Moxie on NTS Radio and On Loop

It’s an all too often used cliché in dance music circles to refer to a party as having that 'family feel'. DJs and promoters have been known to lay false claim to having a 'community vibe' at their night, to fabricate both integrity and credibility alike. Alice Moxom, or Moxie to use her stage name, is not one of those DJs.

Since joining NTS in 2011, Moxie has remained an integral part of the London-based radio station, just one of a tight-knit crew of broadcasters and DJs who have helped push it from strength to strength. This spirit has seeped through to her own Moxie Presents compilations, a hand-picked selection of established and lesser known acts, championed by Moxie herself. On Loop, a nationwide club night recently established by the selector, has a similar ethos. We caught up with Moxie before she prepares to head north, for the party’s Scottish inauguration this month.

“We’re going to have a disco ball in the club – that’s pretty much on the rider for all the nights,” she says laughing. “The ethos of the night focuses on party vibes. I want to make sure that people aren’t just doing quick hour-long sets and get to play for a minimum of two hours, depending on how long the club can stay open for.”

“For each night, we’ll have a warm-up DJ from the area. For instance at Sneaky’s in Edinburgh we have Telfort, who featured on my compilation earlier in the year, so there’s a nice link there. If there’s a DJ out there who’s just starting off or lesser-known but is talented, then [the approach is] let’s get them on the bill.”

"Always up for a party" – DJing to Scottish audiences

The low capacity, stripped down spaces that characterise Sneaky Pete’s and Glasgow’s La Cheetah Club, which hosted On Loop on its Glasgow leg, contrast greatly from the vast halls of the super-club Fabric, where Moxie is something of a regular. Both types of venue provide differing experiences for both the selector and crowd, something which Moxie is quick to recognise.

“For something like Sneaky’s, it’s so open there. You can go in hard, then bring it right down to a disco track. As it’s quite an intimate club, it can be more fun to take it that bit deeper. When I’m playing out, I think it’s really important to tell a story while DJing. I know that might sound cheesy, but I want each track to compliment the next, and I want the crowd to really feel like they’re involved with something. You’re so closely connected to the people, and the Scots tend to be really open-minded and always up for a party. In fact these are some of the gigs from the tour which I’m most looking forward to.”

(Continues below)

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Such an approach has helped Moxie go from strength to strength and she seems far from stopping any time soon. Her two successful Moxie Presents compilations have featured artists such as SCNTST, Eli Escobar, Lone and Kowton, and by the looks of things, it’s a project which she’s planning to push forward to the next level.

“It was originally just an experiment, as I was interested in the idea of A&R, but after finishing the second compilation which came out earlier this year, it made me start to think seriously about starting my own label. So I’m going for it this year and can’t wait to get going with it all. It’ll be an off-shoot of On Loop, with the first release being a vinyl sampler featuring four of the artists from the second compilation, including DrumTalk, Medlar, Giganta and Lord Tusk. It should be out within the next month or two, and then the first official release will follow later in the year.

“I’m really excited for it, and eventually some of the artists who play the night will be part of the label, and vice versa. I like everything looping in together, whether it’s the radio shows I do or the club night.”

NTS Radio and Moxie

Moxie’s link to radio dates back over five years, although she really began to make moves via NTS, for which she still holds down the same weekly slot. Like her other projects, the show displays her ability to both diversify herself as a DJ whilst simultaneously nurturing new talent. In the past year alone, she’s shared the NTS booth with prolific names such as Four Tet, Tom Trago and Krystal Klear, while providing the station with new and exclusive material, week in, week out.

“The way I approach a show is that I like to build it into a story, usually starting off around 90-100 bpm and then building it into more faster tempos, which you would usually hear me play in the clubs.

“I started with the station right when it began, and they’ve supported me all the way and given me some great opportunities. It’s where I learned to become a broadcaster. It’s because of them that I started to do stuff with Radio 1, and I guess the whole vibe of NTS is that they want to help nurture homegrown talent and build a community regardless of age or background, which is what makes it so special.

“They’re my friends and we’re part of a community, so to see the station get more attention over the years is such an amazing thing to witness. It’s a labor of love for those guys and everyone’s worked so hard to build it into what it is, so I try to make every show I do for them better than the last, keeping up the standard and continuing to make it stronger as a whole.”

When looking at all the various projects Moxie has on the go, from her consistently innovative ideas in radio to the foundation of On Loop, a determination driven by a sheer passion for music and club culture is clear. A simultaneous understanding of genuine community spirit runs through the work that has gone into the club night, what will soon be the label, and her NTS shows, so drawing back to that oft-used cliché, it would be fair to say that a 'family feel' is present after all.

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On Loop hits Glasgow on 31 Mar at La Cheetah, followed by shows in Sneaky Pete’s on 1 Apr and Aberdeen’s UnderDog on 2 Apr