Mala Junta, is one of Berlin’s favourite queer parties and has had a huge impact on Berlin’s vibrant contemporary scene, pushing forward inclusiveness, love and respect on the dance floor. For their 5th anniversary they teamed up with Copenhagen-based label run by Mama Snake Amniote Editions, to release a 20-track compilation and EP - curated by Mala Junta & Amniote Editions and featuring residents, artists, friends, and supporters…

MJ: How did Mala Junta actually start as an underground party in Berlin?

Mala Junta was started in 2018 by three best friends : Ana Laura (Hyperaktivisit), Joachim (DJ Tool) and Nayme who after meeting each other in the club scene felt like creating something together.

Although for sure inspired by the movements and collectives that preceded us. It was very clear for us that Mala should also reflect a current creative time and an inclusive space that we want to share with others.

It started as an intimate gathering of friends and friends of friends. With fast and funky beats, characterized by an old school sound with a contemporary blend and unapologetically sexy. Originally based on a mix of trance and old school techno. Now 5 years later, the Mala Junta sound has evolved to different genres that include rolling techno to garage or progressive house to free tekno with some touches of unexpected vocal edits or juke.
Through the years, the collective has grown. Adding 3 more residents besides co-founders Hyperaktivist and DJ Tool : D.Dan, Why Be and Yazzus. Each with their very distinctive sound; It is also composed of a team who is in charge of the people, in charge of the vibe.
Without this team, we would not be where we are now.

MJ: Can you provide more details about your policy both on and off the dance floor?

We wish with our events to highlight and celebrate the unexpected creatively. Though our sound when we started has been very defined by its fast pace, intensity and a certain sexiness. It has always been important for us to focus as well on community building.
A great party is composed of many different aspects and a feeling of shared values. We want to be able to share a unique musical experience. But also the possibility of a feeling of freedom, protest and celebration for our queer community. Which is also why travel outside of Berlin, in different countries to share with other communities.

Mala Junta means bad influence in Spanish. There is definitely a certain affinity to disruption whether musically or socially.
When we started the party, one thing that bonded the three of us was our political and social activism. Which persists to this day in the project. One can not enjoy the fruits of an underground movement and not understand the protest aspects which come with it. It is also very important for us to give back and support different causes because we are able to organize events in circumstances that are on many levels privileged in Berlin. For example during each party we raised funds for an organization tackling different matters every time. At the same time , it is also important for us to remain vocal and active even outside of our events.

MJ: It's amazing that Mala Junta aims to bring back the freedom, protest, and celebration of the early 90's rave era while connecting it with the unique energy of the contemporary queer community. How do you make this happen?

Mala Junta is a team composed of people from all kind of backgrounds, gender, nationalities and ethnicities. We want the diversity to be reflective in the bookings but also in the spirit of our party.
So the idea of prioritizing the crowd as much as focusing on the music is very important.
While the residents are in charge of the music. Our door team is in charge of the people, of the essence of the party.
Nayme is the person in charge of creating the right atmosphere for our events. He constructs a safe space which is only able by curating the right constellation of people.

A very distinctive fact is that he does the selection even when we organize events outside of Berlin as well.
To have a collective bring their own person in charge of the selection everywhere, was quite unprecedented when we started.
Yet it is important for us, that the figure who embodies the party is always present. Besides, being one of the founders and organizers of the party. He genuinely knows who we want to nurture and prioritize.
This also maintains a direct connection with the community. The person welcoming you that night is the person who will be dancing with you later on.
We see our work as a collective as sustaining the best collective experience.
We also want to continue supporting and highlighting talents from our community. Make sure to showcase talents that maybe would not be highlighted by bigger institutions but who we think deserve to be. Because they are rare and raw talents.Which is the most and we are very lucky to be surrounded by inspiring rare and raw talents. Our independence but also our platform gives us the ability to try different things.

MJ: Mala Junta, how did your collaboration with Amniote Editions for your fifth-year anniversary come about?

