Berlin Mixtapes 071 - Tommahawk

Markus Saarländer
4 days ago
8 min read

Next up we welcome an incredibly talented young artists that is taking the global Techno scene by storm.

Hamburg based artist Tommahawk has become a key figure in the German techno scene while increasingly conquering international stages. Her passion for Techno took her from the dancefloor to the decks, leading to performances at renowned clubs and festivals like SonneMondSterne, Odonien, TanzhausWest, Rakete and AirbeatOne.

2024 saw her play over 70 shows, from legendary E1 in London to performances in Finland and Norway, two tours in Latin America and co-headlining the Oneiro Festival in Costa Rica.

Kicking off 2025 strong, Tomma’s debut release on Thomas Schumacher’s renowned Berlin-based label‚ Electric Ballroom‘ made an impact right away. The track’s powerful, driving sound earned a remix from Schumacher himself, cementing her growing influence and hitting the charts in no time while holding the #1 in the charts spot for weeks.

With her electrifying sets and boundless energy, she turns every stage into a vortex of sound, connection and pure freedom that resonates far beyond the dancefloor.

We caught up with Tommahawk to find out more.

Hi Tommahawk, how are you and what have you been up to this week? Hey Markus, Thank you for having me! This week was all about preparing for the first part of the festival season. I have a four show weekend coming up, which basically keeps me busy with final travel arrangements and preparing the sets for all four shows.

How did you first get into electronic music?

From a very young age, I always liked electronic beats a lot. Even without knowing the music at all. With 15-16, I started to develop a real taste for it, followed DJs on Soundcloud and started to go out every weekend. Chasing my favourite artists - always front row, as well as supporting the locals early on as well.

Where was your first gig and how did it go?

A little backstory to that. In the past I actually never wanted to be a DJ. I admired the artists, but I wanted to stay on the dance floor. When Covid hit, and we were all stuck at home. My roommate bought a cheap DJ controller for herself, and I just gave it a spin for fun. Well. From that point on I kept on digging deeper and deeper and never stopped. I still just thought I would do it for myself at home, no streams, nothing.

Long story short - a friend dragged me to a local club that had an open deck session. All my friends came. I ended up playing almost all night long as the other DJs never showed up. It was wonderful, my friends went totally nuts, the club was super happy. So was I. I couldn’t have wished for a better public gig.

You have a unique and punchy DJ name, what made you pick Tommahawk?

I get that question a lot. My real name is Tomma - a northern German name and my nickname at school was Hawk. As simple as the northern Germans sometimes are, I combined both and ended up with Tommahawk!

Tommahawk in Hamburg - Source: Tommahawk Facebook Page

You had a new release out last month on Rave Planet, which also featured the Teenage Mutants. We love those guys and they joined us for a great event here in Brighton a few years back. Tell us more about that.

A good friend of mine had a call with RTP about a completely different topic. But they ended up speaking about younger talents, where my name was dropped. The RTP crew were aware of me, as I play in Berlin quite often and had already appeared on various line-ups.

Connections were made, we exchanged a few demos and everything went pretty quick with the signing of the track. At that point I did not know that the release would be together with the Teenage Mutants. But when I got the release sheet, I was even happier - as I know the guys very well and its always fun with them! We just had a massive party at SAGE Berlin - the vibe was so amazing.

Buy Tommahawk - Unfolding here

We also love Thomas Schumacher here at Berlin-Brighton and had the pleasure to host him too. You have now also released on his label Electric Ballroom. How did that come about?

Actually that was my debut release - I was so, so excited that my very first track was on Thomas' label. As he and the label have such a good reputation!

The first contact was made by a friend as he thought the track could totally fit to EBM. Thomas replied super fast that he liked the track and would like to get in contact with me. He asked me for the stems, just for a minor thing he’d like to try. When he sent the file back, I saw '_rmx' in the file name and was super speechless. From changing a minor thing, to a remix from one of my idols.

The overall process in the end took almost a year. Also as it was my debut and the distribution had to arrange all the profiles. It was so, so hard not to get impatient about the final release date. But in the end, waiting was worth it. The release climbed the genre charts so fast and ended up on 2# sandwiched between Charlotte De Witte and Amelie Lens. It will be available very soon on vinyl as well!

What else can you tell us about your future releases, anything exciting in the pipeline?

2025 will be crazy! I just finished a collab with Ignacio Arfeli. We just sent the demo to the first labels. Another collab - BLAZE - with LEVT is scheduled for July 11th. Super stoked for this one as well, as the crowd reaction is so massive.

I have two single releases scheduled but its a bit too early to talk about those. There is also another single track, which will feature a remix by the Teenage Mutants. It will be a busy year!

What DJ's or producers are you enjoying right now?

