Xandra Pohl taught herself to DJ, now she has gone viral (exclusive)

For Xandra Pohl, music is not just a passion – it is a lifeline in an often chaotic world. As a teenager, she spent every weekend lost in RAP festivals, connected to artists such as Playboy, Cardi B and 21 Savage. But everything changed the day Alison Wonderland took over Lollapalooza’s main scene – a female DJ that electrified a massive audience with raw, underground energy.

Then Pohl was not really in electronic music. She knew the great commercial names that Zedd and Martin Garrix, but Alison Wonderland Came from a cooler, underground scene that she had not yet explored. When she looked at her, Pohl appeared, “That’s exactly what I want to do.”

That night she went home and told her mother that she wanted to become a DJ. With her mother who urges her to find something to focus on, and armed with restless energy and a dash of additions, Pohl Dove in the head. Already the next day she bought her first DJ board, turned to Youtube tutorials and began to teach herself -lasting months of frustration before finally mastered her craft.

“There are videos from high school and class school on me on the floor in my room with only two large speakers,” she tells people exclusively over Zoom. “I had the little 100 DJ board for about two months. Then I told my mom,” I want to get a really nice bigger board – I’ll pay you back one day to find out this. “She said” okay “, and we bought it bigger.”

Eventually, Pohl graduated High School and became a beginner at the University of Miami, where she upgraded to actual CDJs – a massive professional installation in her dormitory. As she settled in the college life, she continued to experiment with her music and even share it on social media.

“I remember my New Year’s year – especially under quarantine – just publish random fun things,” she says. “Then, after the older year, I was serious about becoming a DJ. I saw guys book gigs and wondered how to get ahead. They told me that I needed a bigger social media after, so I started publishing all-fun stories, Klara-with-Me videos, vlogs and it blew up from there. It was crazy.”

Now, years later, 2025 is forming a breakthrough year for Pohl, which goes by the stage name Xandra. Cincinnati native, which has gathered over 1.3 million followers on Tiktok and 600,000 on Instagram Has steadily built speed with original music, including her latest single, “I Won’t Sleep”, with song from Jordan Shaw.

This new edition follows her 2024 debut original single “Body Say.” In recent years, she has also DJ’ed on F1 Miami Grand Prix, 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Runway Show at Miami Swim Week (where she has been running the track for the past three years) and Spotify’s Women in Music Event during Miami Music Week.

“There are so many incredible festivals around the country, and we have these little pockets for the rave community,” says the 24-year-old.

However, her latest track creation was a long and thorough process. She reminds to work through 15 different versions and constantly examined the song to get it just right.

To test each iteration, Pohl developed a unique ritual: bring friends for a car ride, blast the track high and measure their reactions.

“Every time we thought we had the last incision, would everyone ask:“ Are we good to go? “And I would listen and say,” No, we have to fine -tune this.

The final version came almost a year after she first created the hook – after taking back the song completely back and rebuilt the chords from the ground up. When she heard the finished product, she knew they had created something special.

“I felt this could be a real summer banner – cool, fresh and different,” she says. “I love it and I’m happy to see where it is going. It’s going well, so now it’s all about pressing it so everyone can hear it.”

Given his journey, Pohl points to a person who has left an indelible mark on his career. Although she has crossed roads with countless incredible artists, Steve Aoki Stands out like someone really special. More than one collaborator, Aoki, 47, became a mentor and led her early.

“One thing he told me really stuck was:“ You’ll never forget how you treat the people around you. “I don’t remember his exact words, but the meaning stayed with me, she says.

Added Pohl: “Working with him so early showed me what an amazing person he is – not only as an artist, but as someone who deeply engaged in lifting the next generation of electronic music.”

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When Pohl’s career takes off, she is constantly on her way and jumps between arenas and shows. Of course, the handling depends entirely on her schedule and place.

One weekend, for example, she had two festival sets plus Sports Illustrated Runway show – but got almost four hours of sleep in a bed over three nights. Most of her rest came on the plane, where she is surprisingly good at falling asleep even when she boarded.

“A ritual that I never skip extends before she goes on stage,” she shares. “After long flights I am,” wow, I have spent far too much time in the air. “So stretching is the key. My team and I make a quick fist, they say” Kill it “, and I say:” Let’s rock. ”

“Then, when I meet the stage, I’m in my own zone,” she continues. “No talk, no distractions. You won’t reach me until I’m done. I’m closing out everything else.”

When you look back, Pohl says it feels surreal to reflect on everything she has achieved at such a young age.

“I had a bunch of goals that I crushed early – things like Forbes and Sports Illustrated – and now I’m like, damn, I have to come up with more,” she says with a laugh. “I am so grateful to have been in a position where I could make these things happen.”

Now her focus is entirely on the music. With a steady stream of new tracks on the horizon and her DJ career that gets momentum, Pohl is anxious to see where the next chapter takes her.

“It really takes time,” she says. “I graduated two years ago and have toured immediately since then. We are still building, still coming up – but I can feel growth, and it is exciting. The feedback I have received has been so overwhelmingly positive, and I have handled a lot behind the scenes to come here.”

What keeps her going, she says, is the support of her community: “How people have embraced this side of me – which comes out to shows and supports the music – it has been really, really cool to see.”