Music
Schranz Will Never Die: NIKOLINA's guide to the blistering techno subgenre in 10 tracks
Flying the flag for Germany's breakneck techno offshoot, NIKOLINA picks out some of her favourite schranz bangers
The blistering sound of schranz, an offshoot of hard techno formed in Germany in the early '90s, is tearing back to the fore on today's dancefloors. Alongside global headliners such as Klangkuenstler and Sara Landry incorporating schranz into their sets, a new generation of Deutschland-hailing DJs such as NIKOLINA, Adrián Mills, Johannes Schuster, CLOUDY, and more, are helping to push the sound forward in 2026.
Coined by Hesse-born techno wizard Chris Liebing, schranz — which roughly translates to "crap" in English — is distinguishable by its rapid-fire utilisation of loops, groove and its industrial edge, fluctuating between the 140 to 150 BPM mark. The genre has long been beloved by German audiences, however, as the speed-hungry masses look for their next obsession, you'll now hear blistering schranz rhythms at Manchester's The Warehouse Project, Belgium's Tomorrowland, and soon London's The Cause as we prepare to welcome NIKOLINA to The Mixmag Lab with Azyr & Friends on April 12.
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An affiliate of Berlin fashion label-cum-rave promoter NAKT, NIKOLINA first began performing in 2021, finding an obsession with schranz from the get-go. Since then, she's held her very own all-night-long show at Manchester's Hidden with Teletech, created a schranz Spartacus situation during a set at Karlsruhe's Gotec, and commanded over thousands at Poland's Parada Wolności (AKA Freedom Parade) in Łódź.
To give us a taste of what we can expect from her Mixmag Lab debut at The Cause next month, we asked the German speed queen to pick out some of her essential schranz bangers featuring tracks from SNTØ, Marco Leckbert, RYX, INSTIGATOR and many more.
1 NIKOLINA ‘No More Lies’
“My favourite is my own because I processed so many emotions with this track. For me, it represents the closure of a difficult time in my life.”
2 SNTØ ‘In Your Face’
“This track always drives the crowd forward. I love how the bassline goes deep into your body.”
3 Loreen ‘Tattoo’ (SCHLASS & RYX Schranz Edit)
“I love playing this track, it creates a special atmosphere on the dancefloor every single time.”
4 Marco Leckbert ‘I Don’t Care Who’s Next’
“Perfectly combines the groove I love while being slightly aggressive at the same time.”
5 Lightforce ‘Join Me’ (Extended Schranz Rework)
“My favourite closing track.”
6 RYX ‘Alles Brennt’ (Nachtigaller Remix)
“I love the emotions this track creates. It’s got a strong German vocal in it.”
7 Jason Little vs ASIN ‘Knocks’ (Instigator Remix)
“One of my all-time favourites, I’ll never get tired of playing this track. It includes a sample from my favourite TV series Breaking Bad.”
8 INSTIGATOR ‘Blue Foot’ (Original Mix)
“Instigator is one of my absolute favourite schranz producers, with a classic old skool schranz track.”
9 Barka & Taris ‘Hands Up’
“I love how this mixes different genres and kicks together.”
