Primarily involved in the scene as a dancer, and due to her Tunisian heritage, she emphasizes on groove, beats, and a deep vibe often accompanied by mellow organic synths or other instruments.
She started raving and breathing the sound in the late 90s when Techno became a Movement with the Berlin Love Parade.
Inessa sees herself as a world citizen, who is deeply inspired by her journeys and the people that come with them. She lived in Paris, London, and New York City while finishing her studies. At the moment she resides in Vienna/Austria, where she founded the label Leisure Music Productions.
In terms of electronic genre, she mostly is intrigued by organic vibes in: Organic House, Melodic Techno, Techno, Deep and Progressive House. Her style can be described as very warm and deep but one thing is for sure making music for her is a means of expressing her love to dance and to enjoy life in its full beauty.
Check out our interview with this awesome artist.
Connect with Inessa on Spotify / Soundcloud / Instagram
Hey hey, nice to have you here with us. Share a nice fact about you. Something that we can’t find in your bio.
Hello, first of all, I want to thank you for having me. 🙂 There are a couple of things actually … maybe one of them is that at one point in my life, I wanted to open an Italian Gelateria and went to Bologna to study how to make artisan ice cream.
What have you been up to lately?
Besides running the label Leisure Music Productions, and producing my own music, I have been also organising my new concept tEChnOkitchen which is a live stream format, combining food and electronic music in a very new way.
Was dance music always your primary influence when you were younger, how did you ultimately end up in dance music?
Well, growing up I was exposed to all different kinds of music. Hip Hop, Dub, Reggae, Classical Music, Pop, Rock, Jazz, World Music. But since I think I went to my first rave, I was pretty much hooked on electronic music and techno which foremost came from Detroit, Germany and Holland. Carl Craig, Josh Wink, Global Underground, Danny Tenaglia, Richie Hawtin, Ricardo Villalobos, Jeff Mills.. just to name a few were my influences and still are.
Give us an insight into what we can expect from Inessa over the next few months.
I am working on a couple of beautiful collaborations with my talented producer friends from all around the world, as well as a lot of remixes from me.
Currently, I am working on my first album, which will feature mostly deeper and groovy techno tracks.
Furthermore, I am building with my team the new live show tEChnOkitchen, which we will take this year live for the first time in Amsterdam during ADE.
How would you describe your own development as an artist and the transition toward your own style? What is the relationship between copying, learning, and your own creativity?
My development as an artist is very organic. I started out just with a laptop and good studio earphones and one MIDI keyboard. I started my productions using plug-ins. Slowly I started to add analog machines such as the Moog 37, Korg minilog, Roland 303 bassline, deep mind, Roland TR8S.
Over the last few years, my production has been transforming itself and I am using primarily analog equipment to make my tracks. So the goal here is to keep on learning day by day more about the implementation of my machines into my productions, but also take them as a next step live with me on stage to perform.
My style is not a specific genre, because I am a multi-genre producer and I love all kinds of different electronic music but one could say that my style is groovy and very deep.
I never used a pre-set in my life or anything similar. All music I make is played by me, or I try to find partners for vocals or instruments sometimes. So copying is not something I would do. I do watch some tutorials to learn some new production skills though. I use my own creativity to produce my music.
How would you describe your sound and style?
Generally speaking, and spanning all genres, it’s warm, deep, and groovy.
When working on new music, do you have a creative process in place or go with it, trial and error, experiment and see what comes out?
Well, usually when I start a new track I start with my drum kit and create first the right kick and groove elements. Then usually I find a bass and a sub bass and the rest is all experimental
Soon you will be releasing a remix with us. You have your take on Talal’s organic/progressive “Vice”. maybe tell us how you break it into parts to create something different from it.
When I listened to the original, 3 elements caught my attention that I wanted to expand. The guitar chords, a synth progression, and a pad. I really love the original mix from Talal and concentrated my composition around these elements. I added and expanded the guitar chord melody with my own composition, and I kept the pads as well as the synth progression in the track. The rest I changed and I think added a more organic but still progressive touch to the track.
Where do you get your ideas when starting a remix for example? Built on experience, a feeling, ….?
The essence in my opinion for a remix is to find some significant elements in the original mix. When I listen to an original mix the first time, I usually know right away which elements I want to use, because those are the ones that really stood out for me. So usually I take 2 to 3 elements and work with them. I transform them, cut them, and vary them in different ways to maintain the main feeling of the original but with another structure or sound design of the same element.
Could you take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine through to your work? Do you have a fixed schedule?
I wake up every day at 5:30 am, because my golden hour of inspiration is in the morning. I have my coffee and then I turn on the studio and produce some music until I think it’s time for a break.
I check my emails, listen to demos from artists for Leisure, handle all Label-related work, prepare myself for possible gigs, and a lot more.
Manage all content with my team and shows for tEChnOkitchen.
Do you like to work solo or do you sometimes collaborate? What are some of your most memorable professional collaborations?
I like both and I do both. I really love all my collaborations. I am blessed to be able to work with such outstanding musicians and artists.
Who are your musical or audio heroes and why?
I really don’t have any musical heroes. I love so many different forms and styles of music and the list of people I admire would not stop.
Thank you Inessa
