Moscow-born, New York-based DJ and producer Ma Sha has been a fixture of the city’s club underground since 2016, when she co-founded the Kindergarten party series, which grew into a monthly show on The Lot Radio and a label named Best Breakthrough Label at the 2022 DJ Mag North America Awards. Her sound is high-voltage, percussion-driven club music that moves between techno, bass and leftfield rhythms, released as solo EPs on Nervous Horizon, Steel City Dance Discs and TraTraTrax and as one half of the band Sha Ru. She is valued as much for her curatorial ear and community work, including the free DJ workshop initiative Hone.Social, as for sets that are wild, playful and hard to pin down.
What did you have in mind when recording this mix?
This is actually a live recording from Pawnshop in Taipei, one of my favorite clubs. Earlier this year I played Organik Festival, which is run by the same team, and that weekend really stayed with me — it influenced me for pretty much the rest of the year. So when I came back to Pawnshop for a long three-hour set, I wanted to bring some of that inspiration into the set while exploring a more techno-leaning but still bass-heavy sound, moving between weird, trippy and more playful, fun moments.
Where did you record it and which setup did you use?
Pawnshop in Taipei in early July, using four CDJs and a Pioneer DJM-900NXS2.
What’s the most memorable gig you played so far?
It would make sense to highlight the gig where this recording comes from. It felt really special to play three hours there. The room was incredibly dark — you could really feel everyone’s energy without necessarily seeing much, and that felt perfect for the music I wanted to play that night.
Can you name a secret weapon that you use frequently?
There’s a section of the mix around 130 BPM where things get really fun, trippy and pretty weird. One track I always come back to is „The Freaks” by Überzone. The energy is so strange — it takes you on this crazy spiral and completely shifts the mood in the room. Definitely one of my secret weapons :)
Three recent releases that caught your attention?
Not all of these are super recent, but they’ve been in heavy rotation for me lately. Teqmun’s release on Nerve Collect is one I play out all the time. I love the sound design and its cold, futuristic energy — it fits perfectly into certain parts of my sets.
LWS on TraTraTrax is another one. Again, incredible sound design, but with this playful attitude that really lights up the room whenever I play it.
And then there’s Istanbul-based artist jtamul. I love the percussive madness of their music. When I reach that part of a set where I want things to become more intense and rhythmically wild, their tracks always work. There’s something very distinctive and authentic about their sound.
What do you have coming up?
Quite a lot! I have a new EP coming this fall featuring different vocalists. It’s my first time building a project like this around collaborations, so I’m really excited to finally put it out.
On Kindergarten Records, we also have a new EP coming from Teqmun, who I mentioned earlier, including a Rhyw remix. The whole package is pretty insane — lots of detailed, futuristic techno sound design.
And with my band Sha Ru, we’ve been working for about a year and a half on a longer body of work. It’s dubby, trip-hoppy and built around longer, more extended pieces. So yeah, lots happening — time to get back to work! :)
Tracklist:
Jamie Genome – 40chants
REFORMIST – PEGASUS
Philipp Gorbachev & The Naked Man – Goodman (Obgon Remix)
Terminus – Jungle Borg
Laksa – The Art Of Slip
Angel Science – tech nomadz
Atrice – Broke
Theorist – Otay
Seigg – Replicant Loop
Teqmun – Mauve Stinger
gamma-intel – construct
Identified Patient – My Way (Hilton Mix)
Eyeza – Bloodjam
Rene Wise – Don’t Care
Bruce – What
Theorist – Otay
LWS – ??
Angel Science – tech nomadz
Dotdat – Shoulder Shake
BNYI – Matineo
Philipp Gorbachev & The Naked Man – Goodman (Obgon Remix)
Sister Zo – The Fastness
BLACK GIRL / WHITE GIRL – burning tool (extended mix)
M.I.T.A. – Too L8 (Original Mix)
Beau Didier & Isaiah – Make The Change
jtamul – Ce Eh
Coyu – Samba Sessions 2 (Original Mix)
3Phaz – Big Feels
Regal86 – Estática
Sir Hiss & Toura – Repercussion
Saol Nua – Inn Deep
Saol Nua – Van Celt
Doctor Jeep – Reso Danz (Hodge Remix)
Hodge – Tom’s Tweaks (LWS Remix)
Botwin – Catarak
Adam Pits – Attack Bumper
Fluke – Slap It (Untitled No.3) (Balthazar Re-Intro)
J.O.S.H.U.A – Offence
Dufraine – Piece of Mind
Paraklang – NanoClips
LOUD – Machines (Loud & Mahamudra Mash Up Mix 2015)
Uberzone – The Freaks (Gettin‘ Tribal Mix)
Gramrcy & John Loveless – Feel So
Vladimir Dubyshkin – Gimme Dat Beat
Doctor Jeep – Shake The Club
Hekt – Beautiful
Rawting – Re-Up
DKFSK – Last Night
96 Back – Laco (Metrist Reworm)
DJ Hyperactive – Reptilian Tank
ARTIFVCT (IN) – Disintegrate
Surrealist – Didgeridoo
Shoal – Maloja
Midnight Traffic – Mantis
Dreams – Paraxotica
Chavinski – Colours Of You
