There are plenty of reasons to demand more women on the decks; the genuine talent, the representation for a large portion of the clubbing scene and just encouraging new talent.
These 15 are the hottest – in so many ways – of UK talent right now and they are the absolute best reasons to head out for the night or even pick up the skills yourself.
Who’s your favourite? And who do you think we should have added?
Dance, House
Flava D is one of grimes biggest female producers. Not only is she skilled in the art of producing she is also a member of Eskibeat and A List.
Not only is she talented at making diverse grime beats but she also dwells in the Hip-Hop, Drum & Buss and R’ N B area as well.
Flava D has a huge back catalogue of vocalled tunes ranging from Wiley, Kid Bookie, Ghetts, Maxsta, Merky Ace, Kozzie, Black The Ripper to many un heard voices such as iCon and much more.
Find her @Flava_D
House, Bass
Her critically acclaimed release ‘Rhymes’ smashed into the UK singles chart at number 8 in 2015 and her releases that followed have continued in their execution.
2015 welcomed her new and self-titled brand ‘What Hannah Wants’ – the titled stages have led headline tours, various festival takeovers around the globe including Glastonbury, Warehouse Project and Lovebox. The ethos behind the What Hannah Wants brand encapsulates what Hannah stands for as an artist; DJ ability, strong stage presence and an ability to harmonise a rave. Hannah’s personally held DJ competition scouts new underground talent and pushes them to the forefront of these prestigious line ups, truly championing what it is to be a DJ and a role model.
In 2015 Wants, won Best Bass DJ at the Pacha Music Awards, Best DJ at the BMA Awards and held the best selling September 2015 Mixmag cover
Find her @Hannah_Wants
Electronic, Dance
Annie MacManus, the popular blue-eyed Irish DJ on Radio One has always been a pusher for more women in the studio, whether it’s mainstream or specialist broadcasting. Her presence has been missed as she took a break to give birth to a mini DJ but she’s back on the airwaves and remixing London Grammar. She’s doing a tour of the UK through November so be sure to head to your nearest venue as an early Christmas present to yourself. Annie won the ‘Best Female’ award at The National Drum and Bass awards for her contribution to the promotion of the genre and makes regular TV appearances so she’s pretty busy. Listening to her remixes this is hardly surprising as she is pretty seamless and totally enjoyable.
Find her @AnnieMac
Electronic Dance, Trap, Hip Hop
London born multi-threat Charlotte Devaney is a woman who wears many hats. From the bright lights of Hollywood where she starred in hit film ‘How To Lose Friends and Alienate People’, to spinning at some of the world’s most prestigious clubs, Charlotte’s added another notch to her belt, taking her passion for music & unique sense of humour into the studio where she’s worked with the likes of Snoop Dogg on her track Flip It gaining herself a hit in several countries including a platinum disc in Australia, Fatman Scoop, Lady Leshurr, Riff Raff, The Ragga Twins and many more.
Since beginning DJ’ing on the club circuit, Charlotte has taken her unique sound to all four corners of the globe, regularly playing to packed crowds from Croatia to Qatar, Thailand to Turkey, India to Italy, Bali to Barbados, Malaysia to Mexico and everywhere in between! She has DJ’ed at prominent events for many high profile people and brands such as Fashion TV, Carlsberg, GQ Magazine, Vogue Magazine for London Fashion week, Beats by Dre, Roger Taylor from Queen, Nikki Beach and much more.
Find her @CharlotteDevaney
House, Tech
Find her @syreetamusic
Urban Club Mix
Melody isn’t just taking on the guys, she’s beating them hands down and dragging the rest of the girls with her. The Female Takeover and DJ Kane have hit Croatia, Greece & the Czech Republic in an attempt to bring the genius of female DJs to the world. She’s pretty much the definition of feisty and her blends take no hostages, so don’t expect her to pull punches just because she looks petite and pretty. Melody’s performances at the ‘Nando’s GigNic Festivals’ were featured on the Channel 4 TV show ‘Gig Nics’. You can catch her killer club mix at The Social later this month but it won’t be easy to get in and it’ll be even harder to leave. Points to anyone who can pick out the old school reggae references.
Find her @DJMelodyKane
Urban, Hip Hop
Another Rock the Belles superstar, Emily has not only played Lovebox but The Camden Crawl, Street Fest and Rivington Street Fest, as well as doing guest mixes for BBC Radio 1Xtra.
Another example of how talent can produce something excellent when given room to grow, she also made a point of talking to BBC World Service about how Hip Hop can be used to give women a voice. She’s in demand because she’s smooth, smart and sweetened on the decks and in person. She’s never seen sitting still or not grinning so she stands out a mile. Emily has DJ’d everyone from Kanye West to Mathew Williamson and plays host and promoter for numerous high profile artists and their shows, including Rita Ora, Rizzle Kicks & Jazzy Jeff.
Find her @EmilyRawsonDJ
House, Techno, Disco, Hip-Hop and Garage
Moxie is many things: a Londoner born and bred, raised on raving and records; a seasoned DJ, playing big-room clubs and sweatbox basements worldwide; a charming radio host, as at home on national FM as regional stations and independent start-ups.
It’s this balancing act between the underground and the mainstream that’s seen her become one of the UK’s hottest DJs.
