Women DJs That Every DJ Should Know

We’ve decided to celebrate International Women’s Day here at DJ Techtools by highlighting some of the most important, fun, skilled, and impressive female DJs. Keep reading for a list of amazing women DJs, explanations of why they’re standout, full sets, and more.

“Where Are All The Women DJs?”

This is a question that we hear far too often in our industry and in the dance music scene. While the gender ratio behind DJ booths tends to lean heavily towards male selectors, we know of many women DJs who play gigs regularly both locally and internationally. In today’s article we’ve compiled a list of some of the most amazing female DJs we could think of – and have written a bit about each.

This list is in no way comprehensive: if you know of a boss woman DJ who we missed, make a comment on this article. Share why you think they should be included, as well as a mix/livestream/etc – and upvote others who you agree with!

Magda

Aside from being one of the longstanding influential names within the Minus crew and a techno mainstay, Magda is truly a multi-faceted artist. She mixes sets on four decks with Traktor, using a pair of custom VERSUS MIDI controllers that she co-designed and produced working with Faderfox.

Watch her (and the unique controllers) in full effect in the mix below:

Nina Kraviz

Born in Russia, and now a Berlin staple, Nina is probably one of the most recognizable female DJs in the world. Beyond impeccable mixing and selection, she’s also known for deep cuts – finding older, rare tracks that aren’t constantly being rinsed out in clubs around the world. She’s the boss of her own highly successful label, and tours around the world constantly.

Watch Nina in full action in a classic livestream – one of the most watched sets in Boiler Room’s entire history: 

Ida Engberg

We’re keeping it techno on this list so far – Ida Engberg is a Swedish techno DJ who is often found mixing next to her husband Adam Beyer. Can you imagine being a parent to three kids and balancing touring the world with your husband?

Here’s Ida and Adam B2B last year at Space Ibiza: 

https://soundcloud.com/avidmuzikfan/adam-beyer-b2b-ida-engberg-live-space-ibiza-july-2016-week-4

Maya Jane Coles

Maya Jane Coles is one of the best-known names in the British house music scene – thanks to a number of high-profile productions, and features on mix series like Fabric and DJ Kicks. But as with the other DJs on this list, it’s about what happens behind the booth that makes her an excellent DJ.

Get a taste of her selection and mixing prowess below – as well as her ability to keep cool even when an early-on drink drop has made one of her CDJs a bit finicky. 

The Lady Machine

A much lesser-known name in America and Europe than others so far on this list, The Lady Machine is a Brazilian techno DJ (formerly going by Kammy). I was tipped off to her by a friend for this list – and was immediately impressed to see a video of her mixing using an old school Roland TR-707 in the DJ booth:

J. Phlip

One of my own personal favorites on this list, J. Phlip has a strong San Francisco presence as a core member of the Dirtybird label. She’s a real crowd-controller DJ, often taking vibe in a booty bass direction that plays really well against the rest of the Dirtybird crew’s unique brand of tech house.

Watch one of J. Phlip’s most recent sets below – starting at 38:42 in this Mixmag livestream: 

Britta Arnold

The Kattermukke collective in Berlin seems to be on an endless upward streak over the last few years, and Britta Arnold is a star player on their roster. Beyond being her own label boss at Bar25 and throwing her own party at Katerblau, she’s also rocking a unique rig – with two Xone:K2 MIDI controllers connected to Traktor.

Listen to one of Britta’s recent sets from her own night at Kater below:  

Jennifer Cardini

Jennifer Cardini is another European techno DJ who has risen to prominence, and for good reason. She started out playing house music in France in the late 90s, and has evolved into a “more experimental techno” DJ in her more recent years. As with many of the DJs on this list, her path to success started with club residencies, her own party, and has evolved to her running her own label, Correspondant.

Watch her play a set last year at Burning Man below – during the epic Wednesday night collaborative soundsystem that Mayan Warrior and Robot Heart put together:

https://vimeo.com/185157130

The Black Madonna

Clocking in at #10 right now on Resident Advisor’s Top Artists charts is The Black Madonna. She’s known for her having both a highly technical skill behind the decks while mixing vinyl, but also for her own original productions.

This recent set from TBM on Mixmag Live is full of some incredible house and disco – well worth a watch/listen: 

Miss Melera

Don’t ever let anyone tell you that the only masters of hyper-long DJ sets are men – and Miss Melera is the perfect example of why. Her six-hour “All Night Long” set, embedded below, is just a tiny taste of what she’s capable of; last July at Amsterdam’s Thuishaven she played a ten-hour set (video clip above).

Nicole Moudaber

Nicole Moudaber is yet another lady DJ who seems to do everything – playing massive festivals, late night undergrounds, hosting a worldwide syndicated radio show, running a label, producing her own tracks, promoting and running her own parties. She’s a self-described “one-woman army” in the world of techno, and rightfully so.

Experience her deft mixing and selection in the stream below from 2016: 

AND MANY MORE

There’s no way any one author can get every amazing DJ in one list. Instead, as we noted above, please share your own suggestions in the comment section below – and upvote others that you think should be added. It would be awesome to have a few more non-techno lady DJs on this list!

Special thanks to Denialfest/Amsterfam for their suggestions for this article.