Tell us about yourself. How did MANA come to be?

It's funny because I have always been MANA (magic). It's the initials of my name...  Actually, one of my best friends called me MANA because he thought I was kind of an energy life source - that must have been around 2009. I have been using it for a lot of artistic endeavours ever since and it just stuck.

What's the music scene like where you come from?

Hamburg is really fascinating and exciting when it comes to music. It has deep hip-hop roots but you can basically explore any genre. It's quite huge on bass music in general, be it garage or dubstep. There's nice crews like ill, wobwob and SATURATE! And some really good clubs like Golden Pudel, Waagenbau, Hafenklang and Übel & Gefährlich. You can spend all night dancing and talk with open-minded and peaceful people. It's a family vibe.

Loving the release! What's the story behind 'U AND I'?

Once I start a tune it's just trying stuff out. This time it started with the Chinese violin (erhu) which you can hear at the end of the tune and pretty choppy drums, I also had some kind of night rider synth going, that one didn't make the final version. Would be funny if you could hear it. In the midst of the progress, I heard the vocal line in my head, so I went ahead and recorded it.

Emotionally the first sketches were basically describing a conflict or argument in a relation, which gets resolved, so there's a contrast of a really threatening part with throbbing deep bass and a release of tension with the violin afterwards.

In the later versions, it felt more like a discussion than an actual argument.

So you could say the overall story behind the tune is that following a discussion there is a synthesis, where you come to an arrangement.

What're your plans for 2021?

Doing more live streams and music, but other than that I have to be patient and hope for more action in 2022. This year everything is on pause and it feels like the calm before the storm next year.

Any tips for aspiring artists this year?

Never stop creating. Clean your house. Clean yourself. Get rid of ballast.

In times where everything seems to be negative and you can’t play shows and go out to party, you could use this time to grow and learn. Turn the negative into something positive. Use your time as long as time stands still.

Any other artists your feeling right now?

'U AND I' is out, and available to Buy Now.