Punktmidi — Happy to experience the scene in Ukraine — Interview with the bRAVEs

Punktmidi, born in Bavaria and living in Berlin, produces Melancholic, Rhythmic Electronic Music. He draws inspiration from genres such as EBM (Electronic Body Music), Original and Cinematic Techno, Trance with Psychedelic Elements and creates a sonic landscape with his sets. the bRAVEs spoke (first published on Mar 20, 2024) with him about Berlin, his recent gig in Kyiv, Ukraine and the upcoming event “Das Werk 1.0”, which he created together with his fiancée Anastasiia Mazhara and Ukrainian DJ and producer Omon Breaker.

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the bRAVEs: Johannes, you grew up in Munich and made your first musical steps there. What made you move to Berlin and when was that?

Punktmidi: First I moved to Potsdam, that was in 2020, in the middle of the corona pandemic. I moved there because I started my acting studies at Filmuniversität Babelsberg. Then I always had to drive back and forth from Potsdam to Berlin to meet friends there and go out. I slept a lot in the S-Bahn. Then in 2022 I finally moved to Berlin.

the bRAVEs: Is there something special about and in Berlin that fulfills you and keeps you here?

Punktmidi:

Berlin for me is still the most free city in Germany, you can be whatever you want, and compared to Bavaria it feels like paradise.

To grow up in Munich and being a teenager there, can be very limiting. And of course having so many creative people, all coming together in one city is extremely helpful and inspiring for being an artist.

the bRAVEs: You are now engaged with Anastasiia Mazhara (Si apre in una nuova finestra), the Kyiv-born actress and model. You also produce music together. When and where did you meet?

Punktmidi: After the war started, my University accepted acting students from Ukraine. And then suddenly Anastasiia appeared in my class. The first time I saw her was when we had movement class. I remember this moment really well.

the bRAVEs: Has she brought you to Ukraine in recent years? Where have you been so far?

Punktmidi: Thanks to her, I visited Ukraine and Anastasiia’s family in March last year and just recently. Also, I visited Ukraine many years ago, because of a school exchange program. Maybe they knew that it would become an important place in my life. I feel very good there, and I’m happy to be there as much as possible.

the bRAVEs: On March 9, 2024 you had your Ukrainian debut in Kyiv at the event Speka (Si apre in una nuova finestra) in Keller (Si apre in una nuova finestra) together with other great Ukrainian artists like Sasha Storm (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Maria Rodina (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Techwave (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Shana (Si apre in una nuova finestra) and Raven Cure (Si apre in una nuova finestra). How did this gig come about? Did you decide right away that you wanted to play or did you have doubts because of the war?

Punktmidi: We planned to go to Ukraine to Visit Anastasiia’s family and I always wanted to play there. Then I got the gig, thanks to my friend Omon Breaker, who connected me with Sasha (Sasha Storm — editor’s note). Speka was planned in Keller on the 9th (March 2024 — editor’s note) and they needed an artist. Perfect timing I would say.. I didn’t have any doubts and was just happy to experience the scene in Ukraine, because I´ve heard a lot about it.

the bRAVEs: How did you find the audience compared to the Central European cities? Was there anything you noticed right away?

Punktmidi: I felt more comfortable playing my music than I have in a long time. It brought back a lot of memories of the old rave days when it wasn’t about what you were wearing, what “rave moves” you could do or that every drop had to be harder than the previous one. I felt like home.

I have the utmost respect for everyone in Ukraine who, despite the barbaric war of aggression by Russia, did not lose their courage and love.

Everyone was super friendly, careful and respectful. It felt like a crowd of introverts coming together, having fun, and enjoying the music. Just an underground location with underground people.

the bRAVEs: Overall, did the event go smoothly?

Punktmidi: The event went super smoothly! Because of the curfew in Kyiv, all the events are at daytime right now. It was very refreshing and comfortable to play at 6pm. At 10pm the event was over and we could go home and sleep normally.

the bRAVEs: What would you say to DJs who are invited to perform in Ukraine but have doubts, would you motivate them in any way?

