Simina Grigoriu returns to the release radar once again with her sophomore EP for Alan Fitzpatrick’s esteemed We Are The Brave imprint. Her latest two-tracker, ‘The Ceremonialist’ is another masterclass in high-octane techno and follows her debut ‘Mental Warfare’ EP for the label back in June 2023. As the title references, Grigoriu’s studio endeavor is an aural tribute to her profound experiences with ayahuasca, honoring its impact on her creative output.
Read the Interview with Simina Grigoriu
Hello Simina, at the end of 2023, you have been signed to your dream label, Drumcode. Congrats! How do you feel about being part of Adam Beyer’s crew?
Hello! Thanks for having me! Yes, I am honored to have landed on Drumcode with ‘Flight Tracker’. Having known Adam since the early 2000s when I still lived in Toronto, I am fully aware of how serious he is about his work, so being invited to join the team is a big deal for me. It has motivated me to move in the right direction, musically and mentally, shifting focus from what I thought I wanted to what I absolutely know I want. So, I’m working toward that and have now signed another track to Drumcode; ’Global Soldier’ will be dropping on March 16th. I’ve also just signed a four-track EP for Drumcode LTD, which will come out later this year. Lots of exciting stuff coming up.
What’s coming next? Do you have any other goals and dreams that you want to reach in 2024?
I am a dreamer, I am a lover and I am a doer. I have been working on myself a lot over the past couple of years — over the last half-decade if you go back to when I started my work with Ayahuasca — and the more I believe and trust in myself (and the Universe) and my power and creativity, the more I notice it manifesting in real life. Personal growth is as essential to me as developing my career, and I find that the more I work on myself and really do the deep inner work, the better and more balanced I become in all aspects of life.
I’m working on new music, and my team is in nonstop negotiations for club gigs and summer festivals. Some bookings are at new venues, and many are at festivals I’ve played in the past. I also have a mini Uruguay tour for the first week of March. I’m especially looking forward to that since it will be my first time playing on that continent. I’ve been to South America and have ticked off some points on my bucket list, but the opportunity to showcase my music to an entirely new group of people is next-level awesome. I have a London gig in March at E-1, and I’ve not played in the UK for a long time, so I’m really looking forward to that too. I’ll list my upcoming gigs soon, but I’d like to mention the immediate ones here.
Before you found love in electronic dance music, you have been rapping; what made you change your direction in the music?
Sorry, I’m giggling over here while reading the question. I was never a professional rapper. I had a few notebooks, and I wrote in them daily. I had some rapper friends in Romania who had music studios, and we recorded tracks for fun during my summer visits as a teenager. No labels were ever involved, and platforms like Bandcamp and Soundcloud didn’t exist then, so we just burned them onto CDs and kept them as personal projects. Back in Toronto, where I lived from 1985 to 2008, my friends and I would spend our weekends in Karaoke booths, freestyling on instrumental CDs, and it was a lot of fun. It was also a closed space, so we could do whatever we wanted there. In hindsight, it probably was not the best idea to let a group of rowdy teenagers go buck wild behind closed doors, but it was fun, and we used the space to be creative with our music.
I was into 90s gangsta rap, just like most other teenage kids at my school. It was a passion. Still is. The music was ever-present in my daily life — my headphones were always on, and my Panasonic Shock Wave was buzzing nonstop. I still have it, here at home in a box I call my “obsolete electronics museum”. It has a Mobb Deep cassette inside.
I have always been in love with music. That was never a question. And I have always been a musical anomaly—I love ALL music. There are gems (and garbage) across every genre. So, my direction never really changed—it evolved.
As for electronic music, when I was 11 years old, I bought a bootleg CD on the streets of Bucharest. I took it home, and you know what it was? The Prodigy, The Experience. That was my calling. At the age of 15, I got into Jungle/Ragga Jungle and spent many weekends in the mid-late 90s at warehouse raves. During the pandemic, I had the great honor of playing a live stream with the one and only Leroy Thornhill (of The Prodigy), who now lives in Berlin with his lovely wife. She’s also Eastern European (and a visual artist) and we get on excellently.
So that’s how it started. It is not really a change of direction, just a general love of music that has guided me through life from a very young age, and I will do so until I take my last breath.
You have Romanian roots but live in Berlin; how is life in this city, and what is your favorite venue to play there?
