The cupids of clubland: DJ HEARTSTRING will make you fall in love on the dancefloor

There often comes a point in the night when the DJ plays a track with so much emotional heft, a track that we’ve either inscribed our happy memories onto or that has unexpectedly triggered something inside of us, that we can’t help it. We look into the eyes of a friend, a partner, or sometimes even a stranger we’ve just met, and we give them a hug.

A testament to the power of music to bring us together, these fleeting moments of dancefloor affection are exactly what DJ HEARTSTRING want to spark when they step into a DJ booth. “I don’t even want to see them throwing up their hands,” Jonas, one-half of the Berlin duo, says of their crowds. “I want them to tell their best mate or their partner how much they love them.”

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Luckily for Jonas and Leo, this happens quite often thanks to the stirring, nostalgic nature of their tracks, which rather than just tug on a listener’s heartstrings, straps them onto a joyride of high-speed trance, techno, Eurodance and a universe of other '90s and '00s-influenced club sounds instead. “People tell us our music has helped them through a dark time or made them feel better about a situation they’re in, which is insane,” Jonas continues, announcing that goosebumps have arrived on his arm. “We’re trying to evoke big emotions, but at the start, we never talked about it. It just came naturally to us.”

Judging by the heights their career has reached in the last few years, this unintended foray into tearjerking dance anthems – a result of pandemic-induced free time and a longing to be reunited with clubs again – is working pretty well for the pair. Last year alone, they made their Berghain debut; released a couple of viral DJ streams, and, alongside none other than the Sugababes, threw a surprise pop-up in a Berlin corner shop (known locally as a späti) to mark their remix of the noughties legends’ hit ‘Push The Button’ (the event was nearly shutdown by police because of the number of people that showed up).

Then there’s the string of EPs, remixes (from Charli xcx to Ciara) and collaborations with fellow dancefloor empaths southstar and SWIM, all of which have helped spread their trademark of breakneck BPMs, pulsating basslines and bittersweet melodies to the hungry ears of millions of listeners around the world. Before I can ask them to reflect on the year they’ve just had, the first thing they do when they dial in for our interview is flip their laptop around to show their view: a Phuket beach at sunset, where the outlines of sea boats pierce through the orange and lilac horizon.

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They’re in Thailand to start 2025 off slowly with some downtime – except for a quick stop at the debut South-East Asia edition of festival giant EDC, where they’ll head for a performance after our conversation. After a whirlwind few years, they’ve decided to start taking more time off. “We’ve realised that if we just tour all the time we don’t have the energy to produce music, and that’s the main reason we’re doing all of this,” Jonas (the taller, blonde haired member who is rarely seen out of a football shirt or Fred Perry zip-up) tells me. “It’s easy to get lost in this lifestyle, but because there’s two of us we can check each other easily,” Leo – sporting light stubble and never caught without a graphic beanie or baseball cap on – adds.

A product of this time off is ‘You Are The Sun, I Am The Sky’, their latest EP which, fitting to their DJ moniker, drops on Valentine’s Day. To create it, they swapped the grey concrete of Berlin for the northwards countryside of Mecklenburgische Kleinseenplatte (they’re quick to point out exactly what I’m thinking – this is as German a name as it gets). Four days here surrounded by peaceful lakes and eating frozen pizzas found them in the most creative period of their career so far. “You could feel with every extra day away from Berlin that we were able to try out newer stuff,” Leo tells me, his German accent strong. “In the end, we joked that we were two or three days away from making ambient.”

While most certainly atmospheric, the EP couldn’t be further from ambient. Instead, it’s a no-holds-barred level-up of the signature DJ HEARTSTRING Trance Dance Music sound, or ‘TDM’ as they label it. “It’s not a new start, but it’s important for us to evolve,” they say of the project. “‘Stay Awake’ [another link-up with SWIM] is a song we wouldn’t have made a year ago, for instance. It’s a lot sadder than our usual stuff.”

A shining example of how younger listeners are lapping up recontextualised old-school genres, the boys’ fresh take on trance and techno has ignited endless online discourse set on boxing them in as one or the other. Whether it’s seasoned music nerds or fresh SoundCloud dwellers going back and forth on categorising the pair, the reasoning is always the same: it’s because, ultimately, people want to find more of this music that makes them feel alive.

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Across the EP’s four tracks, there’s a sense of immediacy. Rapid, thumping basslines come out of the gate swinging. Pitched vocals rush to keep up, and climaxes feel more intense compared to their previous work. Synths flash, oscillate and shimmer at every turn, and whether it’s a sense of sadness, exhilaration or a bit of both, you can guarantee that in true DJ HEARTSTRING style, emotions are aroused. “We try to be expressive and direct. We don’t… beat around the bush. Is that right the saying?”

