In early May, Valkyrie, the newest neurofunk label to come out of London (sort of) dropped a ten ton warhead of a first release in the form of Killbox’s Killer of Killers EP in early May. To say it was a shocking entrance into the insular world of neuro is an understatement, but it seems the label’s two heads, Ukranian DJ and producer TheLena (Olena) and DJ Anny, who hails from Singapore originally, don’t do anything by small measures. It would appear that they’re somewhat green in the scene and came out of nowhere, but this project has been bulding for quite a while, starting with TheLena’s Sounds of Ukraine project a few years ago and Anny’s unexpected foray into UK bass culture.
In a bid to bring awareness to Ukranian artists and the conflict still ongoing in her country, TheLena established this collective with the aim of throwing D&B events in Ukraine, but it’s grown over its short tenure in the spotlight and in addition to events, they’ve also got a show on RinseFM. Meanwhile, Anny, who discovered D&B quite by accident in 2019, came to run the successful Bass Camp LDN for a few years and co-counded Circuit Sounds, an underground promoter of free parties to help with exposure for up-and-comers. Anny and Thelena came together in the middle of all this to form Valkyrie, and their first real exposure was when they connected with Virus last year, which resulted in the neonate label doing a room two takeover at the Virus Steelyard show last October.
It seems these girls, along with the rest of their team, have been putting in work behind the scenes for quite a while before going live with the label, and now after the upset of the Killbox release, Valkyrie has now settled in to releasing in earnest. TheLena’s single ‘Resurrect’ with Nastar Bezel dropped in early June and ‘Done Hiding’ by Sodie and DRKNET, the new collab duo of Enta and Mel, released just last Friday. ‘Done Hiding’ is a teaser to the forthcoming Interfaced EP as well. Valkyrie’s neuro-heavy release schedule so far is on time and on point, so now seems like a good time to pump these ingenues for info about how it all came together, where they’ve been hiding all our lives, and what’s the next stop on impressive The Ride of the Valkyries
Starting from the beginning, what are your backgrounds? How did you each get into music and drum and bass?
Anny: Music has always been an important part of my life. I’m a classically trained musician, and throughout my life I have dabbled in all sorts of music from classical to electronic. Drum and bass, however, only came into my life accidentally much later in 2019 when I went to the festival SW4 in Clapham Common. It was a sound I’ve never heard before growing up in Singapore, but it’s such a formative part of UK culture that once I discovered it, I was hooked. I was captivated by the electric energy of the dancefloor. I’d been raving for years up till then to many different genres of electronic music, but I’ve never seen anything like that sort of connection between the people on the floor.
TheLena: I am a nature and sports lover, but drum and bass has been my drive and passion for many years. I started DJ’ing first in Ukraine and then started working internationally after moving to London. I am the founder of Sounds of Ukraine, which is a music charity and support organization for Ukraine. SOU supports Ukrainian producers and DJs to get visibility in the international arena and we have also been organising D&B events in Ukraine for the community to raise funds. So far SOU has brought a huge list of artists: BCee, Pythius, Degs, Hugh Hardie, B-Complex, PRDK, Zigi SC, Absu_NTQL, A-CRay, T&Sugah, Lally, Joe Goss, PVC, Beast Jane and Konquest to Lviv. They are all amazing artists and are now considered family to us. I am also part of Soulvent family.
How did you meet and how did Valkyrie start?
Like the countless other amazing friendships that we’ve been lucky to form through music, we met through drum and bass in London. We were both active in the local scene, particularly in neurofunk, and we both independently had a vision of building something to fill a gap in the scene. Joe Goss from Soulvent was a mutual friend and he made the introduction when he realised we both had the same vision. We had an initial meeting and everything just organically fell into place from there.
It seems you have a few arms of this project, from promotions to artist representation to the label itself. Can you explain how that works and why you’ve done it like that?
TheLena: Our ambition is not to be constrained by the definition of a classic label. Valkyrie is a community, a family formed by artists and audience with the same love for neuro. We encourage freedom, love, respect and diversity. We are not out here to make money; we are here to follow a passion. This means the artists we work with always have the creative freedom to put their music out and we will support this in every way. The events we put on will always provide a safe space for our community. We listen to feedback from everyone and we’re all still learning. We respect this community and want to see it thrive.
