Out of many DJs in London’s local underground scene, Redfreya stands out as one of the most recognisable, who has grown herself impeccably strong. Name a club, and she’s played there. Having cultivated herself initially through the local circuit, Redfreya has played the decks of venues including Phonox, KOKO, Village Underground - and with her debut fabric gig incoming in July. Seeing herself play alongside the likes of Sasha and John Digweed, Mayan Warrior, Murat Uncuoglu and Alican, Fur Coat and CamelPhat - just to name a very few, Redfreya is a well respected DJ and artist for many artists, promoters and crowds.

2025 has already proven to be an busy one for Freya, with her first international gig, in Japan, in March, alongside working hard on productions, her monthly Bloop London radio show and Redfreya and Friends event this month. With such a busy schedule, taking time out sometimes edges towards the impossible, but she dedicated a snippet of her time to speak to us, and loop us in all about everything coming up, plus a touch about her personal artist journey.

THURSDAY 15TH MAY 2025
INTERVIEW START

HEY FREYA, AND WELCOME, THANKS FOR JOINING ME. I REALLY WANT TO DIVE STRAIGHT IN AND ASK YOU ABOUT EVERYTHING WHICH HAS BEEN HAPPENING WITH YOU RECENTLY - BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT GOING ON. FIRSTLY, LAST MONTH YOU PLAYED AT SNOW MACHINE IN JAPAN. CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT THIS FESTIVAL, AND HOW THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE WAS FOR YOU?
It was so special - Japan is a beautiful country. I’m incredibly grateful to be able to play such a big festival with a strong lineup. I’ve never been to Asia before or flown somewhere this far - we were surrounded by beautiful mountains - it was really cool to be in this snow paradise environment.

I had four DJ sets across the festival, so it was quite hectic - that was also something I was grateful for, and it was really amazing that they did that for me! It was a crazy adventure because the stages were an hour away from each other, and all via the mountains /gondola lifts etc. The settings were stunning,  I had so much fun playing across it all.

YOU SAID YOU PLAYED FOUR DJ SETS - DID YOU KIND OF CREATE A DIFFERENT MOOD WITH EACH SET?
Yes, every set was very different. As an artist my sound is quite niche, and this usually works very well in a small club setting, however this festival was formed of big open stages and with a crowd that wasn’t necessarily familiar with more melodic or deeper dance music – it was more commercial in sound, so I had to think about how to play sets which were entertaining, yet still represented me as an artist.

I’m a diverse selector - I've been doing this for a long time and have a really broad music catalogue, so I had a lot of fun especially during my Après Ski sets where I played more vocal and warmer tracks – even some disco! It pushed me out of my comfort zone which was interesting. One of my sets on the Après stage was recorded with a drone by the festival team, and the footage is very cool - I will release it on Youtube at some point later this year.

IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU LEARNT WHILST IN JAPAN, WHICH YOU'RE AIMING TO BRING BACK HOME TO YOUR DAILY LIFE?
Japan in general taught me how to slow down - you don't need to hustle and push yourself as much; London really is quite intense. The festival is located near Nagano, which is a small city, and I saw that any opportunity possible for a peaceful moment would be utilised - small zen gardens everywhere for example. It's not really like that in London, so this changed my perspective – it’s made me realise sometimes we miss the beauty in life because we’re always in a rush. It showed me to be open more to the philosophical approach to life, and to take things slower and focus in the present more.

ANOTHER MUSICAL AVENUE YOU’VE BEEN FOCUSING ON IS PRODUCING. I UNDERSTAND THAT COMPARED TO YOUR DJING, THIS IS MORE OF A RECENT VENTURE. SO HOW HAS IT BEEN ALL GOING, WHAT KIND OF SOUNDS HAVE YOU BEEN MAKING AND WHAT CAN WE EXPECT TO HEAR FROM YOU?
It's been a bit of a rollercoaster! I tried producing very lightly around 10 years ago, and I slightly regret not continuing at that point; I feel like I've started from scratch again. This time around I’m working on Ableton which is new to me. There's been this weird interplay for me: having my DJ career really take off whilst the production side is out of sync - it’s a little unusual as production and gigs go hand-in-hand. Nowadays in electronic music you build a fanbase firstly through your own music, and it’s less common to do this through mixing alone. Because of this, sometimes I feel a bit of pressure that - at the level of international shows I am playing -  really I should have releases under my name. I’ve also been asked often by fans why I don’t - I feel that they are very eager to listen to my tracks which is nice.

