“It’s very difficult to choose just ten!” says Margaret Dygas. “I’ve also chosen five albums. Can I mention those too?” Sorry, but rules are rules. “Well, I managed to get it down to fifteen singles and five albums this afternoon. It’s been really heartbreaking to take five off of the list, you know?"

Margaret speaks English with a kind of transnational 21st century accent (although she didn’t know the word for “goosebumps”: “I’ve chosen records that give me chicken skin” she charmingly put it). The accent is the product of a childhood spent in Poland and San Jose, then variously in New York, London and now Berlin. These days you can catch her spinning the German capital at haunts such as Panoramabar, Watergate and Club Der Visionaire as well as other hotspots around Europe. Any parties you are looking forward to this summer, Margaret? “Definitely Club Der Visionare. Something by the sea. Er, by the river. By water. Whatever! Just give me a blow up pool and I’m happy.”

Berlin is a bit of a change from London, where she lived from 1999 until recently, but you get the sense that it’s a change that suits her. “London was more electro-based. Or more drum n’ bass. Like Fridays at Fabric – that’s one of the biggest nights. It’s only recently that Fabric started to shake things up a little bit, bringing different people from everywhere, in particular from Germany.” So did you find it difficult to pick up records there? “Before Phonica there wasn’t many record shops to go to. I used to buy records in a shop which had skating gear on top and then records downstairs. I forget the name.” So you’re spending too much money on records now? “Yeah, at Hardwax and Rotation. Because here you have so much choice. You can come home with thirty records every week. Whereas in London maybe you get five. And I think it’s kind of geared to the obvious ones, where here the smaller labels can get a little bit more attention. I like that. And I do a little bit of downloading and I get some things sent to me as well. Not all of them are my kind of thing, but it’s really nice to get a wide range of what’s going on.”

So what kind of records make Margaret Dygas’ top ten? The interview actually turns out to be a bit of a chance for Margaret to reflect on what she really loves, and weirdly enough, that seems to boil down to three things: 1) hissing sounds 2) pianos and 3) bongos. “Bongos are good,” Margaret laughs. “I’m like a secret tribal girl, you know? Don’t tell anyone. It’s from when I used to go out in New York. That was the time the tribal house thing was going on, I was a big Danny Tenaglia fan. But don’t write that down.”

But readers need to know, Margaret.

“Well…you can write it down. You know, I started going out clubbing on a bigger scale in New York in the early nineties. We used to go to Twilo. Back then people weren’t really into DJ names, we were just going to a club to have a good time. So I have this love of bongos kind of engraved in me. Bongos and drums. I’m not ashamed of bongos.”

Enough bongo chat. Margaret’s tastes are a bit wider than that. There are also other ingredients (“I like my hi-hats of course,” she adds. “And bass, bass, bass.”), most important of which seems to be the individuality of producers: “With most of my picks, you know who it is without looking at the sleeve,” she explains. “I respect that. A lot of music coming out sounds a little bit alike - people copying people. You can’t say that’s bad necessarily, but I prefer it when producers develop their own thing.” Then there’s the groove: “I like to play mellow a little bit. I don’t like to bang it out as such. I don’t need to have people's hands in the air – it’s nice when it happens – but for me, I want to groove a little bit. Like ‘Different Places’. I could give you fifty records with that kind of groove. For me, it’s all about that vibe.”

Do you have any desire to produce yourself? “Oh, my first release, 'Day After’, has just come out on Contexterrior. That made me pretty nervous. It’s a really exciting moment for me. Because it took a while. It’s on the dubby side of things. No bongos, but maybe the next one!”

Here’s ten to raise the bumps on your skin:

Cassy – Somelightuntothenight [Beatstreet]

“Beatstreet actually do parties here in Berlin. They’re only once in a while, at “unknown locations”. Now they’ve started a label and this is their first release. I remember Cassy played the test pressing in Hardwax and from the first moment I was like “Okay, I have to have this.” When I started with this one in Panoramabar, it just…created an atmosphere. It’s pretty old school. Kind of housey. Very loopy. Okay, let’s play it. [plays record] That’s her singing on it as well. And I love the piano. Amazing. Really warm and summery. You need that in a set. As a first record, this would put the vibe into the right mood. When I bought it, I played it maybe five times in a row. Dancing with a friend in my room. And it has longevity, too. You can play it five years from now and it’s still going to give off just the same feeling.”

Ricardo Villalobos – 808 The Bassqueen/Clever 'n Smart – Filtadelic [Lo-Fi Stereo]

“This one I have memories of. I was out in a club and everyone started to sing it. I mean no one knew what they were singing because you don’t know what it’s saying. I was singing, too. Again it’s about the piano. I’m starting to realise more and more that the older I get, the more it’s about the pianos. It just gives me goosebumps! I like Ricardo’s experimental stuff, too. I call it 3D, you know? Three dimensional music. Like ‘Achso’ on Perlon – it’s just four completely different situations. I love the fact that he experiments like this because not many people do. It’s not just the same old thing. I like the B-side, too. Steve Bug. It works. Sometimes people do music because it’s going to work no matter what. It’s not for thinking too deep, it’s just for people to dance. From a DJ perspective, you can play this record and then the next one can have more of a surprise. Throw a Ricardo on afterwards, you know? Yeah, it’s a good combination. You have to have those records I think, the ones which aren’t science projects.”MySpace: Ricardo Villalobos – 808 The Bassqueen

Luciano – Bomberos/Octagonal

Luciano – Bomberos [Cadenza]

“This one doesn’t leave my bag. You play it in Spain and the bartenders jump over the bar onto the dancefloor. The toilet ladies come in. And the security guards. It’s a definite winner. I like when they start talking especially. It’s like glass breaking, something shaking...and the anticipation of the bass - you don’t know when it’s coming back in. I also really like to play it with the bass turned down [turns the bass down] Bongos! Let’s have some more bongos!"

