Festifest 2026

Ays (NL)

She can play across an eclectic mix of disco, boogie, jazz, house, Afro and Brazilian or play straight up house sets, always guided by a love of musical storytelling and captivating vocal tracks. As a predominantly vinyl DJ, she skilfully traverses sounds and scenes while feeding off the energy of the dancers in front of her. From her base in Rotterdam, Ays began her DJ journey through the world of listening sessions where she found inspiration in the quiet intensity of attentive audiences. She eventually leaned into more danceable sounds without sacrificing musical richness and quickly gained recognition, landing her first bookings in 2022. Since then, she has doubled down on her craft and now plays notable events around Europe like Rainbow Disco Club, Drift Festival, Nuit Sonores, Lowlands Festival, Kappa Futur, and North Sea Jazz. Alongside Kuriosa, Ays organises Love Transmission, an intimate bi-monthly disco night in Rotterdam that is dedicated to digging deep and amplifying soulful, foundational dance sound from the 70s and 80s. She also hosts All Kinds of Joy on Operator Radio, which is another chance for her to delve deep into a wide array of the music she loves, and occasionally works at the well-respected Offbeat Records. Through her always eclectic but coherent sets, Ays brings a subtle celebration, unforgettable warmth and deep sense of joy to every space she plays.

Beraber

Beraber - the alias of Amsterdam's Barış Akardere - is a versatile producer and DJ who transitioned from hip-hop production and composition for film to focus on underground house music. He’s released music through labels like Release/Sustain, Semi Delicious and Lagaffe Tales. His latest release 'Gentle Actions' is out now on Carista’s United Identities imprint. Always adding bits to his studio setup, from vintage drum machines to analog and FM synths, his sound is constantly evolving. Rather than sticking to a single genre, his music is defined by its soulful and introspective quality - evident in his productions, DJ sets and monthly radioshow ‘Gentle Actions’ on Amsterdam’s RRFM. As a DJ he’s performed across the Netherlands at festivals like Lowlands and Best Kept Secret, renowned venues like De School and Radio Radio, and made appearances on platforms such as Dekmantel, Boiler Room and NTS.

CC:DISCO!

Australian DJ and radio host known for her uplifting disco, boogie, and classic house sets.

Erol Alkan

British DJ and producer, founder of Phantasy Sound and the iconic Trash nightclub in London.

Danilo Plessow

German producer also known as Motor City Drum Ensemble, celebrated for rare funk, disco, and sample-heavy deep house.

Motor City Drum Ensemble

German producer (Danilo Plessow) globally celebrated for rare disco gems, raw funk, and sample-heavy deep house.

Dee Diggs

Dee Diggs is a DJ, music producer, and creative multi-hyphenate based in Brooklyn, NY. She is unapologetically black, queer, and a lifelong student of the tenets of House Music. Every single set by this connoisseur feels like a celebration – a celebration of club culture, of queerness, of community, of house and techno, and of house and techno's Black and Queer American innovators. Her energetic, yet deep approach to DJing has seen this Boston to Brooklyn transplant first garnering attention in the queer party scene of NYC and now lighting up dancefloors all over the world with regular European and international tours. Her aim has always been to contribute & sustain more spaces where marginalized groups are valued and thanked by name for their contributions to humanity. Thank the ORIGINAL Black innovators of House & Techno! Thank you, Disco and Ballroom Queens & Queers and Club Kids alike for the theatrics & fanfare of nightlife as we know it! There are homages to these origins alluded to in all things 'Dee Diggs', from the aesthetics to the sharing of the referential and varied tracks that fill her most noteworthy mixes, to her own original music! She’s known for releasing standout mixes for the likes of Daisychain, Honcho, and Dekmantel over the past couple of years. Her musical adventures spanning all possible genres, the common denominator here is Dee Diggs’ unrivaled taste. Her sound cuts an arch through dance music’s past and present to convey an interesting melding of Dee’s signature sounds: lyrical storied tracks, sensual club edits, soulful realness, sneaky grooves, passionate thumpers, and nostalgic endings. Her eponymous party, House of Diggs debuted in February 2020 to stir and settle the hearts of all the lovers of house, funk, soul, disco, and R&B in Brooklyn, before the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent club closings curtailed that momentum for 1.5 years. However, 2021, found her making strides again when she resumed curating House of Diggs as a semi-regular event series at Jupiter Disco, a rotary-focused intimate dance floor in Bushwick before her touring DJ schedule ramped up intensely. She currently holds and curates a seasonal DJ residency at a hi-fi nightclub in Gowanus, BK named Public Records. House of Diggs makes an appearance yearly around PRIDE to take over all 3 rooms of Public Records with Queer Imagination and Sonic Pleasure! Diggs' steady rise continues as she steps in to headline many club and festival lineups in 2023 and beyond. The east coast darling bares her soul on these decks — when you hear her, you feel her, and there is no mistaking the beauty and grit of this sound and this feeling!

