Techno pioneer Lady Aida dies, aged 63

Dutch techno pioneer Lady Aida has died, aged 63.

Lady Aida, real name Aïda Spaninks, died following a short illness which was first reported in Eindhovens Dagblad, the Dutch city where Spaninks was raised.

Serge Clone, from famed Dutch techno label and record shop Clone, wrote a tribute to Spaninks on Facebook (via DJ Mag).

He said: “She was a true rebel and always up for some good jokes and some proper techno to stir things up,” he said. “After some health issues she took the DJing a bit slower and became Kundalini yoga teacher and started her Rebelbass DJ school.”

Sad news… Our dutch first lady of techno has left us. She started dj’ing in the mid 80’s and was one of the dutch…

Posted by Serge Clone on Tuesday, September 28, 2021

He continued: “She was proud of her Indonesian roots and her Brabantse gezelligheid. I’ll never forget how she announced herself with a loud ‘Eindhoven de gekste!!’ when she entered the store!

“Always energetic and full of passion in everything she did which made her one of the most skilled and popular techno DJs in the ’90s.”

You can see some more tributes to her here:

Spaninks was born in Diessen, close to Eindhoven in 1958 and built her name as an innovative DJ at festivals like Pinkpop and Lowlands. In the 90s, her innovative style and music garnered a loyal fan base.

As reported in DJ Mag, Spaninks “continued DJing into her sixties, amassing a vast vinyl collection in the process, and, in 2009, set up Rebelbass, a DJ school in Eindhoven.”

Spaniniks also enjoyed writing, publishing a monthly column via Eindhovens Dagblad and her own blog.