DJing and producing are two different skill-sets, with very little cross-over, and you need to master them both independently. Although I’ve been DJing for 8+ years and collecting music for longer, it will take a bit more time before I release music. Something else I’ve dealt with here is the psychological feeling of wanting to contribute something worthwhile, and not just produce a trendy track for the sake of it and create more clutter to add to the sonic pile - so to speak. 

A lot of music is being put into the world - hundreds of thousands of tracks all the time. But if I’m going to do this, I want to make something of unique value, that is communicated from the soul, touches people and makes a statement artistically. So I am trying to give myself the headspace and time to grow into my sound and mature as a producer. I would be lying if I said I didn’t also feel that I need to do this quite ‘quickly’ - because I am incredibly lucky to already have big opportunities and platforms available, to play on international stages and alongside some of the best electronic artists globally, I would like to start playing a lot of my own original music and share with my fans.

In terms of my sound, well it's in-between something you'd find in my DJ sets: branching on indie dance with some electronica, IDM and afro-y influences - that's very much my style. I'm using a lot of my own vocals as well which is really fun. If I'm using samples I’m taking recordings of train noises and such.

AS YOU GOT TO GRADE 8 PIANO AND FLUTE WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER, DO YOU THINK HAVING TALENT AND UNDERSTANDING THE THEORY OF MUSIC HAS HELPED YOU BUILD AND CREATE TRACKS NOW?
The first year, honestly, none of that helped - it's quite hard to explain to people who are not music producers who use Ableton and similar tools. Making electronic dance music is very technical and it's about understanding the subtleties of the tools you use. I struggled a lot at the start with producing because I'm the least technical person you'll ever meet! So that was a huge setback for me. Now I've overcome the technical hurdles, finally the musical stuff is coming in more. My DJ sets have a flow to them because I've done 10-15 years of music - I'm a musician and I understand harmonies and rhythm really well. I think this is starting to come out in my productions now as well which is exciting.

I'm also trying to document this process, and be as honest as possible about the struggles and learning curves, because it has already started to feel so much easier - I think within 6-12 months I am going to forget that producing was ever that difficult – I don’t want that to happen. I want to talk publicly about it, especially to other women about the fact that it is really hard at the start - it's wildly noticeable actually how little female producers there are… It can be an intimidating space to get into - it’s important to show that you have to work a lot to get through the initial challenges, but it really is worth it because you have so much creative freedom once you overcome that, which is the most beautiful feeling ever.

IS THERE ANY KIND OF TIP FROM SOMEONE THAT YOU'VE TAKEN AWAY WHEN MAKING MUSIC, THAT REALLY STICKS WITH YOU TO THIS DAY?
The biggest tip is to focus on simplicity - less is more. It’s easier to improve a weaker track by adding more shakers and risers, however if the backbone  is weak, you can’t fix it. Keep it simple and build strong from the base. As soon as I followed this advice, my music suddenly started getting a lot better. You don't want tracks to be cluttered and crowded - you want the music to be spacious and to have room for different elements - this is the magic in most good electronic tracks. I think it also improves your overall production because when a track has just a kick drum, bassline and a synth doing the melody, those simple sounds have to be really strong and it pushes you to be really good at your sound design. Recently I’ve been listening to lots of ambient electronica and labels like Smalltown Supersound - these are like beatless tracks and the sounds are super stellar - the calibre of these tracks is my goal as a producer.

ASIDE FROM DOING YOUR OWN THINGS, YOU ARE ALSO WORKING WITH MOTIP WHITE AND HIS IN LIMBO BRAND. YOU’VE ALREADY HAD A LAUNCH IN LONDON LAST MONTH. HOW DID THAT GO AND WHAT’S THE PLAN GOING FORWARDS?
It wasn't quite as busy as we would have liked, which shows how tough it is to promote smaller grass-roots events right now. However it was perfect in everything we wanted it to be. It was all about community and bringing people together and celebrating diverse sounds and art - something we both really care about. Motip hosted another In Limbo in Cologne last week with an art exhibition - this is what we want to do going forwards - really work on that interplay between visual arts and sculpture and other types of art forms and electronic music. We have a lot of ideas about how to evolve, we’re already working with a team of like-minded artists and it’s really exciting.

DO YOU FEEL LIKE THIS IS A BIT OF A FULL CIRCLE MOMENT FOR YOU, BECAUSE YOU HAVE SAID IN PREVIOUS INTERVIEWS THE FIRST TIME YOU REALLY CONNECTED TO DANCE MUSIC WAS WHEN YOU WENT OUT WITH A FRIEND TO A CLUB IN - AND NOW YOU'RE WORKING WITH SOMEONE WHO YOU REALLY RESPECT AND IS FROM THE CITY.
Yes. Actually it was weird when I found out he's from Cologne, and we had this conversation where he told me he was already DJing in Cologne 10 years ago - so it's very possible he was playing that night I was out at - but we're just never going to know because it was before the days of RA ticket accounts etc! But you never know - life is full of small coincidences like that.
I really respect Patrick as an artist - initially getting in touch with him because I’m a fan of his music and playing a lot of his tracks on my radio show - then we both discovered we had a lot in common musically, kind of inhabiting the same musical-cultural world - it’s not just an alignment in aesthetics/taste but also values and what we think is important in dance music culture more broadly.

