DJ Philly has got to be one of the hardest working DJs in town and it's paid off, since she's now been a professional DJ for over six years.  A resident at some of London's top clubs, she also promotes her own nights under the Firmed Up banner. Chances are that you've already danced yourself stupid to one of her sets. What can I say? The girl is hot. Read on and find out more.

Where do you DJ?
I am resident at DTPM at Fabric, Discotec at The End, Bleached at Egg, Flava at Teatro, Grind at Candy Bar, and our own Firmed Up parties. I also guest regularly at China Whites and Smoove at Ministry of Sound.

How did you get started?
I was at university in Brighton and became very frustrated with hearing all the DJs play sets that were OK, but not great. I saw a female DJ one night who totally blew them all out of the water and I thought to myself "If she can do this, why can't I?"

Where do you go clubbing when you're not behind the decks?
If I'm in a house mood I go to Hype at AKA, and I go to Co-Op at Plastic People for broken beats (and a totally different crowd). I generally spend any extra clubbing time supporting friends who are doing their own club nights.

What do you do in real life?
I have actually been a professional DJ (and nothing else) for a year now. Before that I worked as a project manager for an internet company, a chef, a writer for Rolling Stone magazine, and even in Sh! the women's sex shop ;0)

What's the worst DJ cliché in the world?
Well, the fact that people believe that it's an incredibly cool, but essentially easy job. It really isn't just about looking cool in clubs and playing the top tunes - it's like running a business! The amount of work and dedication it takes often goes unnoticed. From the DJ side, I think playing the most obvious music and acting like you are the hottest sh*t is pretty much the worst (and most common) cliché.

Name five tunes that you'd like to play for us right now
I Like That by Houston featuring. Nate Dogg, DJ by Jamelia, Kelis doing In Public, About That by Laurent Wolf featuring Soni Dee and I'm A Good Man by Martin Solveig.

…And one that you'd never play in a million years
Mariah Carey - er, anything by her!

Anything else you wanna say?
Just that I'm happy to see the climate around female DJs changing. Promoters and punters alike seem to no longer view us as a risk, but as an asset. Life is gooood!

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