With knowledge comes the key to success. However, the definition of success is a variable to each and every man. On which path you choose to walk is entirely up to you, seek the wisdom to know the difference and you will do just fine. The fields might be greener on the other side of the distant hill, the path you may tread may be worn and tired, keep the faith, follow your soul and move on forward. 

Alinka's record label Twirl has been on a run of form as of late, it corresponds directly with her own musical output as a producer and DJ. Her recent mix for Ransom Note proved testament to that. The next release on the label comes from Ena Lind who delivers a jacked up assortment of house built straight for the club. 

PREMIERE: Ena Lind - The Wisdom To Know The Difference [Twirl]

transcendence 🌑🌒🌓🌔🌕🌕🌕

Bookings worldwide: nathalie[at]mintberlinbooking.com




An attitude. An energy. A movement that encaptures the groove. Alinka and Shaun J. Wright present Twirl!

Ransom Note is an online music, arts and culture magazine. We provide a home for readers and writers with boundless enthusiasm, esoteric knowledge, fierce opinions and impeccable taste.

With our core team immersed in all aspects of dance music, we publish news, articles, and interviews covering the greatest in innovative, underground culture from across the globe. We offer regular, exclusive music and mixtapes from our favourite artists, and publish features shining a light on everything from the freshest new artists to the untold tales from rave history.

Alongside this we offer musings on film, books, life, and art, generating some context and controversy as an antidote to the reheated PR that clogs up the internet. Our office is fuelled by Tunnock’s Bars, cat memes, hangovers and a ridiculous, never ending love for our culture.

We're always interested in getting new writers on board – feel free to get in touch if you’ve got a story to tell.

With love until the grave.

Mint is a network for women in House and Techno music with workshops, a booking agency and more.

www.mintberlin.de
www.mintberlinbooking.com

“There are at least a few people in this thing determined to keep House Music weird. Chicago’s Alinka is one of them.” – Terry Matthew, 5Magazine

Alinka is the kind of DJ other DJ’s will tell you about. She has a unique power on the decks that comes from lifelong passion and time served, with a focused devotion to her first love – house music. Raised on Chicago’s vibrant house sound with toes dipped into Detroit techno, Europe’s more robust approaches to bass music and the myriad of genre’s coming from cities like Berlin, London and Paris.

Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, her early childhood included reluctantly learning the piano, her mother is a pianist, while trying to convince her parents to let her play guitar. Her exposure to Western music was limited, living in a communist country where censorship was common practice. Her family eventually immigrated to Chicago as Jewish refugees in the late ‘80s as the USSR crumbled. This was her first experience of pop music and she fell head over heels for the chart sounds of Madonna and Janet Jackson. Then came house music from local radio shows where you could frequently hear tracks by Chicago legends like Cajmere and DJ Funk, and shows like Sonic Boom helped expose underground music to the masses.

By the late ‘90s, music had taken over her life. Teenage Alinka immersed herself in the dance music scene spending her summer pulling double shifts at a local pool and moonlighting for rave promoters to build up enough cash to buy decks. After a year of skipping class to relentlessly practice her mixing skills, she began her full-time musical pursuit. Working for various club promoters, doing odd jobs passing out flyers and helping with party logistics - anything just to get into clubs underage to see her favourite DJs - all while spending hours digging for tracks at Chicago’s legendary record shop Gramaphone. In 2001 Justin Long recruited her to be the opening resident for his .Dotbleep party at Smartbar where she honed her skills for the best part of a decade.

In 2012, an impromptu meeting with former Hercules and Love Affair vocalist, Shaun J. Wright, changed her life forever. Their evolving friendship resulted in what would be the first of many musical collaborations. The pair launched their Twirl parties and label, continually strived to inspire each other both musically and spiritually, the result has been an impressive catalogue of material for both of them collaboratively and individually on the likes of The Classic Music Company, Jackathon Jams, Crosstown Rebels, Leftroom, and of course Twirl, where as well as their own material the duo have welcomed renowned artists like Spencer Parker, Virginia, LA-4A, Kim Ann Foxman, and Jason Kendig onto the label.

Recent years have seen Alinka really hit her stride as a producer with successful releases on world renown labels like Rekids, Crosstown Rebels, Need Want, Permanent Vacation, and Peggy Gou’s Gudu Records. She also turned out a standout collection of remixes for labels Me Me Me, Live At Robert Johnson, Correspondant, and Get Physical.

Now living in Berlin, Alinka has well and truly found her feet and inspiration. Alinka has used this base to throw down at parties across Europe from Berghain/Panorama Bar to Circoloco, with regular visits back to the US to play standout clubs like Smart Bar and Ukraine's famous ∄ club in Kyiv, where she stands as club’s first international resident, playing a minimum of six shows per year including a curated show.

Her evolution continues with the recent re-launch of her Twirl imprint, highlighted by the ‘Day Dreamer’, ‘Sorry For Not Trending’ and ‘Edgewater’ EPs that finely balance Alinka’s future-focused ethos, with a unmistakable, proud passion for her Chicago heritage.

Part of promo agency Tesnota, resident of Samocvet, mikkcift@gmail.com, all the deleted tracks are moved to mixcloud. 
Fuck war