Where showroom melancholy meets peak-time techno devotion
We started, as Oslo nights often do, somewhere between fashion installation and social ritual—inside the softly cinematic haze of the “Soyaaulait” showroom, where host-designer Luna and her circle curated an atmosphere of chic restraint and late-evening melancholy. Drinks were light, conversation lighter, but the mood had that familiar Nordic tension: elegant on the surface, quietly charged underneath.
From there, the night loosened its edges.
A quick drift through Jaeger, bubbles in hand, before the pull of the city’s deeper frequency took over—towards The Villa on Upper Youngsløkka, where the temperature shifts from curated to collective. This is where Oslo stops posing and starts moving.
And then: Berlin energy in the room.
Ellen Allien arrives not as nostalgia, but as infrastructure—someone who understands exactly how tension is built, stretched, and released across a dancefloor. Her presence anchors the night’s narrative: techno as language, not spectacle.
Opening duties belong to Della, the solo project of Kristina Dunn—already a familiar name to Oslo’s club ecosystem through her earlier work as one half of No Dial Tone and her long-standing relationship with the city’s underground.
A veteran of more than two decades in electronic music, Della carries that rare balance between instinct and discipline. Her sound sits confidently across house, techno and leftfield club structures, but never feels detached from the dancefloor itself. This is music built from lived experience rather than trend logic.
Beyond the booth, she is also a vocalist—blurring the line between DJ set and live performance, shaping moments that feel less like transitions and more like emotional shifts. Her sets at The Villa have become part of the club’s identity: steady, expressive, and quietly generous.
What defines Della most, however, is not technical range but intent. There is an unmistakable sense of gratitude in the way she approaches dance music—as culture, as community, as release.
“Love,” she suggests, is the simplest way to describe it. Not sentimentality, but connection under pressure.
And on this night, that idea lands clearly.
From showroom introspection to club-floor acceleration, the journey feels less like a night out and more like a continuum—where fashion, sound and space collapse into one shared rhythm. In Oslo, the scene is small, but the frequency is deep.
DT 500 MAG: – Why did you choose music over the other art forms?
KRISTINA: Music was not a choice for me, but it is an essential part of my life, a necessity, actually. Music is my ultimate love, and I enjoy sharing this passion with everyone who feels the same. This is why I chose to DJ to share this feeling with others.
DT 500 MAG: -… so the rave culture had come, bam!
KRISTINA: -Yes! Electronic music began with rave culture in the ’90s. I started going to raves when I left home for college. Then, in 1997, I attended a DVS1 party in downtown Minneapolis that changed my life forever. Something magical happened that night; I discovered the “dance” in electronic music. I was hooked. From that day forward, I never looked back, and I have been on thousands of dance floors since with the top DJs from around the world. The names of people who have influenced me since that experience would go on for days. Here is a short list of names that come to mind from those early years: Halo, Hipp-e, Dubtribe, Mark Farina, Heather, Jeno, Garth, Scott Hardkiss, Dj Dan, Doc Martin, Dj Funk, Roy Davis Jr., Underworld, Orbital, The Orb, Timewriter, and of course Frankie. Quite a diverse group of names.
DT 500 MAG: How was it raving at West Coast then?
KRISTINA: –In 1999, I moved to Los Angeles and continued to be influenced by the creators and players of quality House music. I never was one for names or labels; I was purely involved in doing what I loved more than words can describe: dance. Dancing to House music was, and still simply is, my reality, so the music effortlessly surrounds me and inspires me everywhere I go. I am lucky that way.
DT 500 MAG: -What is the sound of DELLA?
KRISTINA: – DELLA is my solo project with a strong focus on DJing. There are some ideas I would like to play around with in the studio, and I have been asked to do some vocal collaborations with people I really admire, so we will see what comes out of that. For the moment, though, I am focusing on DJing. This is my second love following dancing. I love playing records that make me want to dance, and I love getting people to dance to them with me. I don’t know how to categorise my sound as a style or into one music genre, but I play mostly House and Techno.
