Every weekend, Croatian audience get the chance to experience an increasing number of international DJs who are shaping and defining the contemporary electronic music scene.
Among them is Danielle, a British musician whose performance you can enjoy on March 8, 2024. She will be playing at Zagreb’s SoundFactory as a guest of the newly launched :D:S:P program, alongside London-based producers re:ni and Amaliah.
Foto: Lucy Werrett
This summer, the founder of the Soft Raw label returns to Croatia as part of the music lineup at the Love International Festival, taking place from July 10 to 16 in Tisno.
Her sets cover a wide range of genres, including ambient, leftfield, techno, house, and electro. She plays with different styles in a distinctive, innovative, and entertaining way, always delivering a strong sense of dynamics and groove.
Although originally from London, Danielle Doobay has spent most of her life in Bristol, where she currently lives. When she enrolled in Illustration and Graphic Design at De Montfort University in Leicester, her father moved to Bristol for love. She often visited him and gradually got to know the local music scene.
It was her father who first introduced her to music, as he was involved in it himself. After making her mark in the local circles, the multi-talented illustrator launched the Mix Nights project to help talented women learn to DJ and express themselves through music.
Foto: Lucy Werrett
Danielle has toured the US, Australia, and Asia, and performed at prominent European clubs, from DC10 in Spain to Fabric and Panorama Bar, as well as the recently closed De School. Since 2022, she has been a resident at Left Bank in Tbilisi and also hosts a monthly show on the iconic London radio station NTS.
Despite her busy schedule, the young artist agreed to share various insights from her personal and professional life. She reflected on her early musical beginnings, shared her impressions of festivals along the Adriatic, and revealed which EPs have particularly excited her in recent months.
Last year you played at two festivals in Tisno – Love International and Dekmantel Selectors. How did these two experiences differ the most and did you have a good time?
I loved them both for different reasons! Love International is close to my heart as I was helping with the bookings there for a couple of years and they’ve booked me repeatedly over the years, plus I had the opportunity to host a night at Barbarella’s with my label last year which was very special. The festival is also full of friends and full of people from Bristol, so it feels like the whole city goes away together which is a nice feeling!
Dekmantel selectors booked me for the first time last year, so that was also special but for a different reason. I felt very lucky to have been invited as the lineup is always great and I was able to spend the week with all my Dutch friends. There’s hardly any British people at all, and that ends up making it seem completely different even though it happens at the exact same site.
Foto: @danielle_dj
Where are you staying at the moment? What are you currently working on?
I am based in Bristol, and will be for the foreseeable! I love it here and feel very at home. Currently I’m working on some music production, and also plans for my label for the year with regards to releases and parties.
Your music journey started behind the Phonica store’s desk. What drove you to DJing? Tell us more about your beginnings.
That’s right, I started working there at 18 and had a job there on and off for 10 years. That definitely was what got me into djing, as I had the opportunity to do so at parties and events that Phonica would host. My dad is also in music and I had vinyl decks and records in my house growing up, so was able to teach myself the ropes using his equipment and house records, alongside buying my own at the shop whilst I was there every Saturday.
Foto: Jake Philip Davis
Apart from being a DJ, you are also a very talented and successful illustrator. What came first naturally – music or visual art?
They have both been huge interests my whole life. I originally thought music would be a hobby and that art would be more of a career, that’s why I studied illustration. However, that changed over time and now it’s the complete opposite. I do see music as my passion and hobby but also as my career now too. Whereas art has taken more of a backseat and is definitely more just a hobby or interest now. I don’t find the time as much to pursue both to the best of ability anymore. But I do miss it and my aim this year was to try and get back to doing more illustration if I can!
Foto: @d_doobay
You have been designing and producing Livity Sound’s event posters for quite some time now. How did that environment reflect your approach to music?
I was designing their Bristol club night posters for years, yes! I recently stopped as they have moved into a more animated style of artwork. They were the first people in Bristol to support me as a DJ and booked me frequently early on, so I owe them a lot! Was a nice full circle opportunity to be able to create art for the events, too.
Foto: @danielle_dj
As a part of the Mix Nights project, you play an important and admirable role as a mentor to talented women who want to express themselves through music. It’s been successfully going on for eight years now. How did it start and what has made it grow so much?
Yes, I am one of the co-creators. It started as the lineups across the city were very male heavy and we wanted to do something about that. Mix Nights has completely changed that! We now only run one beginner course a year which shows how successful it’s been as we don’t want to oversaturate the market now. We have expanded to run advanced courses and 1-on-1 mentoring platforms now too to develop the skills even further of those who have taken our courses in the past.
Foto: @mixnights
Is it challenging to keep up with all those different projects and gigs? How do you like to rest after a busy period?
I don’t actually struggle to keep up, I really love being busy. Normally January and February are quieter months for me in the year with regards to DJ gigs, and its during that time that I get ahead with plans for the year ahead and try to get on top of everything. Although these last two months I’ve been non stop ill, which hasn’t been very helpful! Maybe my body’s way of telling me to take it a bit easier! If I’ve had a particularly busy period I’m quite good at allowing myself to do nothing for a while and binge watch some stupid programs on television, hahah.
Do you have any hidden hobbies?
I guess the music production is a fairly hidden hobby at the moment! I have been working away trying to teach myself Ableton, hopefully this year people may start to hear some things…
Share five EPs you’re hooked up to at the moment.
Byron The Aquarius – They Know Vol 1
If you could play us any track right now, which one would it be?
I have been playing Njoi – Jah Heaven a lot recently. It’s SUCH an amazing track and I’m really not getting bored of it!
Foto: Instagram, press