A native of Erfurt in central Germany, Mary Yalex has been residing in Leipzig for the past decade, a city with a suitably industrial past that’s often reflected in her own music. Like many in her chosen field, Yalex grew up in a musical home, with a piano-playing mother who passed along a deep appreciation of classical music. From an electronic music perspective, hers is a story that can be traced back to a teenage obsession with all things Warp Records, a future-facing British outfit with a sound that seemed a million miles away from the streets of Erfurt. As such, Yalex is a live act who boasts a complex sound palette — and one that’s as likely to incorporate house and techno sounds as it is to veer toward more ambient planes.

Prior to her move to Leipzig, Yalex spent much of the early ‘00s in Austria, a move that would play a profound effect on her musical make-up. While here, she immersed herself in electronic music and spent years learning to master a diverse array of synths and samplers. Reinvigorated by her appreciation of hardware, she decamped to Leipzig soon after, from where she launched her Mary Yalex project, as well as its accompanying label, Yalex Recordings.