OK SO THE LAST BIG THING HAPPENING FOR YOU CURRENTLY IS YOUR UPCOMING ‘REDFREYA AND FRIENDS’ EVENT ON 31ST MAY, WITH SUPERFLU, MARCUS WORGALL, DEATH ON THE BALCONY, AMBEROOM AND YOURSELF. THIS IS UNDOUBTEDLY A STELLAR LINE-UP: SO WHEN IT COMES TO PLANNING EVENTS AND BUILDING A LINE-UP, HOW DO YOU PROCESS AND CREATE?
Marcus Worgall is a big inspiration of mine and his sound is a bit more driving, and last time Super Flu played for us they blew the roof off, so we had to invite them back. Death on the Balcony - I know them personally and love their music - they’ve released on All Day I Dream and they have a floaty more groovy chilled sound – so I'm trying to create a diverse lineup within the melodic soundscape, but also sort of a dream lineup across a day party; merging  artists with lighter and heavier sounds which complement each other.

A lot of thought goes into the events, as I’m handpicking the lineups every time. For example, Amberoom - I absolutely love their music and have been really inspired by it, plus they are also very cool, value-aligned artists. Some of their tracks are my favourite ever so it’s very special for me to invite them and an honour to have them join the lineup - in some ways I’m also going out on a limb because they’re not famous artists with 50k Instagram followers, you know? This is something that you also have to consider when ‘promoting’ a party. It matters to me to bring artists who make inspiring music, and those I’m confident will do great. I guess it all ties into my artist mission and why I'm doing this. I want to bring people who represent these deeper, more introspective sounds. It is quite stressful because I'm putting my whole heart and soul into everything - there are a lot of small details, from the venue sound to the decoration etc. Then on the day itself I feel really responsible for the artists, guests and the experience of everybody in the crowd. It's a weird position to also be DJing on that same day; stress levels can be quite high, but it's nice to create an event that's very open and makes everybody feel really welcome - I've had messages from people I don't know who told me they had such an amazing time at the event.

Also - I am so grateful to the support of the team and Alex from FFS, he’s my co-partner on the brand and has always believed in me and given me loads of support.

“I want to make something of unique value, that is communicated from the soul, touches people and makes a statement artistically.”

ON THE SIDE OF THAT, WHAT IS THE EASIEST THING AND THE HARDEST THING THAT YOU FIND CREATING, RUNNING, DOING THE EVENT?
There are not many easy things, but it is rewarding, so you don't mind doing all the difficult things. In terms of the difficulties, it's an incredibly tough climate right now - we see festivals and clubs are closing their doors, and then it's very competitive in London because there's many things going on- plus the pressure to book artists who are big headliners with a big Instagram following. I feel that pressure to book these types, but really I want the freedom also to book smaller artists who I really believe in, so I try to strike a balance.

NOW A LITTLE ABOUT YOU. YOU HAVE ELEVATED YOURSELF IMMENSELY WITHIN LONDON’S MUSIC SCENE SINCE BEGINNING DJING. YOU’VE PLAYED ACROSS MULTIPLE LONDON VENUES AND FOR PLENTY OF BIG BRANDS. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST MOMENT WHERE YOU FELT YOU’D MADE YOURSELF A NAME HERE?
I would say it was when I was asked to play for Mayan Warrior at KOKO. This was an unbelievable gig and it has really stuck with me. Mayan Warrior is such a global brand - it’s international and I've listened to many Burning Man sets for the past 10 years. Playing for Mayan had been on my bucket list, it was the dream, something I NEVER thought would happen, and this is when I knew I had made it to a certain level. This was the sign of like ‘okay, it's working out’  a big moment for me.

YOU’VE BEEN DJING FOR 6/7 YEARS NOW - HOW DID YOU GET INTO THIS MUSIC AND DJING CAREER PATH? IS THERE ANYTHING WHICH MAJORLY INFLUENCED YOU IN THIS JOURNEY INTO BECOMING REDFREYA?
I think it was a very natural evolution for me, because music was such a big part of my life since I was very young, and then I was going out a lot whilst I was at university in London (close to 10 years ago now). Whilst studying here I got to experience some of the best dance music clubs and artists in the world, pretty much weekly. So this experience was very formative, I loved the music and found myself repeatedly drawn to it, so learning to DJ and get involved was inevitable for me.

