feeder insider w/ Annina about her label Zapped Records

feeder.ro: Hello Annina, thanks for taking the time to talk with us at feeder. For those who may be unfamiliar with you and your crew running the Zapped events and now record label. Could you please tell us a little about Zapped, who you all are and how you would describe the sound of your label? 

Annina: There are 7 DJs / producers in the crew (a-z): Annina, Cyko, Jack Clark (AKA Cooked Rabbits), Jonaku, Papa K, Scoopsi, and Ujin – For the sound of the label – Groove is the key element we look for and the style is spanning from house to more techno on the more minimal tip.

f: The origins of Zapped comes from a shared studio space in Berlin, could you tell us a little more about this, when you all met and how your path has led you to this point?

Annina: We first came together in a studio space on Frank Zappa Str. Before COVID hit, we were lucky enough to snag a studio, which can be hard to come by in Berlin, as the pandemic restrictions began to relax, Jack was working at a Vegan Restaurant “Emma Pea” which had a nice terrace together with Papa K we pitched the owners to see if we could bring some speakers in and have a little party on Sunday afternoons – when they said yes we had to quickly come up with a name which is when Zapped was born (The Frank Zappa street played into the name and the fact it was a Sunday where people may be feeling a little “zapped”) Jack sketched our first logo and Papa K went to work on photoshop, and the rest is history!

f: You now have a number of releases under your belt since launching last year, could you tell us a little about the music you’ve released, who some of these artists are that are involved in original productions and remixes and how they came to be featured on the imprint?

A: We are focusing on working within our community; members like Jonaku have released originals (under his Ned Flangerz alias) with remixes from Edgar Peng, who is a good friend of Jonah (he’s also supported us through Golden Gate ) and Zonker from his hometown – a lot of personal relationships driving things! The Rascal EP was a connect via Papa K (they got into DJing and producing together in the mid-2000s in Brisbane, Australia), Ujin had connections with Fedo and a:side is a friend of Jonaku with remixes coming from Italy’s Phil Prince (Jack somehow got talking to the PLGRN crew and we’ve been exchanging shows between Milan and Berlin for a few years now) 

f: The Zapped label also comes accompanied by a beautiful visual aesthetic in the shape of animated characters for each of you in the crew, can you explain this concept, who’s behind it and why you chose this visual identity?

A: Jack Clark is also Cooked Rabbits, he has been honing his visual artistry skills since we began the collective, and we wanted to create a bit of a Zapped universe for the parties, so the concept of characters for each member of the collective was born, we ended up blowing them up on cardboard and painted them up to decorate one of the off-license venues we frequented a couple years ago – people loved them, from there we have been featuring them on the releases and each producer that has put forward an EP and also our free series has had a character developed we’ll be telling more of this story on our socials soon

f: Beyond releases, what else have you all been up to with Zapped as a party and beyond?

A: We’re putting a festival concept together for 2025 and beyond as well as working with the guys from PLGRN and netbookings to have our residents performing more outside of Berlin. At home in Berlin we are always looking for new spots to create parties and hope to jump into the world of open airs next year as well.

f: How do you feel Berlin has played a role in the sonic feel of Zapped, what are some of your favourite clubs, parties or places to dig for music in the city? 

Club wise – CDV/Hoppetosse/Golden Gate/Kater/Sisy

A: Parties we like – We Are The Aliens / Meltdown / Body Parts / Discult @ GG, and for housier things, there is some cool stuff happening at Anxiety Therapy, Bird House and Small Great House if you tend disco, diskolution. For records, you can’t go past BR12, Bikini Waxx and Marla Records

f: Can you share with us a record that’s maybe been behind some special moments at Zapped parties, one of those records that shifts the energy of the party?

A: Given a good system, this one from Silat Beksi was heard more than once when things started heating up!

f: What’s next on the horizon for Zapped as a whole?

A: It’s challenging working as a collective! As time has gone by, we are beginning to strengthen the roles and start digging a bit deeper into all the aspects of running a brand – we are working to develop our residents at the same time, so a lot is happening. The benefit of the collective is in collaborating, especially when it comes to music, so besides the business of it all, we’re working more together in different ways to keep pushing the limit of our musical output – exciting times!

f: Lastly, could you share with us something beyond music that is bringing you the joy of late? It could be a place, movie, book, quote, or anything else that’s sparked joy in recent times.

A: It’s winter in Berlin now, so the only joy being sparked is coming from the music, we’re all on a burn in studios and working for next year when the sun comes out again 😉

Annina: Soundcloud, Instagram, Bandcamp, Clozer

Zapped Records: Instagram, Bandcamp, Zapped Records Merch

Words by Jordan Bruce, Annina, Cristina & Andrei

About feeder insider

feeder insider is a series of interviews that explore the universe surrounding music and visual arts while connecting the local to the international creative scene.