For those who don’t know you, tell us a little about yourself, where you are from, and how you first got into dance music. 

Hi I’m Fiona, Dj Feline from London UK. I’ve been DJ’ing for 31 years and have been a part of the My House Radio family since it started. 

I’ve always loved music and dancing since I was a little kid. I can remember going through records from the age of 5, reading all the sleeve notes, looking at the photos, then closing my eyes and just being transported into my imagination listening to the music. 

I  first got into dance music around age 15. I remember going to the Wag club in London. Funk ,soul, disco, and reggae were the first dance sounds that inspired me. The Wag was an amazing club, small, sweaty and super cool place in Soho  in the 80s where you could rub shoulders with anyone and everyone… sometimes even David Bowie or Annie Lennox!  At university I had a flatmate who was a DJ and  fellow Prince lover and he introduced me to Parliament, P Funk, Gil Scott Heron.  We spent hours listening to his records. Then I lived in Martinique the West Indies and got deep into reggae and zouk. I was chilling  in the Caribbean when the summer of Love hit the UK and I remember hating house music the first time I heard it LOL . I got into raving and house music when I moved down to London in 1992 and started going to Ministry of Sound every weekend . Incidentally Daddy P, who also Dj’s on My House Radio was working as a bouncer at MOS back then and we recognised each other from those days. 

How long have you been a DJ? Tell me a little about your DJ career.

I’ve been DJ’ing for 31 years ! OMG that makes me a real dinosaur LOL ! I started DJ’ing in 1992 with my best mate Anna, after being so inspired by Frankie Knuckles and David Morales playing the the Ministry of Sound. All through  the 90s, I was DJ’ing in London and abroad and working for various record companies. Anna and I had a crazy ball  playing together as Sisters in Sound in the early 90s, we were playing all over London and throwing big after parties at our flat in Caledonian Road.  I don’t think I could’ve done it on my own initially… it was scary walking into a DJ Booth with all these intimidating big guys, with big egos looking down at us !  

When Anna quit, I went solo as Dj Feline  and got into drum & bass for a few years, running a label called No U-Turn Records. House had got quite commercial here in the UK by the mid 90s then this thing called jungle / drum and bass appears and blew everything up ! That was a lot of fun for a while but the jungle scene was a lot darker than the house scene and I didn’t like the gangsta vibe. I was DJ’ing with a groundbreaking radio station at the time  called InterFace Radio, they were true pioneers, the first station to do livestream broadcast on the internet,  they started all this ! I was doing a radio show with Gavin from Copyright and we set up a label called Frutibeard and started playing funky eclectic stuff .  

I had a break from the music scene after  my son was born in  2006 and moved out of London, trained in healing arts and became a shiatsu practitioner. However, it wasn’t long before house music pulled me back in again LOL, I started getting a few gigs again and got involved with various radio stations, then My House Radio found 6 years ago and I’ve been part of the this wonderful music family ever since ! 

Some of the highlights of my DJ’ing career are : playing at an amazing trance party in the woods in northern California, everybody tripping watching the mist rise up around  the redwoods; playing in the Ice Truck at Burning Man Festival; playing to a huge drum & bass crowd at Tribal Gathering ( I was so nervous my hand was shaking so much I couldn’t get the needle on the record) . Playing at Ministry of Sound with Anna,  that was a dream come true , actually nearly all the parties I played at in those days were the best ! Playing in New York at the My House Radio 2nd bday party, oh my gosh that was a dream come true and such an honour  for me to play in New York !! 

Worst gigs – doing a DJ workshop in a prison for young offenders, their eyes were dead it was scary ! 

Playing to a bunch of army kids in a club in Israel  with Anna as Sisters in Sound. We systematically cleared the floor with each tune we played ( they wanted hard trance and we were playing NY soulful house  ) until there was just one guy left on the dance floor aiming his rifle at us in the DJ Booth… terrifying ! we had to hide under the decks ! 

How did you get into dance music? What drew you to the scene?

I’ve always loved music and dancing, so it was impossible not to get drawn into the scene if those are your passions. The scene was so exciting and underground back in the early days, you felt like you were part of something new and huge, clandestine, and exciting ! London felt like the centre of the music ! The dance music explosion in the UK felt like a revolution… we thought we could all change the world with love and music 🙂 

Where do you live? How is the dance music scene where you live?

I live in Reading now, about 30 miles outside of London. There’s not loads going on here, Reading is famous for it’s Rock festival ! London is so close, I tend to go out dancing in London when I go out. 

What is the first album or piece of music you bought for yourself?

Blondie – Parallel Lines

If you had to recommend one album for someone looking to get into dance music, what would it be?