Anny: Exactly as TheLena said: we have a vision to build a community, away from the constraints of a traditional label. We often ask ourselves – Why not? Why can’t we do X or Y? Why can’t something be done in a different way? As a result of that, we may end up doing lots of different things as part of this wonderful project that is Valkyrie.
Our approach may seem a bit unfocused or unorthodox, but our mission isn’t to chase numbers anyway.
Valkyrie’s mission is to support art, and the humans pursuing art. So whatever that means in each specific context, that’s what we will do. If we feel it makes sense to throw a party, we’ll do that. If we meet an artist who we feel will benefit from the specific help or introductions we can offer, we’ll do that. Ultimately, it is about giving art and human artists a platform.
How did you connect with the Killbox boys? How are they involved with the project?
Obviously, we relentlessly badgered them until they said yes. That’s a joke of course, but the truth really is not a million miles away. The connection was built slowly from meeting them many times over the course of years and being active in the scene, allowing them and other artists to understand our values and motivations and then make a decision on whether they could trust us.
It’s been an absolute joy and one of the biggest privileges of our lives in drum and bass to work with some of these huge names in neurofunk. By trusting us with their comeback EP for their first release, Killbox have given us an immense amount of support and visibility that truly kickstarted Valkyrie as a force to be reckoned with from the get-go, and for that we are eternally grateful. Their advice and wisdom have helped us more than they probably know, and we hope that this will be a long and meaningful relationship for years to come.
What would you say each of your goal is for the label, starting from scratch? What do you each think your ethos will be for the label and the sounds you want to put out?
Anny: It’s all about community, connecting human hearts, giving a platform to the music that we love, and celebrating art. We want to bring people together, both ravers and artists, from both the old and new generations. Of course we have big dreams in our heads; we are an ambitious team! But the real goal that keeps us rooted is community.
In terms of our sound and vibe, Valkyrie has started off primarily focused on the heavy and dark. We met through our love for neurofunk so that’s where we started, but Valkyrie is not at all constrained to that. We miss the time when drum and bass was just drum and bass, and the subgenres weren’t so divided.
TheLena: As we mentioned, the goal is not just a label; it’s a Valkyrie community. A community where we give new and established artists the same amount of attention and opportunities to put their art here. A community where new artists learn from the old school. A community that puts on events not for commercial gain but to bring people together. Perhaps we are too ambitious, but we believe!
Talk about the name a bit, if you can. Valkyrie is a very powerful image in most people’s minds. Why did you decide to use that and what does a Valkyrie represent for each of you in terms of your own personal journeys?
Anny: The name comes from Norse mythology and was actually suggested by one of our partners, Tom (Tangents). He has Norwegian roots and has been an invaluable part of our team, thanks to his deep knowledge of drum and bass and the scene.
When he proposed the name, it immediately felt like the right fit. Both Olena and I are strong-willed, driven women. When we decide to do something, we commit to it fully and make it happen. In Norse mythology, a Valkyrie is a powerful and fierce female warrior who guides the souls of fallen warriors from the battlefield to Valhalla. There’s something about that strength, determination, and darker mythological edge that felt very true to us – and very neurofunk right?
Re: each of your own creative work and careers, how do you see that interacting with Valkyrie?
TheLena: Previously, I have released mostly on Soulvent plus tunes on High Tea and VTO. Soulvent is my family and I will always release my relatively softer tunes on Soulvent. Valkyrie means a lot to me and is my home for neuro and harder tracks (or perhaps some surprise genres in coming months). My approach is simple: I want to put my music out there and I am more than happy to work with any label that is diverse and has the same ethical values as I do. I love drum and bass and I am not out there to build a portfolio of label releases for clout. If people like my music, they will listen to my music regardless of the label. It gives me great pleasure to play mostly my own tunes in my gigs.
Anny: I am learning to produce, but I’m a bit of a traditionalist – perhaps a bit too stubbornly so. I want to do it all by myself properly without help. I’m not in a rush to release anything. I create music out of love and I don’t dream of becoming a superstar DJ anyway so I’d rather do it my way or not at all. That being said, I know it is pretty standard in the industry today for rising music producers to receive lots of help and I don’t begrudge them that in any way. Everyone has their own motivations. I’m privileged to not need to make music my career.
In any case, I have such a diverse palette of musical tastes. I make a lot of music that isn’t drum and bass, or sounds that are nowhere near the current palette of Valkyrie. Sometimes I think I should just focus and probably make something to go out on Valkyrie first, but I’m enjoying my process so maybe you’ll see something on Valkyrie, maybe not!
