Red pumps! J’adore! Sigh… The higher the heel the better (naturally!) and also love red nail varnish (especially on ticklish toes), sweet red lips and a dash of red ribbons in the hair or all over. I truly love red! According to my zodiac sign red and white are my colours. So who will guess what mine is?
B EAST: When do you see red?
It takes a lot and a long long time to provoke me so much that I see red. Some close friends say it takes “too long” until I reach that point. Though once I reach that point, I aim, shoot, hit, terminate! I am a Scorpio after all!”
B EAST: What’s boring and dead in the world of beats and bleeps? Where to next for these sounds? What annoys you about the tunes you hear at most clubs?
I like music I can shake my booty to and the minimal sound just hasn’t been doing it for me. The music I like has to be raw, hard, radical, funny, spontaneous and sensual, so that’s where i am taking it. I certainly don’t want to go to a club to see sexless, miserable looking, self-important acting types with their three day beards, greasy hair and bland clothing, boring the dancefloor to death with records that sound like someone’s opening a coke can in 4/4 time, all set to a soft padded bass drum. I want to see a bit of flamboyance and creativity and action! I want to see people pushing the boundaries.
Personally, I think the future is all about mixing and matching styles- electro, techno, baile funk, hip hop, whatever: heavy, thumping, dirty basslines with equally sexy vocal lyrics. The internet’s changing everything, with new music coming from everywhere, Brazil, London, Berlin, Lithuania, wherever. What annoys me? Boring monotonous tracks with no groove – clubbing is about dancing darlings!
B EAST: What drugs are kids taking these days – or at least, what do they take when listening to you?
You’ll have to ask the kids. The drugs always go hand in hand with the music. So if people are listening to minimal and taking K, then it’s pretty obvious why the party never gets started right. From what I’ve seen I think there’s a lot of experimentation around and prescription drugs are also popular mixed with alcohol. I hear the traditional cheaper club drugs like speed, LSD and MDMA are slowly making their come-back. The music I play is powerful and enticing enough to enjoy without drugs. Though I really enjoy an E-ed up crowd, no doubt.
P.S. Why DO they call England ‘Hero Land’?!
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