There are DJs, and then there’s SPFDJ. With an inimitable style, fearless attitude, magnetic energy, and a smooth dichotomy between the badass and softer sides to her artistry, aka “Tendercore”, the Amsterdam-based artist has evolved from the grassroots scenes of London and Berlin to a globally established talent and trailblazer over the past decade.
2025 marks the debut of SPFDJ’s EP Heel Thyself via her label Intrepid Skin. Dropping in November, the release nods to overcoming challenges in the creative process, including overthinking, while healing herself along the way. As well as motivating women and queers to “boot up for battle” against increasingly oppressive structures, the EP taps into the more vulnerable side of her identity through five bold club-ready tracks.
This year, SPFDJ also launched her own worldwide event series, Motherlode. Curating lineups on her own terms, it’s another reflection of her no-frills spirit; one that has prevailed throughout her astonishing trajectory and ripples across every endeavour under her name.
Having initially honed her sound in the harsher shades of techno, the Swedish producer, DJ and founder of the label Intrepid Skin has since showcased her ability to neatly blend, layer and flare the sonically impenetrable. These days, SPFDJ laces her sets with several genres: percussively rich Latincore, jackin’ hardgroove, UK hard house, sawtooth-shaped trance and many more trips and textures have snaked their way into her unruly sets.
Operating on a genre-fluid scale, SPFDJ’s musical taste continually mutates, refusing to stay static. Unafraid to dig into totally unexpected and abandoned territories, this exploratory and curious nature seeps into her nuanced sets, resulting in total engagement and connection with her crowd from the first beat.
In 2018, Herrensauna inducted SPFDJ into their crew of residents, each of whom has empowered and transformed Berlin’s queer scene every month in clubs like Tresor and RSO. In the same year, Boiler Room captured a now-iconic SPFDJ set at Herrensauna, which catapulted her profile and remains a source of timeless, sweat-soaked hedonism. The party is SPFDJ’s “forever love” and continually grants her the freedom to explore disparate musical moods in a fertile and (not quite) fucks-free environment.
Shortly after her first Boiler Room beamed worldwide, SPFDJ launched her label Intrepid Skin, where her Mother Goose qualities emerge from the ether, and her knack for curation and A&R comes to light. An incubator for fearless expression in all its forms, Intrepid Skin is a platform to nurture rising producers. The imprint supports artists at pivotal points of their careers, tracing back to talents like VTSS, Nene H, and Marcus L to more recent records by exciting artists like MarcelDune and Valerie Ace.
Multiple Intrepid Skin showcases, like a collaboration with Boiler Room and a club night in FOLD, have allowed DJs from all backgrounds to play in renowned spaces. As the brainchild of SPFDJ, the imprint seeks originality, authenticity and personality rather than a signature sound that represents the label.
Radio is another platform where SPFDJ flexes her curatorial talents. Her residency on NTS has seen her lift new names, showcasing their work to the headsy masses, in addition to a previous long-running residency on Rinse FM. Elsewhere, an Essential Mix for BBC Radio 1 and podcasts for Bassiani, Dekmantel, and CRACK are just some milestone mixes that have contributed to her formidable reputation as a DJ who is always two steps ahead of the curve.
SPFDJ’s gig schedule has seen her appear regularly as a headliner of international shows, from the queer party Fiesta Dame in Santiago to the shadowy enclaves of FAUST in Seoul. Her festival diary includes a myriad of overground and underground gatherings, including Glastonbury, Dekmantel, Pitch Festival, and Primavera Sound, affirming her universal appeal to fresh-blooded and veteran ravers alike.
In a scene of DJs and producers determined to take their stand, precious few can match the impact of SPFDJ.