Shygirl on Club Shy Room 2, Touring With Charli XCX, and Her “Obscene” Accessory Collection

Club music has been taking over the world this year, and London-based DJ Shygirl has had a front-row seat to the hysteria. Born Blane Muise, the artist has been releasing music under her cheeky stage name since 2016, quickly catching the eyes (and ears) of entertainment and fashion industry titans (take Rihanna, who used Shygirl’s songs in Fenty runway shows and commercials, and Riccardo Tisci and Daniel Lee, who have both put her in Burberry campaigns). But the past couple years have been the biggest of Shygirl’s career, as she’s opened for two of the most important tours of the decade: Beyoncé’s Renaissance and Charli XCX and Troye Sivan’s SWEAT Tour, in support of the culture-shifting album Brat.

Playing for such massive crowds on both tours was new for the artist, who likened the feeling to a “spiritual experience.”

“It’s such a crazy thing to put your body and your mind through,” Shygirl tells W. “There’s so much energy transference when you’re playing for arenas of 20,000 people. [Charli and I] both struggle with performance sometimes, and it was really nice to share the stage with her. A lot of people don’t realize that you’re just figuring it out on the job.”

At the end of her leg of the SWEAT Tour, Shygirl hosted a (relatively) more intimate show for 3,000 fans at Brooklyn’s Knockdown Center. It was part of her ongoing Club Shy series, which began in 2022 and coincided with the release of an EP of the same name last February: “a real homage to the straight-up club music that raised me.”

Tomorrow marks the release of Club Shy Room 2—a continuation of the raw return to Shygirl’s roots with features from Saweetie, PinkPantheress, Isabella Lovestory, and Yseult. It’s a dream lineup of some of the fiercest girls making dance music right now—though, for Shy, the EP is really just an excuse to hang out with her friends, the way they did pre-fame.

“Since I started putting out music, I lost the anonymity within the underground club spaces I had before, ‘cause that’s where people were fucking with my music,” she says. “It became hard for me to get lost in the club. Putting this stuff together helped me accept what I had lost and embrace what I had gained—this ability to create an environment, cater to others, and find myself within that collective experience.”

Shy adds that, although her management might hate her for saying it, she doesn’t know if those huge stadium shows are on her future vision board. Instead, she’ll be playing smaller sets in support of Club Shy Room 2, while working on her second studio album. “Albums feel like more of an experimental space, and the EPs serve as my straight-to-fan service,” she says. “I made Club Shy Room 2 as a thank you, and to say: I’m still going to party with you guys.”

What’s changed between the first Club Shy EP and this one?

I’ve had some of these songs [in the vault] since 2020. My friends would always ask me, “Oh, can you play that song?” when we were having afters at the house. Then, in the spirit of Club Shy, it made sense to invite newer voices onto these tracks. It’s rejuvenated the music for me, having Isabella Lovestory and PinkPantheress and Saweetie on there—people who, when I first started working on some of these songs, I wouldn’t have even had the reach to collaborate with. I’ve changed since I first started making music. My songwriting has developed since I was young.

What was your style like as a teenager, and when did fashion become important to you?

I’ve always been interested in style, but I wasn’t necessarily following fashion. I’m 31, so I was just on the cusp of when social media was starting to happen—when you weren’t as aware of what everyone was wearing unless you were reading it in a magazine, which I was. I had a sewing machine, and I’d constantly be adding or cutting things up. If I couldn’t afford something, I would just make my own version. And I’ve always been big on accessories.

What’s your accessory collection like now?

It’s obscene. I have a few designer bags, but I mostly love finding ones in random shapes. I just got back from Tokyo, and I love thrifting over there because you can find things that no one would ever give away here, because it’s already back in fashion. Whereas there, they’re already over it.

Was your style influenced by your experiences coming up in club culture?

There’s a practicality to it that’s influenced me: if you’re going out for three days in a row, you need something that works day to night. When I started clubbing properly and making music here in London, it was with this club night called PDA, and it ended up nurturing a whole scene of us. I practically lived in the wardrobe of my friend Mischa Notcutt, a casting agent who does creative direction for Kelela. I would always go back to hers and steal her style. I met Maximilian Davis at that club night; he’s a good friend of mine, and now is the creative director of Ferragamo. There’s also [Dazed editor in chief] Ib Kamara and Mowalola. When I think of the club kids that I know, those are the ones who’ve influenced me. We were all kind of born in this club night in London.

Do you have any major fashion regrets?

2005 was my worst style decade. I look back at pictures, and my style was an absolute mess. But I was always quite expressive, and I’m actually really into recreating that era now. I missed the cool parts of indie sleaze, so it’s nice to reclaim that. ‘Cause I definitely was not cool at that time.

What’s your current approach to getting dressed?

I’m into anything with diamanté on it. My friends always take the piss out of me and send me pictures of random bedazzled things. I have a bit of a magpie fashion sense. I’m also very tactile. I buy a lot of vintage fur and animal skin. There’s something morbid in it that I enjoy. I know most people don’t talk about that at the moment, but there’s something about accepting parts of human taste—the things we’re drawn to that are base and animalistic...it’s just about feeling good and touching things that feel good.

What are some of your favorite places to shop?

I don’t do a lot of IRL shopping anymore, unless I pop down to Soho or Seven Dials. My boyfriend’s working at a West End theater, so when I see him, I’ll go to random vintage stores or a couple of cute costume jewelry places with 1920-30s stuff. Otherwise, I will take a flight to another country to visit a good store. If I’m feeling lazy, I’ll just go on Ssense. I’m a very impulsive shopper.

What was your first major fashion purchase?

A snakeskin Prada bag that I bought at the airport. I think I was on my period, and I was having a really moody day. It was like, I can always return this. And then I found out I couldn’t, so I was like, okay, I guess this is my vibe now.

Describe your style in three words?

Fab, sexy, and effortless.