I studied Anthropology and Psychology and have always been interested in the culture and psychological experiences at raves, beyond just a love for the music - anyone who loves dance music is familiar with the transformative experiences, bonding and deep social connection that can be found on the dance floor. I found this really fascinating and wanted to understand why this happens. At the time I was reading a lot of work from Victor Turner (a famous anthropologist) on ritual healing and I felt like I could see so many parallels with rave culture. So I did my undergrad thesis on the topic of whether raves can be considered ‘healing rituals’. It might sound a bit cliché or something (or like an excuse to spend all my free time inside clubs during my final year) but I took the research very seriously, interviewing about 500 participants in depth, and I will probably end up publishing it at some point.

Doing this big research project over 1-2 years has also influenced me quite a lot in becoming who I am as an artist, because I have a deep respect for the type of transformative, connecting and healing experiences that can be gained on the dancefloor - a lot of ingredients all need to come together just right, and the music/DJing is just one part of the equation, but it’s a big source of motivation for me in my own DJ sets and artist journey.

ANOTHER BRANCH TO YOUR MANY MUSICAL ADVENTURES IS YOUR BLOOP RADIO SHOW. IN TERMS OF HOW YOU PLAY, IS IT ANY DIFFERENT TO HOW YOU PLAY DJ SETS, PREPARE TRACKS AND ALSO INTERACT?
My radio show started in 2020, so it’s been going five years strong and is quite different to my club sets. Not necessarily intentionally but I just feel like I always end up playing a certain style when I'm there - I would say it's quite like after-hours sound, it's quite mellow.

When I started the show, I always had in my mind it airing 6-7pm on a weekday evening, so for those listening live they’ll be in their house cooking etc. - they're not at the club. I imagine also if people are going to listen back, maybe they're working or something, so again it’s not the type of vibe where you amp it up. I play a lot of softer music, very electronica focused, deep house and generally lots of different genres. At the beginning I didn't have any plans, but then I started inviting guests and interviewing them. I've had a lot of really known artists and DJs on the show now, for example Alican and Murat Uncuoglu, who are the founders of one of my favourite record labels It’s a real privilege to be able to speak to interesting guests and give them a platform in London.

SO IN THE PAST, YOU’VE SPOKEN IN THE PAST ABOUT BEING A MUSIC DIGGER FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE YEAR FOR PRODUCTIONS AND RELEASES - ANY TRACK EXAMPLES?
I don't think I have a favourite year per se, but I think there’s been a shift in dance music after 2017/ 2018. I think it’s related to social media and phone use, it has really saturated the club scene - producers are making music which goes off in the club, with huge drops rather than more grooves and subtleties. Personally I'm playing music from around late ‘90s up until about 2018 - that's pretty much my cut-off point, after which I become much more selective about newer music - don’t get me wrong, of course some new stuff, from rising producers and new labels (for example, Rummel - I really like), is putting out really cool sounds, but I am not sure if this newer music is timeless in the same way. A few examples of work that I love - Aphrohead - Aphrohead album out on X-Sight recordings in 1999 - every track on here is insane, Vindingo is one of my favs. And then into the early 2000s, I love music from people like Ian Pooley, Simian Mobile Disco, Wraetlic, and the older days of Life and Death records.

NOW YOU’VE PLAYED WITH MANY, MANY DIFFERENT ARTISTS SINCE YOU’VE BEGAN YOUR DJ CAREER. BUT WHAT I’D LIKE TO KNOW IS WHO WOULD BE YOUR DREAM LINE-UP TO PLAY WITH, AND AT WHAT VENUE/FESTIVAL?
Mano Le Tough would have to be on the lineup. And maybe like John Talbot, Axel Bowman and also DJ Koze would fit there too. And then maybe I'd end up playing b2b with Motip White and Meltem Yazar again, because we did it at the party last week - it was really fun and went very well.

I haven't been to many festivals, but places like Garbicz Festival or Voodoo Village have always looked amazing to me and I love playing in nature – they are some of the best experiences that you can have, especially being surrounded by trees and forests on the dance floor. So yeah, it would be a setting like this or Lost Village (a festival I’ve had such an amazing time at with friends over the years).

I'm still waiting for my call from Lost Village. So next year, I'm saying it right now…


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JOIN THE REDFREYA AND FRIENDS PARTY WITH SUPER FLU, MARCUS WORGULL, DEATH ON THE BALCONY AND AMBEROOM, ON 31ST MAY, 2025. TICKETS VIA RA.