The first of our new Origins: 90’s to 00’s series has us sat down with the highly respected DJ, Lottie. We have some massive names lined up but what a way to start!
Few DJs can lay claim to shaping the very fabric of British house music like DJ Lottie. From breaking barriers as one of the first female DJs to rise through the male-dominated UK scene of the ’90s, to becoming a global club mainstay and award-winning tastemaker, Lottie’s journey through dance music culture has been nothing short of iconic.
First spotted back in 1996 by the team behind London’s seminal night The Gallery, Lottie quickly established herself as a formidable force behind the decks, earning a weekly residency and catching the ears of house heads across the capital.
Since then, her trajectory has been nothing short of iconic. Crowned Best New DJ at the Ericsson Muzik Awards in 1999 and breaking into DJ Mag’s Top 50 DJs as one of only nine women in the entire list, Lottie became a flagbearer for female talent in a scene too often dominated by men. Holding court at legendary venues like Bugged Out and gracing dancefloors across the UK and beyond, she has remained a true purist, always pushing proper house, from deep and tribal cuts to techy rollers with a twist of disco funk.
But Lottie’s influence doesn’t stop at the turntables. She’s crossed into TV and radio with the same no-nonsense attitude, presenting for MTV, mentoring on Channel 4’s Faking It, and guesting on BBC Radio 1. In the studio, her output with Malcolm Duffy and her solo productions, like the ever-infectious ‘Happy Days’ on Defected, show she’s just as comfortable sculpting tracks as she is selecting them.
We sat down with DJ Lottie to talk about her journey, her musical ethos, and what keeps her grounded in the ever-evolving world of house music.
We sat down with DJ Lottie to talk about her journey, her musical ethos, and what keeps her grounded in the ever-evolving world of house music.
K: Hi Lottie, thanks for taking some time out to speak to us! Firstly whereabouts in the world are you right now?
L: I’m at home going through tracks for the weekend. I live in the countryside now, in Berkshire. Country house but still acid house 🙂
K: Let’s go back to the beginning. You grew up in Cheshire, before moving to London in the early 90’s. How was the clubbing scene for you back then?
L: There was a small group of people in Chester who made the pilgramage to the Hacienda on a Friday. I remember the most important challenge of the week was finding a lift to Manchester. The queue was long but walking in there and dancing in the middle of the dancefloor was the best feeling in the world. We would often stop off at Manchester airport for a cup of tea on the way back as it was the only place open. My poor mum had no idea where I was as it was long before mobile phones and I was only 17. Now I’m a parent I feel terrible about that. I remember being obsessed with finding out the names of records I’d fallen in love with, writing them down before I forgot them and then finding a way back to Manchester to Eastern Bloc Records to get them. That’s where all my money went. Double packs have always been expensive (but worth it). I ended up getting a job at Cafe Society in Chester selling secong hand 501’s and vintage clothes with the sole intention of getting transferred to the Manchester branch in Afflecks Palace because it was close to Eastern Bloc. My plan worked and as intimidating as it was being the only girl at the counter I was there every week and my record collection built steadily. My first pieces of vinyl treasure were Reese & Santonio “Rock To The Beat’, Computer Madness & Rock The House on that white label, Testone, Toddy Terry ‘Weekend” Tom Salta ‘A new Generation’ & Seduction – ‘You’re my one and Only True Love’. I j then got a pair of decks, a second hand Numark mixer and I learned how to mix them. The Hacienda started to get a bit dangerous not long after this. I remember when someone had turned up with guns at the door so we started to go to Quadrant Park instead. Then Italo house, lycra leggings and travel fox trainers were the order of the day. Big piano riffs and non-stop dancing from the moment you walked in to the moment you left. I also remember a visit to the white caves of Konspiracy in Manchester around this time too and of course Justin Robertson at Most Excellent on a Monday and HP’s with the brilliant Elton Jackson on the door. These special places were my starting block for everything that followed.
K: Was it Turnmills that really helped you make your mark on the British club scene?
L: Definitely. I started going to Trade every Sunday morning from 1992 when I moved to London and met so many friends there. Sister Bliss, Smokin Jo. Tall Paul, Danny Newman, Red Jerry & Malcom Duffy. I was one of the residents when The Gallery started in 1996 and I did the warm up set every Friday for years. I could play deeper house at that time and set the night up for the harder stuff that followed. Doing that every week, road testing new tracks with the freedom to be more experimental on a great soundsystem and learning to build a set was perfect preparation for all the peak time gigs that followed. I think all dj’s should put in that time doing warm up sets first. My favourite dj’s are often residents who play stuff I’ve never heard before and keep it deep. I also went into the studio at Turnmills to make my first track which Carl Cox played during that big milennium live stream so Turnmills and all the friends I met there will always have a special place in my heart.
K: Who were your influences right back at the beginning, be it DJ’s or artists?
L: As a child it was Prince. Prince will always be my No1. My brother introduced me to Kraftwerk and I loved all the 80’s electronic stuff, Madonna, Nu Shooz, Scritti Politti, Pet Shop Boys, Duran Duran and of course disco. I started buying records when I was at primary school and I still play my 7″ of “Automatic’ by the Pointer Sisters. Then my teenage Hacienda days were heavily influenced by Graeme Park and Andrew Weatherall. Once I moved to London I got into US house and found my sound, hugely influenced by Derrick Carter, DJ Sneak and Masters At Work. I was also into a lot of French stuff, particularly the Roule label, and then Daft Punk exploded. Homework is the blueprint for all great dance albums.
