Taylah Elaine: I Play Everything. But I Make It Dance.
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PHOTOGRAPHY: FILMAWI / STYLING: CARA HAYWARD / CREATIVE DIRECTION: CHARLOTTE MAYUMI PHIPPS / MAKE UP: KAREEM JARCHE / HAIR: BRITANI CAMPBELL / WORDS: JORDAN WISE
There’s a moment right before a Taylah Elaine set kicks in. The crowd is still catching its breath from the last act. Bodies are swaying but waiting, half still in conversation. And then she presses a button. The whole place changes. Energy lifts. Shoulders roll. Eyes lock in. You don’t always know what you’re dancing to, but you’re definitely dancing.
She laughs at the “pressing buttons” joke. Everyone says it. But the truth is, they have to be pressed. And they have to be pressed right. That’s the difference.
Taylah Elaine didn’t plan to become a DJ. It started as something light, something fun. A hobby at home. A vibe. “A lot of my friends were DJs and my dad used to DJ too. I just kind of fell into it. I didn’t think I’d be doing this full time. It still feels kind of wild.”
But eight years in, she’s not just playing sets. She’s shaping culture. The last year has seen her jump from cult London favourite to festival main stage presence. GALA. Fabric. Her own stage at Glastonbury. Takeovers with Lady Shocker and Sippin’ T. These are the kind of moves that do not just signal heat but consistency. She is not a trending name. She is built to last.
“It was supposed to be something fun… it still is. But now it’s serious too.”
Ask her what’s changed and she talks about finding her crowd. For years, she was spinning in corners of clubs, building her chops in rooms that didn’t always get it. But then the internet hit. Clips circulated. People clocked her vibe. Nostalgic. Unpredictable. Throwback-heavy. Genre-free. “Last year I definitely found my people. I’d been on the London circuit for a while, but suddenly it wasn’t about fitting into a sound or event. People wanted what I wanted to play.”
Her style is hard to box. And that’s the point. She is more mood than genre. More gut than strategy. “I don’t plan sets too deeply. You never know what you're showing up to. I like to get to the venue early, feel the room, and build from there. My thing is making people go, ‘Oh my god, remember this?’ I love nostalgia. I love throwbacks.”
“I play everything. But I make it dance.”
There is a sharpness to how she approaches it, even when she downplays it. She is always listening. Digging. Reworking old sounds into something that feels new again. And while she might joke about her buttons, the craft is real. The connection is intentional.
She is also serious about who gets to be in the booth. “Giving newer DJs opportunities, whether it’s radio or live, is important. It’s hard out here. People book their mates and that’s cool, but it makes it tough for someone coming up. Especially women. Especially if you’re not part of the crew.”
“My goal is just to make sure everyone’s dancing. Everyone’s happy. And everyone’s singing.”
The nerves still come. Especially on big stages. “When I started, it was small booths in the corners of clubs. You could hide. No one really cared. Now you’re up high, lights on you, crowd staring. It’s intense.” But the adrenaline kicks in. Ten minutes in, she’s flying. “You forget you were shaking like a leaf twenty minutes ago.”
And while some DJs obsess over transitions and tempo, Taylah’s biggest prep often goes into the fashion side. “I’ve got to be strategic. Some crowds don’t move much. So I’ve got to make sure I’m playing something that gets them going.”
Outside of the booth, she’s plotting more. Her own festival, eventually. Music production. Maybe even a line in mindfulness, she says with a smile, because “it’s crazy out here.” She wants to build something that lasts. Something beyond the decks.
“If I could have created anything, it would be music. Whoever made it first, that’s the person I’d want to be.”
When asked her dream back-to-back, she picks legends with ease. “Michael Jackson. Prince. And someone fun, maybe Doja.” Her face lights up at the idea. “That would go off.”
She also wants to shake the perception that DJs are all doing the same thing. “It’s about combinations. The best moments come when two completely different sounds meet in the middle and do something mad. You don’t get anything special from playing it safe.”
That desire to keep pushing, to not just play but reshape the energy, is what makes Taylah Elaine feel important right now. She is not just turning up to press buttons. She is building the soundscape that brings people together. In clubs. In fields. Online. On their feet.
She is not done. Not close. There is music coming. More shows. Bigger moments. But the mission stays the same. Keep the vibes high. Keep the room happy. And never play it safe.
“Music is coming. But my main goal? Just make people feel good. That’s it.”
And just like that, she’s out the door. Buttons pressed. Crowd moved. Mission complete.