Shaping Chaos / Lene Ma Rue

Music / Cover Story & Exclusive shoot by Nasty.

Lene Ma Rue starring in this NASTY Digital cover story while opening up about reclaiming the raw freedom of underground culture, the tension between chaos and control, and the emotional depth that drives her sound. From the first off-location raves in Estonia to major international stages, she reflects on the evolution of her scene and spirit.

You were the first artist to revive off-location warehouse culture in Estonia when the country’s techno scene was still very club-centric. When you think about those early events, what were the core values or aesthetics you were trying to protect that you felt club environments couldn’t hold anymore?

When I started organizing off-location events, I wasn’t trying to recreate something foreign — I wanted to reclaim something that felt real and fresh for our scene in Estonia. But to be honest, it all began because the Estonian nightlife just didn’t excite me anymore. And as an extra push, I got banned from the biggest underground club in here. Everything felt flat, so I decided to do it myself. At that point, I’d been going to a lot of events in Estonia, and I couldn’t stop noticing how much better they could be. I didn’t know exactly how, but I had this weird confidence that I could fix it. I wanted something raw again. Warehouses gave me that freedom: no rules, no hierarchy, no pretending to be someone. Just respect and intense energy. One night where nobody’s a label, not rich or poor, weird or cool, Estonian or not. Just human. I wanted that chaos, that risk, that feeling that the whole thing could fall apart at any second, because that’s when it feels real. The nights in Paljassaare harbour were special because everyone there chose to be there. You couldn’t just stumble in like at a club. You had to find it. And when a crowd comes together like that, something wild happens: tension, unity, emotion. That’s what I wanted to protect.

Warehouse raves demand a different level of risk, logistics, and secrecy, from sound systems and architecture to working around local regulations. What was the biggest lesson from building those events from scratch, and how has that shaped how you curate raves today?

The biggest thing I learned is that chaos only works if there’s structure behind it. You can’t just wing it and call it underground. If you want true freedom, you need to make sure the foundation — electricity, safety, logistics, production — is solid. The biggest personal fear was electricity, whether the system could actually handle a production of that scale. I went through all the industrial current documentation, made sure everything was correct on paper, but that little fear stayed with me until the very end of my first warehouse event. That night, the police kept driving past and eventually came to the door, but since everything was done properly, nothing happened.  But the whole time, I was playing out every possible scenario in my head, what if they shut us down. Honestly, being the artist/DJ, driver, promoter, lineup curator, video-editor, bar support, photoshop specialist, accountant, logistics manager, stage builder, social media person, art exhibition adviser, food truck coordinator, furniture mover, decorator, stage production contact and basically the cleaner at the end—next time I might skip a few of those roles. Even though it was exhausting, I’m deeply grateful to my friends who stood by me through all of it and helped make it happen.  And when it comes to collaboration, choose the right agencies to work with. Some care about building real scenes, some don’t.

Artists from smaller scenes often have to fight twice, first for space, then for recognition. How has coming from Estonia shaped your hunger, your aesthetic, and your sense of responsibility toward your community?

Being from Estonia gives you this mix of pride and frustration. It’s a small scene, everyone knows each other, but it’s also full of people trying to build something real with almost no infrastructure. You can’t just wait for opportunities here — you have to create them yourself, and there’s a certain hunger that comes with that. You learn to do things yourself, build your own context, your own crowd. But there’s also a quiet understanding that we’re all in it together, because it’s fragile. Growth isn’t easy. Just looking at how many DJs have actually made it in Estonia, shows how tough it can be. In bigger countries, there might be more chances, but also more noise. You often need your own country to believe in you before anyone else does, and even though Estonia is tiny, that belief can feel powerful. I’m incredibly grateful for all the support I’ve felt here — it truly feels like everyone’s got my back, and that means the world to me. That experience — trying to create something from almost nothing — definitely shaped not just how I work, but how I sound. My sound comes from that tension, uplifting energy that hides a lot underneath. I feel responsible for keeping space open for others who don’t fit the norm, people like me who never wanted to play by the “right” rules but still have something real to say.

In the early stage of your career you were both selecting music and selecting spaces, two forms of curation. How did those dual roles influence your sound? Do you feel your music today still belongs to a space before it belongs to a crowd?

They’ve always been connected. When I think about a space, I hear how sound travels through it. I know how bass behaves in concrete, how reverb moves down a tunnel. That shaped everything, what I played, how I mixed, and later, how I produce. Music belongs to me but the same time music belongs to everyone. That’s a lovely paradox. It also belongs to everything that inspires me: human movement, high ceilings, grey mud, dark liquid, sharp teeth, throwing up, etc. There are a lot of weird things that inspire me.

