Anna Kost on Berlin, Ableton & Building Tracks Around Vocals | Faux Poly Interviews

Anna Kost's music has always breathed - spacious, bass-driven, warehouse-friendly. But with ‘Everything Comes In Threes’ on Faux Poly, something has shifted. The Berlin based producer and 2247 label boss has placed vocals and samples front and centre, building entire tracks around them for the first time. The result is an EP that feels simultaneously more direct and more open, with lingering basslines and high tension throughout.

In this interview, Kost discusses her intuitive, period-based creative process, the personal meaning behind the title's "complete cycle," and why she's noticing Berlin's club culture slowly opening up to broken rhythms like dubstep, grime, and jungle.

Q: Hey Anna, can you give us a bit of background on where you’re from and how you first got into music?

A: Growing up, I was surrounded by a lot of different music at home, which definitely shaped my taste early on. My parents used to listen to artists like Queen, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Madonna, so I was exposed to a lot of iconic music from quite early on. I also went to music school and played piano for a few years, and briefly learned violin, which gave me a solid foundation. Then in my teenage years I got really into hip hop, artists like Tupac Shakur and Ice Cube, which influenced my taste in a different way. I got into electronic music after moving to Berlin about 10 years ago, and that’s when I started producing on my laptop and developing my own sound.

Q: How has being based in Berlin shaped your sound and approach to DJing/production?

A: Berlin has definitely had a huge impact on my sound and approach to DJing and production. The club culture here is pretty intense in the best way, it feels like it never really stops, and that really shaped how I listen to and think about music. I moved here when I was 18 and started going out a lot, just taking it all in. Seeing so many incredible DJs play in different clubs really taught me how to read a crowd and how to build a journey in a set, rather than just playing tracks. On the production side, Berlin has naturally had an influence as well, especially the minimal, more repetitive, darker side of the sound that’s so present here. At the same time, I think my background in different genres has always pulled me a bit outside of that, so my sound today is really a mix of everything I’ve been exposed to over time.

What was the initial idea or feeling behind Everything Comes In Threes?
The idea behind Everything Comes in Threes wasn’t really something conceptual from the start. I usually don’t approach music with a fixed idea, it’s more intuitive than that. For me, it’s often about a certain period of time or a specific energy I’m in. I think music comes out of that kind of internal state, almost like an emotional snapshot, rather than a planned concept.

With these tracks, they were all made around the same period, there was a certain sound and energy I was naturally drawn to at the time, and I was just following that.  So the EP is more like a reflection of that moment in time, rather than a fixed idea or story.

Q: The title suggests a kind of structure or philosophy - what does it mean to you?

A: The title Everything Comes in Threes does have a structural and almost philosophical feel to it. I’m quite intentional with titles, and they often connect to something personal for me, even if I don’t always explain that directly. On a more general level, I think there’s something interesting about the idea of “three” as a kind of complete cycle. It shows up a lot culturally and symbolically, like in storytelling, patterns, even things like the idea of a beginning, middle and end. It feels like the brain naturally recognises it as something resolved or whole. So for me, the title works on that level, but it also connects to something more personal that I prefer to keep to myself.

Q: How would you say this EP differs from your previous work?

A: This EP feels quite different from my previous work. I think over the past year I’ve stepped into a more honest and authentic version of myself creatively, and that naturally started reflecting in the music. Earlier on, my process was very intuitive, I would just go with the feeling and follow wherever the track wanted to go. It was quite spontaneous. With this EP, my approach felt more focused. I had a clearer sense of direction while working, and I was more aware of the structure, the arrangements, and the overall intention behind the tracks. It still comes from instinct, but there’s a stronger sense of control and clarity in the process now, which has changed the way the music sounds and how I build it.

Q: You mentioned placing vocals and samples much more at the centre - what drew you to that approach?

A: I think I was just in a phase of experimenting with different ways of building tracks. My process tends to shift quite a lot depending on the period, sometimes I approach things one way, sometimes another, and in this case I was really focused on working with samples. For this EP specifically, I started all of the tracks from vocal samples, and then built everything around them. That became the foundation and kind of the main character of each track. It wasn’t a conceptual decision as such, more something that happened quite naturally through the process. I think I just followed what felt the most inspiring at the time. Using vocals in that way gave the tracks a more direct and immediate energy, and it naturally shaped the direction of the whole EP.

Q: Everything was produced fully in Ableton - do you enjoy working entirely in-the-box?

A: Yes, everything on this EP was produced fully in Ableton. For me, it honestly doesn’t matter so much whether you work in the box or with hardware. I think what really matters is the idea behind the music, the artistic vision, and how you shape and process the sound. I’ve tried different approaches, including hardware, but I realised I tend to work more freely in Ableton. Having everything in one environment actually helps me stay focused and finish tracks, because I can get quite lost in too many options otherwise. Over the years I’ve also developed a really deep understanding of the software, so I can translate what I hear in my head quite directly into sound. So for me, working in the box isn’t a limitation at all, it actually gives me more control and freedom in my process.

Q: What’s exciting you most in electronic music right now?

A: What’s been exciting me most in electronic music right now is how much I’ve been discovering outside of what I’ve been used to for a long time. I’ve always been drawn to more broken rhythm music, things like bass music, dubstep, grime, breaks, drum and bass, jungle.. And recently I’ve started noticing that Berlin itself is becoming a bit more open to these kinds of sounds as well.

There are more nights and spaces now that move away from the traditional 4/4 techno format and explore more left-field directions, which feels really refreshing. It’s still not the majority, but it’s definitely starting to open up. At the same time, I’ve been discovering a lot of incredible producers in that space, and that’s been really inspiring creatively. It’s giving me a lot of new energy and ideas at the moment.

Q: What’s next for Anna Kost - anything you can tell us about what’s coming up?

A: I have another EP coming out on a label called rut, which is set for release in August, so I’m really looking forward to that. Alongside that, my main focus continues to be my own label, 2247. I’ve been releasing music there regularly, and for me it’s become a space where I can develop my sound quite freely and consistently. Going forward, I’d love to slowly start opening it up to other artists that I admire as well, and start curating releases beyond just my own music.

Outside of that, I’m just continuing to work on new material and doing what I love most. For me, making music is also a way of coming back to myself, of staying present, and of getting to know myself better through the process.

That’s really at the core of it.