Punktmidi: Please do it. Experience the amazing cities, the friendliness of the people, the amazing locations and the true underground feeling.

the bRAVEs: Together with Anastasiia and Omon Breaker (Si apre in una nuova finestra), you have created an event called ‘Das Werk 1.0 (Si apre in una nuova finestra)’, which will take place for the first time on March 21, 2024 in Berlin’s Watergate. How did the three of you get together for this idea and why this special name?

Punktmidi: The creation of Das Werk happened already 2 years ago. It is a vision to create a club with the same name at some point in the future. Because of the lack of time I never was able to make it come to life. I met Anastasiia and we developed the identity and look of Das Werk and it became more concrete, after our studies we finally had time to work on it even more. Then we accidentally met Omon Breaker in Berghain and connected with him. We became friends and told him about Das Werk. It was very late at night when we were looking at each other and realized we have the same mindset regarding events and clubs. The Das Werk team was born.

the bRAVEs: The line-up consists of you, Omon Breaker, PLØTZ (Si apre in una nuova finestra), Nastya Muravyova (Si apre in una nuova finestra) and Miroslav (Si apre in una nuova finestra). Is this more of a friendship game?

Punktmidi: It is very important for us to present artists, who represent the musical vision of Das Werk in the correct way. This first lineup came together with the intention to support newcomers we know, create a first impression of us and Das Werk, and invite artists we know and love for a long time.

the bRAVEs: Do you have a specific musical idea that you want to pursue at “Das Werk”?

Punktmidi: The events and also the music of Das Werk, will be shaped by nostalgic, original and uncommercial soundscapes.

We are supporting artists, who live for the music, for being creative and leaving the comfort zone. We want to create a calming, welcoming place in this oversaturated, ruled by trends, industry.

the bRAVEs: How do you divide the tasks between the three of you? Who is responsible for what?

Punktmidi: In every point we are discussing together, but Anastasiia and I are responsible for artworks, visual identity and curation of the Label. Max (Omon Breaker) is an amazing connector, social media and artist curator.

the bRAVEs: Is the second edition already planned? Do you have a teaser or spoiler for this?

Punktmidi: The second edition is not planned yet, but we will have many releases after the first event and we are in preparation of planning the next Event called “Das Werk 1.1”

the bRAVEs: In the promo text for your last EP “28&TheEnd (Si apre in una nuova finestra)”, which was released in December 2023, it says: “This EP is the end of the old era and the beginning of a new one”. Can you tell us a little bit more about what exactly is meant by that?

Punktmidi: We made this EP already in the beginning of 2023 and it was waiting a long time to be released. In that time I played at a lot of events, where we experienced a plethora of oversaturating music. We realized that we don’t enjoy it anymore. I always was a huge fan of slow and rhythmically complex music and it felt like the perfect timing to go back to it.

the bRAVEs: Finally, what does Punktmidi mean?

Punktmidi: Punktmidi is actually a filename. If you export midi as a file it has the ending “.midi”. Midi is used to tell an Instrument or software which keys on a keyboard or which buttons on a controller are pressed and moved. When I created this name I thought it is an interesting connection to music, unique and describes my nerdiness. And it pronounces like “pʊŋkt”, because a lot of people mispronounce it.

“Punkt” translates as a “.” (dot) from german.

the bRAVEs: Thank you very much for your time. I wish you a lot of success musically, but also with the event ‘Das Werk 1.0’!

Punktmidi
Instagram (Si apre in una nuova finestra) I Soundcloud (Si apre in una nuova finestra)

Das Werk
Instagram (Si apre in una nuova finestra) I Soundcloud (Si apre in una nuova finestra) I Event on RA (Si apre in una nuova finestra)

the bRAVEs — Electronic Music Berlin
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