El Tony Mate’s Selected Sessions series just came to Basel for a special show at the famous fondue bar Hafechäs. The invite-only event on April 9 brought together only 75 carefully chosen guests for a night of cutting-edge electronic music in a small space.
Sofia Kourtesis, a Peruvian house and techno artist who was recently on the cover of Mixmag and announced as a DJ-Kicks artist for March 2026, led the session. Swiss selector Sebastian Konrad joined her, which gave the small Basel showcase a strong local presence.
The event itself was only for a small group of people, but El Tony Mate has now made it available to a larger audience. You can now watch Sofia Kourtesis’ full set on YouTube. Later this week, Sebastian Konrad’s performance is also expected to come out.
The Basel edition is part of El Tony Mate’s larger Selected Sessions idea, which is a series of small electronic music events held in unique locations across Europe. Instead of using traditional club settings, the project puts well-known international artists and up-and-coming local talent in unexpected places. This makes the music, the place, and the audience feel more connected.
Some of the places where past Selected Sessions have been held are Hafechäs in Basel, Merguez Fripe in Marseille, Condomerie in Amsterdam, Amira Barbershop in Zurich, and La Taqueria in Zurich. El Tony Mate has invited DJs like DJ Tennis, Sofia Kourtesis, Young Marco, and EDE from Innervisions to play at the event series, along with carefully chosen local artists.
Flo Würgler, the Marketing Director at El Tony Mate, says that the goal of Selected Sessions is to bring electronic music back to its roots, where culture, creativity, and people come together. El Tony Mate is known for its natural energy drink in the club scene, but it has also started to go beyond being just a drinks brand.
This method is part of El Tony Mate’s larger Culture Collective wing, which brings together music, art, events, and creativity through a community-led focus. In addition to the Selected Sessions, the brand also helps new talent by running DJ academies all over Europe and producer academies in Ibiza. These programs help train the next generation of electronic artists.
El Tony Mate’s Selected Sessions are still a better way to program brand-led music: they bring together well-known international artists with up-and-coming local scenes. The focus is on connection, creativity, and giving back to the communities that shape modern electronic music.
