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COMIN’ UP A few years ago ago, La Fleur (real name Sanna) abandoned a career in pharmaceuticals for the dizzying uncertainty of becoming a full-time DJ. While many suffered under the grip of global recession, La Fleur was grappling these pitfalls head-on, starting her own label Power Plant in 2010. She’s clearly an optimist; La Fleur’s drive glistens through in her philosophy. “I try to do something I’m afraid of every day,” she tells DJ Mag. With such risks, she’s already reaped rewards. Stockholm offered her a platform to cut her teeth, playing resident at the infamous Grodan Cocktail Club before hosting a successful show on Swedish national radio, P3 Dans. But by 2007, La Fleur signified the end of a chapter, lured by the pulsating heartbeat of Berlin. “I wanted to get away from the normal routines and get some inspiration in my everyday life and make time for my own productions,” she says. “Berlin felt like the natural choice at the time.” As creatives flock to the city in their droves, La Fleur tells us, “You can still find corners untouched and unfazed by the recent popularity. In a way, Berlin is still becoming Berlin.” Power Plant was a creative venture initiated by the signing of her first EP ‘Flowerhead’, which garnered support from spearheads like Axel Boman and Ian Pooley. The release was an overnight success. La Fleur tells us that it’s still one of her favourites. “It has so many memories connected to it that it just makes me happy every time I hear it,” she says. It’s this enthusiasm which has driven a forthcoming re-issue of the record to celebrate her label’s fifth-year anniversary. “I wanted to release a piece of art, a record like the ones I sometimes buy just because the cover is so beautiful,” she adds. Her keen eye for aesthetics is something carried across other covers. After making contact with family relatives of the late, great Swedish-based illustrator Hans Arnold (best known for designing the cover of Abba’s ‘Greatest Hits’), she commissioned two of his pieces to be used on both the release of ‘Eavesdropper’ and the ‘Feline EP’. “Aesthetics have always been important to me,” she explains. “I want the music and artwork to play into the same story. When I started Power Plant in 2010, it was in the midst of a recession, and many labels were only stamping on white labels. But even then, I wanted to release a piece of art, a record like the ones I sometimes buy just because the cover is so beautiful.” But La Fleur is markedly separate from the sterile hand-shakes of cut-throat enterprise. Power Plant is more an emblem of her creative gusto than a commercial pursuit, preferring to use it to hone in on her intrinsic love of art. Throughout her childhood she performed ballet, before later exploring disciplines of salsa and oriental dance and these modes of expression are reflected within her music. “I am fascinated by how ballet movements look so easy and fragile but are done with so much powerful body control and hard work. However, club dancing is my favourite style”. La Fleur hosts a residency spot at Watergate in Berlin, as well as playing frequently at Berghain. To be so closely connected to two of the most influential clubs in the world lays testament to her adept ability as a sound selector. “Both clubs are run by people who are in it for the music, genuinely interested and caring for the scene,” she tells us. “There’s an atmosphere you can almost touch when you walk in.” Having recently performed a Boiler Room show at Watergate, she recalls how it was very special. “May Day is an extraordinary day in Berlin,” she adds. “It is mayhem on the streets and things get pretty crazy, especially in Kreuzberg”. But, for now, the irons are truly in the fire. Coupled with a US, Mexico and Brazil tour, La Fleur will also be releasing a three-track EP entitled ‘Make A Move’ on Watergate very soon. “I’ve been playing all three tracks out for a while now and they’ve been going very well,” she happily reveals. PETER H MAILLA

FLOWER POWER!Swedish-born, Berlin party petal La Fleur is back with a new EP

DJ550.comin up fleur.indd 12 18/09/2015 13:57