To that end, what are each of your roles with Valkyrie? As you’re just starting out, you’ll both probably wear loads of different hats, but do you each have certain jobs you’ve agreed on based on your individual likes and strengths?
TheLena: We work in harmony. As Anny puts it. we are not in a rush. Everyone on the team does what they can with everything else going on in their lives. Valkyrie is our passion, our love and our community.
Anny: Couldn’t have said it better. There’s a lot of trust within the team, and we’re pretty aligned on where we’re going anyway, so everyone picks up work as and when they can/ we’re not in a rush. Some things just can’t be rushed, even if we really wanted to. Art and human connection cannot be faked with shortcuts.
How has it been for each of you as a new label? Have you found challenges coming up against a scene that values the old school so much?
Anny: If anything, I think the struggle for me has been to honour the history and foundations of where drum and bass came from. The music and scene have moved so unrecognisably far from where it started, back when it was all about the music and the people.
I played a History of Neurofunk set at the Virus show in London last year, and I’m afraid to say that despite being the youngest DJ there, I’m probably the oldest at heart. Perhaps I am just old school in my ways, but I think my perspective brings a good balance to the Valkyrie team. TheLena is new school and brings fresh energy and ideas, whilst I am a lover of history and tradition. I think it is this specific dynamic in the team that has allowed us to reach both the old and new generations.
TheLena: I like building new things and I always value any kind of knowhow and experience, old and new. I listen, I learn, I respect. Old school values are not a challenge for us: they are experience and guidance. We want to build a community which is diverse: ageless, genferless, raceless. As I’ve continued to build Sounds of Ukraine, for example. It has been almost four years and I’m still learning.
Any comments on the challenges as women trying to start a label, especially in neurofunk? Why did you think it was important to have representation as a female-run label in neurofunk and hard D&B?
TheLena: Of course there are challenges. There is also negativity, but we don’t focus on this. We have so much support and love from our community that is more than enough for us. We will continue to do what we do. Simply put, we love and respect everyone.
Anny: There are, but I don’t spend my time thinking about them or giving them any energy. Olena and myself are both headstrong and driven women: when we want to do something, we just go for it. Everything else is a distraction. No excuses!
My personal take on why representation is important is because very often, opportunities are given from the top by those already in power, and people tend to help/mentor those who are like themselves. This can inadvertently create exclusionary circumstances if we’re not mindful.
That being said, I know representation is important for many women, but I’d also like to encourage women to believe harder in themselves and ask themselves, “why can’t it be me?” This is as good a time as any for any female-identifying artist to achieve their goals. Focus on the positives, work hard and work smart. Things will come.
Any sneak previews you can give on what’s upcoming for the label or yourselves individually?
Anny: For Valkyrie, there are no huge crazy surprises. We continue to support the community and the artists who support us. We want to build a village, but for a village to exist we need people who are willing to put in time and effort to be villagers. Thankfully, there is no shortage of artists who are keen to be a part of our village and give back to the community so those are the ones we’re really trying to help. Lots of community engagement stuff too.
For myself, I’ve moved to Singapore this year for my career, which has been my priority and rather all-consuming. That being said, I do seem to be that person who’s always pulling something crazy out of the hat that surprises everyone (even myself). What can I say: I am a woman of the moment, now more so than ever.
TheLena: Well, my first neuro tune is out on Valkyrie and is called ‘Resurrect’. This tune is special to me in many ways. First, it is on our own label, and secondly, it is my first neuro/metal release and last and most importantly, it has the lyrics and vocals of the amazing Nazar Betsel who is from Ukraine. The tune is written to inspire and uplift our Ukrainian community. Last week (at time of interview), Nazar was drafted to serve our country on the front. This whole track now is dedicated to him and I hope he and all my other friends serving Ukraine are safe. We are resilient.
Individually, I have releases scheduled every four to six weeks for the rest of the year. I already have a big SOU event planned in Ukraine for October. I’m also still producing and doing gigs, and of course most importantly I have an almost two-year-old toddler who is a fireball. For Valkyrie we have such a good pipeline of releases as well.
‘Done Hiding’, Valkyrie’s latest release from DRKNET, is out now and can be streamed or purchased on multiple platforms here. Check Valkyrie’s Beatport page for all the releases thus far. They’ve also got their first podcast with Killbox up on YouTube.