G ARTISTS

INTERVIEW BY SAZ HADI

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Intro

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SAZ:  Can you introduce yourself , who you are, what you do?

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GILLY:  I’m Gilly. I’m 29 and based in Brooklyn, New York. I’ve spent the past decade working in fashion as a model and began DJing about five years ago. Recently, I co-founded an event and sonic curation studio focused on intimate dinners and pop-ups that combine food, music, and community. People dance, eat, connect… and sometimes even go home together 😅​

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SAZ: How did you get into DJing?

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GILLY:  I wanted to DJ while I was living in London, but had imposter syndrome. I bought a DDJ‑800mixer, practiced at home, created a soundcloud, and then the pandemic hit , made me question everything. I was depressed, and finally thought, “Fuck it, I might as well try.” I put out my first mix, got my first gig, and it snowballed.

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SAZ:  Were there lows?

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GILLY:  Yes. I had a residency at a hotel in the Lower East Side ,  Posh Bottles, but I hated the music I had to play. Eight hours straight of stuff I didn’t care about. I quit that, took a break, reached out to radio shows, and reconnected with why I wanted this.

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The Model/DJ Perception

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SAZ:  People often confuse being a model with being a DJ , what’s actually true or false about that?

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GILLY: The stereotype is “pretty girl gets the decks, doesn’t know how to mix.” I started from zero,  learning genre founders, studying music theory because I wanted no one to be able to say I didn’t earn it.

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SAZ: Where are you now with proving yourself?

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GILLY: I don’t think you ever fully get to “I don’t need to prove myself.” Every gig is an opportunity to show skill and talent. I prepare obsessively ... I always want my sets tight.

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SAZ: Do you think marketing and celebrity overshadow craft in DJ culture?

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GILLY: Every artist feels this ..visuals, digital clips, social engagement matter so much. You have to make bite‑sized things for online so people show up in real life. It’s commercial reality.

Anxieties 

SAZ: What do you wish people knew about you?

GILLY: My dedication. How much I think about music. I want to pay homage to DJs who came before me, especially Black queer DJs. That’s my reason ... not just surface.

 

SAZ: I saw on your Instagram that you do corporate gigs for brands ..  more “corporate” events. Is that part of how you’re figuring out DJing and sharing the music you love, outside of clubs?

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GILLY:  I’m grateful for my commercial clients. It’s been amazing to collaborate with brands and help create a vision for an event. I think there are a lot of assumptions when it comes to DJs who take more “commercial” gigs. I want more opportunities to share my artistry and expand my sound. I believe there are avenues within both the commercial and club worlds to do this, and moments where they naturally overlap. My goal is to find balance.

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SAZ: I get that. DJing is DJing.  You’re sharing music .. but there is stigma around commercial gigs in the scene. It’s hard to expect an up‑and‑coming DJ to deny those opportunities.

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GILLY: Exactly. And funny enough, club DJs will low‑key ask how I get those jobs .. but they’d never admit it publicly.

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SAZ: I love the time schedule for corporate stuff ; daytime sets or daytime events. It sounds like your ideal would be something like festivals during the day, then some corporate gigs, and maybe curating music for brands ... playlists for runway shows or stores.

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GILLY:  Some of my happiest moments and most influential sets I’ve been to have been during the daytime. The energy of people at festivals or dancing outside in the summer inspires me so much as a DJ. Curating and creating a vision and story for a brand playlist or event gives me that same feeling. I think connection and storytelling are what I strive for as a DJ.

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SAZ: That’s beautiful. Do you feel any stigma about that kind of work?

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GILLY:  I do think there’s a stigma, but the reality is that there are so many DJs right now. I understand the need to protect the underground and, in some ways, gatekeep the space. There are so many talented people, but connections will often take you further as a DJ.

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SAZ: How do you feel your identity as a Black queer femme comes into that?

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GILLY: My music is Afro-based  - techno comes from Black people - and I make a point to bring those elements forward. I always want to establish that electronic music is Black music. I think especially in New York, a lot of underground spaces lack Black femmes. If I could encourage more Black femmes to feel comfortable in these spaces, I would feel fulfilled.

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SAZ: Why do you think that is?

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GILLY:  I think a lot of these spaces have been taken over by white gay men, and Black femmes have been made to feel unwelcome. I can’t speak for everyone, obviously, but this has been prevalent. For example, there was a lot of discourse this year around Soul Summit in Fort Greene Park ,  a festival created by and for Black house music lovers that felt taken over. Ideally, there would be spaces that welcome everyone, but I don’t believe that’s the reality right now.

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SAZ: That’s really intense.

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GILLY: It is. And in New York there are maybe three clubs everyone wants to play .. Public Records, Basement… that’s it. We don’t have big radio support like in the UK .. stations like Lot Radio exist, but it’s not nearly the same.

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SAZ: So the scene is kinda gutted?

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GILLY: Yeah. Festivals happen, but pop‑ups are few. DJs go to Europe or Asia to tour. New York ends up being a clout city, then you leave.

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SAZ: Do you see any sparks of hope?

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GILLY: I follow folks like Lovey ..she’s in deep house vinyl scenes and that’s inspiring. New York’s very segmented ..techno over here, deep house over there ..they rarely mix.

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SAZ: Do you feel like you belong anywhere?

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GILLY: Block parties and community events inspire me most vinyl DJs, deep house with gospel vocals, dancing in the rain. That’s community. I want more like‑minded people but the scene feels fractured.

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SAZ: It’s interesting you mentioned genre segmentation. I was thinking about hard drum.. UK early 2000s genre kinda dying out .. and now it’s trying to come back, but it’s all white male producers.

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GILLY: Yeah, it’s wild .. afro electronic music made mostly by white men. I want to fit into that world, but it’s male white dominated.

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SAZ: That could be a niche for you.

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GILLY: It could be!

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The mix

SAZ: If you were to do a mix for this interview, what would it sound like?

GILLY: It would tell a story; start slow, build into percussive techno, peak, then mellow into house. A full musical journey