Dexter Jones

DJ Rap joins the Dexter Jones Podcast for a journey back to the 1990s, when rave culture, pirate radio and a new underground sound were changing British music forever.

Long before jungle and drum & bass became global movements, Rap was living and breathing the rave scene. She talks about discovering acid house, spending everything she had on records, living in squats, learning to DJ and breaking through on pirate stations including Rave FM and Fantasy FM.

Rap also opens up about the much deeper role music played in her life. After an incredibly difficult childhood, she found freedom, friendship and a new family through rave culture.

We hear how she became one of the first women to break onto the main stages of the UK rave scene, demanded the same money as the men, and then lost every London booking following an extraordinary and tragic coincidence at Telepathy involving “Mr Kirk, Your Son Is Dead.”

Rap eventually headed north, before discovering AWOL and a new sound that would completely change her direction as a producer: jungle.

She remembers studying DJs including Kenny Ken and the late Randall, watching the emerging generation around her, including Andy C, and taking that inspiration back into the studio. That journey ultimately helped produce records including Spiritual Aura and launched another chapter of her career.

This is the story of DJ Rap, pirate radio, rave culture and the birth of jungle, told by someone who was right there in the middle of it.

🎧 DJ Rap: From Raves and Pirate Radio to the Birth of Jungle

If you lived through the 1990s rave scene, let me know in the comments: where did you rave, and which DJ defined that era for you?

Subscribe to the Dexter Jones Podcast for more conversations with the DJs, producers, promoters and characters who helped shape dance music culture.

Chapters:

00:00 The Story That Nearly Ended DJ Rap’s Career
01:32 DJ Rap: The Early Rave Years
03:12 Growing Up Around the World
05:36 A Difficult Childhood & Finding Freedom
08:51 The First Club That Changed Everything
10:55 Squats, Raving & Living for Records
14:00 Before DJing: Dancing at Raves
18:03 The Moment DJ Rap Knew Her Future
20:53 Learning to DJ on One Turntable
22:28 Making Her First Record
23:10 Pirate Radio, Rave FM & Fantasy FM
25:33 DJ Rap’s First Ever DJ Set
27:38 Producing Records & Breaking Through
28:12 The Telepathy Incident: “My Career Just Ended”
29:24 Becoming the First Woman on the Main Stage
32:55 Breaking Barriers as a Female DJ
35:51 Losing London & Starting Again
37:35 AWOL & Discovering Jungle
40:01 Studying the Masters: Randall, Kenny Ken & Andy C
41:34 Spiritual Aura & Breaking Through as a Producer
41:47 From Jungle to a Sony Record Deal
42:31 When Music Became a Business
43:27 Losing the Record Deal & Learning the Hard Way

This week on the Dexter Jones Podcast, I sit down with one of the defining DJs of the golden era of UK and Ibiza clubbing, Lottie.

From discovering acid house and finding her people at The Haçienda, to learning her craft behind a pair of Technics, becoming a resident at The Gallery at Turnmills, recording her breakthrough BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, and eventually playing some of the greatest clubs in the world.

We go deep into Lottie’s incredible years in Ibiza, including playing Space, DC10, Circoloco, Pacha, Amnesia and Manumission, closing Space and the unforgettable moment Pepe Roselló introduced her to the crowd.

We also revisit her famous appearance on Channel 4’s Faking It, where Lottie was given the seemingly impossible task of turning a classical cellist into a convincing club DJ. She reveals what really happened behind the scenes and how the programme suddenly made her recognisable far beyond the dancefloor.

Lottie also talks candidly about motherhood, stepping away from the relentless touring lifestyle, the incredibly difficult circumstances that changed her family life, and why returning to DJing and discovering new music has become so important to her again.

There’s also plenty of discussion about how DJ culture has changed, the lost art of the warm-up DJ, learning your craft through residencies, phones on dancefloors, modern Ibiza and why Space remains her favourite club of all time.

This is a proper journey through more than three decades of house music, club culture and Ibiza with someone who was right there in the middle of it.

If you lived through this era, I think you’re going to absolutely love this one. And if you didn’t, here’s your chance to find out what all the fuss was about.

🎙️ Lottie: Turnmills, Space Ibiza, ‘Faking It’ & the Golden Age of Clubbing

Chapters:

00:00 Coming Up
02:54 Discovering The Haçienda & Acid House
08:14 "Faking It" & Turning a Cellist Into a DJ
16:10 Buying Her First Technics 1210s
20:00 Moving to London & Becoming Lottie
22:41 The Gallery, Turnmills & Learning to Warm Up
25:25 The Essential Mix That Changed Everything
31:58 Going Global & the Golden Age of Radio 1
35:00 Ibiza in Its Glory Days
37:43 Space Ibiza, Manumission & Closing Space
40:05 The Early Days of DC10 & Circoloco
45:00 Touring, Family & Stepping Away From DJing
50:00 Finding Joy in DJing Again
55:00 Is the Art of the Warm-Up DJ Disappearing?
59:20 Imposter Syndrome & Earning Your Stripes
64:46 Creamfields Memories & One More Tune

Ibiza in the 2000s was like nowhere else.

