Leah Marie delivers a two-hour mix that is worthy of your time…
Hailing from Australia and now based in Berlin, Leah Marie is part of a new wave of artists shaping the deeper end of the electronic spectrum.
Her sound moves between deep, progressive and melodic house, with a touch of cerebral techno; built on groove, restraint and a strong sense of space.
In the booth, she favours flow over flash, guiding sets with careful pacing and an instinct for atmosphere.
Her productions and remixes have found a home on labels include Mango Alley to Musique de Lune Noir, with further releases on the horizon.
Along the way, she’s taken that sound beyond Berlin, playing across Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands and the UK.
In 2025, she co-founded Kontrast. with Dilby and Dowden: a Berlin-based event centred on the deeper, groove-led corners of house music. The next edition lands at Hotel Amano East Rooftop on Saturday 11th April (more info here).
On this Balance Selections mix, the rising producer displays a taste for a wide-ranging sound.
Featuring tracks from Timo Maas, Patrice Baumel, Chus & Ceballos and more, this is a two-hour mix that evolves with patience and intent.
Tracklist
1. Quivver – Takin Over (Reprise) {Bedrock Records}
2. Of Norway – I Miss You (Original Mix) {Bedrock Records}
3. Leah Marie – ID
4. Last Men On Earth – What DJ’s Want, But People Don’t (Original Mix) {Rummel}
5. Leah Marie – ID
6. LARSa, Swanya – Postcards From The Club (Extended Mix) {Narratives}
7. Chus & Ceballos, DJ Chus, Pablo Ceballos, Marlon D – Partenza (Original Mix) {Stereo Productions}
8. D.Ramirez, Denney – Invisible (Original Mix) {Rebellion}
9. Sascha Dive – Brother’s Yard (Tribal American 2025 Version) {Rhythm Cult}
10. Murat Uncuoglu – Magico (Original Mix) {Balance Music}
11. Franky Wah – Desert Dance (Original Mix) {Crosstown Rebels}
12. Robag Wruhme – No (Original Mix) {Contexterrior / Tuning Spork}
13. Patrice Baumel – Sorcery (Original Mix) {Kompakt Extra}
14. Thodoris Triantafillou, Cj Jeff, Thomas Gandey – Body Clock (Original Mix) {Bedrock Records}
15. Mathias Kaden, Aquarius Heaven – Get Phunky (Nick Curly Dub Remix) {Freude Am Tanzen Recordings}
16. dubspeeka – P1K342v2 (Original Mix) {Skeleton}
17. Yotam Avni – Jungle {AVNIart}
18. Spencer Brown – San te Crüs (Original Mix) {Bedrock Records}
19. Mateo Balsa – Old Call (Original Mix) {Flown Records}
20. Lueking, Adron – Shelter
21. Jonathan Kaspar – Yah (Original Mix) {Cocoon Recordings}
22. Timo Maas, Costax – Blazed Runner (Original Mix) {Bedrock Records}
23. Capricorn – 20HZ (Marco Lys Remix) {R&S Records}
24. Adam Beyer – The Crossing (Original Mix) {Drumcode}
25. Solomun – Cloud Dancer (Manuel Tur’s Syphon Drum Mix) {Diynamic}
Name: Leah Marie Christoforou
Location: Berlin
Alias/Producer name: Leah Marie
Labels affiliated with: Late Night Music, Musique de Lune
I would say my earliest memories of music are actually all based around traditional Greek music.
I spent a lot of time with my grandparents growing up as a little kid, and they often had Greek radio stations playing in the background at their homes.
As a young child growing up in the 90s/early 2000s my parents used to play a lot of commercial radio around the house or in the car…so I used to love listening to bands such as The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Linkin Park; and used to really used to like early 2000s rap/R&B artists such as Eminem, 50 Cent, Kanye West etc.
My parents weren’t musicians, but they really appreciated the importance of music in development and society, and encouraged me to play classical piano from the age of 8, which I practiced piano for about 10 years.
I think I first realised I liked electronic music when I was in my early teens… I think I was at a friend’s birthday party.
Her mum used to be affiliated with a bar, so they hired it out for her birthday (obviously not for the purpose of drinking, but for the aesthetic and dance-floor), and I remember hearing Flaunt It by TV Rock and really loving it.
That’s the first significant electronic track memory that springs to mind.
I think my first ever clubbing experience was actually at Circus in Melbourne.
