Meet the First Georgian Female Electronaut to Rock Berghain Dance Floor

Exclusive Interview

In the era of technology, internet and electronic music, it is far more difficult to preserve one’s individuality and simultaneously create something precious using modern high-tech tools. Ana Kublashvili, known by her stage name Newa, did it successfully and even managed to position herself among the most acclaimed artists in the world of techno.

Ana is a young Georgian female DJ and musician who rocks not only the local techno scene but has shaken up the international EDM Society around the globe. Moreover, on April 29, 2018, Newa was named the winner and title holder of Electronauts 2017 at the Electronauts annual awards for electronic music, arts and innovative pop culture in Georgia, already in its 10th year. Through gaining this prestigious title, Ana became the first female Electronaut, something, she says, which is an immense achievement.

Her track ‘Smash it’ was named Best Track of 2017 at the same Electronaut competition.

“Ana is a classically trained musician from Tbilisi on the forefront of the rapidly emerging Georgian electronic music scene,” reads the review about Newa on Resident Advisor, an online music magazine dedicated to showcasing electronic music and artists around the world.

As the artist recalls, her grandma made her sing in a jazz band when she was a kid, which fueled her interest in music and eventually got her up on the stage of Berghain in Berlin, the most popular and best known club in Europe.

Apart from being invited to perform on Europe’s top dancefloor (so popular that even those who have queued for hours sometimes have to be turned away!), Newa’s music has been appraised and released by one of the most in-demand DJ-producers of the current generation: Ben Klock.

Through the classical music background coupled with ambient sounds and melodic techno beats, Newa produces amazing pieces that take you on a long journey into space. ‘Dance of the Warrior’ and ‘Simshvide’ (Peace) are her signature works, representing masterpieces of Georgian techno that in future might be coined as the classic of the 21st century.

Newa (Ana Kublashvili) gave GEORGIA TODAY a peek into her career and childhood memories.

When did you first get into electronic music and how long have you been composing your own tracks?

I first started making my own music eight years ago. I first got interested in electronic music when I was at school, somewhere around 2003-2004, when a female classmate of mine, known as ‘DJ Spring,’ was already trying DJing. She introduced me to my very first electronic music piece. I also discovered the website 21stcentury.net with plenty of electronic music genres showcasing mixes by various DJs. Although this website no longer exists, I used to visit it often and download mixes and tracks, even with the extremely low-speed internet that was available at that time.

We rarely come across female DJs in Georgia. What does your family think about your profession? Do you know other female DJs in Georgia?

My family’s attitude toward my job is absolutely positive and 100% supportive. Over recent years, more girls have started emerging in this field, yet it’s still a low number: Ttrakovski; Natalie Beridze, who is well-known not only in Georgia but beyond its borders too; and the second half of Body Thrills, Nicole (Nicole Popkhvadze who makes electronic music and has been released by IconTrax, a Tbilisi-based music label). Fortunately, there are no fixed quotas in this field, so Georgian female artists are more than welcome to join, but of course their interest should be powered naturally. In my case, my passion for music started at an early age, when I was a little kid. I was constantly surrounded by music, my grandmother Eter Zanguridze teaches piano and is a concertmaster. So, thanks to her, I sang, played the piano, the guitar a bit, and drums. I also graduated the ‘7 Classes Music School.’

You are acquainted with world-famous DJ-Producer Ben Klock who released your track on his label as well as performed it. Tell us more

Ben Klock is a very friendly and active person. He is a true lover of music and he is always open to novelties. I met him in Tbilisi and I started sharing my new musical pieces with him. In the beginning, he would give feedback or outright criticism. It helped me to develop and perfect my music and then, unexpectedly, Ben decided to release my track ‘Dance of the Warrior’ on his techno label Klockworks. I really didn’t expect it and I was very pleased.

You performed in Berlin’s Berghain in November last year. How was it?

I received an invitation with the following question: “Are you ready for Berghain?” To be honest, I wasn’t even ready to receive such a question and was nervous for the six months leading up to my performance in Berlin. But as soon as I got out on stage and started playing, the fear was gone. I had friends and acquaintances right near the stage, some having come all the way from Sweden, Amsterdam and Tbilisi to listen to my performance in Berghain. It was one of the most unforgettable three hours of my life.

In which clubs do you perform in Georgia and how would you describe the Georgian underground scene?

I perform in all four clubs of Tbilisi and I’m very glad to have such an opportunity, even though every month I play abroad too. I play in Kutaisi’s newly opened club Reflector, one of my favorite places. Tbilisi’s underground scene has already reached such a level that it has surpassed many European clubs. I want to reach out to everyone, not only the regular Georgian clubbers, and say that I have performed in many European cities, yet nothing can be compared to Tbilisi; the spirit that raises you up here is totally different and unique. I’ve been cooperating with Radiate Booking agency since 2017 and I have my own agent who works on getting me in different European clubs every month. I just got back from Israel and Toulouse and next week I’m heading off to Turkey and then Brussels. I’ve scheduled all my trips over the course of this year in advance.

By Lika Chigladze