Berlin-based DJ and producer mobilegirl has long stood at the intersection of curiosity, intuition and club experimentation. A combination that has made her one of the most singular voices in the city’s sprawling electronic music scene. Her path into sound wasn’t preordained. Raised in a household where music barely featured, mobilegirl built her musical world from scratch, guided first by Tumblr-era discoveries and later by a hunger to understand how things work.
A decade on, mobilegirl is a key figure in Berlin’s ever-evolving scene, known for genre-fluid DJ sets, conceptual radio moments via her NTS Radio show ‘Roomies’ and productions that feel intimate yet inventive. As a result, her music and mixes has been featured in compilations and publications such as Vogue. Ahead of her exclusive Mixcloud mix — one that taps more directly into her club sensibilities — we spoke to mobilegirl about the self-taught beginnings, unexpected breakthroughs and creative instincts that continue to shape her sound.
How did your journey with music begin?
mobilegirl: Honestly it feels so random because I kind of grew up in a household where nobody listens to music. I recently asked my mom who her favorite singer is but she literally replied, ‘I don’t like anybody!’ So I had to teach myself everything. I remember asking for piano lessons but then having to teach myself Rihanna’s ‘Unfaithful’ on a tiny keyboard when I was about 12. That just came from being curious about stuff.
I always thought I would be more on the visual end of creative work because my mom taught me how to use graphic software when I was really little. But then towards the end of my teens, I started listening to music way more intentionally. Before that it was just very much Pop music, whatever was on the radio, whatever my cousin was listening to. Then I went through a Pop to M.I.A to Fade To Mind kind of pipeline. That’s when I really got into electronic music: I thought, ‘what the fuck is this.’ So I started listening to more experimental electronic music and I was on Tumblr a lot and through that I met a bunch of people with similar tastes.
I grew up in Munich but I knew DJs and artists who would play in Berlin and stuff and through conversations with them, I eventually thought I should start making music too. I have this very heady compulsion to really understand what’s going on; way beyond being creative, I just always want to know and understand things.
So, you’ve kind of always been creatively inqusitive.
In creative work, it very often translates to, ‘okay, I want to know how this works, how it’s made, and then maybe even make it myself.’ So, it just went very quickly from just loving all the stuff I was hearing to wanting to make it too.
The moment I started doing that, it just went so fast. I think there were a lot of social aspects where I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to just put out some music.’ Since I already know a few people, it kind of gained traction really fast. It took me one release to have contact with a label, but I think it was just the right moment. It was very interesting and then from there it just rolled on but that’s why it felt kind of random.
Was there an exact moment in your life where you decided music and DJing was your true passion?
I think that actually came so much later. One point where it became super clear was the pandemic. I’ve always had this thing where I’m just super happy to be doing anything creative. But when COVID hit and all my gigs fell through and everything felt so precarious, I was actually irked by the idea of doing anything other than music at that point. It’s something I need to have in my life for eternity! For the music itself, for the lifestyle that comes with it. One of my main motivational factors right now is that I have met so many amazing people through DJing and touring that I don’t think I will be able to meet people like them again if I don’t continue DJing and touring. There’s so many factors to this where I think, ‘okay, this really needs to stay in my life.’
Where do you think your curiosity for the sounds around you comes from?
A lot of it does come from exchanges with other people. Talking about music and showing each other what we’re listening to currently. We just kind of put two things together that you’re not supposed to, you know? I think especially around the time when I started, things around music felt kind of purist in some ways and very genre focused. Then it was a group of people who just don’t give a shit. I still find it so interesting how people can just put things together in ways that feel so unexpected.
That’s something I really love about remixes and making remixes. I love the idea of having material and then flipping it into something else. It’s obviously beautiful if someone can create something from scratch but I always found it so interesting how people can just flip those things and make their own take. Like it’s been put through a meat grinder.
Are there any sounds you find yourself gravitating towards the most these days?
Lately, I’ve been really liking very loungey tracks. I don’t even know what genre that would be, but I have this idea of oxygen bars and the vibe that comes with them. Very floaty and that kind of vibe has been making me feel so at peace recently. For a while I gravitated so heavily towards very abrasive sounds. But maybe it’s the season, you know? I’m just trying to get cozy.
“I love the idea of having material and then flipping it into something else. Like it’s been put through a meat grinder.
How do you approach DJing?
That’s also very context based, but generally I love to dance and I think of DJing from the perspective of me on a dancefloor. I really like to switch it up a lot which also means that I will play different tempos and genres because I feel different music just really lends itself to different dances. I really can’t do the same type of movement for an hour straight; I will want something for my hips and then to go into an upper body set, then go back to more footwork and stuff. It’s just the most fun way for me to be on a dancefloor, to have these really responsive moments to the music. I always want to feel different things. Maybe it’s because I’m also getting old and my joints will hurt a little bit!
I always thought it was more fun and interesting to be able to move from genres and tempos in a way that still feels fluid. One of my favorite compliments to get is, ‘I only figured out in hindsight you moved through so many tempos.’ I love an unexpected moment, a big break that somehow still makes sense. A good flow but with very different elements.
