Cyndi Anafo and Chris Ellis are South London legends. The DJ / promotor duo, also known as Handson Family, have been causing trouble with vinyl for over two decades. Having curated events everywhere from Somerset House to Coal Drops Yard, and DJed at festivals including Love Supreme and We Out Here, you’ll most often find them amongst the market stalls for Brixton Village Lates, where they fire up the locals with pure vibes. Meanwhile, their recent compilation for BBE’s If Music presents: You Need This series, and Off the Shelf show on Soho Radio continue to mark them out as sage selectors.

This weekend, Handson Family mark the fifth anniversary of their Heritage Stage at Cross The Tracks, Brixton’s stellar jazz, funk, soul (and everything in between) festival at Brockwell Park. Joined by Mr Thing, Vanessa Freeman, LyricL, TheShejay, Janet Kay, Carroll Thompson, IG Culture, Colin Dale and more, it’ll be a day-long celebration of progressive club sounds. So, we catch up with Cyndi, the self-confessed “loudmouth” half of this married couple, about the magic they bring to the dance.

How do you sum up the Handson family spirit?

Chris and I have a DIY approach to music and the culture that we love. From running record stores to DJing, it’s about championing independent Black music. We’ve always been slight outliers in the industry but over the years it’s become more full-time as people realise that we need more grassroots creativity across the arts. We do it for the love, not the money.

You’re partners in music and life – what kind of double trouble does that deliver?

We’ve been together for 26 years and been DJing together for almost as long. So, we've got a lot of muscle memory for it and we don’t know it any other way. Chris does the graphics and I do most of the curation. But we’re always bouncing ideas off each other, which I’m grateful for. It’s just our life, it’s our vocation, you know.

Big question. What makes a south London party the best party?

South London has a genuine multiculturalism and a spirit of community. And we're fiercely loyal people here. That's why, even with all the changes happening in Brixton and Peckham, the locals still have a sense of realness. It’s a brilliant melting pot of human beings – creatively, socially and politically – and we represent a true spirit of humanity. We've got our struggles here, but honestly, I always exhale when I get back to South London because I would hate to live anywhere else.

You kept the Brixton Village courtyard moving during the recent Brixton Disco Festival. Tell us more.

I don't like superlatives but it was actually a sensational day. We had a really nice energy from beginning to end. At first it was families and kids, and then later, the dancing crew came out. So many people were like, ‘Oh, this is the Brixton I miss – free music on the streets.’ We do a lot of day parties because we want it to be inclusive.

Do you have your eye on any newcomers?

Kingcrowney. I was in Soho getting ready to play at Ronnie Scott’s and came across him DJing in a bar on the same street. And then I worked out that he’s making really soulful house music with producers I rate. We’re passionate about breaking new names so we booked him for the last set at Brixton Disco Festival and he was amazing.

What vibrations will you be bringing to Cross The Tracks 2025?

We've got Janet Kay and Carroll Thompson, IG Culture and Colin Dale – all heroes of ours that we’re proud to have on our stage. Vanessa Freeman is a brilliant vocalist and LyricL will be hosting all day. Yeah, then we’ll bring whatever we need to bring into our set. What you'll find with our line-ups is that people end up staying there for the most of the day. Everyone finds it hard to leave the Heritage Stage!

What does the rest of your summer look like?

We’ve got bookings all over the UK and Europe and we’re getting love from people we respect at the moment, so we’re very happy to be appreciated. We’ve never chased carrots. We’ve always just done our parties how we wanted to do them, and it’s finally paying off. I’m certainly not looking to be a superstar DJ in my 60s but if it happens, I'll be amused is all I can say.