K: You played pretty much all over the globe by the end of the century. Pacha, Space which you were dubbed “The Queen of Space” by Pepe, Glastonbury, Back to Basics, Miami Music Conference… how did you cope with the strains and pressures of the constant touring?
L: The touring was one thing, the after parties were another. Usually functioning on two hours sleep I would crash when I came back to London and take a day or two to recover and get myself and my music ready for the next trip. It was an obscene amount of fun though. I’m so glad I wasn’t that bothered about what I looked like and didn’t have to worry about instagram or any social media. Phones are a fun sponge. It felt very free then, especially in Ibiza. i started DJing there around 1998 at Pacha and Space, Privilege and Amnesia, and we would go from the club to a villa to a beach and then back to a club without a care in the world. My only worry was making sure my records were with me and made the flights. They were so heavy! Space was my favourite without a doubt because of the way Mark & Sarah Broadbent ran We Love Sundays. Carry On after Manummision was fabulous there too. I played DC10 quite a few times in the early days but nowhere came close to how good Space was in my opinion. Back in the UK Back to Basics was always my favourite. The residents were the best, Ralph Lawson & James Holroyd always reliably brilliant. We would always go back to someone’s house (usually Dave Beer’s) and Boggy, Tristan Da Cunha and Woolly (Paul Woolford) and I would play records to each other for hours. Leeds was the place with the wittiest people and the best music heads for me. Wonderful times. I was playing about four clubs a week for quite a few years and from 2000 I was filling in for Pete Tong quite a bit on the Essential Selection and was in the studio a lot making tracks and remixes. Caroline and I had our missdemeanours night on a Thursday at AKA at The End and we started the missdemeanours label. I was also doing some festival coverage for MTV and had a column in the Evening Standard. When I got pregnant in 2005 I couldn’t do that amount of touring and the smoking ban didn’t come in until the year after so I took a break for a bit.
K: Space in Ibiza was and still is one of our favourite clubs of all time, like for so many others. What was it do you think, that made it so special?
L: The line up on a Sunday was better than most festivals are today. A mixture of the best house and techno dj’s from around the world with a few newcomers you maybe hadn’t heard so much of yet. Mark Broadbent brought his musical knowledge and enthusiasm every season with that perfect balance of the established and the relatively unknown. It was pure quality for years. Add to that the resistance to the VIP circus that has now taken over a lot of venues Space kept that acid house / balearic vibe better than anywhere else for the longest. I loved playing techno inside in the discoteca but I truly felt at home there on the terrace. It was of less of a spectacle and more of a feeling. That connection to every single person on the dancefloor. I know that may sound cliched but it was true.
K: Have you played or even been to Hï Ibiza since its inception? If so what’s your thoughts?
L: I played a back to back set with my friend Guy Williams in the club in the loos last year. Wild Corner I think is its official name. The DJ booth is in the centre so you’re literally surrounded by people with phones. The later it got the less phones there were and the more people were just dancing. I had a great time time though even though the phone thing was so weird. I had a walk around before i played and the floorplan is pretty much the same as Space but it’s more ‘nightclubby’ Dark and neon. The sound quality is still excellent in every room.
K: So what’s happening with Lottie in 2025, your name is increasingly beginning to pop up more in our emails/socials, are you constantly asked to play in this new ‘daytime’ clubbing trend?
L: I’m actually playing a daytime event this weekend with Graeme Park up in Sheffield. I love a daytime event. You get the best of both worlds. DJing dancing and in bed at a reasonable hour. What’s not to love? I love DJing every bit as much as I did 30 years ago because I always have new music I’m desparate to play to people which is essentially all it’s about. I’m not as keen on late nights anymore though so I’m more than happy with an early set time.K: Whilst prepping for this interview we were listening to your 1998 Essential Mix. Lexicon Avenue, Danny Tenaglia, DJ Sneak, Kenny Hawkes all featured. Has your musical style changed as we move into nearly thirty years later?L: I still love all those artists and still consider myself a househead but I do like a lot of deeper house now. I love a clean electronic sound but still love relentless grooves and long mixes. It’s all about how it makes me feel. There’s nothing better than finding a new track to obsess over and play over and over again. I’m currently obsessed with that “Rouge Ou Noir’ track by Dan Ghenacia and ‘Searchin’ by Damian Lazarus (Radio Slave remix). Demuir and Jimpster are on fire at the moment too. There’s so much great music out there.
K: A final thought from a veteran of the scene. The noise is loud that clubland is going through a bit of a shake up right now. The ‘Insta’ DJ’s, the phones out, the ‘no one dancing’ no more, what’s your thoughts on how things are right now out there?
L: I’m very happy that I had all those years DJing when there were no smartphones. I had over a decade DJing worldwide without having to worry about phones in my face or having to post stuff on social media. It’s a different beast now. While I embrace the constant evolution of sound quality and production a lot of what I see seems to be just a big hyped up marketing campaign for someone or something. One thing I love is the number of other women DJing now. There were only a handful of us when I started so that is wonderful to see.
K: It’s been a real pleasure talking to you Lottie, we have been massive fans since the mid 90’s and it is a real honour and privilege to speak to you. Thanks and we hope to catch you out playing soon!
L: Thank you so much! 🙂 x