Elias Mazian

DJ, Producer, Songwriter. Amsterdam. Private Hearts Radio.

Gerd Janson

German DJ and founder of Running Back Records, acclaimed for encyclopaedic knowledge spanning house, disco, and techno.

Lysah

Make A Dance

Make A Dance is the lovechild of Ben Lewis & Josh Ludlow. Also own and run the label M.A.D RECORDS

Nedda Sou

Nedda Sou has a no bullshit approach to uniting people in and outside the club under one groove. No stranger to the complexities and hardships of having a mixed identity, Nedda is driven by a desire to break down barriers and establish honest role models. She has made youth theatre focused on authenticity and peer pressure, fusing Freestyle dance with Spoken Word, electronic music and physical theatre. She runs an event series called Pass The Torch, where a guest who is active in club or street culture shares their perspectives and experiences before showing a film that has inspired them on their creative journey. She's the co-founder of The Update, a group of independent creatives in leadership positions focused on collective ownership of artistic spaces. Not to mention the vast experience she has as a teacher, mentor and judge in dance schools, workshops and tournaments around the world. Growing up in The Hague in a Moroccan household, young Nedda struggled to find a sense of belonging until she found club culture. Moroccan pop, funk and traditional Arabic music blasted from the kitchen radio and at family gatherings, but it was the emotion of Moroccan hip hop cuts on cassette passed on to her by a French cousin that first truly captured her musical attention. A DJ Cut Killer cassette in particular really spoke to young Nedda. On presenting her finds to her older friends expecting gratitude and glory for enriching their lives with this music, Nedda was disappointed by their response. "Oh yeah, we know that one from the club". Nedda Sou needed to get to this infamous "club" place. Not longer after, The Hague's Club Asta and Paard van Troje became her stomping ground. But she didn't stomp like the rest of us. Nedda took to dance like a fish to water. It became what she lived for. After just a few years of professional dance training, she was booked to dance for Footlocker and Nike, at the TMF Awards and on MTV. But she was aware she was following someone else's vision for her creativity, and she missed the club feeling, Then Nedda made a pivotal discovery. House dance culture. It was like a homecoming. Years later, Nedda Sou found herself learning basic music production skills when creating the multidisciplinary youth theater piece 'Ja hé?'. Putting together a collage of sounds for the performance, something clicked in Nedda's mind. She began selecting mixable tracks in her head whenever she listened to music. While recovering from a dance injury, Nedda took the plunge and rented a studio with decks in it so she could practice mixing "like a maniac". Nedda Sou the DJ was born.

Paula Tape

DJ & producer from Santiago de Chile, currently residing in Europe.

Ruby Savage

Since moving from her hometown Amsterdam to London in 2007, Ruby Savage has worked behind the counter at Honest Jon’s Records and managed record label Sounds Signature, where she also created the Wildheart Recordings sister label. Much of Brownswood Recording’s recent success has been down to her stewardship as label manager from 2016-2018, while personal exploits have taken her to the dance floor with her In Flames post-punk disco party and a monthly show on NTS.

Shy One

DJ / Producer from London. NTS - Soup To Nuts show Balamii Radio

Running Hot

Berlin based DJ and producer.

SHMLSS