Julie Marghilano

Despite not being a native to the city, Julie Marghilano has done that most difficult of things: she has made a name for herself as one of Berlin’s most cherished creative souls. As a broadly informed DJ, truly experimental house producer and taste making label boss who, with friend Jools, has built a compact and bijou empire around her Sol Asylum label and party, Julie is very much defining the modern house and techno landscape.

Julie has been on this path since a young age: born to a jazz musician father and vocalist mother, she was always surrounded by bee bop and swing, and thus was being infused with an infallible sense of unconventional rhythm at an early age. It lends her emotive house and techno, which comes on her own label as well as Tzinah, Hypertone and Little Helper, an intimate and soul warming characteristic that is hugely personal thanks to the subtle involvement of her own violin.

“I love to do sound design with my violin,” says the eclectic producer who counts Kraftwerk and George Clinton, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Jean-Luc Ponty as inspirations. “I use a lot of field recordings, gear and VSTs and really love raw sounds. I am always trying to find "my sound" but it often changes with my mood. I think my music making process is a continuous evolution of technical discovery and emotion.” Whether it is transforming pizzicato into dark sub basses, creating sweet synth sounds out of violin loops or simply making a live orchestration on the fly, Julie is continuously creating new and unique sounds.

Raised in Las Vegas but with years spent exploring her Italian roots in Riccione and after a year in London, Julie has soaked up a wide array of influences and experiences, has held various residencies (at Peter Pan and Echoes) and played in various clubs around the world. An impassioned record collector, a natural next step for Julie was to set up her Sol Asylum label, a vinyl only outlet (and party) for like minded creative souls like Miss Jools and Dana Ruh, Anton Zap and Dilated Pupils. Each release is a specially produced and artful package that both Jools and Julie mange at every stage, from lacquering to distribution.

With a new live show in the works, more EPs being made and the continuation of Sol Asylum’s regular parties at Berlin’s cherished Club der Visionaere/Hoppetosse, Julie’s musical journey is making for an exciting ride.