You’re not going to get into house music by listening to an album,  you need to get your ass to a club and hear a great DJ play live ! 

What is the biggest issue currently facing dance music?

Covid aftermath, original ravers getting older . Dance music getting too big and commercial. Need more smaller, cool, underground venues again and more daytime parties. I like to be in bed by midnight now LOL!

What is the best/most exciting thing happening in house music now?

Afro house and Amapiano. The music coming out of South Africa is amazing; those guys are really shaking things up and developing the future sound of house music!!

What is your favourite place to listen to and experience dance music?

Jazz Cafe, London, Southport Weekender festival, Deep into Soul parties, Afro house parties at Prince of Wales, Brixton London. My House Radio FM! The DJs on here are phenomenal!  My home: I have a fantastic sound system, decks, and a rotary mixer, and I’m one of the few people I know who actually still throws house parties. 

Who are some of your favourite DJs? 

Osunlade, Ron Trent, Frankie Knuckles , Ms Tweeter, Mr Realistic, Danny Buddha Morales, Ray Vazquez, Glen Houseman Williams, William Morrison, Dj Athan, SergioSSoulB , Norman Jay, Gilles Peterson, DJ Spen, Fabio , Mr Silk, Wahine, JahBig

Who are some of your favourite producers?

Osunlade, Larry Heard, Ron Trent,  Doug Gomez, Jimpster, Atjazz , Eric Kupper, Terry Hunter, Black Coffee, Caiiro , Saliva Commandos, Louie Vega, Miguel Migs, Fred Everything, Henrik Schwartz , Mr V, Timmy Regisford, Zakes Bantwini

Who has been your greatest mentor? Your greatest inspiration?

Frankie Knuckles, Osunlade 

Do you feel satisfied with the role of women in dance music?

No. 

As a woman in the dance music industry, do you feel that you have been given the same opportunities as your male peers? Do you think that women are adequately represented at festivals?

No and no. It’s still a very male dominated industry. When I started out in 1992, male DJs used to sneer at me and my DJ partner Anna asking us if we were someone’s bird. We would say, no, we are the DJs  and we’re on after you mate. They would laugh, then their faces would drop after we mixed in 3 tunes and they would say… shit you girls can actually mix, wow! Although there are loads of female djs out there now, I think that attitude still exists. 

Who are some of the women of dance music that you look up to?

DJ Rap, DJ Tamsin, Sam Divine, Smokin Jo, Wahine, Honey Dijon, Ms Tweeter

How do you feel the dance music industry could improve in its treatment of/attention to female artists?

Book more of them and put them on as headliners ! 

Do you feel there are adequate opportunities for women at gigs, clubs, festivals, radio stations?

No, not as much as for men. 

Where is your favourite place to hear house music, past or present?

Past – Ministry of Sound, The End, The Cross;  

Now – Jazz Cafe, Southport Weekender, Deep Into Soul parties, afro house parties at Prince of Wales in Brixton.

What – or who – are you currently listening to?

I listen to My House Radio a lot. I love soul and jazz, latin and a bit of classical music . I never get tired of artists like Etta james, Nina Simone,  Marvin Gaye, George Benson, and Miles Davis . 

I like Lady Blackbird, Stormzy, Michael Kiwunaku. I love Cerys Matthews and Gilles Petersons radio shows on BBC i player – they play such diverse selections. . 

I also listen to Solfeggio frequencies meditation music in the background. Do you know about the Solfeggio frequencies? They are these amazing mystical frequencies with healing properties that can transmute grief into joy, repair DNA and all sorts of amazing stuff !  

Where are you in the world right now and what are you up to?

I’m in Reading, just outside of London these days. My main work is healing and being a shiatsu, kinesiologist and sound healing therapist, the music is more of hobby and passion these days . The sound healing work I’m doing now is blowing me away by how powerful and it is and this is so exciting as it is the bridge between my DJing and healing work. Music is medicine and I see it as as a way of lifting our vibration and making us  feel good. 

Where do you see yourself in the future?

On a beach in Brazil or the Caribbean, dancing to great music with lovely friends and family around me, running healing retreats and teaching . 

Is there anything else you want us to know about you?

I’m still doing this DJ thing 30 years on because I just can’t stop LOL – I’ve got deep house flowing through my veins. The music moves me, I really feel it, and I like to to take people on a journey and  touch their hearts. Music is Medicine . Dancing is freedom. Melodies that touch your soul… beats that move your body! 

You can catch DJ Feline here on MyHouseRadio.FM on Fridays from 2:00-3:00 pm EST

Check out DJ Feline’s soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/fiona-carson