Yes, I was born in Bucharest and emigrated to Toronto at the age of three. We ran away from Ceausescu and his communist regime, and my family was able to start a new and humble life in Toronto. At the age of 27, I moved to Berlin, and that’s when I turned my hobby into a career and went into music full-time. By the summer of 2009, I belonged to an agency and was already touring around Germany. In Toronto, I was working as a marketing director and I dabbled in music (and worked in a bar) on weekends. I had decks at home and was learning Ableton in my free time, but it was only when I moved to Berlin that I really dove into it. It was the best decision I’ve ever made because now I get paid to do what I love, and I’m also teaching my daughters the importance of following your dreams, no matter how hard or impossible it may seem at times. The hustle is real and the competition is fierce but I see that as an opportunity to grow and stay relevant in an ever-changing industry.
Favorite venue? Well, I’ve played all over Berlin over the last 15 years, and I’d have to say, probably my favorite venue to play is Watergate. I love the vibe, and it’s also one of the only clubs I really go to. I work in the industry, and I am a Taurus. Put those things together, and you get a girl who likes to be in the comfort of her own home, cooking and chilling and not always going on 100% energy. So if I go out, it’s usually Watergate. It’s a good one. I still have my Golden Watergate Key. It grants me access and a guest list any night they open. They’re not producing them anymore, so I cannot lose that one! Special.
Being part of the techno scene and music industry could be a fantastic job, but it is hard as well, working at night and traveling a lot. How do you balance this lifestyle, and what’s your secret to keep yourself looking so young and fresh?
It took me some time to find my groove, but the key to this is prioritizing. My career is important and meaningful, but my family comes first. I can live with not playing certain shows. I cannot live with my daughters missing me for months. A few days or a week, maybe two—tops. And when I’m home I’m fully present. It’s about taking care of 1. Myself, 2. My children and their needs, and 3. My career. The third one ties in with the first, but essentially, doing what I love shows my girls how important it is to follow your dreams, and if that means going away for a few days or a week, then so be it. They’re getting older, and we have an excellent support system at home, so if anyone is missing anyone, it’s me missing them. They have a lot of fun with Mommy as well as without. Their days are full. It’s my own Mommy guilt that I need to let go of—something I’m working on because balance is essential, and that means doing the things I love independently of my very important role as a mother. I also know that at the age of 42, I won’t be having any more children. So this is my time—it’s my time to give them everything I have and teach them everything I know, but also my time for me, to do the things that make me happy and fulfilled. I’m finding my way.
If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, which would it be and why?
Mobb Deep – The Infamous / Nirvana – Nevermind / The Prodigy – Music for a Jilted Generation / Nas – Illmatic / Wu-Tang – 36 Chambers / Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms / Madonna – Like A Prayer / Any Bob Marley album—ever. Sorry, I can’t choose just one.
Why? Because they resonate with me, I love every single track on these records, and they bring me back to my roots.
Are there any upcoming projects or releases that you can tell us about?
Yes, a lot is happening over here. First, I have a two-track EP dropping March 1st on Alan Fitzpatrick’s We Are The Brave, called ‘The Ceremonialist / La Chacruna’—yet another tribute to my work with the beloved mother plants of Ayahuasca. Two weeks later, I’m releasing ‘Global Soldier’ on Adam Beyer’s iconic label, Drumcode. I’ve just released an exclusive mix for Drumcode Radio, which is now available on all listening platforms.
After that, we have the 100th release on my baby techno label, Kuukou Records. This one is super special as it’s a track for my youngest daughter, Rosie. I released ‘Ninja Princess’ on KKU001 for Isabella, and the 100th release is for Rosie. I’m not ready to disclose the track name yet, but I will soon! Shortly after that, I’m back on Kuukou with a remix for SUDO, Horatio, and Kryoman called ‘Astrum,’ and then comes ‘Intuition Authority,’ a new single for my dear friends at OFF Recordings. I’ve just signed four tracks with Adam on Drumcode LTD, and I’m in the process of submitting the final tracks and getting the release going.
Also in the mix (and this is super exciting) is a collaboration I’m working on with Kelli Ali of The Sneaker Pimps, where she has lent her beautiful voice to one of my tracks. It’s still in production so we won’t say much about this one, but it’s coming!
I’m also wrapping up a handful of tracks, which I plan to pitch to my favourite labels for Q2/Q3/Q4 2024. A LOT is coming down the pipeline. I’m busy. I’m happy. I’m often overwhelmed, but the circus act of being a DJ, producer, label boss, and single mom is all part of juggling life. That last one is my favourite job in the world.
Thanks so very much for having me!