Producing such affecting music arises from a spontaneous approach, Jonas and Leo say – it’s all about what feels right in the moment. Typically, they follow the feeling a sample or melody gives them, and then they wait for what they’ve nicknamed ‘the sauce’. It could be a chord progression (“that makes you feel, like ‘ooh!’”) a drum loop (“that has to be just right”), or even something as simple as a ‘tink’ noise, Leo explains, his enthusiasm palpable despite the fact we’re almost 10,000 miles apart. “It’s like that feeling when you’re in the club and then this extra layer comes in, and you’re like, ugh!”

But is this process of making serotonin-steeped tunes made more difficult with two minds, two sets of references and two pairs of hands feeding in? According to the duo, the answer is no – it was always clear that DJ HEARTSTRING would be a two-man job. “It’s really hard to find someone you can make music with, we’ve both tried it with others and it never worked,” Jonas points out, looking over at his friend. “We’re really lucky to have each other.”

This ironclad bromance began after Leo’s girlfriend, who met Jonas working in a cinema, introduced them after realising their mutual love for production. They hit it off instantly, but it took a few years before their shared passion enticed them into a studio from which they emerged as DJ HEARTSTRING. Despite this clear musical compatibility, however, their entry points into electronic music couldn’t be more different.

Born and bred in Berlin, a young Jonas was introduced to the world of DJing by Paul Kalkbrenner’s Berlin Calling film, which portrays the longtime techno producer as a DJ who creates an album from the confines of a psychiatric unit. As a teenager, Jonas’ weekends were spent at clubbing institutions like Tresor, where he would hear minimalist techno that made music production feel approachable. When he wasn’t using a Maschine to toy with Italo disco and piano house at home, he started throwing parties at Arena Club, ://about blank and other nightclubs around the capital with his friends.

For Leo, who grew up in a small village away from the capital, an introduction to dance music came from the blare of EDM from a local radio station. Unable to explore the famed corners of Berlin’s club scene but longing to participate somehow, a Christmas present of FruityLoops (since rebranded as FL Studio) allowed him to experiment with everything from melodic techno to drum ‘n’ bass. Once he completed a production course, he made a beeline for the city. “I remember going to Berghain for the first time and losing my mind,” he recalls. “In my head I was thinking, ‘Imagine your song playing here, imagine how you can contribute to this’.”

Not only are they a creative yin and yang, but it’s increasingly apparent during our conversation that Jonas and Leo complement each other on a personal level, too. Leo’s cool, laidback nature eases Jonas when he needs it, while the uninhibited energy his friend radiates can lift Leo when a pick-me-up might be in order. Being friends before becoming colleagues has helped them realise the importance of nurturing their relationship, so amidst their jam-packed schedule – which will take them to South America for the first time this year – the boys make it a priority to carve out time to check in. “We’re very honest and open… It’s almost like we’re in a relationship,” they joke.

With so many references and inspirations feeding in, a musical moodboard is hard to pin down, but names like Jennifer Cardini, DJ Koze, Palms Trax and Mall Grab pop up along with the German hip hop and alt-rock that soundtracked their youth. There’s another, unignorable influence that makes itself known as you scroll through their SoundCloud: pop music. An appreciation of it threads together their colourful tracks and sets, with Madonna, Beyoncé and Gwen Stefani all receiving the DJ HEARTSTRING treatment over the years. “There’s an element of fun production which resonates with us. You just have to look at all the pop Jonas listens to,” Leo, a self-confessed Nelly Furatado fan, says, before prompting his friend to proudly reveal that two Kelly Clarkson staples were in his most replayed last year.

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An affinity for pop legends, combined with their vibrant musical and visual identity (they have a love of baby blue and pink, a stark contrast from the all-black, all-leather Berlin techno archetype) has, unsurprisingly, won the pair a devout LGBTIQA+ following. It’s no better encapsulated better than the location of their first-ever gig, the wonderfully debaucherous queer party Mala Junta. “I remember at dinner beforehand, Nayme, one of the co-founders, told us that we make really gay music,” Leo recalls with a smile appearing on his face. “It’s not something we sat down and planned – it just happened the way it did.”

The duo – who are both straight and cisgender – take the community's embrace of them as a “huge” compliment. “It’s really rewarding, because we are very mindful that the music we make comes from a queer, POC background,” Jonas says. It hasn’t always been a smooth ride though, with accusations of queerbaiting being flung around in the early days, leading them to seek advice and guidance from their queer friends in the industry. “Coming from a place like Berlin, we’re very hyperaware of queerbaiting… We’ve been doing this for long enough now that over time, it kind of transcends. People understand it’s not a thing we play into to be successful.”

