In conversation w/ Kitti Kay
JUNE 22, 2025
Kitti Kay, the electronic music producer and DJ from Budapest, has been active on the international techno scene since 2018. She started playing the piano as a child and later started writing and producing her own music. Although she is mainly known as a DJ, in recent years she has been creating more and more of her own music, which conveys atmospheric, emotional moods in addition to hard beats. Her musical style is a mix of groovy, acid, bouncy and techno, hard techno, characterized by her dynamic performance style and energetic sets. She regularly plays at famous venues such as E1 London, as well as renowned festivals: Sziget Festival, Boiler Room, Verknipt, Teletech and many underground techno events worldwide. During her performances, she prioritizes direct contact with the audience and turns each performance into a shared experience. Fast BPM, powerful drum bases and emotional sound samples are characteristic. She takes the audience on a dynamic, always varied journey. Her musical philosophy is that music is not only entertainment, but also a means of communication that connects people and creates shared experiences.
Was there a specific moment—a track, a set, a night—where it just clicked and you knew: “This is my sound, this is where I belong”? What did that moment feel like?
There was no specific track or moment, I’ve been playing my sets in a mixed way for a long time, to watch the audience’s reaction and I obviously move in what I like and what I like. Raw techno, Techno, Hard techno, Bouncy, Hard dance. I find what I like in every style but maybe the moment that grabbed me was when I saw the audience giving it their all, they were completely there, the energy, the strength they gave, then I knew that this is the path I want and this is what my goal is, this style that is truly me.
The techno scene still leans heavy on masculine energy. What’s your superpower for cutting through that noise and holding your space with style?
My superpower is my authenticity. I don’t try to be different – neither in sound nor appearance. I don’t hide my femininity, I use it as a strength. There is softness and raw power in my sets, just like in me. I don’t want to overdo the masculine energy – I want to show that there is another way: sensitive yet massive, intuitive yet decisive. People who know me, people who come to the parties where I play, know that I give 100% every minute.
Fashion and music are on a collision course—and you’re clearly riding that wave. How does your style influence the sound you play, and vice versa? Do you dress like your music sounds, or does your music evolve from the mood you’re wearing?
For me, music and clothing come from the same source – mood, energy, identity. One doesn’t follow the other, they develop together. When I perform, I don’t just bring music to the stage, but a character, a feeling. My style usually reflects what my music conveys: a strong look, sometimes provocative and out of tune, but always conscious. That’s what makes it work. But I like to change according to trends, of course in my own way of dressing.
Have you ever rolled up to a gig with low expectations and then it completely flipped on you? One of those nights that unexpectedly made it into your personal top list?
This has happened to me several times that I thought wouldn’t be there, and it has been proven several times that I was wrong. There was a night where I didn’t play in the main room. I played in the small room and I opened the smaller room thinking that they wouldn’t be there because everyone wanted to be in the big room, but 15 minutes after I started, the room was full with more than 1000 people. Actually, it was a very memorable night and I always think of it with a good heart.
When you sit down to create, what pulls you in? Is it chaos, heartbreak, city noise—or something softer, more secret? What’s the core fuel behind your production process?
When I sit down to create, I’m usually not influenced by emotion at the beginning, which quickly becomes the opposite if a vocal or melody is written in that really sets the mood of the given track. This could be a heart-wrenching example like my track “die every night”. Or a little wilder like our joint track with Akoriz, “I’ll be dancing alone”. There’s nothing secret that I would use, I let the music take me.
You had the chance to play in Taiwan—pretty far from your usual stomping grounds. What were your expectations going in, and what was the reality? How did the scene, the crowd, or even the energy surprise you on the other side of the world?
Taiwan was something completely different! Of course I was very happy to be invited and I was very happy to get to know another country so far from Europe. I didn’t know what to expect, I knew that the club had already techno and hard techno events but that’s it. When I arrived at the party, there was a very mixed music playing, Avicii, David Guetta and similar radio music, the dj before me was playing melodic techno, so I was a little afraid of what to say about my stronger style. But in the first 10 seconds of the first song they went crazy and were waiting and really open. I enjoyed playing for them, I can’t wait to come back soon. I was lucky enough to spend two full days in Taiwan and it was completely recharged, the people are very nice, they are very good there.