What are some of your favorite sets to do? Is there a particular sound, genre or vibe?
I’ve been really itching to play super intense stuff lately. I think a lot of music I make right now is a bit more chill. But I always get really excited if I can play at a queer party for instance. Where things can sound a certain way and people are more open to hearing genres they’ve never heard.
What’s the relationship like between your DJing and your music? Do they influence each other?
They’re actually such obstacles for each other. I have such an easy time making edits for me to play out. It’s usually based on me wanting to hear a specific song in the club. Then, flipping it enough so I can just play it. That’s stuff I usually don’t release. When I think of music I want to produce as mobilegirl, I have such a hard time sticking to a sound. I could very easily switch out the drums right now the way I would do when I DJ and it’s a whole other track.
It’s very difficult to find the cohesion in that way. I have to force myself to sit down and decide in a very designy way that this is what it’s going to be. I might start with an idea that already exists and then build stuff around it and delete the original part that I took from somewhere. Then it takes on a completely different form. I thrive off the excitement of making it. So, the moment it gets very organized, the excitement is gone.
So, what would you say are some of the songs, remixes or edits that you’ve put out that you’re most proud of?
All of my collaborations with Ouri are very special to me. But generally I feel more of a sense of pride when I don’t have any expectations. When I’m doing something for the first time and it somehow turns out really good. Like, damn, I did a really good job and I had no idea it would happen. Otherwise I get too in my head and then have any potential pride be replaced by an expectation that it must come out good anyway. But you know what? I’m kind of proud of my track on the Kwia compilation that came out recently; I like that one.
Tell us about your ‘Roomies’ show on NTS – what do you hope to achieve with it?
It’s less about what I’m trying to achieve. But it has a very strong base in how I listen to music. The idea started with one playlist that I already had that was called ‘music for the bathroom floor.’ That was the only room that I could lock in my family’s house! I just spent so much time on the bathroom floor listening to music and staring at myself in the mirror processing stuff and just being emo, you know? So, that was a very sacred space and it was always soundtracked by music.
I wanted to create a conceptual radio show even though I figured it would make more sense as a club DJ to make club mixes. But I knew that if every two months I would just have to send in a club mix I would get so bored of doing the same thing over and over again. I record at home in a calm environment where it feels so awkward to make a club set. I would just have to transport myself onto the dancefloor and imagine that and that feels so unintuitive. So I figured if I have a more conceptual show that I can actually think about, that would work a lot better for me. And since I think a lot about the function and effect of different spaces it made sense to me this would be the theme.
As a key member of the Berlin electronic music scene, what can you tell us about how that scene works? What are some of the big things happening right now?
It’s funny because I personally don’t go out that much. But I know for a fact there’s so much going on. In terms of the stuff that I’m around I feel like everything has changed a lot with the pandemic. Things have become a bit more Techno all across the board. I feel like such an old head saying this, but the scene was so much better in 2016. Things have not only gotten more commercial but also abstracted and turned into ‘aesthetics.’ There are clothing stores now where you can buy yassified rave gear? It’s just progressively getting harder to do things in the city. But there’s definitely pockets where people have always been about it and will always be. Einhundert just turned 10!
How do you stay inspired?
I get a lot of inspiration through just talking to other artists. Watching movies, listening to other people’s music, just consuming art basically. I get really distracted by my own life. Sometimes life can be very inspiring but most of the time I just want to chill, so it’s not the most fruitful.
You’ve performed all over Europe, toured East Asia and been featured in Vogue. What are some of the proudest moments of your career so far?
Even the idea of having done music for 10 years now and everything that came with it is something I’m proud of. Meeting certain people and building a network around the world now that I feel very comfortable with and very inspired by. For someone who was so introverted as a teenager I’m proud of how that has changed my entire life. How it’s kind of really opened me up to so many things. I’m so much more social now because of that.
I think I’ve found a bit of a place for myself in the world that way. Generally, I feel more pride attached to my social relationships. Music really helped me face myself and get used to being seen as a public figure to some extent. It really forced me to look at myself in ways that I maybe didn’t want to before I started. I’m always so excited to just go somewhere and hang out, you know? It’s very giving.
I had a really funny moment the other day on the dancefloor. My friend was playing in Berlin and a girl’s shirt was caught on fire because of a cigarette. My friend tried to pat it out and managed to, then the girl turned around and was super grateful. Then immediately she turns around again and goes, ‘wait are you mobile girl?’ And my friend said, ‘girl I just saved her life and she wants to talk to you.’ Moments like this are so funny to me. I don’t care at all about a certain level of fame. But it’s obviously so nice to be recognized and appreciated for what you do.
What’s next for you?
I’m really trying to use winter to actually finally produce music. I’m playing a few shows but I really want to try to sit down and lock myself up. Ideally not see anyone for a second and do some work!
Tell us about your mix for Mixcloud.
I wanted this to be more representative of a club set of mine. We’ve mentioned ‘Roomies’ and everything but maybe this one should just straight up be music for the club for once!