End the year in style with sweet tunes selected by Atusa
Copenhagen-based musician Atusa draws from the city’s music scene, global club influences, and her Iranian roots to craft mixes that blend the familiar with the new. For the past decade, she has been an active part of the local scene, contributing to projects ranging from Eastern classical music to Western alt-pop. Often mixing alongside musical collaborator Angel Wei at venues from underground clubs to festivals like Department, Strøm, and Odays, Atusa’s sets are known for combining melodic elements with driving rhythms and are curated to be full of surprises. Her wide-ranging taste and intuitive mixing style transform the dance floor into a welcoming and fun space.
Hi Atusa, thank you so much for creating this sweet playlist. As an introduction to you and your work, can you tell us about your musical upbringing and background?
It has been a bit of a mixed bag! My older sister played a huge role in shaping my taste, introducing me to a lot of ‘90s rnb and pop, which I still love to this day. At the same time, my parents filled our home with Iranian music — from classics like Habib and Googoosh to contemporary artists like Mansour and Siavash Ghomayshi. I also remember my mom listening to a lot of Randy Crawford and Celine Dion.
We had a piano, and I took lessons as a child. I wasn’t very technical, but I developed a good ear for melodies and could easily memorize the music I loved. That is something I feel has stuck with me.
Then in my teenage years, I started exploring alternative music — folk, art rock, punk, post-punk, industrial and shoegaze — which really expanded my taste. Around that time, I also began digging deeper into my roots, and I ended up studying Eastern classical music and learning to play the sitar. I spent about a decade immersed in that world, playing concerts and touring a few times while balancing school.
In late high school, I started DJing at parties, which was a new way of connecting with music for me. Over the past couple of years, I’ve been DJing more frequently. It’s been fun to experiment with different styles that I love and I can spend many hours collecting music that speaks to me. Defining my sound hasn’t been easy — I’m not really a purist — but I’m learning to trust my gut and my ear, I figure if I love what I play, others might too!
You’ve been playing with Angel Wei in the cutesy DJ duo Angel & Atusa, and also performing with DJ Paydar at Roskilde Festival earlier this year. Do you have plans of doing any solo projects? Or do you have any other exciting projects in the pipeline?
Yes! Earlier this year, Paydar reached out to me because of my background in playing the sitar. Paydar has an amazing track that features sitar, so we decided to perform it live together. Alongside Arshia Kay, it was the first time I worked with artists who share the same cultural background and incorporated Eastern classical instruments into an electronic set. That experience meant a lot to me!
I’m looking forward to playing more in the new year, working on mixes and productions with Angel, and doing more events with Moodkiller. DJing as a duo started after bonding over a shared taste in music. Angel’s approach to composition is inspiring – something I’m also enjoying learning and practicing!
And finally can you tell us about the playlist you’ve created?
The playlist is a mix of artists that inspire me, recent discoveries, tracks from my sets, and gems from friends. There’s no single genre, but I feel the tracks share certain colors – or maybe I just like them all, haha.
You’ll find releases from this year that I love, timeless favorites and sounds that influence my style — a collection I hope you’ll enjoy exploring.
For more news about Atusa, her music, gigs and collabs check out her Instagram and Soundcloud