Best of British Best Breakthrough DJ: Or:la

“Pretty surreal,” Orlagh Dooley replies when asked how it feels to be voted the finest emergent talent in British booths by readers of the finest dance music magazine in the world.

In many ways, though, the biggest surprise is she didn’t see it coming. A regular fixture in our Regional Raving pages,when you’re such a hit in this corner of the clubbing press an accolade is inevitable eventually. 

Although notably more selective than many of her peers when it comes to guesting at other parties, appearances in 2017 took her from Andorra to Aberdeen, while still holding down one of the UK’s most talked about residencies at her clandestine Liverpool shindig, the venue hopping bash Meine Nacht,

Over the past 12 months, this Derry-born spinner hit career landmark after career landmark. A Boiler Room performance live from AVA Festival— her native Northern Ireland’s most astute and forward thinking rave—and debut set in fabric’s Room 1 top this year’s bookings, meanwhile launching her own Deep Sea Frequencies imprint, and securing a regular slot on NTS Radio marks her out as far more than just a club selector. 

“I have a remix coming out on Houndstooth in February, then an EP on another label following on from that,” she says of her plans for 2018. “And I’m doing an Australia and New Zealand tour in March, which I’m really looking forward to.”

And what better way to kick start that calendar than with a Best of British win?