You’ve said unpredictability matters to you. In an era where many DJs chase viral drops and linear festival formulas, how do you avoid becoming “algorithmic,” both musically and in your career decisions?

Unpredictability is everything. I never want to be predictable, not in sets, not in career choices. The moment I start playing for algorithms or crowd reactions, I don’t want it. I stay intuitive. Sometimes I play something that makes the room still instead of explode, and I’m okay with that. I’d rather make people feel something uncomfortable than just keep them entertained. Same goes for my career. I say no to things that don’t align, even if they make sense on paper. I don’t want to be branded. I want to stay human. Chaos keeps me grounded and that’s why I started this.

Your sound is intense and confrontational, but emotion is usually born from something deeply personal. When you strip away the volume and machinery, what feeling actually drives your artistic core?

Under all the noise, there’s just longing. A deep need to connect, but not through small talk, through energy, emotion, something physical.

The distortion isn’t anger,  it’s release. My core emotion is tenderness, but it comes out through confrontation. I want people to feel seen, but also challenged. I don’t make music for escape. I make it for awakening and experience.

The Hyperdreams chapter marks a new era for you. What drew you to them, and what makes their approach resonate with you?

Hyperdreams feels like home. They’re not just an agency. They’re people who actually care. I can call them, talk honestly, and never feel like a product. What I love most is how diverse their roster is. Everyone has their own sound, their own world. They give me total freedom. It’s structured yet human, professional yet personal. I feel supported, but never controlled. That balance is rare. They’re also hosting a Hyperdreams festival soon, where I’ll be playing. It’s going to be something special — filled with unique live acts from artists stepping into new territory. I’m really proud to be part of it.

The return of fast techno has attracted younger crowds who romanticize “hard” aesthetics without understanding the politics behind rave culture. Do you think our generation has lost some of rave’s original meaning, and can it be reclaimed?

Yes, I think many people only see the surface — the strobe lights, the black clothes, the speedof music — and sometimes forget what it all stood for. Rave was never just about going hard. It was about freedom, about rejecting systems that tried to define who you should be. It was political, emotional, messy. Now, a lot of it feels like branding.

But I also get it — every generation finds its own way into the culture. You can’t gatekeep energy. What matters is reminding people why this scene existed in the first place: to connect those who didn’t fit anywhere else. And honestly, if the crowd and the DJ are having fun, no one’s harmed, everyone’s respectful, and the next night’s already something to look forward to— why make a big deal out of it? Proper or not, let the crowd dance. 

Across your journey from the first warehouse raves in Estonia to stages like Verknipt, Unreal, and Spazio900, you’ve taken on multiple roles: DJ, curator, organiser. If you had to describe yourself now, stripped of labels and projects, who is Lene Ma Rue as an artist?

I’m nobody, but at the same time, I’m everything. I dissolve into the music, the crowd, the light, the sound, and the space around me. I don’t see myself as one fixed thing — I shift, adapt, disappear, and reappear through sound. Lene Ma Rue isn’t a person as much as a reflection of the moment — a presence, a feeling that only exists when the music is there.

SÜRRYARD 2026 seems to embrace the raw, underground energy of warehouse raves. How do you approach curating an experience that balances that intensity with the new directions you hinted at for next year?

SÜRRYARD 2026 is bringing the iconic warehouse raves back, dirty, free, intense. It’s not about trends, it’s about new experiences. Those spaces hold something real, no polish, no control, just people losing themselves completely in sound and light. It’s sad to say, but I feel like the Estonian event culture is slowly fading. I just want to bring some excitement and spark back into people’s lives. Like Christmas, but for adults. Next year I want to improve a lot of aspects, add more visual art, more immersive light, more weird, unexpected moments.

For someone coming to SÜRRYARD for the first time, I want them to leave with a feeling, „where the hell was I?“, but in the best way possible. I want it to feel like you were part of something that shouldn’t exist, something wild, temporary and surreal. Anyone who’s ever been to the Paljassaare raves knows exactly what I mean.

Shaping Chaos / Lene Ma Rue

Credits:

Talent: Lene Ma Rue / @lene.ma.rue
Photography: Marco Giuliano / @marcogiulianoph
Styling: Anca Macavei / @ancamacavei
Makeup: Elena Gentile / @elenagentilemuah
Assistants: Leslie Guerra, Nehir Kamasak / @leslieguerraa @nehirkamasak
Interview: Irina Klisarova / @its.irka.bitch
Location: Multiset Studio Mecenate / @multisetstudio_mecenate

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