Steffi

Best known as Steffi, Steffie Doms is a DJ, producer, and record label owner associated with the prestigious Berlin nightclub Berghain as well as its Ostgut Ton label. Her earlier productions and DJ sets, including her 2011 debut album Yours & Mine, tend to be warm, reflective mixtures of atmospheric techno and house, heavy on soothing synth pads and gently hypnotic rhythms. Gradually, her sound has evolved into a more complex, intricate form of electro-techno, as heard on releases like 2017′s World of the Waking State and 2022′s The Red Hunter.
Steffi was born in a small town in the Netherlands in 1974. She got into dance music (Belgian new beat and early Chicago house) during the late ’80s, and became interested in DJ’ing after being exposed to Detroit electro and early IDM during the first half of the ’90s. She moved to Amsterdam in 1997 and started a club night with fellow DJ/producer Awanto 3, and the two began hosting events throughout the Netherlands and Belgium. Along with Awanto 3 and electro producer Dexter, Steffi co-founded the Klakson label in 2000. In 2005, she met Andy Baumecker, who took her to Berghain, and she instantly felt at home. She moved to Berlin two years later, and eventually became a resident DJ at Berghain’s Panorama Bar. She began releasing tracks on Ostgut Ton in 2008, as well as 12″s for Underground Quality and Domeright in 2010. Also that year, she started a label called Dolly, and began releasing material as part of Third Side, a collaboration with the Analogue Cops.
Steffi’s debut full-length, Yours & Mine, was issued by Ostgut Ton in 2011. Her first mix CD, Panorama Bar 05, followed in 2013. Steffi’s second full-length, the more electro-influenced Power of Anonymity, appeared in 2014. During the same year, she began collaborating with Martyn as Doms & Deykers; their debut full-length, Evidence from a Good Source, was released by 3024 in 2016. Steffi continued releasing solo tracks and collaborations with Dexter on her own labels as well as Ostgut Ton. In 2017, she began releasing tracks with Shed under the name STFSHD. One of these appeared on Fabric 94, an adventurous electro-tinged mix released by Fabric. Steffi’s third full-length, World of the Waking State, was issued by Ostgut Ton shortly after. Waking States, a companion 12″ featuring two non-album tracks, also appeared. In 2019, she issued the eight-track double EP Work a Change with longtime collaborator and partner Virginia.
Steffi and Virginia relocated to Portugal in 2020. That year, Steffi released Family of Waves, the debut EP by her Crushed Soul alias, on Dark Entries. She collaborated with another Dark Entries artist, Sepehr, on the 2022 EP Drunk on Psychedeli(c)a, issued by Klakson. Steffi and Virginia co-founded another label, Candy Mountain, and its first release was The Red Hunter, Steffi’s hard-edged fourth album. ~ Paul Simpson