Widely regarded as the "First Lady" of drum'n'bass, DJ Storm will bring her revered mixing skills and classic style to China Doll on Thursday, April 17th with MC Rage, supported by The Syndicate's Elemental and D-Rail. Here Storm speaks frankly to Rachel Simhon about her two decades in the scene, her sources of inspiration from other artists, and dealing with a largely fickle mainstream music press.

Here in Beijing you'll be playing at China Doll, which is a smaller and more intimate venue. How do you feel about doing a show at a place like this as opposed to a larger, more commercial club?

I love to play at any kind of venue -- to me it's all about people, whether that be small or large numbers of them. Obviously with a smaller venue you are closer to the crowd, which does make for a more intimate gig.

Via your affiliation with Metalheadz, you have a reputation for nurturing new talent in the drum'n'bass scene. Why do you feel that this is important?

New talent comes from being inspired by original talent from the scene, so it is always important to find new talent which has been inspired and is passionate enough to get involved. Drum'n'bass comes from many different styles, and so with new talent you hear in their DJing or producing who has inspired them. Without new talent the scene would never survive.

You've collaborated with so many big names in the past. What is it in particular that attracts you to work with another artist, DJ or MC? Is there anyone at the moment with whom you'd be interested in working in the future?

I am always inspired by other DJs ,it is always exciting to hear what another DJ's take is at to how they put their tunes together in the mix, and what tunes they choose. As for MCs, a good MC will always enhance a good set, so I always look forward to working with different ones. I must admit for this tour I am with one of my favourite MCs, MC Rage -- he is pretty amazing on the mic.

The Syndicate has hosted some of the biggest names in drum'n'bass in the last year here in Beijing, including Goldie, Klute, Logistics and Cyantific, and Matrix & Futurebound. What have you heard about this organization, and why do you feel interested to be working with them?

Obviously I am very good friends with Goldie and he has given me a great report about playing in Beijing so I am really looking forward to it. It is also a new place for me to visit and I am very excited to be coming. I have heard so many fantastic things about China and especially Beijing.

The mainstream music media is fond of saying that drum'n'bass is dead, but you still haven't compromised any of your style. What is it about this music that keeps it relevant to both you as a performer and to the audiences?

Drum'n'bass will never die, it is now a global music with DJs and producers everywhere with invested careers and belief in it. Mainstream music media is fickle and never seems to be able to consistently support underground dance music; they never actually take the time to invest in it, which is a terrible thing. Especially in my country, where drum'n'bass comes from, they should be proud of it instead of always trying to look for the next new thing. However, the drum'n'bass scene came without mainstream music media so we have never had to rely on it, as we have our own publications which support our scene without question.