Inspiration is everything when you’re performing—but it’s also what keeps an artist evolving. What fuels you creatively, and what keeps you motivated to grow yourself as Kitti Kay?
Development is the only option. I don’t want to stay where I was last year – or even yesterday. Creative energy comes from life: a hard day, a good set, an unexpected encounter. I listen, filter, recharge. What motivates me is that there is always more to say – just differently. You can always create something new and new. Kitti Kay is a brand, a state that is constantly evolving. I stay in the movement because there is no other way to do this except with dedication.
Techno culture has exploded—and let’s be honest, it’s teetering on the edge of no longer being “underground”. How do you feel about that shift? Is there a moment in the genre’s evolution you’d rewind to, just to keep a bit of that raw, untouched spirit alive?
Techno is no longer just about the underground at the moment – and that’s okay, as long as we don’t forget where it came from. I think trends always change when they catch on, but it will never go away and will come back in the same way hard techno did. It needs a bit of a slowdown, but I think it will come.
The ultimate question: how do you define the style you’re playing? And in a time when genres are blurring and labels feel more like cages, do you even believe in this kind of classification anymore?
It’s hard to pin down, because what I play is often more about mood than a specific style. I tend to be somewhere along the darker, deeper techno lines, but I can also easily incorporate something warmer, a little more melodic and bouncy, if I feel like it’s what the moment calls for. In my opinion, it used to be important to say, “Well, this is industrial, this is minimal”, but now they’re more mixed. Labels sometimes push the box-building too far, as if you have to fit into a box at all costs, although I think everyone has given in a little bit. I think nowadays it’s much more important whether you have your own taste, your own character — not where you can put your music. I try to stay honest: I play what feels good inside.
Let’s talk future. Any upcoming projects, gigs, or collabs that have you buzzing right now? Give us a little taste of what’s next for Kitti Kay.
I don’t want to reveal too much at the moment , but I’ll be doing quite a few collaborations related to fashion. I’m working on new tracks again, it’s been a bit of a backlog lately, but now I’m back at it with full power! I’m looking forward to performing at festivals both at home and abroad. I can’t wait to achieve more and more every day.
In conversation w/ Kitti Kay
JUNE 22, 2025
Kitti Kay, the electronic music producer and DJ from Budapest, has been active on the international techno scene since 2018. She started playing the piano as a child and later started writing and producing her own music. Although she is mainly known as a DJ, in recent years she has been creating more and more of her own music, which conveys atmospheric, emotional moods in addition to hard beats. Her musical style is a mix of groovy, acid, bouncy and techno, hard techno, characterized by her dynamic performance style and energetic sets. She regularly plays at famous venues such as E1 London, as well as renowned festivals: Sziget Festival, Boiler Room, Verknipt, Teletech and many underground techno events worldwide. During her performances, she prioritizes direct contact with the audience and turns each performance into a shared experience. Fast BPM, powerful drum bases and emotional sound samples are characteristic. She takes the audience on a dynamic, always varied journey. Her musical philosophy is that music is not only entertainment, but also a means of communication that connects people and creates shared experiences.
Was there a specific moment—a track, a set, a night—where it just clicked and you knew: “This is my sound, this is where I belong”? What did that moment feel like?
There was no specific track or moment, I’ve been playing my sets in a mixed way for a long time, to watch the audience’s reaction and I obviously move in what I like and what I like. Raw techno, Techno, Hard techno, Bouncy, Hard dance. I find what I like in every style but maybe the moment that grabbed me was when I saw the audience giving it their all, they were completely there, the energy, the strength they gave, then I knew that this is the path I want and this is what my goal is, this style that is truly me.
The techno scene still leans heavy on masculine energy. What’s your superpower for cutting through that noise and holding your space with style?
My superpower is my authenticity. I don’t try to be different – neither in sound nor appearance. I don’t hide my femininity, I use it as a strength. There is softness and raw power in my sets, just like in me. I don’t want to overdo the masculine energy – I want to show that there is another way: sensitive yet massive, intuitive yet decisive. People who know me, people who come to the parties where I play, know that I give 100% every minute.
Fashion and music are on a collision course—and you’re clearly riding that wave. How does your style influence the sound you play, and vice versa? Do you dress like your music sounds, or does your music evolve from the mood you’re wearing?
