Skiddle Mix 025: Holly Lester (Chibuku Shake Shake)

Thirteen years to the good, Chibuku Shake Shake remains as invigoratingly young and youthful as it was when a fresh faced French house soiree back at the start of the century. It’s since gone on to explode across every caveat of electronic music known to man, a riot of eclecticism emanating from Liverpool twice a month.

Part of the success is retaining that hedonistic allure has been the constant reinvigoration process with its ‘friends and residents’ mandate, constantly cherry picking the best talent in the city. Case in point Holly Lester, who started making waves with her crunchy house grooves across the city a couple of years ago and has since gone onto play regularly in Ibiza and beyond.

Friday 27^th September sees Annie Mac return to Liverpool and Chibuku, and Holly is part of an all female line-up in the theatre, with our perennial favs Bondax also playing that evening. We managed to grab a mix off Holly just as she recuperated from a heady season working in Ibiza, and pressed her on her career to date.

Skiddle Mix 025 - Holly Lester (Chibuku Shake Shake) by Skiddle on Mixcloud

Firstly for those who may not be aware of you, could you introduce yourself? 

Hello, I am Holly Lester :)  I’m originally from Ireland (in the middle of nowhere quite near to Armagh city) but have lived in Liverpool now for the past couple of years studying.

I have been DJing since I was 14 years old but things have really taken off for me since moving to the city. It’s hard to pin point exactly what I play but I have always played house music since day one in some form, though after returning from another season in Ibiza my sets have been leaning more towards the techier side recently.   

You’re playing at Chibuku shortly; is this your first gig for them? How excited are you to be a part of it? 

No, it is actually my third; I supported Fake Blood for them last year and also DJed in the Camp & Furnace warehouse at their NYE party as part of LDMS (Liverpool Dance Music Society) which was a lot of fun. I’m very excited to be back this year and feeling very privileged to be playing the incredible theatre for the first time alongside such massive names. I

t’s also pretty cool that everyone on in the theatre that night is female!  I’ve had such a great response from so many people about this gig- its definitely going to be a very memorable night.  

Is it an event you go to frequently? 

Yes, I went to nearly every event last year and quite a few in my first year of uni as well. My first ever rave in Liverpool was Hospitality at Chibuku back in 2011. I wouldn’t have believed it if someone had told me I’d be playing in the theatre in two years time!  

Where else in Liverpool are you playing and frequently attending? 

Due to the recent rise in popularity of house music across the city, there has been an abundance of nights starting up making it impossible to stay in alongside the more established nights which I regularly attend, such as Abandon Silence, Circus and Get Down.

I am also involved with the organisation of LDMS which began a couple of years ago as student open deck nights in one of my favourite venues in town; The Magnet. Since last year, we have been booking big headliners (Darius Syrossian, Hector Couto and Audiojack to name a few). I have a lot to be thankful for with LDMS, as their “Open Deck Socials” helped me to find my feet. DJ-wise, I have played for a lot of the underground house nights in the city, including GetDown, Discoteca Poca and Waxxx. 

You’ve spent the summer in Ibiza; how was it? 

It was amazing as expected and I’m currently suffering from the ‘Ibiza Blues’, its lucky that I have some good gigs lined up here to take my mind off it! It was my second season and definitely not my last; it’s the best place in the world to be as a DJ/electronic music fanatic plus the island itself is beautiful (if you venture out of San Antonio).

I’ve had a real love affair with it since being on holiday there five years ago. I guess it is nice to be back to reality but it’s hard to adjust from the incredible night life, there is something amazing on every night without fail. My favourite parties this year were Loco Dice’s USED+ABUSED at Ushuaia, Viva Warriors at Sankeys, Cocoon and Music On (both at Amnesia). Luckily a lot of the amazing people I’ve met out there over the past two years are coming to see me play, so it looks like Chibuku will also be serving as an Ibiza reunion for me that night aswell.  

Did you DJ out there much? 

I DJed as much as possible, fitting it around my job which was working for Space full time. As you can imagine it was a very hectic four months, constantly working, DJing and partying but I managed to play at some amazing venues and parties.

Playing after Darius Syrossian for Departure was probably the best gig I have done so far in terms of crowd atmosphere. The new sound system in Eden was also a dream to play on. I had a weekly residency for a workers party in Viva (aptly named Spooned) who also ran events at Delano Beach and massive villas in the hills… All in all, it’s been a very productive summer!  

And finally, what else lies in the future for you?

Asides from Chibuku, I also have a gig coming up on Oct 18th in Egg London and will also be playing at venues across the UK over winter in Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and London.

I’m also plan to start producing full time now- I have way too many ideas in my head to contain anymore! It’s going to be a busy year with gigging, producing and my final year of uni...then back to the White Isle where I’m hoping for even bigger things than this year! 

Like this? read our interview with the Liverpool DMS here.

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