Bio

DJ Totentanz Biography

Since 2000, Philadelphia-based DJ Totentanz has become a recognizable name both in and out of her local scene for her dancefloor-oriented, beat-driven style she often describes as "hard techno-industrial"

Over the course of her career, DJ Totentanz has been resident DJ for five regular Philadelphia events (Revolution, Rise!, Luxx, Goth-a-Billy Tuesdays, Infection X) and currently makes regular guest appearances on both sides of the Atlantic. She has appeared as a guest DJ at nearly all major Philadelphia events, including the quarterly Dracula's Ball, undoubtably one of the largest events of its kind in North America. She has spun at many regular club nights throughout the Mid-Atlantic (i.e.: QXT's, Alchemy DC, Ceremony), and made her international debut in Lyon, France, in 2002. In addition to her extensive nightclub experience, DJ Totentanz also spent 3 years as co-host of Pulsing Red Light, a weekly industrial/dark music show on WHRC: Haverford/Bryn Mawr College Radio. At present, she is also a featured DJ on WFKU: New York City's Dark Alternative Radio. When behind the decks, DJ Totentanz aims to provide an adrenaline-fueled experience that will keep you out on the floor for as long as you can take it. The more you sweat, the more fun you have, the harder you dance, the more she feels like she's doing her job.

Motivated by a life-long adoration of music, DJ Totentanz believes that while technical skills are a nice bonus, passion, creativity, and a knack for creating sets that flow from beginning to end are what ultimately make for a phenomenal DJ. While she truly loves and has a flair for spinning Industrial/EBM and related subgenres, DJ Totentanz is an avid listener of many styles of music and encourages others to listen to new things with an open mind. She isn't afraid to think outside the box, try out new songs and artists, and get creative with the material she plays. While not a request-driven DJ, she is open to them as long as they won't disrupt the feeling and flow of the set. She prefers to focus on the new and the cutting-edge, rather than "club classics" (even if they are classics for a reason) and older material, but generally feels that both are valid and have their place. Staying current, in her opinion, is vital to the longevity and vibrance of the scene itself, because that which does not evolve will eventually become obsolete. As a whole, DJ Totentanz generally believes that modern industrial dance music shares more in common with other forms of electronic dance music than its traditional pairing with goth, but recognizes and celebrates the shared heritage in "dark" themes and aesthetics that linked them together in the first place.

While she is a vocal supporter and advocate for the greater visibility of female musicians/DJs/producers/etc within the dark scene, DJ Totentanz does not like to emphasize or call excessive attention to her gender. When starting out as a DJ, one of the reasons she chose the name "Totentanz" was because it did not offer any clear indication as to whether the bearer of the name was male or female. By extension of this, she dislikes (for herself) the title "DJane", which has gained popularity in the German-speaking countries, especially because it is not used among German/Austrian/Swiss female DJs outside of the dark scene and ultimately not a universality of the German language. DJ Totentanz seeks to present herself simply as a DJ. Not a female DJ. No qualifiers needed.

With nearly a decade of experience under her belt and no sign of slowing down, DJ Totentanz has earned the respect of the industrial crowd and beyond for her hard-hitting sets that fare well in and out of the dark scene, as well as for her extensive musical knowledge. A fan favorite in Philadelphia, she isn't content to sit on her laurels and play hometown hero, but instead consantly strives for better and more. 2009 has proven to be nothing short of a breakthrough for DJ Totentanz. Between multiple appearances in Vienna, Austria, at Schwarzflug: Club Pi's legendary industrial/dark electro party, sharing bills with artists such as Nachtmahr and Funker Vogt, and much praise for her self-released promo mixes, DJ Totentanz is poised to take the world by storm. If 2009 was any indication, 2010 will bring bigger, better gigs and many new cities to conquer. If she has her way, this DJ's journey will lead her to nothing short of global dominance and the invasions are only just beginning!

No Gimmicks. No multi-colored plastic hair and fashion shit. No programs that do the mixing for you. Just hard beats that will knock the air out of your lungs. You will love every second.