I first came across the DJ duo NFKS just before their event with Teenage Mutants in Prague last November. I was curious about their energy and style and knew I wanted to interview them. However, thanks to my less-than-perfect time management, it’s taken me a while to make it happen. Now, at the start of 2025—long after their event—I finally had the chance to sit down with them. Better late than never, right? Let’s dive in!
NFKS is a dynamic techno duo formed by Natasha Salehi (U.S.) and Florian Kappe (Germany), now based in Prague. They met during ADE 2023 in Amsterdam, where their shared love for techno and a few afterparties turned into a powerful collaboration. Known for their relentless yet melodic sets, NFKS has quickly made a name for themselves at iconic venues in Prague like CrossClub, Jilska22, and Vzorkovna, as well as at Aldea Club in Bratislava.
Influenced by artists like Enrico Sangiuliano, Joyhauser, Space 92, and Teenage Mutants, their sound blends deep basslines, soaring synths, and hypnotic rhythms, creating a perfect fusion of intensity and euphoria. They’ve even hosted their first event, BERLIN RAVE, alongside Teenage Mutants under their label TRAGEDIE at Altenburg 1964.
Kouzelná: Tell us your story! How did an American DJ and a German DJ end up teaming up, and what eventually led you both to Prague?
F: Wow, this is a big question.. My personal story started 6 years ago in Prague. No music at all, just business and friends. I was a tennis player from Frankfurt. In my earlier days I practiced in Olomouc, fell in love with the Czech Republic and came back after having spent time in many different places. Nonetheless, while Natasha is an electronic music journalist, I developed a love for Techno roughly two years ago at a rave in Prague. We both met in Amsterdam during ADE 2023 on the street by coincidence.
N: Florian came stumbling out of the Drumcode Pop-Up store all sweaty because he was dancing so much and he got my attention. I asked if they were having such a great time there, and he said yeah it’s amazing, that he’s friends with the DJ currently playing, Space 92, who I was supposed to interview. So we exchanged Instagrams and phone numbers because we were going to the same party later that evening. We ended up on our first date without us even knowing it.
F: Since then, we became a couple and started DJing almost instantly when she came to meet me in Prague – which was one week after meeting at ADE. We’ve embarked on a DJ journey, at the beginning just as fun and very quickly we saw that there might be something in us with potential to grow in the industry. We have now become producers and are going full on.
Where did the name NFKS come from? Does it have a special meaning, or is there a story behind choosing it as your DJ duo name?
F: NFKS stands for Natasha – Florian Kappe – Salehi. Our full names combined. It came up because we made jokes about what Natasha’s Surname would be, if we marry.
N: or it can stand for “no fucks”. I think the double meaning fits nicely lol
Your event with Teenage Mutants sounded incredible! You mentioned it was crazy – the first time TM brought a proper Berlin underground style to Prague. How did the idea for this unique event come together, and who originally suggested bringing Teenage Mutants to Prague?
N: This was Flo’s idea.
F: After seeing Teenage Mutant’s Beats for Love 2022 set and Space 92’s Gravity set in 2023, respectively, I got hooked. They changed my life. Natasha knew the DJs from her connection as a journalist, having interviewed Space 92 before.
N: The first set Flo and I saw together was Teenage Mutants in the Drumcode Pop-Up store the day after we met. Flo had been wanting to throw an event ever since. So as a thank you to Teenage Mutants for being a part of changing our lives, Flo spoke to Chris from TMs about throwing a party in Prague, and he said he loved the idea. They also met the same day Flo and I met.
(You can see us not shutting the fuck up in the crowd here lol. I was also preparing for an interview mid-set:)
F: Teenage Mutants allowed us to host a party under their label Tragedie. This was a huge honor for us especially being featured on the lineup.
N: Teenage Mutants have played in Prague before, but we felt they needed a new home to really showcase their sound in a proper way and in the right environment – a deep, dark, dirty, techno rave – the way we like it.
Altenburg was the backdrop for your event, but are there other clubs or venues in Prague that have captured your interest? Where else do you enjoy performing or hanging out?
F: We have a residency at Prague’s after hour venue LeClan and have played several gigs in smaller venues. We are of course open for bookings, but since we want to be proper, we’re working hard on producing our first tracks so that we will be booked by major clubs in CZ and Germany for our unique sound that we’re working on.
N: We played in Vzorkovna once because they were having technical difficulties so we brought our controller and our energy! The tourists didn’t seem to want us to stop! Since I am new to Prague, Flo gave me a tour of the nightlife in the city. We’ve gone to Altenburg 1964, Jilska22, now Pulse22, where we’ve played many times and Cross Club where Flo stood in once for a no-show DJ. We go to LeClan, Fuchs2, Swim (literally an empty swimming pool turned into an after-hours club), Bike Jesus, and of course the more mainstream Roxy, EPIC, and Duplex. I still haven’t been to Studio 54. There are many underground parties here where you can find all sorts of electronic music in the basements of bars: DnB, hard techno, psytrance…
As DJs with unique backgrounds, how do your styles influence each other? What is it like blending your musical tastes when you’re creating a set?
F: To be honest, what people love about our sets is that we of course both love Peak-Time / Driving Techno, but each of us in a slightly different range. Natasha plays a more melodic, vocal approach towards Peak-Time, and I play a rather harder driving sound. Both blend super well together and we are super proud that we are able to create stories in every set we play.
N: Flo loves to throw in a bass heavy trance track for emotion and sometimes I like a more aggressive sound with a little bit of acid. We compliment each other well. Also our influences in music are compatible. We both were heavily influenced by alternative / grunge rock and happened to listen to a lot of the same music growing up. Of course, while educating each other on local artists that we wouldn’t know otherwise being born and raised in completely different cities and countries.
As Natasha is from America and you’re from Germany, here’s a fun question: if I asked you where techno music was truly born, what would your answer be? Everyone knows Detroit is the birthplace of techno, but there’s that friendly rivalry between Germany and Detroit.
F: Ha! When I was a small kid (I’m born ‘88) my sister’s boyfriends were DJs in Paramount Park in Frankfurt, which was the club back then. I thought Techno came originally from Berlin and Frankfurt, but seeing the timeline, I think Jeff Mills being from the U.S., we grant them the first steps. Nonetheless, electric sounds were born almost simultaneously across the ocean. They were different though. American sounds are more raw. German sounds rather Trance and Minimal.
N: Being that I am from America, I was downloading electronic music at 11-14 years old on Limewire. I would search “Tiesto” and download any tracks that came up, which I’m sure included Armin van Buuren, Ferry Corsten, these sorts of names. We also had Daft Punk on the radio, so I assumed all electronic music came from Europe. Of course, as an adult, I learned their origins.
What’s next for NFKS? Are there any upcoming projects or events we should keep an eye out for?
F: We’re planning another major event for the first quarter of 2025 with a brutal lineup. Our goal on top of that is to get bookings in Prague’s hottest venues and Berlin. Obviously, we want to show the world what we produce and can’t wait to release our first tracks. We’re fortunate that we’re friends with many major DJs, who support us in everything we do. If what we produce has a good core and we have the right contacts, that makes us super excited!
N: I would love for us to secure another residency. We also want to throw a party for charity in Prague. I’ve been working on writing again, something I parted ways with as a teenage girl. I think my vocals inspire Flo, so I’m excited to write and see my words / feelings come to life in music – a dream come true!