Dance Like Nobody’s Watching: Alinka
Following her killer contribution to Gudu & Friends Vol. 2, Gudu Records formally welcomes Alinka to the label.
A real DJ’s DJ, Alinka was born and brought up in Kyiv, but spent her formative years in the house heartlands of Chicago, so you know the dance music heritage runs deep here. She spent the 2000s as a resident at Justin Long’s .Dotbleep party at the city’s legendary Smartbar club, and in 2012 launched Twirl – her party series and label with Shaun J. Wright which has housed music by Spencer Parker, Kim Ann Foxman and more in the past.
Now based in Berlin, Alinka is on a rich form when it comes to her own productions. Her first full EP for Gudu showcases the sort of lean production that you only really get from killer DJs: each of the tracks on Dance Like Nobody’s Watching are precision-tooled for maximum impact, with the smart, economical touch of someone who’s been studying dancefloors and how to make them move for years.
In Alinka’s words: “Peggy Gou and I met years ago at Panorama Bar in Berlin and had the best time, and I’ve been a fan of her music since the start. We share a common love for house music, so when she asked me to make music for Gudu, I was really honored and excited. I wrote these tracks just for her and the label, so it’s a very special project for me, and the music means a lot to me. It’s music for the dance floor. I grew up in Chicago, so I make tracks to close your eyes and dance to like no one’s watching. It’s an ode to the timeless sound that shaped my life.”