31
FriAshley Venom is the Haitian American DJ and producer hailing from Miami; her sets guarantee dark moods for the dancefloor. DJ Diaki’s polyrhythmic loop-based sound grew out of Malian “balani shows,” the electronic music common to local street parties, but taken to its logical extreme. Henry Wu is the Brownswood Recordings affiliate and London jazz scene stalwart; his DJ sets wind through the warm, soulful electronic sounds he produces—as heard on releases such as Shades of Wu and Good Morning Peckham. Gigsta, the R4R resident and Fictions host on Cashmere Radio, ventures through all tempos, rhythms, and colours. Mamba Negra affiliate Valesuchi is a Chilean producer and DJ who recently released her debut album, TRAGICOMIC, via Mamba Rec. Floyd Lavine and MINCO are key forces behind RISE, Berlin’s party series and label inspired by the sounds and cultures of Africa.
Chilean producer and DJ Valesuchi taps into melancholy, joy, and saudade—a Portuguese term for the love that remains after someone has gone. Her dark, smoky dancefloor detonators brim with love, desire, machines, and danger, dreaming of raw club music indebted to rhythm.
Henry Wu, aka Kamaal Williams, is a multi-talented producer, DJ, and musician based in London, working across jazz, house, and funk with numerous collaborators. In addition to putting out solo releases on Eglo Records and Rhythm Section International, his band Yussef Kamaal have taken the contemporary jazz scene by storm. Wu will be gracing CTM with a solo DJ set, demonstrating his gift for seamlessly pulling together beats and melodies from old and new grooves.
Ashley Venom is a Haitian American artist, DJ, event producer, and advocate. She is currently a producer and art curator at III Points Festival, music director at (F)empower, and artist at Space Tapes.
DJ Diaki redefines the sounds of Malian dance music. Grounded in balani shows, his polyrhythmic loop-based sound grew out of traditional wedding receptions and is now now common to local street parties.
Gigsta’s love affair with music takes many forms. This Brittany-raised Belgian finds as much joy dancing to it as she does writing about it (both as a journalist and as a PhD candidate). Although she DJs several times a month in different countries across Europe, Gigsta only travels by train. In an industry still reliant on flying, this "slow gigging" practice has allowed her to maintain a healthy relationship with her passion and now profession.
With a family tree rooted in West Africa, MINCO grew up in Berlin, taking in a range of soulful, rhythmic music across a spectrum of R&B, new jack swing, and rap. After travelling to South Africa and becoming acquainted with house music tinged with African rhythms, something clicked. Today she's affiliated with Berlin's African house staple RISE, where she's found an artistic home bridging the music of Africa, Europe, and the rest of the world.
Born and raised in South Africa, Floyd Lavine marks a new generation of African artists. With one foot in Berlin and the other in Cape Town, Lavine aims to explore the varied sounds of the world. Both his DJ sets and work as an organiser of RISE, Berlin's African house night, are rooted in his love of African rhythms.