Italian-born, Berlin-based DJ and producer Budino present the 4th edition of "The Sound Of Love International" compilation. It's a fantastically curated music journey that showcases DJ's distinct taste.

It was right at the beginning of the pandemic when I had Valentina Budino on the phone. An interview we arranged before we even knew what was coming up in the next two years. We talked about her interest in the music and equipment of the 80s, how she discovers the history of Italian electronic music from that time and how important it is to learn more about the past.

Budino is considered a so-called "crate-digger", which means she is one of those vinyl lovers who spend hours trying to find that one track of a B-side from an overlooked record. And this is where we can start to connect the dots. It's her enthusiasm for the history of electronic music that drives her deep into the archives, where she finds the kind of music that makes up her distinctive DJ sets.

Where does her interest in old music come from, I wanted to know from her and she said that since she is still quite young, even music from the 2000s is still new to her: "Because even if I heard the music somewhere, I can't remember it. This means that everything I listen to today is interesting and new," and she continued, "Another point is that I like the sound aesthetics of analogue instruments. Especially in the 80s, there was a lot of experimentation with analogue equipment and there was the spirit to combine it with all kinds of instruments."

So it's not surprising that Budino took the opportunity to put together a wide range of styles when compiling The Sound Of Love International compilation. From Proto-House to Tribal Ambience to Industrial EBM to Balearic Dance, everything is there. And that's what makes Budino such an interesting DJ and (yes, we have to use this word) selector.

On that call two years ago, I also wanted to know about her own productions. At the time she was enthusiastic, but didn't want to go into further detail and just told me: "I hope to release something before the end of the year." And here we are. In the meantime, she has her debut on the Oddysee label's Fundraiser compilation and also on their compilation.

Although she once said it was a problem that her musical taste is very broad because that would mean her productions are very different: "One day I'll make a slow 90s track and the next a techno-piece with Italo influence."

The compilation is a perfect symbiosis, a collage of music that only makes sense when DJs like Budino play it one after the other. It's this kind of selection that many - like me - love, but which is still a niche. It's good that this compilation exists now. It opens ears to the "quirky" music that doesn't fit into a certain genre and hopefully opens up more platforms to play or listen to it.

Words by Dominik André. He writes about DJ culture, music nerd stuff and sometimes shares thoughts about the music business. He runs the record label Subject To Restrictions Discs.