I absolutely love the tracks from TimiR at the moment, super cool deep, driving basslines paired with a lot of power & energy! Alex Stein is one of my all time favorite DJ's and Producers, as well as Mha Iri, Tao Andra and many many more.

But honestly, at the moment I am playing almost just my own productions, to see how the crowd reacts and to use the feedback to give my tracks the final touch.

What are some of your go-to labels?

Definitely Electric Ballroom, Terminal M, Volta, Iboga records, Memoro and the new label by Space92 - TAKE OFF.

Are there any mentors or artists that have inspired and helped you make the leap from bedroom DJ to the big stage?

As previously mentioned it was a bit of an “accident”. Small hawk was happy with being a bedroom DJ just for herself. But when it happened - I was really really stoked by all the support I got.

From local artists like Sabura (Waagenbau, Hamburg) that I always admired (and still do). To be on the line-up there gave me chance to play a support slots for Artists like UMEK, TRYM and Len Faki. Friends that gave me honest and critical advice.

To clubs like the legendary KitKat’s Symbiotikka, that trusted me as an artist and that my music could fit, which ended up in offering me a residency just a few months into my career. It made me realise that the whole techno scene is a big family that can really support you.

You appear to be on quite a few festival line-ups. What advice would you give up and coming DJ's to get on some festival line-ups. What worked for you?

I wish their was “the” secret recipe for gigs. It was definitely a mix of good community work on the socials. Pro-actively reaching out to the festivals, which was sometimes super frustrating as well, as they get tons of pitches and very often you do not get a reply.

However, the smile gets even bigger if they reply and book you! And a lot of shows came through promoters, friends of promoters that saw me at a club show or festival and liked the sound.

For this year, I’m grateful that a lot of the festivals were happy last year and want to continue the journey again!

I think the main advice is: be nice. Don’t be overcomplicated. Stay grounded. And develop your own style!

You have compiled our latest Berlin Mixtapes Series Episode 071 - Tell us more about your mix.

Its the perfect festival season starter! I’ll take you on a journey between deep, dark rolling basslines, driving melodies, with a tiny sparkle of psy-techno towards a peak time end. The mix is spiced up with an unreleased track from me and exclusive promos from friends.

Where can people see you next?

Next up is a crazy weekend, we start Thursday with Love Explosion Festival close to Hamburg. Followed by Sputnik Spring Break Festival on Saturday and on the same night I race towards SKALAR Festival. I then continue the journey towards the very, very last Oldenbora Open Air in northern Germany on Sunday.

For my international fans I’m happy to have Stockholm & Oslo confirmed for the summer and we just signed a show at ONEIRO Fest in Costa Rica. Another promoter that supported me from the very beginning! And it seems that I will have my South Africa debut as well in December. More infos very soon!

Thanks for spending some time with us, is there anything else you'd like to share with our readers?

Keep raving! Support your local DJs - it really means the world to them if you enjoy their sets and not only the headliner <3

Quick-fire round:

Genre: Techno

Favourite colour: Green

What do you put on your chips: Salt!

Apple or Android: Apple

Can you juggle: I’d endanger everyone around me.

Weirdest/Coolest Item of clothing: I bought a pair of Adidas (fake) leather pants, they’re somewhat unique. I thought they’re cool, now everyone asks me where I got those fancy pants from. So I guess that counts as coolest item.

If you could have a superpower, what would you choose? I would choose teleport, haha. Imagine you want to go home after the rave and you could teleport straight at home! Or to the beach or wherever you want.

What was the last thing you looked up online: A cute cat video!

Do you collect anything: Crystals, plants and dust

What is the most useless talent you have: Stepping accidentally on everyone's feet. Im just a little clumsy elephant.

Favourite place to hang out: The secret rooftop on my flat

Favourite club: Waagenbau, Hamburg

Favourite beer/drink: Gin & Tonic

Favourite place to eat: I have a lot! Cham The Vegan Kitchen, Jills Pizza or Ottos Burger

Weirdest thing you have eaten: As I don’t eat meat or fish, most of the “crazy” things like fried scorpions are off limits. I did eat a stinky durian and some jackfruit. Which is smelly, but delicious.

How do you like your eggs: Soft, but not too soft.

Coffee or tea: Coffee, black as my techno soul!

Favourite track right now: Blaze - new collab by LEVT and me! It will be out 11.07

Favourite word: Plüschmors - the northern German word for bumblebee

3 words to describe your mix: Powerful, driving and a bit dreamy

Listen to Berlin Mixtapes - Tommahawk - 071 - Here

Tracklist

Stars - Victor Ruiz & Mila - Journée

Hestia (Zafer Atabey Remix) - Celic, djseanEboy

Soul Flight - Tommahawk

Unfolding - Tommahawk

Fascination (Drunken Kong Remix) - Muter & Romina Dez