ElektroSpank - FMA - RSTRT The Machines: In Conversation with DJ Blackdeath1334

RSTRT The Machines: In Conversation with DJ Blackdeath1334

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DJ Blackdeath1334 is about to power up the machines, taking over the booth at Death Disco club Athens, kicking off the club nights of the RSRT The Machines series!

Also known to the underground as Franzesca, she is a powerhouse selector specializing in industrial, dark electronic, coldwave, and EBM. With a strong dedication to the darker side of club culture and a resume including international streams and legendary London alternative club Slimelight, she is uniquely qualified to kickstart a brand-new era of Athenian dark nightlife. If you love your club nights heavy, dark, and full of industrial, electronic energy, mark your calendar for October 9th. RSTRT The Machines is launching its club night, conceptualized by Manos Karakatsanis.

Want to be there for free? Stay tuned, because we are running a contest offering one double free entrance for the night! Follow the link here:

Giveaway!!! RSTRT THE MACHINES Club night: DJ Blackdeath1334 (UK) – Valisia – No.Disc

I had a chat with DJ Blackdeath1334 about the early years, her DJing experiences and what we can expect when the machines restart next week.

ES: Hi Francesca! I am really happy to have you in ElektroSpank! I will take you back in time for a while, and travel to mid-90s Italy. You started your DJ journey there organizing Into the Darkness events, before moving to London and joining Slimelight in 1996. How did those early days in Italy shape the DJ you are today?

DJ Blackdeath1334: Hi Achilleas, thanks for the invitation. I grew up in Sardinia, so my reality was quite different from the people living in the Italian mainland. Being on an island, everything was much harder, you couldn't just get a train and go and see a gig or go to a club, so the start of Into the Darkness was really out of need of having something that was ours in Sardinia. As well as the name of our club where we would have live music and DJ sets, "Into the Darkness" was also a fanzine I started with my friends Giacomo and Francesca (yes, a very popular name in Sardinia :). Everything was very DIY, with collaborations from family and friends, and it was a great sense of creative community. Those early days taught me the importance of expressing myself for "survival" as well as being independent while doing what you love.

ES: Before your solo project as DJ Blackdeath1334, you started as part of a DJ duo. How did sharing the DJ booth back then help build your confidence as a DJ?

DJ Blackdeath1334: My DJ career in London started as a duo with my friend Betta under the names Ophelia and Red Nettle. I've always been quite shy, so sharing the booth with a friend made the experience much more fun and much less intimidating. Together we brought a more obscure and "European-based" playlist to crowds who were used to very repetitive goth setlists(mostly Sisters of Mercy and endless copies of that sound). We had never DJed before and we couldn't afford buying all the CDs we would have liked, so all our friends came to our place and shared their CDs with us. It felt exciting to introduce something darker and less predictable, and those early nights really helped me build confidence in my own musical identity.

ES: Being a resident DJ at the legendary Slimelight for three decades is, to say the least, a huge achievement. What, would you say, is the secret to its survival, and how has the club's energy changed over the years?

DJ Blackdeath1334: The survival of Slimelight has always been rooted in the love that its founder, Mak, had for the club and the community around it. He created more than just a venue.He built a family, a safe space, a home for outsiders. That spirit is what kept Slimelight alive for so many years. My own survival as a DJ is also deeply connected to Mak. He gave me the chance to be myself and to play exactly what I wanted, without ever telling me it was "too much" or "too extreme." That freedom shaped me. I never had to dilute my sound or hide my xperimental side, and that trust allowed me to grow into the DJ I am today. Having someone who supports your authenticity makes all the difference. After the sad loss of Mak in 2020, Ricardo took on the running of Slimelight, with Steve and myself helping him to run the club.
Ricardo's passion has kept the club going in a new format and style, while still continuing Mak's work and preserving the heart of Slimelight. It's a balance between honouring the past and embracing evolution. Slimelight has always been a place where experimentation is welcomed, where people come to experience something different rather than just a playlist of requests. Today's crowds feel a bit more open to new sounds, but the energy remains as unpredictable as ever,which is exactly what keeps the club alive.

ES: Your style covers a very wide sound, from Old School EBM and Minimal Wave to harsh Rhythmic Noise. How do you manage to smoothly transition a dancefloor from a dark, coldwave tempo into heavy industrial noise?