Melchior Productions - Different Places [Perlon]

"Okay, no bongos. But pianos. I played this recently in the morning, like 10 or 11 a.m. You would think that this is kind of a warmup thing, but again, it’s where you place it. I tell you, this is really…can I say sexy? It’s a little sexy. [plays record] Could that be Baby Ford singing? Baby Ford, you’ve got a really nice voice. “I get lonely in different places.” I mean come on. What can you say about that? It’s hot! But this is the bit that I really love, the nutty bit. [plays the nutty bit]. A real surprise. This track has a real attention to detail. It constantly changes. It’s got different parts, and then at the end it goes really deep. Thomas Melchior is also an astronomer. He does stuff with the stars. I think there’s got to be some of that in there maybe."

Stephan Laubner/Ric Y Martin - Sommerpause

Stephan Laubner/Ric Y Martin - Sommerpause

Stephan Laubner – Portside Waves [Perlon]

"Another Perlon record. Sorry about that. But there are a few labels that I don’t really have to listen before I buy and Perlon is one of them. This is very dubby, slow, and also kind of techno. It’s really really phat. It’s a playground for me for playing with the bass. I’ll show you. If you turn the bass down…[turns bass down] see? Can you imagine that if you were in a club? The hissing sounds just sound really full in a club. It just surrounds you with sound. It’s like water, or an ocean…Perlon number 13 – you should really get it."

Lars M.O.D. & Dennis Schneider – Tango [Anlage E]

"This is an old one. I’ve looked up this label, and most of their releases are kind of hard techno. This is the only one I really like. I don’t know much about the artists, I’m sad to say, but I’ve had this record for maybe five or six years. It never leaves the bag – I always have it with me. It’s kind of my best friend. Notice those bongos again? It’s kind of a combination of just what we listened to, 'Portside Waves', and a little bit of something else. Again, you can play with the bass. It’s a really full sound. If you have a good soundsystem, this one will blow you away."

Various - Elektronische Musik Interkontinental 3

Various - Elektronische Musik Interkontinental 3

Oliver Hacke – Piscinespinne [Traum]

"Okay, check this out. You’re going to be surprised. This is the slowest of my selections. It’s very old, but it’s amazing. Another hissing one. Very atmospheric. It just…it takes over. This gives me chills – like every time I get goosebumps. Play this during the main hour at Club Der Visionaire, by the river in the sun, and it never fails. But it’s not a full-on track. Like this part, I mean…Can we just listen to this? [We listen] Whoa. It just surrounds you. I love those synths. You can leave this one on until the end."

Sound Stream – Love Jam

Sound Stream - Makin’ Love [Sound Stream]

"Now this is on a little bit of a different vibe. I’d most likely finish with this. It just works wonders. [plays record] You can mix it in and out for a long time because there’s not much to it. But there’s an anticipation of what’s going to happen. Old school house, you know? Or a bit of disco. And those pianos again. I’m telling you, take my word for it, it works. For example, at the Panoramabar once, this was my last record. What they do in Panoramabar is they open the shutters in the morning. Suddenly, there’s bright light and everyone’s full of energy. You feel like you are on holiday. And happy, you know? This is a happy track."

Monobox – Molecule EP

Monobox – Realm 3 [Logistic]

"I don’t know who is behind Monobox, to be quite honest, but this one is cool. When the hi-hats come in, it’s like “Wow. Hello!” It’s really simple but it just works wonders. I like the voices. It’s really trippy, loopy and kind of clean, you know – a nice combination. I like the whole record, but there is one particular moment – I'll play you it - it's a moment of ecstasy. I think you'll know what I mean. [plays moment of ecstasy] This part. What is it, a piano? A guitar? I just…love this."

Social Being – Free Your Mind [Tuning Spork Extra]

"Ricardo Villalobos and Jay Haze. It’s very summery and housey. It’s a having-a-good-time kind of tune, and I love that for the summer. A smile on your face and a shot of Jagermeister in your hand, you know? We need this kind of music as well. Really stripped down and clean music is good too, but it’s nice to see people are thinking about how to make different atmospheres in the club. And it’s thirteen minutes long so you can go to the toilet. You can leave the DJ booth and go for another shot with your friends and you don’t have to worry. When it’s thirteen minutes long, you feel relaxed. So I like that. I like long tracks. Give me more long tracks. Not six minutes, not five minutes – over ten minutes is perfect."