Starting out covering for Sinden’s Kiss FM show in 2010, Moxie began guesting on pirate radio station Rinse and regularly DJing on the London club circuit. Her DJing experiences have been as broad and ambitious as her tastes. Moxie’s selections of house, techno, disco and garage have seen her reach such wide and varying audiences that she became so in demand, the legendary super-club fabric invited her to play their Room One no less than six times in 2014.
Find her @DJMoxie
Dance
Dance music changed Nicole Moudaber’s life – now she’s returning the favour. “The drums reached me,” she says of her initiation at New York’s infamous Tunnel Club. Ever since then, the Nigerian-born Lebanese star has dedicated her immense energy to finding ways to share that vibe.
After years as a promoter – first in her native Lebanon, then in London – and a long self-apprenticeship in her studio, Nicole burst onto the scene like record-wielding Athena. Carl Cox, a close friend and mentor, tipped off DJ Mag in 2009, calling her “the most underrated DJ.” Four years later, Ms Moudaber is no longer waiting in the wings.
Find her @NicoleMoudaber
Drum and Bass
Everything about Mollie Collins’ approach, attitude, technique and rise smacks of the original spirit drum & bass was founded on. She is rooted in club culture, from day one. No stat-obsessed check-my-Soundcloud-bruh online hyperbole: Mollie’s passion for drum & bass is 100% IRL and grounded in the church that brought our original founding junglist fathers together. It’s been this way since Mollie was 15, devoutly attended BPM under-18 events and squat raves until she was old enough to completely immerse herself in the culture.
Two years deep into the 20-year-old’s career, that list now boasts some of the most critical contributors to bass culture across Europe: Fabric, Printworks, Warning, Invaderz, Breakin Science, Eskimo Dance, One Nation, DNB Street, Innovation and festivals such as Color, X Music, One Dance, CT, Jeudgfresten and many more.
Like all classically trained DJs, regardless of her demanding international DJ schedule, she still holds down a weekly residency at the Tap N Tin, Chatham where she plays every Monday road-testing mixes and dubplates and fine-tuning her signature style. Switching, chopping, cutting and blending between her key cornerstones; Mollie’s sets guarantee firm favourites presented in fresh contexts. From beautiful liquid vocals over brutal jump-up basslines, Mollie shatters subgenre illusions with selections that represent the widest scene ideals.
Find her @MollieCollinsOfficial
House, Bass
Sarah has been a successful producer and DJ for over 8 years! Performing at gigs all over the World and Uk, having held residencies in Ibiza, Egypt, Dubai to name a few. Playing a mix of commercial, house /deep house, garage and RnB, has gained her bookings in some of the world’s coolest hot spots and venues.
One look at Sarah behind the decks, it is obvious that Sarah absolutely loves what she does, her energy is infectious and djing for her is a performance, during the sets you can see constant
Find her @sarahgiggle
House, Techno
Amidst an endless army of DJs, Laura Jones´ light shines brightly through the underground. On first glance perhaps it’s her trademark orange sunglasses and presence that can beam a smile from behind a turntable to the other side of a festival. Or the fact that her first forays into production steam rolled her into the spotlight.
The house and techno starlet strode into our lives in 2011 with a summer anthem that filled her diary for the year almost overnight. Since then overnight success stories have come and go while Laura has continued to tour the world defining her own brand of house and techno.
In 2016 after taking a couple of years out from releasing to experiment and evolve her sound, Laura unveiled her new vinyl label Sensoramic in May 2016 with SAM and Karousel cutting the opening tape in appropriate style. Immediately identifiable by its melodic approach to vinyl friendly house and techno and it’s beautiful mixed media label art by renowned Native American artist Sarah Sense, the label was inspired by the idea of sensory expansion.
Find her @laura_jones_dj
Bass
Brianna Price, a DJ, record producer and radio 1 presenter from Canada currently living in London, is a favourite of Radio One and it’s easy to see why. Having recently added her touch to remixes of artists such as Shy FX and Liam Bailey, 2012 saw the release of her debut single ‘Fever’, which reached number 36 in the charts. Her energy is pretty much always present and the music reflects this really well. A big fan of UK dance music, speed garage, two-step, jungle and drum ‘n’ bass, she always wanted to be a DJ and her faultless flair means she’ll always be a winner to us. B can claim one of the most original sounds on the scene incorporating everything from breakbeats, jungle, dubstep, drum & bass, reggae, dancehall, garage, hip hop, UK funky and house music.
Find her @BTraits
Electronic
No stranger to the underground, Charlie began her career interning for DJ Mag, reviewing new artists for Sony Music’s online think tank (Soundbed) and presenting the weekly infamous online shows at D&BTV.
In her first year there she was also asked to co-host the Drum & Bass Arena Awards alongside BBC Radio 1/1Xtra’s MistaJam, and continues to do so annually.
Away from radio, Charlie is an exciting and forward-thinking DJ in her own right. Last year she was asked to join the Ministry of Sound tour DJ roster, as well as bringing her unique and eclectic sounds to Kiss events such as the Vinspired awards, The Music Cube and H&M’s ‘Love Music Roadshow’.
Find her @CharlieTeeDj
We first wrote this article in 2013 and featured B. Traits, Kellie Acreman, DJ Fearney, Missrepresent, Charlotte Devaney, Sarah Jane Crawford, Sarah Giggle, Sam Cooke, DJ Moxie, Sam Divine, Emily Rawson, Melody Kane, Annie Mac, Dj Candy.