In Part 2 of my conversation with Carrie, we go deeper into what life was really like working behind the scenes during one of Ibiza’s most unforgettable eras.

From dancing in the island’s superclubs and the madness of Judgement Sundays, to worker life, nights becoming days, barely seeing the beach and the characters who made Ibiza what it was, this is the side of the island most holidaymakers never got to see.

Carrie also tells the story behind the incredible underwater Judge Jules photoshoot, recalls some of the situations that got completely out of control, and explains what it was really like being part of the Ibiza worker generation.

No smartphones. No social media documenting every moment. Just a completely different way of living, working and partying.

If you worked in Ibiza during the 2000s, I’d love to hear your memories in the comments.

Was Ibiza in the 2000s the greatest era the island has ever seen?

🎧 Subscribe to the Dexter Jones Podcast for more untold stories from Ibiza, club culture and the people who lived it.

What was it really like to live, work and dance in Ibiza in 2001?

Carrie Stevens was right in the middle of it.

After arriving on the island, she became a club dancer at Es Paradis, before being poached by Eden and eventually becoming Head Dancer. This was an Ibiza of packed dancefloors, podium dancers, workers crammed into apartments, club parades through San Antonio, morning bars and after-hours sessions that could disappear well into the next day.

In this episode, Carrie takes us back inside that world. We talk about the reality of being an Ibiza dancer, the incredible atmosphere inside Es Paradis, life at Eden, the notorious Garden of Eden, Ibiza worker culture, Judgement Sundays, surviving the winter and why the island felt so different before social media.

Carrie also tells us about one of the happiest moments of her life: dancing above a packed Es Paradis as the shutters opened and Café Del Mar played.

If you worked, danced or partied in Ibiza during this era, tell me your memories in the comments. What was YOUR Ibiza like?

Subscribe for more conversations and stories from the people who lived through dance music and club culture.

Chapters:

00:00 What It Was Really Like Being an Ibiza Dancer
01:26 Leaving Ibiza and Coming Back
04:34 An Unforgettable Night at Es Paradis
06:44 Why Ibiza Felt So Different
08:05 Did Social Media Change Ibiza?
09:45 Surviving an Ibiza Winter
12:54 Becoming an Ibiza Club Dancer
14:04 Getting Poached by Eden
15:51 Becoming Eden's Head Dancer
17:28 The Infamous Garden of Eden
19:50 Ibiza's Drinking Culture
21:40 Es Paradis vs Eden
22:32 Ibiza Dancer Auditions
26:37 Kevin & Perry and Ibiza
28:38 Moving to Ibiza
32:05 Ibiza Worker Apartments
34:35 The Darker Side of San Antonio
36:14 Ibiza's Dangerous Dance Podiums
39:23 Dancing Above a Packed Club
41:48 Knowing When to Leave Ibiza
42:49 The Legendary Ibiza Club Parades
48:28 Part Two...

Marcella Woods is the voice behind some of the most recognisable anthems from the golden era of dance music, including Beautiful, Liberation (Fly Like An Angel) and El Niño.

In this episode of the Dexter Jones Podcast, Marcella tells the incredible stories behind those records, including how Liberation was recorded in just 20 minutes and how the vocal for Beautiful was nailed on the very first take.

Marcella also takes us back to the clubs that shaped her, from Bagley's and Strawberry Sundae to Freedom and The Fridge, and explains how a chance introduction eventually led her to Matt Darey and a string of records that would become part of dance music history.

But Marcella's story hasn't stopped there.

Now in her 50s, she's taken on an entirely new challenge: becoming a DJ. After just six hours of intensive training before her first gig, she's gone on to play festivals and events, finding herself handing over the decks to artists including Mauro Picotto, Dave Pearce and Signum.

We also talk about why dance vocalists haven't always received the recognition they deserve, Marcella's extraordinary classical musical background, the realities of balancing music with family life, and why she's still every bit as passionate about dance music today.

A brilliant conversation with one of the voices behind the soundtrack to a generation.

Subscribe to the Dexter Jones Podcast for weekly conversations celebrating the DJs, artists, clubs and stories that shaped dance music culture.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Liberation Was Recorded in 20 Minutes
00:18 Marcella Woods & The Story of Beautiful
02:35 From Vocalist to DJ
04:37 Bagley's & The Golden Era of Clubbing
07:12 Marcella's New Life Behind the Decks
09:56 Hearing Your Own Voice on a Dancefloor
10:49 Do Dance Vocalists Get Enough Recognition?
12:14 Singing vs DJing
14:09 Nine Gigs a Weekend
15:53 Could Beautiful Be a Hit Today?
17:24 Marcella's Classical Music Background
19:03 The Truth About El Niño & Beautiful
20:21 Liberation: 20 Minutes to Record a Classic
22:08 How Marcella Became a Recording Artist
25:03 Family, Touring & Music as an Escape
27:30 Classical Training Meets Dance Music
29:34 What DJing Has Taught Marcella