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18.
Josey Rebelle

"A few smashers, a few emotional ones. Listening back, I think I was maybe in a bit of a dark mood when I did this. The world feels fucked." —@JoseyRebelle

I was first introduced to Josey Rebelle after I was sent her RA mix by my friend Phil. It blew me away. Honestly is so empowering hearing a black woman own the music that’s such a rich part of our history but is typically played out by white men. It really changes everything and Josey is changing everything. This mix a brief and impressively in depth, history in music with genres that often get forgotten in the club punctuated with profound political statements that are regrettably so relevant right now. Her cross genre mixing is captivating and tells the story of where’s she’s emotionally at which we all need to be paying attention to. Check out her mix and Q+A below:

Tell us about this mix:

A few smashers, a few emotional ones. Listening back, I think I was maybe in a bit of a dark mood when I did this. The world feels fucked.

When did you start DJing?

In my early teens – but I was a very shy bedroom DJ for a long time. My brother taught me to mix on his house and techno collection, and at that time I was also obsessed with hardcore and jungle. But in terms of consistently playing out, it’s probably been around eight years or so.

First gig:

First time I played out in a proper club setting was when I was at university at a night run by the ‘Underground Dance Music Society’. Every club you could join at uni, like debating or music or whatever, was called a ‘society’. Sounds well posh, doesn’t it? I’m the least posh person in the universe.

Favorite party ever played:

At the risk of sounding like a cliched name-dropping dickhead, I’ll say that playing Panorama Bar really was the most incredible thing ever. I was so happy, I felt like I was having an out of body experience or something (and, no, I wasn’t on anything!).

Fave DJ:

Ah, there are so many. But I will hijack this question to say that I love and respect the entire Discwoman crew so much. I can’t think of many other crews that I’ve felt such a strong affinity with. Big up your chests.

Fave producer:

Larry Heard. Ah, Larry, Larry, Larry …

Pet peeve when DJing:

I don’t really get annoyed all that much. Probably me annoying myself by being incapable of putting my records back in their sleeves neatly. I’ve noticed that DJ Stingray is incredibly efficient at that. Maybe he can teach me.

What’s the best compliment you’ve ever gotten?

I’m quite possibly the worst person at receiving compliments. I just get all embarrassed and change the subject quickly. But there are lots of lovely people who say nice things when I play out or do radio.

Place you’d like to play:

I’m forever craving a dark basement with a red light.

Something you want everyone to know about you:

Every time you take a photo of me, I die a little.

Tracklist:

1 SMBD – Message 0316
2 System Olympia – 8
3 [Angela Davis – from Women, Race, And Class]
4 Indo Tribe – I’ve Become What You Were (Insider Mix)
5 Lone – Vapour Trail
6 Ikonika – Stick Shaker
7 I-F – I Do Because I Couldn’t Care Less
8 Machine Woman – 10.08.15
9 DANNN – Radio Rip
10 James Mason – Free
11 J.J. Fad – Supersonic
12 Awesome 3 – Don’t Go
13 DJ Overdose – On the Silver Globe
14 Aquarian – Hydropulse
15 Tony Phorse & Sheik – Gravel VIP
16 DVA [Hi:Emotions] – ALMOSTU (ft Rae Rae & Roses Gabor)
17 Loose Ends – Symptoms of Love
18 Brassfoot – Master Bait