Nightwave

After moving from her native Ljubljana, Slovenia to Glasgow, via London, in her late teens, Maya Medvesek, better known as Nightwave, has established herself as an internationally renowned DJ, producer, vocalist, club promoter and label boss.

In April, Nightwave released her new EP on A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs' legendary Fool's Gold Records. Entitled Wavejumper, the EP features frequent M.I.A. collaborator Rye Rye - on lead single "Awesome" - alongside Rell Rock (Owsla) and Chippy NonStop (Mad Decent). The Wavejumper EP received major press attention, with international radio plays and positive reviews from Dazed, Thump, DJ Mag, FACT, RA, High Snobiety, The List and Complex US, who had this to say: "Nightwave has been doing the damn thing on the UK dance music scene for some time. On April 14, she will emerge with her biggest boss move to date in the form of her debut EP on Fool's Gold; Wavejumper. It's a major move, and based on what we've heard, it sounds "Awesome." The new single, which features a defiant feature from Rye Rye, is all distorted 808s and party vibes. This is just the tip of the iceberg for Wavejumper, with features from Chippy Nonstop and Rell Rock. It's chock full of bass, and is no doubt some of Nightwave's most impressive work to date. Consider yourself warned."

As a DJ, Nightwave has played major festivals such as Sonar Barcelona & Tokyo, Bestival, Movement, Electric Picnic, Notting Hill Carnival, Outlook and Exit, and toured with RBMA, Lady Leshurr, Rustie, Derrick May, Azaelia Banks and Hudson Mohawke. Meanwhile, at home in Glasgow, she continues to run her own club night Nightrave, which recently toured Europe and regularly hosts the likes of Rustie (Warp), Éclair Fifi (LuckyMe), Kode 9 (Hyperdub) and ghetto-tech legend DJ Deeon (Dance Mania). Nightwave also debuted her new live show in November, which we’ll see more of across the festival circuit this summer.

Those unable to attend her shows, can check out her DJ mixes – which Complex describes as “eclectic as they are, Nightwave’s mixes are also blended gracefully, with the utmost attention to the flow” – most recently on Mixmag Lab, The Fader, Dazed, NTS, Rinse FM, Radar Radio, Triple J, Ninja Tune Solid Steel Radio, I Heart Radio, Dummy, Nest HQ and Reprezent Radio, which then duly ran on Thump, who called her “one of our favourite selectors around.”

On Nightwave's own tastemaker label Heka Trax, showcasing her passion for international, forward-thinking dance music, she's released the Geofront EP from Tokyo's Carpainter, the Big Rush EP from Berlin's Tree Trunks, the Heart.Beat EP from Moscow’s Pixelord, the Peninsula EP by Glasgow’s TryTryDieDown, the Hit Da Blokk EP from Paris' Big Dope P, Play Samba from Birmingham duo TC4, Want Some from BBC Glasgow's Bossy Love, and Hit It from the label-boss herself, feat. Chicago's legendary DJ Deeon.