Mila Stern’s decade-long career as a DJ and producer has taken her from DIY squat parties in Halle where she first learned her craft, over the pulsating motley of Tel Aviv, to her adopted home of Berlin and the epicenter of electronic club music. Her calm, commanding skill as a selector rapidly made her a sought-after artist with regular appearances at premier festivals like Fusion, Nation of Gondwana, and Garbicz, and residencies at Berlin’s legendary Kater Blau and Station Endlos in Halle. Since then, she’s broken the boundaries of the Berlin underground, bringing her standout style to the international circuit from Mexico to Kazakhstan.
As a DJ and Producer, Mila delivers a groove-heavy aesthetic that draws on fringe soundscapes informed by Post-Punk and Electro. What sets her apart is a willingness to embrace unorthodox sounds, explore the beauty in harshness and dissonance, and embed jarring moments in a powerful substructure at her signature pace of 123.4 bpm. Since 2019, Mila has manifested her vision in original releases and remixes. Her 2023 release ‘Five Finger’ EP on Kiosk ID encapsulates the energy she brings to the booth in a six-tracker that frames mangled hooks in crushing, floor- focused energy.
Mila’s sound transports a vision of rave culture as a purist aesthetic free of nebulous superstructures. Her extended closing sets in particular are legendary, and deep expressions of love for the non-judgmental freedoms of the rave circuit. From the early days, Mila’s sound has been informed by a sense of counterculture and breaking normative boundaries – she draws on risqué sounds, has boldly carved out her niche, and relentlessly pursued her vision despite the antagonism female DJs faced in the late 2000s – and still do today. As a DJ, producer, event organizer, and former radio host, she pushes the envelope, rejects the status quo, and is driven to take her aesthetic to the limit.
Few artists move on the fringe so comfortably, make avant-garde so accessible, or pursue their vision with the same bright-eyed conviction. Mila Stern brings eclectic sounds to stages across the world in a groove- heavy framework, challenging paradigms in dance music, and forging a genre that is entirely her own.