CARISTA

A booth without ego and with a lot of pulse

The energy of CARISTA is recognized by an untamed mix of warmth, risk, and collective reading of the dancefloor. Born, raised, and based in Utrecht, with Surinamese family roots, she has turned her musical history into a way of connecting communities rather than just a simple DJ career. Her sonic education grew between soul, jazz, Caribbean music, Surinamese sounds, pirate radio, R&B, hip hop, house, and British electronica, a combination that explains the breadth of her sessions and her refusal to be locked into a single genre.

From a mixtape at BIRD to international radio

The first big turn came in 2012, when she won the The Lost Files of 2011 mixtape contest at the Rotterdam club BIRD and landed her first public performance. From there, she built a reputation as a restless selector, with a residency at Red Light Radio since 2015 and an increasingly recognizable presence on the Dutch circuit. In 2017, she consolidated two decisive fronts: her bond with NTS Radio and the creation of United Identities, a platform that functions as a label, event series, and support space for local artists and new voices.

United Identities as a scene concept

Under the motto No Ego, All Equal, United Identities summarizes the way CARISTA understands music: a tool to make talent visible, open doors, and bring together scenes that do not usually share the same space. From that platform, she has promoted compilations such as Modern Intimacy Volume 1 and Modern Intimacy Volume 2, in addition to releasing her production debut Aisa's Dream. Her own catalog has expanded with pieces like Obscure Renders, created as an original score for A-COLD-WALL*, Caught In The Loop for Black Artist Database, and Fractal alongside Lucas Tromer, a high-energy techno cut released by United Identities.

Expansive groove, bass, and soul

Her sets move through house, techno, broken beat, breaks, disco, boogie, and bass sounds with uncommon naturalness. The key is not just in the variety, but in how she links tension, smiles, and surprise without losing the emotional center of the session. That way of DJing has taken her to spaces like Fabric, Nitsa, De School, Lofi, Lowlands, Dekmantel, AVA Festival, Pitch Music & Arts in Melbourne, Berghain, DC-10, and Panorama Bar. Her Boiler Room at Dekmantel 2018 amplified her international reach, while her BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix was nominated for Mix of the Year 2020 and preceded a six-month residency at the station in 2021. That same year, she received the Gieskes-Strijbis Podiumprijs, reinforcing her role as one of the most unique figures in current Dutch electronica. In 2026, she remains active on lineups such as The Crave Festival, 909 Festival, ZeeZout at the Beach, and Drift Festival, maintaining a position as a curator, producer, and DJ capable of uniting club, radio, label, and community.