Nancy June

Nancy June, Photographed by Jai Toor

There’s a rare kind of DJ whose sets feel less like a night out and more like a story unpredictable, and rich with intent. Nancy June is one of them. Her sound carries weight, quite literally - deep dubstep sub-bass and the echo of reggae rhythms. but it’s her ability to bring intimacy to the dancefloor that makes her truly distinct. It’s not just about playing records. It’s about building a world to escape into.

Raised in Hackbridge, a quiet corner south of London, Nancy June’s earliest musical influences came from home. “There wasn’t too much going on [in Hackbridge],” she admits, “but my Dad has always pushed music my way.” Her parents met raving in the ’80s, the kind of cultural origin story that might read like folklore if it weren’t true. Records and turntables were staples in the household, along with a maxim from her dad that has shaped her eclectic taste: “no genres, just whatever sounds good.”

An open-minded, soulful approach took root early. “In my teens, my dad was really into soul and reggae,” she says. “The dub sounds and weightiness of that music definitely drove me towards dubstep. I’ve always admired how versatile his taste was.”

By the time she was 16 or 17, Nancy was already deep in the underground rave circuit, long before clubs would know her name. “Back in 2012–2014, squat raving was a different world,” she recalls. “We’d meet at Morden, wait for the party line to update, which sometimes never did - and then follow the crowd that looked like they knew where to go.” It was here, in these spaces, that Nancy learned the codes of the underground. Without knowing it, began building her own place in the scene.

Despite her deep roots in raving, DJing wasn’t always a clear path. “I’ve always been pulled toward learning something in music,” she says, but the turntables didn’t come calling until around five or six years ago. Encouraged by friends, she gave it a go — and something clicked. “I’d tried instruments growing up, but nothing stuck. DJing just arrived at the right time.”

Radio was her first love — a space of solitude, experimentation, and no pressure. The jump to clubs, however, was another story. “Sharing my music in a room full of people where I was the focus… that was terrifying,” she admits. “Even now, it can be. But I’ve learned to let my guard down — and that’s when the magic happens.”

That “magic” has since landed her sets at revered venues and festivals across the UK and Europe. Among the most memorable? Her debut at Brixton Electric with HVYWGHT. “That set turned a corner for me,” she reflects. There was also the surreal experience of playing a three-hour set in a converted WWII bunker in Wuppertal, Germany, “warming up for Mala in a space that took seven years to build.” And, most recently, a sun-soaked solo set at Outlook’s Olive Grove stage, an early evening festival slot that Nancy relishes. “It’s my favourite time of day to play.”

Nancy June’s sound is unmistakable: moody, dub-heavy, and deeply UK-rooted. But it’s not rigid. Her influences span from UK garage and bassline to dubstep and reggae, constantly evolving.

“I’ve always liked very moody, heavy music,” she explains. “Dub and reggae were part of the household, and that natural pull to sub bass never left.” She also credits the excitement of burning CDs as a kid, finding something that felt outside the mainstream, as a formative thrill she still chases today.

And while she resists pinning herself to any genre, it’s clear her curatorial approach is rooted in a deep love for sound system culture, but with a contemporary, personal twist. “I hope I bring a feminine touch to a world of heavy bass,” she says. “It’s important to me that I offer something emotionally rich, not just sonically intense.”

Now a regular on Rinse FM, Nancy uses her monthly show to stretch her boundaries further. “It’s an hour where there are no expectations,” she says. “Sometimes I bring in DJs I admire for B2Bs, other times it’s just me playing across tempos and moods. It’s my space to just feel where I’m at that month.”

That focus on community runs through all aspects of her practice. She names Lily London as one of her biggest inspirations - “not just musically, but because she’s so immersed in the scene, bringing such passion and love into it.” She also shouts out Mia Koden, whose production style “really resonates with my own,” and dub legend Scientist, who represents the fusion of old and new. “His ‘Scientist Launches Dubstep Into Outer Space’ album — that collision of past and future — is something I really connect with.”

If there’s one thing Nancy hopes people take from her sets, it’s the feeling of having been somewhere. “Definitely a journey,” she says. “I know that sounds cliché, but what I aim for is picking music that grows the energy in the room at the right time. That’s where the connection happens.”

For Nancy June, DJing isn’t about hype or trend-chasing. It’s about transmission of feeling, memory and shared spaces. It’s about finding power in the frequencies that shake your chest and stir your spirit. And in a world where the underground often feels increasingly polished, Nancy June remains refreshingly rooted, feminine, and bass-first.