Anja Schneider is a DJ, producer, radio broadcaster, label boss, tireless creative force and mentor, renowned as one of the hardest working figures within the industry. With a new imprint Sous Music and a critically acclaimed new album ‘SoMe’ highlighting a typically inspired past 12 months, she hits 2018 entrenched as one of electronic music’s most vital artists.
Schneider made her most decisive career move during the summer of 2017 when she announced she’d be closing a long and very successful chapter of her life by stepping away from mobilee, the iconic label she founded in 2005.
In its place, sprouted Sous Music, a deeply personal project named after Schneider’s mother, that allowed her the creative freedom and day-to-day ‘in the trenches’ connection with music after 12 years at the helm of mobilee where she grew the label, agency and collective into one of the most influential brands in underground electronic music.
What would follow was a superb nine-track album ‘SoMe’ in November, that oozed timeless class. DJ Mag crowned it Album of the Month and Mixmag proclaimed it to be ‘a seamless, soulful blend of underground house and techno.’
Rounding out a year of change in 2017, was Schneider’s move to the prime-time Friday night slot at major Berlin broadcaster Radio Eins, with a new weekly show ‘Club Room’. The switch occurred after 17 years with Fritz Radio, where her program ‘Dance Under the Blue Moon’ was responsible for introducing a generation of Berliners to electronic music. Additionally, her radio work extends to weekly shows in France and Belgium on the Radio FG network, reinforcing her status as one of the most astute tastemakers in electronic music.
Over the course of her career, Schneider’s ear for uncovering the ‘next crop’ of outstanding talent has been one of the hallmarks of her influence. She’s well known for giving an early platform to the likes of Maya Jane Coles, Solomun and Nicole Moudaber (on mobilee and its sub label Leena Music), long before they became the household DJ names they are today.
It’s this spirit that lives strong for the woman affectionately (and accurately!) dubbed ‘the perpetual motion machine’ as she constantly strives to discover, create and share this passion through Sous Music, her radio shows and the constant gigging that sees her zig zag across the world each week.