We were friends before starting to collaborate. Which felt very organic and reassuring since a lot of what we do within Mala is based on this idea. With all residents of Mala Junta being producers, it was amazing to have Amniote Editions approach us to work on a release together. It’s a label that we admire a lot and who had already released Ted, our resident D.Dan under his alias Sidewinder. But it also felt like it happened at the right time. Following Covid and all the changes,hurdles and questioning that resulted from this period. We knew we wanted this release to be special and so we decided to center it on our 5 years anniversary.

It is a moment which marks a new stage for our collective. So what better occasion than our 5 years milestone. But beyond a celebration of the party. It is also a gift to all the people who have supported us, who have come to our raves all over the world and contributed to its evolution. And we are so happy and thankful to be able to partner with Amniote for the project. It made total sense both humanly and creatively
And to make this special moment even more special : we thought about not only releasing this EP vinyl but also a 2 volume Digital Compilation of over 40 artists. Again, following the idea of collaboration between friends. But also to emphasize the idea that, even though the Mala Junta sound is defined by its residents . It is shaped also, in & outside of the party, by so many different artists and influences.

AE: Mama Snake and Tanya, as the two founders behind Amniote Editions, what is the driving force behind your platform?

Amniote Editions was actually initially founded by Mama Snake and their long-time friend, collaborator and creative mastermind Rose Marie Johansen with Tanya joining later on. The project has evolved and mutated in different directions over time but our core focus has remained the same: we want to build a collaborative and multifaceted platform with music and community at its core. Whilst we want the creatives we’re working with to be celebrated and paid for their art, it’s not important to us as a label to make a large profit or engage in the industry in a capitalistic or exploitative way.
We want the music to speak for itself and to be able to work with friends and people we trust who are also advocating for the same things we are. And we also want it to be fun! Which is why we often choose to work with friends and lean into a more experimental and collaborative approach.

“A great party is composed of many different aspects and a feeling of shared values. We want to be able to share a unique musical experience. But also the possibility of a feeling of freedom, protest and celebration for our queer community. Which is also why travel outside of Berlin, in different countries to share with other communities.”

— Mala & Amniote

AE: Amniote Editions, your label has a distinct visual identity and releases music in capsules. Why did you choose this approach and how did it originate?

MS: The idea came about during a long trip Rose and I had around Asia in early 2018. We were brainstorming ideas throughout our journey and when it came to an end Amniote Editions was born. We thought it would be fun to try and do something different as a label and having a concept was for us a fun approach to the creative process of making the project. It’s not super fixed though, but serves more as a catalyst for ideas. We wanted to build something where the music and the visual identity would take center stage. For us it’s more fun and inspiring to have a platform for various forms of collaboration effort than just a standard format record label. Rose and I asked Tanya to join as we had known her for a long time working together through our old distribution and really loved her vibe and taste and wanted to grow the project with someone we felt could really do that also as a creative. Our designers Alexis Mark have been part of the project from the beginning designing our website and posters plus hosted various concerts and exhibitions with us at their small office/gallery space and it’s been great to finally have them also design a record cover. We love and trust their work, and are very happy to be working with such a talented studio.

AE: How did the collaboration between Amniote Editions and Mala Junta come to life?

We find it really special and are really grateful to be able to collaborate with friends and like-minded people we trust and respect. Ted (D.Dan/Sidewinder) is one of the first people we released on the label and we’ve known the Mala Junta crew since before they started running events, so given our love for working with people we know and care about it felt like the right thing to ask them if they wanted to collaborate. Luckily they said yes and we couldn’t be happier with how this capsule has turned out. We’ve tried to be as inclusive in all decision making as possible while at the same time giving artists and designers creative freedom so the end result is a cluster of everyone’s ideas.

AE x MJ: Can you each describe the other's purpose in three words?

AE - Radical Freedom & Acceptance

MJ - Musical , Elevating, Innovative

AE x MJ Lastly, is there anything you would like to discuss or share about this special time? Perhaps a message you would like to convey?

AE: We are super grateful to have worked with a crew who have poured a lot of time and effort (and amazing music) into this project, it is what makes doing projects fun and special. And also a massive thanks to all the artists who’ve contributed to our capsule compilations, it has truly captured the fun, sexy and eclectic sound of Mala Junta in our opinion!