Marea Stamper, better known as The Blessed Madonna, is one of the world's most popular DJs.
An incredibly bankable and unbelievably fun performer, it comes as a complete surprise when, early on in our conversation, she describes herself as "boring".
"I'm 47," says the star, who has close to eight million monthly listeners on Spotify. "I'm a law-abiding citizen who goes to bed at 10 o'clock.
I don't take drugs and I don't drink very much at all. I'll never go to an after-party." She's been fun in the past, though, she's keen to stress. "I'm extremely pro-drugs," she says.
Although she thinks "cocaine is disgusting... I have a respect for psychedelics, even though I do not take them." Stamper has worked with a whole host of illustrious names: Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue, Jacob Lusk, Missy Elliot and her namesake, the actual Madonna. Who's the druggiest, I ask. "I would never, I could never, say who! It's like asking which Roman emperor was the most vulgar." Who does she dream of collaborating with? "You have to say Chappell Roan," she answers, after a beat. Charli XCX? It turns out that she talked to the creator of Brat about appearing on Edge of Saturday Night, the first single from her debut album, Godspeed, which came out a couple of weeks ago. The singer declined, "but she was very gracious about it", Stamper hastens to add. "Charli's the bomb, you know?" Stamper is the bomb too. She's been helping sell out festivals across Europe for the past 10 years; a resident at Chicago's legendary Smartbar and a guest star at iconic venues like Berghain in Berlin.
She was named DJ of the year by Mixmag in 2016, but this is the first time she's putting out a whole album from the studio and, as such, she is among the few DJs successful enough to do so with a bigname label (Warner).
This story is from the October 24, 2024 edition of The London Standard.
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This story is from the October 24, 2024 edition of The London Standard.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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