In Session: Monki

Studying for an exam, surrounded by books and pieces of paper she wasn’t interested in, Monki was at a crossroads. At that moment, Skream’s remix of La Roux’s ‘In For The Kill’ filtered through the radio and the South Londoner made a decision. She quit the next day, after a six-month stint, and threw herself into music full time.

The path she chose is proving to be a prosperous one. Monki has become an influential voice for a new breed of diverse music via her Rinse and Radio 1 shows and a must-watch DJ thanks to triumphant sets up and down the UK and throughout Europe.

Her career began with a radio course at Point Blank in Hackney, leading to internships with Radio Jackie and Ministry Of Sound Radio before landing at Rinse FM. It was here she impressed her bosses with her rapid-fire style of mixing house, garage and bass and was eventually given a full-time, two-hour slot. In 2009, at just 18, Monki's fledgling career took another step forward when she caught the eye of Annie Mac, who asked her to open her night at KOKO on a bill featuring DJ Zinc, Katy B, Ms Dynamite, Fake Blood, Skream and Benga.

From there, Mac became a mentor for the young DJ, giving her a residency at the touring Annie Mac Presents night. After three years at Rinse, a period in which she also toured as Katy B’s DJ, Monki was picked up for Radio 1’s In New DJs We Trust along with Jackmaster and Julio Bashmore. Once again her frenetic mixing style bagged her another permanent slot, this time three hours starting in the early hours of Monday morning.

Her mother used to go to fabric, so her 'fabriclive 81' mix in May 2015 was all the more special. In that she included feisty strands of UK bass music from the likes of Melé, Callahan and Sudanim, also dropping in tracks by revered US producers Floorplan and Danny Daze.

2017 will see her embark on The Warning UK tour which will visit fabric, The Chapel in Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, Birmingham and Southampton through March and into April. She'll also be heading out to this year's edition of Snowbombing.

Today’s mix sees Monki turn in a blistering hour of peak-time slammers cementing her reputation as a DJ that knows how to lift a party to another level.

Monki plays Snowbombing in April. Buy tickets here

Louis Anderson-Rich is Mixmag’s Digital Intern. Follow him on Twitter