Chloe Robinson, AKA DJ Barely Legal, is the genre-blending hero who’s been making a name for herself on the underground scene for a few years now with her trademark mixes of grime, hip hop and jungle – not forgetting a welcome dose of d&b for good measure. Chances are you’ve probably plugged into one of her killer sets via Boiler Room, seen her in Fabric, or caught her on the international fest circuit doing her thing in a noisy bit of Adidas. If you haven’t yet (why?) then well done, you’ve just found another reason to head to Hideout this summer in Croatia, where Barely Legal will be joined by David Rodigan MBE, Shy FX, Stormzy and a whole host of other names at one of Europe’s finest dance events. Scorching weather and DJ Barely Legal? Doesn’t get much better than that.
To get you in the mood, we quizzed Robinson on her misspent youth, her favourite DJs, and her tracks of the moment.
You established your name when you were 19, does this reflect your reckless years as a teenager? What mischief did you get up to?
I was pretty terrible as a teenager, yeah. I got suspended three times at Secondary school. One of the people I looked up to was Stevo from Jackass when I was growing up and I used to record ’stunt’ videos with my best friend from school doing some really wrong stuff.
How did you decide you wanted to become a DJ?
It was never something I’d decided on, I just treated it as a hobby and it naturally just started to become a thing for me- Winning a competition on 1xtra and then being invited back for a years residency on Mistajams show made me take it more seriously and realise that maybe it was actually going somewhere
You’re playing a lot of UK festivals this year, what is it that you like the most about them?
The UK music scene is the strongest for sure so the line ups are always insane. There’s also not really any rules at a festival- and if there are rules, a festival is where they’re all thrown out the window (I’m all for that)
What’s your most memorable festival moment?
Ending up backstage at Glastonbury when I was 9 because I went into the ‘forbidden’ field on my own and got lost.
Go-to festival get up?
Beaters on your feet (trainers you don’t mind messing up), glitter dust, something with pockets so you don’t have to carry a bag and dress code for me is always fun, never serious.
What are your top 5 tracks getting featured in your sets at the moment?
Addison Groove – “Ina”
DJ Marsta & Ivan O – “Come Again”
Deft – “Cronx”
Kid Drama – “Red Magic”
Alix Perez – “Recall & Reflect”
Dream DJ to go back to back on a set with and why?
I always pick a different DJ every time I answer this question- today I’m gunna say Ben UFO cause I’d literally have no idea what was coming next and he’s cool af.
Most insane club night you’ve ever played?
It’s difficult to pick a venue out of all the ones I’ve played at but I’m hoping Four Tet will manage to turn Trocadero into a club and then I’m sure that’ll be the most insane!
How do you cope with partying in to the night? Do you EVER get tired?
It’s all about the skill of taking a disco nap before your set, especially if it’s a late one! Occasionally I get tired, but in general I have decent stamina fortunately.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life what would it be?
Any track from ‘The Miseducation of Lauren Hill’