Dj wiggles | Soundcloud | Instagram | Resident Advisor
For our second Truancy Sessions of 2025 we’re excited to bring on Dj Wiggles, an artist who in the ever-evolving landscape of electronic music has managed to cultivate for herself a multifaceted breakthrough career that seamlessly blends DJing, event curation, her own label and a wonderful mix series to boot. Initially immersing herself in dance music whilst at university in Brighton, inspiration from a community of like-minded individuals and local events paved the way, before a move to London marked a significant evolution in her artistic development. Living near the now closed down Pickle Factory, the eclectic late-night sets of artists like Margaret Dygas, Jane Fitz, and Call Super, combined with the music of peers such as re:ni and Batu, helped shaped her distinctive approach to DJing and curation. Kicking off kinetic in 2019, the platform initially started out as a radio show on 1020 before branching out into a mix series on Soundcloud a little later. Since then, kinetic has flourished, hosting events across South London and establishing a regular home at the much beloved Ormside Projects. With a tingling take on contemporary bass music and delicately left-field sub heavy sounds, previous guests have included Dub Athlete, upsammy, Jurango and Nono Gigsta to name just a few. (Tickets for kinetic with upsammy, Benk0, Cersy & Dj wiggles now on sale) More recently she inaugurated kinetic as a label with the release of 5RVZ’s Trench EP, marking yet another milestone in pushing the platform forward. For this Truancy Sessions mix, Dj wiggles has crafted a deeply-considered trip that embraces emotional subtleties and textural transitions. Reading between the lines with tracks needing to find their placing in the boundaries of electronic music, she’s able to weave together tracks that resist easy categorisation, highlighting the beauty of those in-between moments with a layer of unpredictability.
So how have you been recently and how was 2024 for you? Do you look back at it with any fond memories? Any particular highlights you wish to share? “I’m ok ! as i’m writing this it’s apparently Blue Monday – feeling it this January :’) 2024 as a year was a mixed bag ! some highs & some lows. I’m sure it’s been the same for most people but it’s hard to focus on any personal successes with the backdrop of such severe and painful world events. I will shout out one of my favourite weekends of last year though which was at the wonderful Gnojki Samba festival in Poland. I met so many amazing people, stayed up til sunrise boating on the lake, heard one of my fave closing sets in a long time by Zoe Pea & spent lots of time absorbing nature! It’s such a beautiful & thoughtfully run and curated festival, would highly recommend. Big love to Zosia + crew <3”
Can you take us back to some of your first experiences with electronic music and clubbing? I’m not sure where you’re from originally but understand you lived in Brighton for a while before landing in London. I think we must have attended the same Aka Aka Roar parties. “Ah no way! Yes, so I went to uni in Brighton, it was a massively important part of my life, where I met pretty much everyone who is close to me in my life now, even if not directly then through people I met there. My life would be very different if I’d never lived there for sure, I’m really grateful for that time in my life. As with a lot of student cities, scenes come and go – and I was really lucky to have been there at a time when I was surrounded by so many like minded people and with a really open and inviting scene of people who are all still doing amazing things now. Jack & Kit who were running mute, Malte (Caldera), Lucien & his accidental meetings (which has now found a home in Bristol and still producing some of my fave line ups ever), Neil & his FIX parties / patterns programming, Dodd & Charles’ First Floor parties, Mono (RIP) – too many memories. It’s so nice to see so many of these people thriving in the scene & I think testament to the environment we were all in at this time. Big love to them all.”
Were there any nights or artists in particular that made you want to give DJing a go? You’ve mentioned in past interviews that your move to London felt quite formative. “At the start my friends were definitely my biggest inspiration, being surrounded by people constantly mixing / buying records really makes you want to give it a go. After I learnt the basics I think I started paying a lot more attention to what DJs were doing, it was around this time that I lived right round the corner from pickle factory, so would spend most my weekends here watching artists like Margaret Dygas, Jane Fitz, Dozzy, Gwenan. Call super and Margaret Dygas’ ability to create a whole new sound when mixing two tracks together used to blow my mind. Also Objekt’s genre hopping / curveball throwing (I remember seeing him at De School playing b2b with Stingray thinking I was just going to be listening to electro for 3 hours, how wrong I was)
I guess more recently over the past 8 years or so, people like Lauren / re:ni, her set from the dome at Freerotation still lives rent free in my mind, the way she got everyone dancing & played her sound but so out of context was really special. Batu, CCL, Nono Gigsta, Marcelle, upsammy and of course would be impossible not to mention Djrum. I’ve been really lucky to see him perform so many different sets & it blows my mind every time, I always it feels as though he is using his records as instruments. His ability to tempo jump, take big risks and the creativity and depth of sounds he brings to his sets has been a massive inspiration for me.”
Can you tell us about three albums that a) define you getting into electronic music in general, b) maybe a midway album when you were fully invested in DJing and and c) a recent album that you’ve especially enjoyed?
