Over two decades behind the decks, her sets have moved fluidly across genres — techno, drum and bass, breaks — shaped less by category and more by instinct.
For UK-based DJ Tasha, there is no fixed lane in music. And this approach has taken her from London clubs to global festivals. And now, the lady is in Kochi, where she performed at ‘Muziris Trail’ organised by the Kekao at Cochin Club on Friday.
Her debut gig in the city in 2023 remains one of her most memorable. “It’s in my top 10,” she says. “And I’ve played a lot of gigs,” she smiles.
Beyond the booth
Before turning to DJing full-time, Tasha spent several years working as a teacher for young people outside mainstream education systems. “It was very challenging, but it was a really important part of my life,” she recalls.
She initially ran DJ workshops before moving into teaching, working with students aged over 16. Later, she taught music production and related courses to younger students in alternative education settings, helping them work towards basic qualifications.
Much of her work involved students who needed additional support or were not academically inclined. “There was a lot going on in their lives,” she says.
The work demanded patience and emotional investment. “You do take that stuff home with you. You worry about them,” she adds.
It was during 2019-20 that she decided to start DJing full-time. “And then Covid hit,” she smiles. That did not stop her. She used the pause to reinvent herself.
A raver first, always
Growing up outside London, she was surrounded by music — her father had a reggae and Motown collection, and her mother listened to bands like The Cure and David Bowie.
Sound was always around her, she just had to find her own. It was on the dancefloor that things clicked.
“I got into electronic and dance music because I started attending raves in Northampton with my friends when I was 14,” Tasha recalls.
It was in these garage raves, late-night radio, and shared mixtapes that she began discovering more music. “I was listening to Radio 1 and other stations for house music, and also people like Grooverider… just absorbing everything,” she says.
DJing came later. In the early 2000s, while in college, a friend’s brother — already a DJ and MC — drew her closer to the craft. Tagging along for gigs and watching him play, she began getting “deeper into drum and bass and understanding what was happening behind the decks”.
“I learned to mix, started playing local gigs, sent out mix CDs, and soon joined a residency under DJ Storm. She is one of my heroes,” Tasha exclaims.
There were no sudden breakthroughs. Just years of playing, evolving, and expanding across genres. “I was a London DJ for a long time, and eventually started my own party called ‘Neighbourhood’, which I continue,” she says. “Subsequently, I started performing at international events.”
Label of a ‘woman DJ’
For Tasha, the idea of being called a ‘woman DJ’ is something she questions. “We are just DJs,” she asserts. “One does not call men male DJs.”When she started out, however, the scene was largely male-dominated.
“But I was part of a strong network of women — artists like DJ Storm, DJ Flight, and DJ Mantra — who supported each other and created space,” says Tasha. “We just got on with it. So I never really thought about myself as a female DJ.”
That doesn’t mean the challenges have disappeared. There are still moments when she feels the need to assert herself. “Sometimes people think you don’t know what you are doing,” she says. “You just have to tell them — ‘Back off, I know how to run this show’.”
For her, the focus now is on making it easier for others coming in. “We have come a long way,” she says. “But, yes, there’s still a long way to go.”
Between styles
Tasha’s sound has never been confined to a single genre. While she is often booked for techno or drum and bass, her approach has always been fluid. “I like lots of different styles of music,” she says. “If it’s good music, it’s good music.”
Her sets often move across genres — techno, breaks, electro, even touches of dubstep — depending on what fits the moment. “I like to mix it up a little bit,” she says. “It doesn’t really matter what it is, as long as it works.”
She points to spaces like Berghain in Berlin as an example of how that plays out. “It’s historically been associated with a certain techno sound,” she says. “But I like to represent the UK sound when I play there. I experiment. I don’t stick to the flow expected.”
That means bringing in elements from outside that traditional framework, blending textures into a set that still holds together. “Maybe some breaks, maybe some dubstep, maybe some electro,” she says. “Whatever works in the mix.”
Old-school is cool
Over the past decade, Tasha has watched the culture shift in ways she finds both inevitable and troubling. Social media, in particular, has altered how artists are valued. “A lot of promoters and organisers check if you have a big following. Your performance on social media matters more,” she points out.
The pressure to maintain visibility, build a following, and fit into the algorithm makes her uneasy. It clashes with the slower, tactile aspects of music she values — like making vinyl records.
“Well, I am not even on Spotify,” Tasha smiles, reflecting her relationship with music that predates algorithms. “Everything’s become so accessible and disposable.”
The dancefloor as release
Tasha remains rooted in what motivates her. “My happy place is in the mix,” she says. “During moments when tracks are blending and the crowd is locked in, everything else feels trivial. That’s a liberating feeling.”
People come to the dancefloor carrying different emotions, she adds.
“They might be having a really bad time, and they come to let loose,” says Tasha. “The music resonates with them, helps them cut off.”
Tasha recalls a recent set where an old track sparked a moment of reflection for someone in the crowd. “I get messages from people after gigs describing how a certain portion of my set connected with them or reminded them of something positive,” she says.
It is this exchange between sound and feeling — between DJ and listener — that keeps her going. “I just love this too much. I will be DJing until my final days,” says Tasha, whose next stop is in Mumbai.