Further proof of their popularity with queer clubbers comes in the FLINTA*-heavy crowds at their shows, where multiple people of all backgrounds and identities have told them that they feel comfortable for a change. “Coming from what can be a bro-y, all-black outfit techno scene, we are super thankful to have that,” Leo beams. Gig series Teenage Dreams is undoubtedly the beating heart of their live offering, and has hosted the likes of Effy and Boys Noize at its sold-out LA and London iterations – the latter of which, The Mixmag Lab takeover at The Cause, they name as one of their standout moments from 2024. “It’s a lot of fun, and kind of magical when you can invite your friends to play with you,” Leo says. “It’s not just a support act and then someone after us – we’re talking multiple floors and multiple days. It’s really nice.”

When asked what people can expect from a DJ HEARTSTRING show, Jonas and Leo take a pause. Not because they can’t find the right words, but because they don’t know what to expect either – in typical DJ HEARTSTRING fashion, nothing is planned. Most of the time, they’ll decide on their first track when they’re already stood in the booth with a sea of expectant smartphones pointing in their direction. Aside from their intuition, the location they find themselves in also has a hand in the type of set they’ll play: more obscure selections may suit an intimate crowd at Offenbach’s Robert Johnson compared to the vast halls of Manchester’s Depot Mayfield, for instance. Either way, phrases like ‘music that makes you want to call your mum’ or ‘falling in love with a stranger music’, as a fan once put it, are what clubbers should expect.

The nostalgic and euphoric charm which defines DJ HEARTSTRING’s sound partly arose from the twosome’s uncertainty concerning the return of clubbing after the pandemic. Nearly five years later, and with a growing number of beloved spaces like Watergate (which they call the home of Teenage Dreams) and Wilde Renate succumbing to steep rent increases and stricter licensing, how do they feel? “It’s really sad, especially with Watergate,” Jonas says, explaining that his coping mechanism is to believe that such depressive developments could give way to something new, and hopefully, better. “I think there’s going to be more of an underground scene, like more raves with unofficial structures,” Leo adds. “That’s what Berlin was like before our time, and maybe it’s what it needs right now.”

Alongside the release of their new EP and the arrival of their Mixmag cover, Valentine’s Day also marks one of the boys biggest live moments so far, with thousands set to descend upon Camden landmark The Roundhouse to swap their usual date nights for a sold-out evening of heartfelt dance tunes. “It’s definitely corny as fuck,” they laugh, the cliché glaringly obvious. “But when we saw it landed on a Friday we knew we had to do something.”

Of course, DJ HEARTSTRING aren’t the first – and most certainly won’t be the last – to put feeling at the forefront of their sound, evident in the come-up of TDJ, Pretty Girl and former collaborator Narciss, all of whom also channel emotions into their trance-inflicted, club-orientated offering. At a time when nostalgia has become a ruling theme of most aspects of our culture, and amid a landscape of growing economic, environmental and political instability, listeners are searching for music to turn their sights inward and cast their minds back. Clearly, they’ve found the answer in the music of two down-to-earth mates from Berlin.

Jonas and Leo, on the other hand, are looking forwards. Striking a balance between touring and time off is on their agenda for 2025, as is deciding what to release from the heap of material they’re comfortably sitting on. “For us, releasing music is very intuitive and emotional,” Leo explains, claiming they have around five to 10 projects they could release at any moment. “Since we care so much about it, sometimes it’s a bit hard to be like, ‘Ah fuck it, let’s just release this’.” With so much music on their hands – including some big collaborations in the works and samples yet to be cleared – they still want each project to have its moment to shine.

“We also don’t like to decide on anything too early – we’re not good at setting a schedule for a year because we care a lot about what we release and how we do it.” If you haven’t guessed by now, nothing is planned too far in advance with these two – so trying to predict what’s on the cards this year could prove difficult (although they’ve got a goal to release a bigger body of work, so watch this space).

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day – which I’ve inferred might be their favourite date in the calendar – the only appropriate way to end our interview is to ask DJ HEARTSTRING to reflect on one of the most important relationships: their own. Jonas’ fun-loving outlook and quick decision making in the studio (which he calls a collaboration of his ADHD and impatience) are Leo’s favourite traits belonging to his fellow clubland cupid. For Jonas, it’s Leo’s unrelenting commitment to the music. “At first, I wanted to play every show and tour every weekend, but Leo was the one reminding me to chill and focus on the music. He was really right – I didn’t get it at first, but now I do.” Music comes first for today’s most prominent (and accidental) dancefloor matchmakers. Nothing else, they say, matters.

They use the metaphor that Leo is in the driving seat, while Jonas has a map to hand on the passenger side, telling them where to go. “It’s true both in a metaphoric and literal sense,” Jonas laughs. “Because I quite literally don’t have a driving license, so Leo is the one that has to drive us around everywhere.”

However they get from A to B – on the road or in the studio – one thing is for certain when it comes to dance music’s most instinctive, life-affirming duos: their future is as bright as the trail of international dancefloor joy they’ve paved so far.

'You Are The Sun, I Am The Sky' is out now, get it here

Jordan Page is a freelance writer, follow him on Twitter