DJ Blackdeath1334: For me, a DJ set is an emotional journey. It shifts depending on my mood and the crowd's energy. I started mixing different styles in the same set back in the 90s, even when people didn't always understand the logic. I'm fully aware that the transitions between different styles might not be the smoothest, but DJ sets that obsessively follow BPMs instead of the quality and feeling of the tracks are extremely boring to me.

ES: Rhythmic noise and harsh industrial techno can be very intense. How do you read the crowd to know the exact moment to drop a heavier or a more "accessible" track?

DJ Blackdeath1334: Observing the crowd can help. You learn when it's time to push into a harder sound or when to bring in something more accessible. Many DJs prepare their sets in advance, and it often works if they know the crowd well. But I prefer the old-school (or crazy!) way of reacting in the moment.

ES: During the pandemic, you created special live streams using visuals, especially one using the classic silent movie Metropolis (1927). How much do movies and visual art influence your music choices?

DJ Blackdeath1334: Movies and visual art have shaped me just as much as music or literature. I spent most of my late teenage years' nights watching movies. The stark imagery of films like Metropolis, Nosferatu, Un Chien Andalou, M, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari or The Seventh Seal (to name just a few) was a clear representation of the music I was listening to. During the pandemic, the livestreams gave me a way to merge those influences with my sets. Using visuals helped me create a whole world around the music, and it also conveniently covered my face, so I could forget the camera was there :)

ES: You have played major European festivals like Wave-Gotik-Treffen and the Wrocław Industrial Festival. How does playing a massive festival stage compare to a hot, intimate club?

DJ Blackdeath1334: Big festivals can be more nerve-wracking, but sometimes they're actually easier. With larger crowds, you notice less if someone leaves the dancefloor or looks bored. In small clubs, everything is more immediate and intimate — both the good moments and the difficult ones. In a small club, every reaction hits you directly, and there's nowhere to hide from the energy in the room.

ES: You have also played as a guest DJ in many countries around Europe, from Rome to Amsterdam. Do you notice diverse reactions or different regional tastes when it comes to industrial and EBM music across those places?

DJ Blackdeath1334: In the 90s and early 2000s, I felt European crowds were more openminded and musically advanced than UK ones, especially when it came to EBM and new genres of music. Now I think they're quite similar, and the differences depend more on the specific club night than the country.

ES: One of the reasons underground music survives is because people connect across borders. How important do you think the role of a traveling DJ is in sharing music with different local scenes in Europe?

DJ Blackdeath1334: Growing up, my connection to people and new music came often through the post: mail-orders, handwritten letters, and exchanged tapes. That ritual of waiting, discovering, and sharing created a kind of emotional intimacy with music that I wouldn't trade for anything (old lady here :). It shaped my sense of community long before clubs ever did. The internet makes connecting incredibly easy now, from live streams to listening platforms like Mixcloud, Bandcamp, and Spotify. But having a DJ from another country still brings a different atmosphere. It adds something special to the experience and helps scenes stay alive, reminding us that physical presence and shared space still matter in underground culture.

ES: Looking back at your previous shows in Athens, what kind of energy or feeling do you remember from the Greek dark alternative crowd?

DJ Blackdeath1334: I have wonderful memories of my previous set in Athens, from the kindness of the organisers who showed me the best spots in the city, to the lovely crowd in the club. The energy was warm, like reuniting with friends you had not seen for a while.

ES: Are there any Greek dark wave, industrial or EBM artists that you know or like to play in your sets?

DJ Blackdeath1334: Yes, absolutely! Greece has a fantastic dark electronic scene. I often play artists like Selofan, Kalte Nacht, Paradox Obscur, Doric, Dina Summer, Night in Athens, Eddy Dark, Asylum Promises… There's so much creativity coming from Greece and it's always a pleasure to include them in my sets.

ES: You are finally coming back to Athens for the first RSTRT The Machines club night at Death Disco. What does this return mean to you after a long time away?

DJ Blackdeath1334: I'm really grateful to Manos for giving me the chance to come back to Athens. Over the years, after my sets in London, I often got approached by people saying, "You should DJ in Athens," but because I never ask clubs to book me, it simply never happened. I've always believed that if a place truly wants your energy, it will reach out. So this return feels natural, genuine, and long overdue.

ES: Francesca, looking forward to October 9 at Death Disco, if you could describe the musical energy you want to bring to the Athens dancefloor in just one sentence, what would it be?

DJ Blackdeath1334: Ending with a difficult one, eh? ???? I would like to bring people on a journey shaped by instinct and emotion, shadows, noise, and the freedom to lose yourself for a moment.