Lena Willikens + Vladimir Ivkovic

Who they are

• 

  Lena Willikens

  Cologne, Germany · 13 bookings since Sep 2023

  “Lena Willikens doesn’t play the hits.”

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  Lena Willikens doesn’t play the hits. When she’s behind the decks, even her biggest fans often have no idea exactly what she’s playing, and that’s part of the magic. Like all DJs, Willikens of course has a passion for records and is always on the hunt for elusive bits of music, but as an artist, her work doesn’t hinge on any one track, or even a handful of tracks. She’s after something bigger, something that’s truly transportive for those on the dancefloor, and the tracks she plays – whether they’re bizarre slices of synth exploration, some ominously churning proto-industrial stomp or something else that simply defies classification – are all parts of a larger, more psychically satisfying whole. Born and raised in Germany, Willikens first honed her unique approach during a long residency at Düsseldorf’s Salon des Amateurs, a much-loved nightspot that has proven to be a hotbed of free-thinking DJ talent. Outside of the club, she also found a platform on Radio Cómeme, where her Sentimental Flashback radio show allowed Willikens to dive deep into all sorts of unusual musical wormholes. (The Cómeme label was also home to her first EP, 2015's Phantom Delia.) These days, however, Willikens' radio adventures happen on NTS, where she pilots the monthly Lightning Conductor program. Now based in Amsterdam, her curatory prowess prompted an invite from Dekmantel to put together the fifth installment of their acclaimed Selectors compilation series, and she also contributed a track to the label’s run of all-star 10th anniversary EPs. As a remixer, she's been tapped in recent years to rework the likes of Lena Platonos, rRoxymore, S U R V I V E, Simian Mobile Disco and Ana Helder, amongst others. And amidst all this activity, she's also been busy with Phantom Kino Ballett, a collaboration with artist Sarah Szczesny that lands somewhere between immersive audio-visual experience and performance art, allowing Willikens to indulge her transportive impulses in a completely new way. Nevertheless, it’s in the DJ booth where Willikens continues to make the biggest impact. As of late, she’s forged a particularly potent partnership with fellow sonic explorer and Salon des Amateurs alum Vladimir Ivkovic, the two engaging in a sort of mind meld that brings together their shared love of electronic music’s darkest and most bizarre corners. Regardless of whether she’s playing alone or in tandem with someone else, Willikens isn’t the kind of artist who adheres to straight lines. Expect different temperatures, different moods and a dollop of chaos, just to keep things interesting. Circuitous paths take precedence over direct routes, and although not even Willikens herself always knows the final destination, when she’s at the helm, the journey is bound to be thrilling. Shawn Reynaldo
  SoundCloud ↗Bandcamp ↗Discography ↗
  Their RA profile lists Cómeme, Dekmantel, Utter and EM Records.

  Last at Camp Kennybrook in Sep · often with SUMME, ROBUS, Säule, none of them here that night

• 

  Vladimir Ivkovic

  Düsseldorf, Germany · 17 bookings since Sep 2023

  “Vladimir Ivkovic is a DJ.”

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  Vladimir Ivkovic is a DJ. He’s more than that of course, but as his essence, Ivkovic is someone with a particularly unique talent for selecting records and weaving them into a larger – and often unusually compelling – narrative. Born and raised in Belgrade, he first dabbled in DJing as a teenager in the mid ’80s, but it was only after leaving Yugoslavia (to study in Germany) and later coming back for a summertime visit that he truly immersed himself in the craft, taking up position behind the decks during a series of impromptu parties at a lakeside restaurant owned by his parents. From there, he spent much of the next two decades honing his skills while throwing events like Selected and Substance that played host to a cross-section of boundary-pushing DJs, long before it was fashionable to do so. Eventually, Ivkovic found his musical and spiritual home at Salon des Amateurs, an unassuming spot in Düsseldorf that’s gradually proven to be wildly influential, giving rise in recent years to otherworldly talents like Lena Willikens, Tolouse Low Trax, Jan Schulte and many others, including Ivkovic himself. With its small size, Salon des Amateurs provided something of an open platform, a place where true music lovers could experience DJs exploring sounds and genres that strayed far from traditional electronic dance music tropes. That same adventurous spirit has found its way into Ivkovic’s curation of Offen Music, a label he launched in 2015. Although the imprint’s output is all but impossible to neatly categorize – experimental Serbian rarities sit alongside ambient excursions and moody synth-pop in the label’s catalogue – the label’s open-minded approach and embrace of off-kilter sounds perfectly encapsulates Ivkovic’s artistic temperament. In recent years, that temperament has increasingly found devoted followers all around the globe. Simply put, Ivkovic has become a staple of the European club circuit; despite his many years in the humble confines of Salon des Amateurs, he’s proven to be just as comfortable at celebrated nightspots like De School (Amsterdam), Berghain (Berlin), Nitsa (Barcelona), Kaiku (Helsinki), Sub Club (Glasgow), Phonox (London), Fold (London), Corsica Studios (London), The White Hotel (Manchester), Mutabor (Moscow), Pacha (Ibiza), Blitz (Munich), Zukunft (Zurich), Concrete (Paris), Lux Fragil (Lisbon), Robert Johnson (Frankfurt), Circoloco (Ibiza) and others too numerous to list. He’s no stranger to touring either, having taken extended DJ trips to Canada (September 2017), Asia (July 2018), Australia (January 2018), Brazil and Colombia (March 2018), USA (2019, April 2022, 2023 and 2024), Brazil (September 2022). Even the festival circuit has come calling, inviting Ivkovic and his inventive rhythms to large-scale events like Primavera Sound, Unsound, World Minimal Music, Houghton, Strange Sounds from Beyond, Dekmantel, Flow, TodaysArt, Robot, Waking Life, Terraforma, Dancity, Positive Education, Elevate, Love International, Dimensions, Kala, Sziget, The Crave, and special gatherings like Convenanza … and that’s just a partial list. Still, despite all of these international adventures, Ivkovic has kept his focus on music, especially the dark and often psychedelic sounds that lurk in its unexplored corners. Each month, he distilled some of that love into Lunatic Love Songs, a much-loved and sonically borderless program on Red Bull Radio. He still does it with his frequent contributions for Noods Radio, Kiosk Radio, Oddity Radio or ROVR to name a few. Whether he’s broadcasting on the radio or piloting the dancefloor, Ivkovic is someone who applies a curatorial mindset and a deep love of music to all of his creative exploits. Yes, he’s a DJ, but he’s so much more than that; he’s a storyteller, a connoisseur and, most importantly, an artist.
  SoundCloud ↗Bandcamp ↗Discography ↗
  Experimental on 6, Ambient on 5, New Wave on 3 and Industrial on 3. styles on their catalogued releases

  Released on A Colourful Storm (1), Berceuse Heroique (1) and Fleetway Tapes (1); their RA profile also lists Versatile Records, Offen Music and Above Board. labels on their catalogued releases and on their RA profile

  Last at Camp Kennybrook in Sep · often with cotton, Eamon Harkin, Juliana Huxtable, none of them here that night