“Josey Rebelle is a rarity. A name DJ whose name comes not from producing (she doesn’t) but strictly from her work on the decks.”
Josey Rebelle is a DJ from London, described as “the genre-bending DJ dominating top-tier dancefloors worldwide” (Mixmag) and “a hero of the UK music scene” (The Face).
With awards and accolades including DJ Mag’s 100 of the World’s Best DJs guide, BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix of the Year, DJ Mag Best of British Award for Best Compilation, Resident Advisor Mix of the Year, a coveted DJ Mag cover and regular appearances on annual ‘Best Of’ lists for her DJ sets, mixes and radio shows, the London born-and-bred DJ seamlessly traverses genres with a fearless energy that evokes the spirit of her home city.
Josey was introduced to the decks at an early age, taught to mix by her brother on his house, techno and jungle collection when she was 13. But it was some years later that she gained the confidence to graduate from bedroom DJ to the booth of the club, eventually earning her stripes both as a regular at legendary London basement club Plastic People and then decade-long host of a weekly show on pioneering London radio station Rinse FM.
As well as playing mesmerising sets at the world’s most iconic clubs and festivals, Josey has also recorded highly-acclaimed mixes for BBC Radio 1, The Trilogy Tapes, Resident Advisor, The Face and Fader magazine. She appeared on the first official Boiler Room broadcast in 2010 and made the cover of DJ Mag in February 2020.
2020 also marked the release of her first ever compilation album, Josey in Space, released on Beats in Space Records and featuring a trove of exclusives and previously vinyl-only secret weapons taken from the depths of her cherished record collection. Josey In Space was crowned Best Compilation at the DJ Mag Best of British Awards and Resident Advisor’s Mix of the Year. Josey’s limited edition cassette tape mix for The Trilogy Tapes, released in 2021 as a meticulously-curated ode to her teenage years, was described by Pitchfork magazine as the year’s “most faithful evocation of a vintage UK pirate-radio broadcast”.
“Josey Rebelle is a rarity,” The New Yorker stated. “A name DJ whose name comes not from producing (she doesn’t) but strictly from her work on the decks”. With no social media presence, Josey has worked hard over the years to build a reputation based on selection, passion and authenticity, to separate herself from the noise and arrive at a place where nothing more is required than the thing she loves most: to step into the darkness of the DJ booth and play.
Photo: Ollie Trenchard
@ Solstice Festival, Finland - 2023