London-based DJ and producer Shy One is enjoying a slower pace this summer. That is, if you can call travelling the world, playing various festivals along the way, “slow”. ‘It’s been nice! I feel less busy than the last two summers,’ she says jubilantly.
After two summers of back to back touring, she’s now at a stage in her career where she’s able to be more selective about where and when she plays. ‘It’s nice to be at home a little bit more – but it’s also nice to party and still be travelling. Seeing new places and people and making them dance!’
Born and raised in north west London, Mali Larrington-Nelson (AKA Shy One), has been making people dance since she was 13-years-old, when she first learnt to mix records while on a six-week course at a youth centre that her mum worked at. She soon began DJing at pirate radio stations and has since made a name for herself via her own records – a concoction of UK funky, grime, drum and bass and jazz – as well as her daily NTS radio show and residency for BBC Radio 1.
Growing up, the capital’s nightlife offerings impacted her music taste. Larrington-Nelson’s early clubbing days revolved mainly around YoYo, the legendary Thursday party at Notting Hill Arts Club that played a mixture of hip-hop, dubstep and drum and bass, and was frequented by the likes of Mark and Samantha Ronson, Seb Chew, Q-Tip and Rita Ora. It even witnessed debut performances from Lily Allen and La Roux. Outside of west London, Larrington-Nelson headed to Plastic People in Shoreditch, famed for its impressive sound system.
Today, sadly, neither YoYo or Plastic People still exist. So where does she head for a night out now? ‘You mean of the ones we’ve got left?’ she asks. ‘For me, Corsica Studios has to be my number one for London. I like Venue MOT, too. That’s cool.’
In fact, one of her favourite nights of 2024 so far happened at Venue MOT – a club hidden away on a South Bermondsey industrial estate, in an old MOT test centre – earlier this summer: ‘One of my highlights was when I played at the Jamie xx Venue MOT party. They brought in a whole new sound system. They lowered the ceiling and put a speaker in it. It was very much about trying to recreate the vibe of Plastic People, which many of us got to go to back in the day.’
Other summer highlights have included Craig Richards’ 25hr party at Fabric – ‘That was great. I love being given extended sets. Especially in a room with great sound and ideally a slightly smaller capacity. I like small clubs with really good sound.’ And next weekend, Larrington-Nelson will be reunited with Richards once more when she DJs at Houghton Festival, which Richards founded in 2017.
‘Last year was my first time attending and playing [Houghton],’ says Larrington-Nelson. ‘I think it’s a really nice mixture of sounds and scenes, plus ages of the DJs themselves and the crowd. I think it’s got a good balance. A lot of the festivals I play when I go around Europe are targeted towards younger people and are more focused on harder, faster club music. Whereas Houghton is a nice mix and an amazing lineup. It made a great first impression on me last year.’
Giving us a flavour of what she’ll be playing at Houghton and beyond this festival season, Shy One curates this week’s Friday night playlist. Find the five songs she can’t wait to play below, or listen here.
Aly-Us - Follow Me (Bok's Dub)
Shy One - Gyallis Spiral
Syclops - Vanessa With D
musclecars - Running Out Of Time
Montefiori Cocktail - Gypsy Woman