For me, music and clothing come from the same source – mood, energy, identity. One doesn’t follow the other, they develop together. When I perform, I don’t just bring music to the stage, but a character, a feeling. My style usually reflects what my music conveys: a strong look, sometimes provocative and out of tune, but always conscious. That’s what makes it work. But I like to change according to trends, of course in my own way of dressing.
Have you ever rolled up to a gig with low expectations and then it completely flipped on you? One of those nights that unexpectedly made it into your personal top list?
This has happened to me several times that I thought wouldn’t be there, and it has been proven several times that I was wrong. There was a night where I didn’t play in the main room. I played in the small room and I opened the smaller room thinking that they wouldn’t be there because everyone wanted to be in the big room, but 15 minutes after I started, the room was full with more than 1000 people. Actually, it was a very memorable night and I always think of it with a good heart.
When you sit down to create, what pulls you in? Is it chaos, heartbreak, city noise—or something softer, more secret? What’s the core fuel behind your production process?
When I sit down to create, I’m usually not influenced by emotion at the beginning, which quickly becomes the opposite if a vocal or melody is written in that really sets the mood of the given track. This could be a heart-wrenching example like my track “die every night”. Or a little wilder like our joint track with Akoriz, “I’ll be dancing alone”. There’s nothing secret that I would use, I let the music take me.
You had the chance to play in Taiwan—pretty far from your usual stomping grounds. What were your expectations going in, and what was the reality? How did the scene, the crowd, or even the energy surprise you on the other side of the world?
Taiwan was something completely different! Of course I was very happy to be invited and I was very happy to get to know another country so far from Europe. I didn’t know what to expect, I knew that the club had already techno and hard techno events but that’s it. When I arrived at the party, there was a very mixed music playing, Avicii, David Guetta and similar radio music, the dj before me was playing melodic techno, so I was a little afraid of what to say about my stronger style. But in the first 10 seconds of the first song they went crazy and were waiting and really open. I enjoyed playing for them, I can’t wait to come back soon. I was lucky enough to spend two full days in Taiwan and it was completely recharged, the people are very nice, they are very good there.
Inspiration is everything when you’re performing—but it’s also what keeps an artist evolving. What fuels you creatively, and what keeps you motivated to grow yourself as Kitti Kay?
Development is the only option. I don’t want to stay where I was last year – or even yesterday. Creative energy comes from life: a hard day, a good set, an unexpected encounter. I listen, filter, recharge. What motivates me is that there is always more to say – just differently. You can always create something new and new. Kitti Kay is a brand, a state that is constantly evolving. I stay in the movement because there is no other way to do this except with dedication.
Techno culture has exploded—and let’s be honest, it’s teetering on the edge of no longer being “underground”. How do you feel about that shift? Is there a moment in the genre’s evolution you’d rewind to, just to keep a bit of that raw, untouched spirit alive?
Techno is no longer just about the underground at the moment – and that’s okay, as long as we don’t forget where it came from. I think trends always change when they catch on, but it will never go away and will come back in the same way hard techno did. It needs a bit of a slowdown, but I think it will come.
The ultimate question: how do you define the style you’re playing? And in a time when genres are blurring and labels feel more like cages, do you even believe in this kind of classification anymore?
It’s hard to pin down, because what I play is often more about mood than a specific style. I tend to be somewhere along the darker, deeper techno lines, but I can also easily incorporate something warmer, a little more melodic and bouncy, if I feel like it’s what the moment calls for. In my opinion, it used to be important to say, “Well, this is industrial, this is minimal”, but now they’re more mixed. Labels sometimes push the box-building too far, as if you have to fit into a box at all costs, although I think everyone has given in a little bit. I think nowadays it’s much more important whether you have your own taste, your own character — not where you can put your music. I try to stay honest: I play what feels good inside.
Let’s talk future. Any upcoming projects, gigs, or collabs that have you buzzing right now? Give us a little taste of what’s next for Kitti Kay.
I don’t want to reveal too much at the moment , but I’ll be doing quite a few collaborations related to fashion. I’m working on new tracks again, it’s been a bit of a backlog lately, but now I’m back at it with full power! I’m looking forward to performing at festivals both at home and abroad. I can’t wait to achieve more and more every day.