DT 500 MAG: -What is so special about House music?
KRISTINA: – House music isn’t an art form; it is what it is, House. And you either get it or you don’t. It is not a style; it is a lifestyle. Once you’re in, you are in for good. Like Eddie Amador said, “Not everyone understands House music; it’s a spiritual thing, a soul thing, a body thing.”That’s simply the truth. What is your favourite type of house? House is house. If you need a better description than that, listen to Kerri Chandler’s track “House is House.” My philosophy on House? For me, it is the purest form of love projected through a 4×4 beat and vibration. It beats to the rhythm of our hearts, and our hearts beat to the rhythm of the music. It is also a community that brings all people together. All the borders and barriers that divide us are removed. This is freedom.
DT 500 MAG: – We heard you are going solo?
KRISTINA: – Yes, I was in a duo, No Dial Tone, and we had a successful 10 years together with releases on labels like Classic Music Company, Twirl, Leftroom, Faceless, and Cimelde Records. But now, where my partner, Vibeke Bruff, and I are currently in our lives, the paths are moving in separate directions, and we have decided to follow these private roads.
DT 500 MAG: – Who is your listener?
KRISTINA: – My listener is anyone who already has or wants to develop an understanding of quality dance music. They are anyone who wants to get showered with positive, good vibes through music. I don’t expect them to expect anything from me except for having a good time at the party and on the dance floor.
DT 500 MAG: – You are working with vocals, too; how do you find a song to match the music, especially in House?
KRISTINA: – Yes, I do work with vocals. I sometimes do live vocal improvisation over my DJ sets. When I do this, I have a stronger connection with the audience and myself. I strive for that, having the audience and myself feel like one in the music. Regarding production, I have this same approach; I just let the track roll and sing or say whatever comes to mind in the mic. Once recorded, it is clipped and edited to fit into the arrangement. I love vocal House music, so they fit perfectly together. Some people don’t like vocals in dance music, which is just a preference for one’s taste. These people might see vocals as an enemy, but I prefer a little vocal here and there in DJ sets or in-house tracks. This also goes hand in hand with being a vocalist; I love to sing along to my favourite songs.
DT 500 MAG: – Is there something familiar between techno and classical music?
KRISTINA: I am not the right person to ask about this, as I appreciate classical music but do not know much about it. But yes, the two have something in common. Take Mozart, for example; he was an innovative composer who pushed the boundaries regarding his music, just like Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins, or Derrick May did when they started pushing boundaries and creating techno.
DT 500 MAG: -What are your judging criteria as a Dance Conductor?
KRISTINA: –Ha-ha, I am the DJ, meaning I am the conductor of the dance floor, aka Dance Conductor.
DT 500 MAG: – DELLA’s TOP 3 most listened to songs on iPhone?
DT 500 MAG: – How would you present the Oslo House scene to an experienced techno visitor?
KRISTINA: –
Let me take you out and let you experience it for yourself. Here is the incredible talent coming through Oslo this week. Where should we begin?”
DT 500 MAG: – What are your favourite club concepts today?
KRISTINA: I don’t like those words, such as “club concepts…” This is a problem the dance community is drowning itself in (especially in Oslo). Clubs should stand for, focus, and book talent on that alone talent. Just because you are a good promoter of your “concept,” this should not allow you to enter the ring as “talent.” Sure, you may have the talent, but where is the focus? On music or promotion? These barriers make it difficult for those DJs and producers much more skilled, experienced, schooled, and gifted than these “club concept” promoters to break through or be heard. Clubs should focus on booking raw talent and promoting themselves as a place where, no matter what, the music is 100% the focus.
“Let the DJ be the DJ, not a promoter… It works for BERGHAIN; the rest should keep following their lead.
DT 500 MAG: -How about the rest of Europe vs Oslo (in terms of the House music scene)?
KRISTINA: –I think Oslo is a great contender and contributor to the dance music community alongside the rest of Europe.
INTERVIEW BY Arthur Sopin
COPYRIGHT BY DT 500 MAG
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