Nocturnal Sunshine

London-based producer, DJ, and vocalist Maya Jane Coles makes dark, bass-driven tracks influenced by dubstep, U.K. garage, and hip-hop under the name Nocturnal Sunshine. Folding aching vocals into a hazy swirl of atmospheric textures and syncopated beats, the project’s self-titled debut album appeared in 2015. Second full-length Full Circle, released in 2019, was an ambitious, guest-heavy effort incorporating rap, indie, and drum’n’bass influences.
When Coles first started producing music as a teenager, she made hip-hop and downtempo tracks. She began releasing house music under her own name in 2008, and became internationally successful following the release of her widely acclaimed 2010 single “What They Say.” Around the same time, she issued a dubstep-infused single titled “Can’t Hide the Way I Feel” under the name Nocturnal Sunshine. Coles used the alias for a few remixes in 2010 and 2011, including reworks of the Orb and Alpines, and the song “Meant to Be,” included on her 2012 DJ-Kicks mix. She resumed the alias in 2015 with the release of single “Take Me There” and full-length Nocturnal Sunshine, both released on her own I/AM/ME label. After releasing the 2017 double-album Take Flight under her own name, Coles returned to the Nocturnal Sunshine moniker for the 2018 single “Foundation.” Full Circle arrived in 2019, with tracks ranging from breakbeat to trap, and guests including Peaches, Young M.A., Gangsta Boo, and Ry X. ~ Paul Simpson