DT DNB Renegade Masters

Renegade Master: Charlotte Devaney

DT DNB March 20, 2020

Since falling in love with dance music as a teenager, Charlotte Devaney has worked tirelessly over the last decade to become one of the most unique, multi-faceted artists on the electronic underground. Yet with a string of viral and underground hits under her belt, it feels like the best is still to come.

Devaney’s journey towards the top tier of electronic music has been eventful, to say the least. Over the course of her career so far, she’s been a headline DJ, platinum-selling musical artist, radio host, record label owner, animal rights campaigner, video director and even a Hollywood actress.

It is undoubtedly for DJing that Devaney is best known. After first taking to the turntables, Devaney quickly rose to prominence as a popular host and DJ on Invincible Radio and later Pyro Radio. She was initially obsessed with hardcore, jungle and drum & bass, and was taught to DJ by some of Britain’s most iconic DJs, including Fabio and Randall.

Devaney’s DJ career has flourished since she made her club debut in 2009, notching up headline sets all over the world, including such far-flung places as Croatia, Qatar, Thailand, Turkey, India, Italy, Bali and Barbados. Her success is due to her innate ability to read a crowd, work a dancefloor and rock a party with an eclectic, bass-heavy mixture of music including house, bassline, UK garage, hip-hop and drum & bass/jungle. As well as possessing tight technical skills and inspired track selection, Devaney is also renowned for delivering lively and passionate performances where she takes to the mic to host and spit rhymes.

Naturally, these rhymes and sung vocals also provide a focal point for some of Devaney’s musical productions, which have appeared on a wide range of labels including Karma London Records, an imprint she founded in 2013. To date, Devaney has scored a string of underground club hits and collaborated with an impressive list of vocalists, MCs and artists, including Rich The Kid , Riff Raff, Lil Debbie, Lady Leshurr, Bali Baby, Ms Banks , Fatman Scoop ,The Ragga Twins, Tanya Lacey, MC Neat, and the legendary Snoop Dogg. Her cut with the latter, 2016’s “Flip It”, became a crossover smash worldwide, eventually being awarded Platinum status by ARIA.

Charlotte’s sets are usually multi-genre, where she dips into all sorts of dance music but with a heavy influence on the bassier end. With the recent release of United Nation: Three Decades Of Drum and Bass in cinemas across the UK, in which she was involved, she graciously agreed to record an exclusive 1 hour mix for us, solely focussing on D&B and jungle from across the last 3 decades.

Check it out below! United Nation: Three Decades of Drum and Bass is out now in cinemas and available on all digital platforms and Sky Box Office.

Sum up this mix in 10 words…
Narni Shaker days mix of smashing up DnB stages everywhere!

What’s your personal favourite track on it?
Too many to mention every track on this mix has so many memories for me ….but probably Desperado by Artificial Intelligence.

What’s the special ingredient in this mix?
The special ingredient in this mix how it blends through different styles of dnb effortlessly.

What’s the best gig you’ve played recently?
I think it would have to be London Pride, I was DJing on top of a fire engine in the parade, there were thousands of people all around us, was amazing!

What was the first gig you played?
My first show was actually in Athens, at a club called Akrotiri, amazing club on the beach, used to go there a lot when I first started Djing.

What have you got coming up?
I’ve got loads of new music coming out this year, spent a lot of time writing last year, first release dropped on 06th March! As well as that I’ll be touring, writing more music, shooting videos and generally trying to take over the world ya know 😊

What does One Nation mean to you?
One Nation means a lot to me because it was the first professional gig I ever did in the entertainment business! I founded & was part of the most well know dance troop in Drum & Bass ever…The Narni Shakers. One Nation was our first ever gig and Terry will be a life long friend because of the fun and games we used to have at his raves!

When and where was your first rave?
The first Rave I ever went to was One Nation at Stratford Rex!

What old skool tracks never leave your record bag/USB?
So many! Tracks such as On a Ragga Tip – SL2, Prodigy – Your Love, Awesome 3 – Don’t Go, UK Apache & Shy FX – Original Nuttah, Chase & Status – Problem, The Terrorist – The Chopper (Shy FX Remix ), DJ Hype – Closer To God, Take Me Away – Chase & Status ….the list goes on, I love smashing out classics and blending them with new music!

What is your favourite dancefloor in the UK? (Past or Present)
Now that’s a hard question! As a Rave connoisseur, it’s a tuff one, I do love Ministry of Sound

And finally, do you have a special message for our readers?
Hi readers! Remember to always be true to yourself, follow your inner moonlight, don’t hide the madness!! 🤪