“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 boundary-pushing DJ known for powerful, emotionally resonant sets that blend deadly techno, gnarly analog beats and heavyweight bass forms with effortless depth and precision. A champion of underground sound and culture, she brings musical integrity, political awareness, and uncompromising style to every set.
Described as “one of her generation’s best” (RA), the London DJ evokes the fearless spirit of her home city through DJ sets and mixes that have won accolades including BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix of the Year, a DJ Mag Best of British Award and RA Mix of the Year. She is currently a resident at Open Ground, located in a converted underground bunker in Wuppertal, Germany.
Introduced to the decks at an early age, Josey was taught to mix by her brother on his bass-heavy Warp bleep classics, Detroit techno and hardcore/jungle records aged 13. She eventually earned her stripes as a regular at legendary London basement club Plastic People as well as decade-long host of a weekly show on London’s pioneering Rinse FM.
Josey’s mix for the legendary BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix series was selected as 2019’s Essential Mix of the Year, joining the ranks of previously-crowned DJs such as Dave Clarke, Ben Klock and Helena Hauff. Her compilation album Josey in Space, released on Beats in Space Records in 2020, was named Best Compilation at the DJ Mag Best of British Awards and RA’s Mix of the Year. Josey’s cassette tape mix for The Trilogy Tapes, released in 2021 as a meticulously-crafted 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, Josey has worked hard to build a reputation based on selection, passion and authenticity, to divorce herself from the noise of the scene and arrive at a place where she can pour her energy into the thing she loves most: stepping into the darkness of the DJ booth to play.
Photo: Ollie Trenchard
@ Solstice Festival, Finland - 2023
Homepage photo: Christine Riedel
@ Open Ground, Wuppertal - 2025