SPFDJ

Not many DJs can claim to experience as meteoric, grassroots ascent as SPFDJ. Having established a remarkable energy, style and attitude on the underground techno circuits of both London and Berlin, she is known for inspiring debauchery and sweat-soaked hedonism on an international scale.

Typically operating at a blisteringly high-tempo, an SPFDJ trip takes no prisoners in it’s exploration of strains of techno, acid, EBM, hardcore and trance. It’s a style that Ben UFO called “utterly ruthless”, and one that more and more clubbers are submitting to; a gleefully chaotic two-fingers to dance music’s self-serious establishment.

In 2018, SPFDJ was inducted into the crew of residents at Herrensauna, the notorious monthly rave that has empowered and transformed Berlin’s queer scene in the past few years. Sharing a lineup with residents, this fertile and (not quite) fucks-free environment has seen SPFDJ’s sets become increasingly dynamic and uncompromisingly distinctive, a key tool in tipping the basement of Tresor over into trademark madness, as captured in an inspiring, increasingly iconic Boiler Room performance.

Owing to her access to techno’s bubbling, hardcore underground, SPFDJ established her label ‘Intrepid Skin’ in order to showcase the work of her contemporaries and those producing some of the most challenging tracks in her set. So far, VTSS and Nene H have launched both vinyl and digital music through Intrepid Skin, with further unruly transmissions soon to follow.

With a specific, uncompromising musical vision in mind, SPFDJ’s monthly residency on Rinse FM further cements her ability to speak for the cutting edge of rave as well as revisiting the genre’s vast archive; rediscovering, recontextualising and reintroducing some of the most forward-thinking and irresistible electronic music ever made, her dedicated mixes have found favour with both veterans of the genre and a fresh-blooded, thirsty generation of clubbers. Mixes for i-D and Discwoman have further cemented her formidable reputation for mixing the sonically impenetrable.

SPFDJ’s recent gig schedule has seen her appear regularly as a key feature of Berghain’s cutting-edge programming in the Säule venue, as well as internationally renowned clubs such as Bassiani in Tbilisi, Concrete in Paris, and Amsterdam’s De School. Deeper in the techno landscape, there were performances at Reaktor’s Unpolished, as well as an invitation to play alongside some of the scene’s heavyweights at the MMA closing party in Munich, and appearing at festivals including Dekmantel, Dimensions and No Bounds. She also continues to play with Universe of Tang, the all-female underground techno collective formed in London, whose wildly imaginative and creative parties saw SPFDJ cut her rave teeth, as well as on Berlin’s roving and formidable System.out Sound rig, gaining valuable insight into the raw technicalities of the rave, as well as the nous to handle huge records on an even bigger system.

In a scene of DJs determined to take their stand, precious few can match the impact of SPFDJ.