Bella Claxton on Cadence, Following the Summer and Building Her Own Club World
Bella Claxton has spent much of the past year following summer.
Originally from Melbourne and now based in Europe, the DJ and producer has moved between festival stages, headline shows and club rooms on opposite sides of the world, developing a sound that draws from ’90s progressive house and 2000s trance while increasingly finding its own place within contemporary club music.
This European summer has offered some significant markers. Tomorrowland in Belgium, Glitch Festival in Malta and a Cadence boat party at Terminal V Croatia rank among Claxton’s personal highlights, while London is beginning to feel less like another stop on the schedule and more like home.
That shift recently led her to Hackney Wick, where she brought together Auramatic, Wolters and Sam Alfred for a free party at Crate Terrace.
“London is my new home, so it felt right to start getting involved in the city and doing something of my own here,” she explains. “The idea was really simple, a free party with friends, good music and a chance to bring together some of the people I’ve met since moving here.”
It is part of a wider community beginning to form around Claxton and her Cadence imprint. Launched in late 2025, the label grew from her fascination with movement and functional club music, providing an outlet for her own productions while gradually expanding to artists within the same orbit.
That emphasis on movement is increasingly central to her productions. Rather than building tracks around oversized moments of release, her approach favours sustained pressure, extended grooves and the kind of continuity that can hold a dancefloor for longer stretches.
Her next release takes that philosophy to Armada Music, while allowing another formative influence to surface.
“I’m so happy to have a release coming out on such an iconic label, especially using such an iconic sample,” she says. “This track feels like something I’ve always wanted to create and something that’s very true to my sound.”
“I grew up listening to this kind of music and I’m a sucker for trance, so being able to put my own take on it feels really special.”
The reference points behind Claxton’s music are becoming increasingly clear. ’90s progressive house and early-2000s trance sit prominently among them, but the aim is not to reproduce either period.
“A lot of what I’m making at the moment is about finding the common ground between those sounds and bringing them into 2026 in my own way.”
Constant movement between continents has inevitably shaped that sound too. Claxton describes herself as effectively “following the summers”, moving from the European season into Australia and back again. The resulting music carries the brighter energy of that lifestyle, but her relationship with Australia remains particularly important.
Beyond missing Melbourne’s food, it is the familiarity of the Australian electronic music community that she notices most when she is away.
“Because the scene is relatively small, everyone knows everyone. There’s something really comforting about going to a gig and knowing so many people there. Whenever I get to go back and play Australian festivals, it immediately feels like home again.”
That connection is reflected in the response to her own headline shows. Recent dates under the ‘Strictly Pumpers’ banner sold rapidly in Melbourne and Sydney, while her next trips home include appearances at MODE, OVERTONE and Freeform Festival before another Australian summer run begins in December.
“I’ve been looking forward to these shows for a while, and being on lineups alongside artists like Ben UFO, Ogazón and Richie Hawtin is super special.”
The growing audience around Claxton also feeds directly back into Cadence. Rather than treating the label simply as somewhere to release her own productions, she wants it to become a platform capable of developing the musical world forming around her.
“I feel very lucky with the crowds I get to play in front of. It genuinely feels like the people buying tickets to my shows want to dance and are interested in the music, which gives me a lot of confidence to keep pushing the sound I love.”
That trust gives her room to go deeper. Upcoming Cadence releases from Claxton herself, Entasia, RSCL and Deaf Toucan will broaden the label beyond its founder, while the parties offer another opportunity to turn its musical identity into something physical.
“I’d love for the label to inspire more people to create within that world and, more importantly, give them a platform to release it.”
For all the momentum surrounding Claxton, that may be the more significant development. The touring continues to grow and increasingly prominent labels are entering the picture, but she is also building something she can shape herself.
Cadence gives that next chapter a centre of gravity: a label, a community and a dancefloor built around the kind of music Bella Claxton wants to hear moving at full pace.
