The Large filters British bass energy through New York and beyond in this blissful blend of dancehall, R&B and more.

Growing up in Bristol, The Large was surrounded by inspiring music, from the genre-bending trip hop of scene pioneers Tricky and Massive Attack to Roni Size & Reprazent’s award-winning drum & bass. This passion for bass eventually took her to London, where she began to involve herself in the local party scene.

Soon, she was DJing regularly and scored a residency at The Heatwave’s legendary Hot Wuk parties. Following this, she ran the Shimmy Shimmy blog (and its sister zine No Ice Cream Sound) and co-helmed the Style & Swagger radio show. And after DJing across the world with no shortage of legends, performing at Carnival and developing her electric style, The Large made the move across the pond to New York City.

She relocated to work for Dre Skull’s Mixpak imprint full time, and was the longtime “spirit guide” for the label, assembling and releasing records with Florentino, Palmistry, Popcaan and others. In 2016, she helped the crew dominate Culture Clash, taking them to another level entirely.

After almost ten years at Mixpak, The Large decided to leave the label in 2019 and is now concentrating on new projects. At the end of this month, she’ll be starting a new NTS show that will be hinged on her knowledge of unusual club forms, dancehall and UK flavors.

The Large’s FACT mix is a boundary-pushing excursion into global dance styles, but never loses sight of the inherent joy of the dancefloor. With fiery dancehall cuts rubbing alongside club pressure from FACT faves like Florentino, Lurka, 8ULENTINA and Kelman Duran, this is an expert collection from one of the scene’s most quietly influential figures.

Tracklist:

Blastah – ‘Miss independent’
Nindja – ‘I Got 5 on it’
Buju Banton – ‘Trust’
Florentino x Albany – ‘Dime Que Tu Quieres’ (Zora Jones & Sinjin Hawke remix)
Ayeeemami – ‘Detras de Ti’
Danielle DI x Ying Yang twins – ‘Equiss Remix’
YG – ‘I’m Good (Architect on the drums)’
Lurka – ‘Stay let’s together’
Ding Dong – ‘Gyalis Story’
Stylo G – ‘Dumpling’
Swing Ting & Kiyano – ‘Bubblegum’
Shintaro & Uki – ‘Grindin’
8ulentina – ‘Girlblunt’
Kelman Duran – ‘6 de la Manana’ (Sir Gil Santos Edit)
King Doudou – ‘Perreo Android’
Hectic Boy – ‘Murder’
NA DJ – ‘Buzz’
Tempo feat Ghetto – ‘Donde Estan Las Gerlas’
Commander B – ‘Pum Pum Riddim’ (Florentino Remix)
Kelman Duran – ‘Unknown 3’
A Star – ‘Step Challenge’
Naira Marley – ‘soapy’
Kelela – ‘Blue Light’ (Nidia Remix)
DJ Kent – ‘Falling’ (Feat. Malehlokwa)
Lazy Flow – ‘Dancehall Ha’
Kartel Brown – ‘Hot gyal pussy’
Sade – ‘Love You more’ (Blanco Club Edit)
DJ Swisha – ‘I’m so Hi’ (feat DIYR)
Tygapaw – ‘Applause Ha’
Mala – ‘Changes’ (Florentino remix)
Pa Salieu – ‘Frontline’ (High Class Filter Remix)
Color Plus – ‘Nothin Free’
NA DJ – ‘Rave Slaps Xtarri’
DJ Nephets – ‘X Gonna Give It To Ya’
SL2 – ‘Way In My Brain’
M Beat – ‘Sweet Love’
M Beat – ‘Keep On Movin’
DJ Nephets – ‘Shake U Off’ (Juked Mix)
Rizzla – ‘Burning Boat’

Listen next: FACT mix 743 – DJ Haram