With her latest single Infinity gaining support from some of techno’s biggest names and TMPL Music preparing for its own stage takeover at Forbidden Forest, ADRIANNA is entering one of the most exciting chapters of her career. Beyond the releases, festivals and growing label, her focus remains firmly on connection — to music, to people and to the moments that stay with us long after the dancefloor empties. We caught up with ADRIANNA to talk about Infinity, building TMPL, creative freedom and what keeps her grounded as both an artist and label founder.
Interview With ADRIANNA:
Congratulations on the release of “Infinity” and everything you’ve been building with TMPL Music. With the new track out, strong support from key names in techno, and TMPL’s upcoming stage takeover at Forbidden Forest, 2025 is clearly shaping up to be a very important chapter for you.
Thanks so much for the chat!
“Infinity” is your latest release on TMPL. What was the starting point for the track, and what did you want it to express?
Personally, I wanted to create something that would hit hard on the dance floor. The track is super uplifting with a strong buildup, big acid line and powerful vocal. The sub bass in the breakdown really shakes on a great system which is the exact energy I wanted to capture. That part of the track, the inspiration came from a Gorgon City track called Foggy Geezer. I played it at Forbidden Forest in 2022 and my cheeks were shaking. Having support on this one from Lilly Palmer has been incredible.
Looking back over the past year, what’s been the most meaningful moment for you either personally or through TMPL?
About three months after a set that wasn’t one of my favourites (the club and crowd were great, I just tend to overanalyse things sometimes and I’m working on it), I received a DM. It was a set from 3–5 AM and I wasn’t fully in the flow 100% (it happens sometimes). Anyways, the meaning came from the DM, it was from someone who told me that was the last night they spent with their friend before they passed and how much they loved the music and the night. Sometimes I get messages like this and even as I’m writing this it makes me stop. I just get how it feels to have music, dance and art be a way to connect to the most precious moments and to remember. Yeah, it means much more than words can express. And sometimes the most meaningful moments don’t have to be mine.
TMPL has evolved into much more than just a label. Did that broader direction with events and stage takeovers happen naturally, or was it always part of the vision?
I wanted a label from a really young age. I had taken different courses on small business and branding over the years but without executing serious action. I released music independently previously, but when TMPL Music started (Formally Temple House Music) I wanted to take everything I’d learnt from self-releasing and marketing and go a step further. I was playing regularly for a brand in the midlands and as my sound was getting harder, they asked if I wanted to host my own stage at a festival. After that we decided to build a tour around my release “Wild Electric”. I have a great team of people around me and have learnt so much about being an artist through promoting events. It really sheds light on a side of the industry you wouldn’t normally see the same way. How much work, investment, time and care goes into every release, every party. We are constantly working to improve the brand quality and experience.
This year TMPL is hosting its own stage at Forbidden Forest alongside artists like Nicole Moudaber and Pan-Pot. What does that milestone represent for you?
It’s a huge milestone for me. Its 10 years of the festival in existence, and I’ve been booked the last 5. I’m playing twice; on the Arcadia Spider as well as hosting our own TMPL Stage. I’ve been inspired by Nicole Moudaber for a long time. When I first saw her DJ’ing I was blown away by her energy. It was so important for me to see a woman like her with that strength and power, she’s a pioneer and an icon. Pan-Pot have released some of my favourite music and it’s been so great to connect with them. People were DM’ing me to let me know they were supporting Never Never Land, released on TMPL Music before I’d seen it. It’s always amazing to come across the footage and see it end up all over the world in front of all these people.
Your sound has always stayed very focused and true to your vision. Have you ever felt pressure to follow trends in techno, and how do you stay grounded in your own direction?
I wouldn’t say I follow trends, but I don’t mind being introduced. I am a bit of a sponge and love to evolve. Also, I like the dancefloor to move so if something is working and I like it too, I want to please the dancers, but I also don’t want to feel boxed into one sound. We are educating each other; it’s the symbiosis of it all. It’s important for me to try new things, test new things, get the feedback from the floor. Mix in a different way to convince, to explore. For me personally the worst thing I can do is feel like I’m playing it safe. I don’t want to be predictable. For my own self, I have to stay inspired, to be alone, be in nature, test new sounds, hear new instruments, I need to practise and hear keys clashing, make mistakes, I need to be on the dancefloor not talking to anyone. I need to hear the best DJs in the world mixing 3 or 4 decks and be slightly out of time and the audience still going mad. These moments give me courage to make mistakes and feel grounded in a world built to make us feel inadequate.
Your music often balances driving club energy with a more emotional side. When you’re working in the studio, what usually leads the process – feeling, rhythm, or something else?
I used to follow a very strict formula, how I was taught in school but now it usually starts with an idea. I did a lot of collaborations this year with other producers and with vocalists. They kept me in good spirits and light. I’ve been focused working on a musical project over the last nine months or so where I gave a lot of my attention and energy. Most of the songs started on the piano. It was great to work with others to keep the balance and not become too introverted or self-focused. At the end of the day, I’m making dance music. I want to make music to trigger people’s emotions, but I would love to make music that makes people sometimes think too, whether that be through intricate rhythmic patterns, lyrics or uncommon modulation.
Support from artists like Charlotte de Witte, Adam Beyer, Joseph Capriati, and Nicole Moudaber is a huge milestone. How do you personally experience moments like that? Do they still feel surreal, or more like part of the journey now?
It feels amazing every time. The first major support I saw was from Nicole Moudaber on the Monika Kruse Remix of Wild Electric. She started her radio show with it and I was just shocked, like “That’s my song!”. Yeah, it’s exciting when people are telling you they heard your music at a festival or club or Spotify or anything else. I forget a lot of the time how it lives on. The journey from idea to project to label to release by the time it’s out, it’s often months or over a year since creation and then someone tags you years later that they found your track, and it meant something. That’s the power of music.
Is there anything happening in techno right now that genuinely excites you or influences where you see the genre heading?
I feel like genres sort of split and recycle all the time, some of the techno is obviously so fast and some is more hardgroove and of course there are the trance elements. I like to mix it up which you can hear in my sets, production or the different labels like Terminal M, Tonic and Kurai.
Running a label, touring, and producing all at once must come with a lot of intensity. How do you protect your creative space and avoid burnout?
I never feel bad for sleeping, if I can I rest as much as possible. I try to eat clean and run in nature. I have a good therapist and distance myself from people who throw jabs or worse. This has been the hardest part but the most valuable lesson. Sometimes wanting to be good or nice is overextending and sacrificing yourself and I stopped doing that. I only started listening to my gut in the last couple years. I actively spent years trying to deny it. Giving myself the time and space to get honest with myself, process, accept. It’s been the best thing I could do to be able to move forward in a way I couldn’t before. Just taking care of my nervous system to the best of my ability. People are important, the right people, that feel safe, that understand or at least can genuinely care. It doesn’t have to be many and if you haven’t found them yet just know they are out there.
When someone experiences a TMPL event for the first time, what kind of feeling or atmosphere do you hope they leave with?
I want them to feel elation of course. Also, safe, at home, connected. I love it when people tell me they came alone or that they keep coming back to our events. Come to dance, hear the music, go on the journey. I want them to feel welcomed, moved or whatever it is they need to feel to leave with something of value.
Looking ahead, what feels most important to you right now as an artist and as the person behind TMPL?
The project I’ve been working on is important to me. I’m aiming to release around ADE. As the person behind the brand just to keep showing up, learning and adapting. We have some great artists releasing on our label this year and more exciting events in London and Europe. It’s exciting times.
