Nearly twenty years after her first release, Anja Schneider is still one of the hardest-working artists in electronic music. As well as helming her own Sous Music record label, she’s in demand as an internationally touring DJ, and when she’s not running the business or behind the decks, she’s creating a constant stream of new music, both original productions and remixes.
This year saw the release of The Good, The Bad and The Acid EP on her own Sous, and the On My Mind EP for Shall Not Fade alongside no less than six remixes.
Her final release of 2023, Rudeless, is also the last EP of the year for Sous. It sees the label boss continuing to flirt with darkness and light to make her tracks as functional as they’re memorable, threaded with sophisticated emotion.
The title track starts out cold, with wintry synths and a thumping kick, but the vocal that drifts into the mix is warm, soulful and uplifting, chased by clattering percussion designed to move hips. It’s gospel house with a modern twist; a 2023 club track with echoes of early Detroit.
“Just Us Going” is another study in contrasts, this time between a rubbery, hard bassline and a molasses Robert Owens-like vocal. It’s frosty, refined and slightly foreboding, primed to work witching hour dancers into hypnotic oblivion.
To finish, rising Uruguayan talent Diego Infanzon gives “Rudeless” the big-room treatment, passing the mix through a bleary filter, adding razor-sharp stabs and later, sprinkles of bright keys and strings to accentuate a roof-raising drop.
Still working her magic after nearly two decades, Schneider will embark on a celebratory anniversary tour next year, with some re-releases and remixes also in the works to mark the occasion properly. Lucky for us, the queen is showing no sign of slowing.