I honestly could not tell you who was playing, but it was housey/tech housey music, and I did really enjoy it at the time.
One of my biggest musical inspirations as both a DJ and producer is Patrice Bäumel.
His ability to transcend through genres, to build and release tension, the depth, groove and trippiness he incorporates into a set, and to truly create a memorable journey is incredible.
I first saw him play at Rainbow Serpent Festival back in 2017, and it literally changed the way I ever listened to music.
It’s hard to put into words. I’ve seen Pat play many times since then and it’s always magical.
I’m also inspired by artists who produce and play a range of genres within the spectrums of house & techno, that also have that deep, hypnotic sound, such as John Digweed and Jonathan Kaspar.
I really admire their ability to craft a journey.
I also love Guy J. I don’t know how he does what he does behind the decks, but it’s truly something else.
Every time I see Guy play I don’t think I could be more mindblown, but it gets better every time.
I’m also inspired by Mike Rish, who is a good friend of mine. Mike is a wizard of a producer and DJ!
It’s been great to see him do amazing things on a global scale, especially since he’s stuck to his guns with pursuing his unique sound- which is stunning.
The last album I bought was Self Surrender by Claudio PRC. It’s incredible… he’s an amazing producer and DJ.
A friend recommended me to check out Claudio’s music years ago when I first moved to Berlin, and I’ve loved his music since I first listened to it back then.
I went to his album release party and the music was gorgeous and vinyl-only.
My set–up is very basic to be honest. I don’t have a lot of extra space in my apartment in Berlin and renting a studio at the moment just isn’t feasible.
I have my computer with Ableton as my DAW, a midi keyboard, my Beyer Dynamic headphones, and Adam Tv5 speakers.
For my DJ set-up I have my Xone 96 and 2x Pioneer XDJ-1000 MK2 players. I don’t have any physical synths but would love to have a Moog someday in the not too distant future.
I have a remix coming up for Julianne Wolf on a German label called Meeronauten.
I don’t currently have the release details. But it’s probably the most deep, emotive and chill track I’ve written so far.
I also have some IDs that I will try to find labels for sometime in the not-too-distant future.
I’m trying to go in a bit of a different direction with my future releases, and exploring more deep housey, tech housey, melodic, and techno type sounds.
I’m mainly playing around venues in Berlin over the coming months. Some of those events are alongside other collectives, and others are as an artist booked for a club night at a venue.
I also have our next Kontrast. event coming up at Hotel Amano East Side Rooftop on Saturday, 11th April as a day party.
Last year Dilby, Dowden and I started out collective called Kontrast which is centred around the deeper, groovier sides of house music which have become harder to find in Berlin post-pandemic.
It’ll be a day and evening of beautiful music and playful vibes on the rooftop over the river.
The link to further details can be found in Resident Advisor if anyone happens to be in Berlin that weekend and wants to join: https://ra.co/events/2392648
I was thinking about the potential vibe of the mix for quite a while and really did some digging to try and find tracks that showcase the styles I love, mixed in a progressive-hypnotic way, as I often don’t get to play quite this hypnotic in venues in Berlin.
So curating the flow of the set in rekordbox took a bit of time to really dig for those tracks.
It’s a real journey from deep house, rolling groovy tribal-influenced tech, into deeper hypnotic techno and peak techno.
I was working hard on finishing a couple IDs over the weeks leading up to the mix submission date to try and include them in the mix.
One of them I need to come back to and tweak with fresh ears to change a few things in the arrangement and mix, but the other track I’m really happy with.
I recorded the mix at home on my MK2s and Xone 96 with my TASCAM recorder whilst having a solid boogie in the lounge room. It didn’t take me long to record the set itself
In terms of tracks that are already released, I’d say my remix of Ash Mellor’s Back In Love released on Musique de Lune Noir is a favourite of mine.
I love organic percussive elements…It’s deep, melodic, groovy, organic, progressive and slightly emotive.
Ohhh that’s a tough question. I’d say one of my favourite tracks ever is Surge by Patrice Baumel. I love the depth, the grooviness, the intricate-trippiness and the journey in it.
The Woman In Cabin 10 with Keira Knightley. I love pysch thrillers.
Seinfeld…never gets old, and easy to watch when you need to give your brain a break.
My favourite holiday destination is probably the regions surrounding Byron Bay in Australia, like the Hinterlands and the nearby forests.
It’s such a stunning part of the world. I must say, if there’s one thing I really miss about living in Australia, it’s our diverse landscape.