Mount Kimbie – Crooks and Lovers
Move D & Benjamin Brunn – Songs from the beehive
Actress – Karma & Desire
How do you feel your DJ style and influences have changed or evolved in the last five years? “Oh goooodness, so much! I think I’ve spoken about this a little bit in interviews before, but I used to struggle quite a lot to know how to incorporate / play everything that I loved & this meant that I would sort of break my DJ persona into different genres depending on party, and it confused me a lot tbh (and probably other people!) I think a big breakthrough for me was Above Below 2023, it was the first time I felt I was able to play lots of different styles of music that I loved in a way that felt cohesive and energetic & to a crowd who weren’t necessarily also up for a lot of the styles I was playing but also stuck with me. It was a turning point for me realising I could actually push people a little bit and so long as I built up to a point or track in a certain way it seemed to work.
I think in the past year I’ve really found my feet with understanding ‘my sound’ or at least my approach to constructing a set and connecting with a dancefloor. I struggle with the idea of a ‘sound’ because I think it’s ever evolving & I’m still not sure I could define it. As a dancer and a DJ my favourite sets are closing sets, it’s when I feel as though I have the most creative freedom & people are the most receptive. I guess my main focus is on marrying sounds, textures & genres together in a way that feels interesting and creative, whilst hopefully evoking a few feelings for the dancers along the way. I like the idea of putting my own spin on a genre or mix. Like if I’m doing a techno mix I don’t want it to just feel like a deep techno mix, I want it to feel like a deep techno mix with a twist. In the same way if i’m playing on a dubstep lineup or a techno lineup, I’d quite like to be the set which breaks the mould rather than fits the mould. I want someone to feel like they found something unexpected in my sets.”
So what can you tell us about kinetic? You started the night at the beginning of last year and it seems to have flourished into a label, party, radio show and mix series with a great Substack too. Did you have this all in mind when throwing that first party? “So kinetic actually started as a radio show on 1020 in 2022, but when that sadly shut down I moved all my guest mixes onto sound cloud retrospectively & started the mix series from there. I think the first mix was posted in April 2023, so yeah almost 2 years now I guess :) The branch out into parties was actually a bit of a chance happening tbh. I’ve always loved throwing parties and am also quite independent (& probably a bit of a control freak) when it comes to things like throwing parties and I had the opportunity to fill a date very last minute at carpet shop last Sept & went for it and really enjoyed the process and creativity freedom I found throwing it on my own, so kept going from there. We did one more at Carpet Shop and then moved to Ormside where I feel really at home now.
Similarly with the label strand, I actually didn’t have any big plans to start a label, I thought it might be cool some way in the future but then I heard 5RVZ’s release after a radio show in Rotterdam last year and it totally resonated with me & what I envisaged as the sound of kinetic, and I thought – why not ? So no I guess it all happened quite naturally, which I’m really happy about. Being a promoter / label right now isn’t the easiest feat, but I have some special things planned for this year and just hope things can become more sustainable financially :) Ps. our next party is at Ormside on march 8th with upsammy, Benk0 & Cersy! Come!”
What can you tell us about putting together kinetic001? The whole record sounds and looks amazing. What kind of process was it like working with 5RVZ? “Oh thank you so much !! It was a whirlwind tbh & a big learning curve. I tried to get as much advice about the process of putting a release together but I honestly had no idea what I was doing. There’s so much stuff that you can only learn really by encountering problems or by going through the process yourself. Although it was one of the more challenging parts of the process, I’m really happy that we went down the dubplate route and made some physical records. I feel like I can go into the second release (whenever that might be!) with a lot clearer vision of how it all works and what I would do differently etc. I’m not in a rush to do lots and lots of releases, I want the next one to really speak to me just like this one did :) 5RVZ is an absolute dream to work with, everything he does is with such purpose and dedication. I’ve actually learnt a lot from him on a personal level – it’s v inspirational & v glad our paths crossed like they did ! shout out raj <3”
Could you describe the process of creating this mix? Was there a specific message or feeling you wanted to convey? “I have had this mix planned in my head for a while as I knew I wanted it to feel special, it’s had a few iterations & actually was almost ready to use a recent recording from a closing set I did – but had to remind myself that my approach to mixes has always been to create something a bit different to my club sets as it feels like a space to truly express yourself without worrying about keeping the rhythm for the dancers or losing energy in a club setting. I’ve been really focussed on exploring the spaces in between recently, finding those little pockets or tracks which don’t really sit in any genres, or creating moments of tension or transitions which feel like the glue that binds everything together. Using textures / vocals / tracks which actually highlight these spaces in a mix.”
Last, usual question from us, what was the last thing to put a big smile on your face and when was the last time you had a proper dance? “All of my animals (there are too many!), my partner & my friends put a smile on my face every day (even the bad days) <3 Last time I remember having a PROPER dance was at Draaimolen last year, specifically Dj voices & Polygonia’s b2b – it was so seamless & sleazy, loved it. Hope to have some more dances & smiles soon!”
Dj wiggles: Soundcloud, Instagram, Resident Advisor
kinetic: Bandcamp, Soundcloud
You can download Truancy Sessions S02 E06: Dj wiggles in 320 kbps on Patreon here. Your support helps cover all our costs and allows Truants to continue running as a non-profit and ad-free platform. Members will receive exclusive access to mixes, tracklists, and discounts off future merchandise. If money is tight however and you’re desperately after any ID, please leave us a comment over on the Soundcloud link and either us or Dj wiggles will get back to you :)
