DJ Lindsey

About Lindsey

Lindsey Caldwell, aka DJ Lindsey, has high standards, both for herself and for the songs she plays. The one question she asks of music is “Does it hold up to all these classics that I love?” Nostalgia is a handy tool, especially when prompted by her mix of standards and more obscure tracks, but it’s too dull of a concept around which to base a DJ set. Lindsey has an intergenre naturalism, blending styles, and eras effortlessly to create a flow of songs that is beholden not strictly to one sect of the musical spectrum, but that bind smartly by mood and unaffrontable goodness.

Her renowned Negroclash night at APT became the cornerstone of her unique mixing style. Sharing the decks with luminaries such as Afrika Baambaata, Mantronix, and Larry Heard, along with her partners Duane and DJ Language—was the foundation for this logical mix, emerging in the wake of Electroclash and coming to life alongside early residencies of Metro Area and James Murphy, the night “evolved into a celebration of the African-American contribution to electronic music,” Lindsey says. Her definition of electronic, of course, was ever-expanding, including early house music, 80s New Wave, Pop, R&B, and golden era hip-hop. She’s explored ’88 to ’98 at her weekly night, with her husband DJ Myles, The Hump. The Hump was awarded People’s Choice: Best Party by Paper Magazine. From time to time, she was called on by Prince to DJ private events and events. Parallel to her DJ career’s growth, Lindsey worked for places like Rockstar Games, Girlie Action PR, KCD, FADER magazine, and Microsoft Zune participating in all facets of musical creation and business. She has sung backup vocals for the Rapture and Beans, Great Weekend, released 12-inch singles with both Eli Escobar, and DJ Language. She has a long-running radio show called Look Both Ways on The Lot Radio and wrote and created the podcast/mix show Black Is Black for Sonos Radio which is an anthropological analysis of the music of the Black diaspora.

She was an original resident of the Boom Boom Room inside the Standard Hotel New York. She was hand-picked by Bethann Hardison to DJ the party celebrating Iman’s CFDA award and then later a similar celebration for Naomi Campbell at Le Bain. She has played most of NY’s hottest underground spots in her 20+ year career as a NY DJ. She was selected to play PS1′s Warm Up alongside living legend Lovebug Starski and has been featured in The New York Times, Elle Magazine, Allure, Ebony, GQ, Paper Magazine, Time Out New York, Lucky, Italian Vogue, Uptown Magazine, and numerous style blogs. She was counted amongst men.style.com’s “Women of Style,” a perfect reflection of her refined but playful sensibilities, musical and—like all well-rounded DJs—otherwise.