vispera
vispera
vispera
What was your first live set on the mic? ​
My first proper set with my name on the billing was for Full Spectrum - a Bristol based Drum and Bass brand celebrating diversity. They put on banging events and were good enough to give me my first big performance opportunity - and have since become very good friends of mine!
What was that moment like?​
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​You’ve performed across a range of raves and venues - what’s been your favourite set so far?
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I think it’s got to be our Phase Records DNB takeover at Hospitality on the Beach last year. I got to host 3 hours of my mates absolutely killing it with that signature Phase skatimal sound, as the sun set over the beautiful Croatian sea! Very proud moment for us as a team indeed.
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However, since I started the Minimal Damage events, every set I’ve done at those has been pretty special too!
How has your journey been navigating the scene as an MC?
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The MC journey’s allowed me to explore, create and perform in parts of the country I hadn’t been to before, even flying to other countries too! It’s rewarding to see consistent effort build slow progress and shared success, finding myself with aligned individuals who spark creativity and are on the same journey for themselves has been fantastic especially when everyone supports one another.
It’s not about fuelling the ego, it’s about fuelling the ecosystem of sound that we can all thrive within!
"If girls see women commanding the rave and taking up space ... my hope is that it inspires them ... "
If you could go b2b with any DJ or MC, past or present, who would it be and why?​
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Going to say an MC b2b with Strategy, he’s just the top of his game and a massive inspiration for me - as an artist, all round creative and industry pro who paves his own way.
Last year, you released your first EP ‘Eden’, can you talk us through the themes of the project?​
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Yes! That was a while in the making, my real name is Eve, (Vispera means Eve in Spanish - as in the night before) so I always wanted to do something around the biblical creation story, but with a feminist twist.
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While Eve’s disobedience in eating the apple is portrayed as the root of mankind’s downfall, in the EDEN EP - I reframe it as an act of resistance against the confines of patriarchal rule. The biblical story has long served as a warning to women—against intuition, curiosity, and the pursuit of higher knowledge—especially under the influence of the Church. This EP explores themes of reclaiming agency, causing damage to suppressive structures, and amplifying the female experience, all set against the modern backdrop of Drum and Bass and navigating the scene as a female MC
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For the four tracks I worked with different producers from Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham and London and I toured the EP to these four cities in September, alongside my amazing DJ and Dropjaw Audio Label boss, Kyber, who kindly released the EP for me and designed the album/tour art! (Shouts to Abzero for designing the EDEN font too!)
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The whole project was wicked from start to finish, and you might not have seen the end of it yet…
How does your process usually start when writing or working on a new track?
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It depends what comes first, my idea or the producers - if I have an idea of a track I want to make and some lyrics written already, like with EDEN, I might explain the concept to the producer, send them a demo of the bars, and see what they can conjure up musically!
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If the producer has a project they’ve already started, and wants me to provide a vocal - I try to listen and see what sort of scene / mood / images / colours pop up in my mind, they might inspire some lyrics or things to talk about. My 140 track ‘Unsung’ with Portrait is an example of this happening.
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If the producer has a cool title for it already, I like using that as a writing prompt too - like ‘Power’ by Gifta and Xyde - this had the name before we started making the tune.
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Once I have the music and the lyrical ideas, I try spit them out loud in cycles, making tweaks to see what feels best and most natural to perform - sometimes the best edits are made out loud literally mid set
How did the transition from poetry to MCing happen?​
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When I was doing spoken word gigs and writing poetry for slams etc, I always wanted to combine it with my love of raving and Drum and Bass, I was nervous to try and it took me a while to take the plunge, but it happened quite smoothly once I decided to try.
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After learning to DJ with my friend Amy (Lilithyx) during lockdown, we got a residency on Goatshed called ‘Forbidden FM’, those streams ended up being the space I needed to give it a proper go. A few gigs came off the back of that, my confidence grew from there and it’s been my main focus ever since.
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I would like to get back into poetry gigs soon, but it’s been amazing to learn how to spit to music, host a rave and develop the ‘Vispera’ side of things
How important is it for you to use your craft to speak on the female experience, especially in MCing which is hugely male-dominated?
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Hugely important! There are so many incredible women MCs smashing it in Drum and Bass right now, but when I first started raving they just weren’t in my line of sight. Given the issues women face in nightlife and the club scene—let alone in wider society—I wanted my voice to be one of empowerment, and to challenge the male-dominated status quo.
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If the narrators of our rave spaces are all men, and the words blasting out of the sound system come only from a male perspective— sadly too often with derogatory or offensive lyrics —how are women supposed to feel in those spaces? Are we just there to be looked at? Never to contribute our voices to the culture? Just passively absorbing misogyny because there’s nothing to contend with that standard?
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If girls see women commanding the rave and taking up space on the mic, my hope is that it inspires them to find their own voices. I’d love to inspire the next generation of female MCs, or at least spark more critical thinking around the patriarchal structures embedded in the scene and beyond. Seeing women on the mic might also help more girls feel confident to call out harassment, reclaim their space, or reach out for support if they need it in the dance. Historically, the role of the MC has also been one of safeguarding at the rave, you’ve got your eyes on the crowd and might be the first to spot something happening. I think it’s super important that messages of positive behaviour and respect are amplified across the scene still.
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My background in poetry taught me that if you’re holding a mic, you have something of a responsibility to make good use of it. I’ve always tried to lead with meaning and intention in my lyrics—while still making sure everyone’s having a sick time too of course!
Being from Manchester, how has the vibrant DnB scene there inspired you?​
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​Going out in my late teens to places like Antwerp Mansion, seeing Levelz MCs and maybe attending the odd illegal rave got me going on this DnB path for sure. Then I moved to Bristol for Uni, and that was where I started MCing and building initial relationships.
Who are some local artists you would recommend?​
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Oh gosh there are sooo many!! I’m going to have to narrow it down to the ladies I’ve booked for my events so far, for how hard they can shell it down on the decks but this list is by no means exhaustive:
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Get to know: Kyber, Abzero, Yonic, Lucidik, Jessy P, Cookie and Prosék !!
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As for MCs, huge shout out to these fellow manny mic queens: Mamba.exe, Rosebud and Foxi
What’s coming up for the rest of 2025?​
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​Releases, a few festival appearances, more events from Minimal Damage, visual projects to accompany releases past and present too, more with bits with Phase Records DNB, more bits with Dropjaw Audio and hopefully, generally coming harder and stronger than before!
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