Terminal V Podcast 034 || Anfisa Letyago

 

Siberian born, Naples based techno artist Anfisa Letyago is currently riding high on a wave of success built all on her own steam. Some may not react well under the pressure of expectation from peers and fans but Anfisa has used this to her advantage and is currently knocking it out of the park.

From touring the world playing the biggest parties and releasing on the hottest labels such Michael Mayer’s highly influential Kompakt imprint. Carl Cox amongst many other techno kingpins of the techno world have been quick to throw their support behind this emerging artist and her mix for our podcast is a snapshot of why. Featuring her own productions as well as gems new and old, this is why she is breaking out and moving up…

 

Thanks for joining us Anfisa, how has life been post restrictions?

Hi guys thanks for having me. I started with the first dates in the USA (Miami, New York) on June, it didn’t seem true to me to see people dancing again after all this time away from clubs and festivals! After that it was full steam ahead, it was a summer full of events and emotions, it took me a while to get back into the swing of things, but now I’m feeling alive again.

You are based in Naples, what is your connection to the city? What prompted the move from Siberia to Italy?

My family has been living in the South of Italy for almost 20 years because my adopted father is Italian, in Siberia I still have my maternal grandparents who sometimes come to visit us in Italy. The first time I came to Naples to enrol at the university, but when I saw it I fell in love immediately: a lively city, full of people, clubs, restaurants, art galleries, theatres, events … I immediately felt a unique energy! After that I never left. Now I have everything here: my family, my friends, my studio. It’s a very strong bond that makes me feel Neapolitan in every way.

Having Carl Cox announce you as breakthrough artist of 2019 must quite a feeling?, How has it affected you pressure wise?

Carl was the first one who supported my music during his sets all over the world, he believed in my productions without knowing me personally. He gave me a very important support by releasing my productions on his label Inter Digital and mentioning my name in some interviews he did, it gave me a great incentive to continue my path, I’m immensely grateful, and this year we did a festival together in Newcastle ‘Shindig’ where he came to greet me on stage in front of thousands of people, it was an amazing emotion… I can’t find words to describe what I felt at that moment, but one thing I can say for sure: Great people have a very big heart.

Your tour schedule has blown up in recent years, how do you handle the huge amount of travelling?

Yes in the last few years I’ve played many clubs and festivals all over the world. We all know that you don’t sleep while touring and the logistics are sometimes very difficult, think about the last month I did an event in Belfast and the day after I had to play in Los Angeles and after the festival in Los Angeles I had to return immediately to Italy … I try to face all my travels with energy and great attention because the unexpected are around the corner and you have to be lucid to solve them.

Given the amount of countries that you have performed in has there been any pleasant surprises along the way?

The most beautiful thing when you travel around the world is to discover new places, different cultures and to see things you don’t expect to see! Another thing that excites me a lot is when the people who come to hear me bring me gifts or the vinyl to sign, these are the things that surprise and excite me.

Where are you most excited to visit next?

I can’t wait for my big US tour in October: I’ll be in San Francisco, Hollywood, New York, Chicago, Washington DC, San Diego and Miami… I’m very excited!

You have featured on some pretty big labels to date, which would you say has been the most pivotal?

It’s hard to choose one because all the labels for which I’ve released music have made great contributions to my recording career…

Congratulations on Speicher 118, tell us more about the EP?

Kompakt Speicher 118 for me was a great achievement at discographic level, it’s a label that has always been a great musical reference for me where many artists that I follow and listen to for years like Laurent Garnier, Michael Mayer, Marc Romboy and many others have been released. It’s an immense satisfaction for me as an artist and as a woman!

You have just mixed the new edition of our podcast series, what mood do we find you?

I would describe this mix as very energetic, where you will find some remixes (unreleased) from the new project on my label N:S:DA, some old school techno tracks and of course some fresh music from young and talented producers.

What tracks or mix sections should we look out for?

As I said in the first part you will find the unreleased remixes of my project on N:S:DA that will be released soon, entrusted to the most important producers of the electronic scene worldwide.

 

Interview by Stu Todd