At Rolling Stone Philippines’ launch on December 12, DJ Honey took Salon de Ning at the Peninsula Manila for a major retro spin, scoring the buzzy party with groovy ‘60s soul in celebration of the historic magazine’s arrival in the country. Talk about a Throwback Thursday!
Since 2016, Honey has been hosting the show Kiss! Kiss! Bang! Bang! (KKBB) — first on the Brisbane community radio 4ZZZ FM, then on the online station Soho Radio where she formerly hosted Girls on the Groove. Hailing from Australia, she has done gigs across the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Southeast Asia. In 2019, she was a part of the Singapore Grand Prix lineup, performing at the Marina Bay Street Circuit alongside acts like Gwen Stefani, Fat Boy Slim, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
As a vinyl DJ, Honey is drawn to soul, jazz, and rhythm-and-blues from the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. The mid-century era was a time of rapid changes in the political sphere, and the music and artists that came out of it are, to her, inspiring and influential. “People were protesting for peace and demanding equality through the civil rights and women’s liberation movements,” she tells The Analog Vault, a Singapore-based record store and blog. “Music was political, raucous, rebellious, expressive. All these aspects were a huge shift from the austerity of the first half of the century.”
Her set at the Rolling Stone Philippines launch party is no different, a lively mix of soul party hits and songs from Rolling Stone’s “Greatest Songs of All Time”— like its number one for 2021 and 2024: Aretha Franklin’s “Respect.”
“What an anthem for women and for people everywhere,” she tells Rolling Stone Philippines. The 1967 hit — the same year Rolling Stone magazine began — was a cover that eclipsed the original recording by soul legend Otis Redding in its success, and became an anthem for second wave feminism.
True to the spirit of “Respect” and what it represented in the ‘60s and ‘70s, Honey puts women at the forefront of her work, celebrating “femme fatales, vintage vixens, and bad girl babes” from the ‘50s to the ‘70s. Her Facebook page, where she promotes her radio shows and gigs, is graced with photos of beloved female figures from the mid-century era, like singer and activist Barbara Dane. “I’ll be giving women in music a platform in my radio shows — in my DJ sets, my activism; always advocating for women in DJ lineups and in the industry,” she says.
Honey has lived in the Philippines since 2022. “It’s a crazy city. It’s super busy, and there’s a lot of hustle and bustle happening,” she says. “But at the same time, people are so chill, mellow, and friendly. It’s such a great atmosphere to live in.”
Honey is thrilled for the arrival of Rolling Stone Philippines. Having lived in Singapore and the Philippines, she also has an appreciation for Asian music, highlighting everything from Original Pilipino Music to Singapore and Malaysia’s pop yeh-yeh — a pop-rock movement that emerged in the region in the 1960s. KKBB’s first episode of 2024 featured Filipino artists like Vilma Valera, Helen Gamboa, and Eva Vivar.
“The Philippines has an incredible history of music and musicians, all the way from the early ‘50s and ‘60s [and] all the independent labels that were around then, up until today,” Honey says. “It’s cool to see the Philippines on the map for the world to read more about.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that DJ Honey arrived in Manila in October. In fact, she has been living in the Philippines since 2022 and arrived back from her U.S. tour in October. The article also stated that she hosts a show on Soho Radio called Girls On The Groove. However, she no longer hosts this show.
