Carly Zeng

When Carly Zeng DJs, it’s highly unlikely she’ll do the same thing twice. Chinese-born and now Berlin-based, she has formed quite the community in her chosen city through her party, Dissident, which fosters a nurturing approach to music discovery. Her long love affair with vinyl-focused digging is no secret. And the ripple effects of such veracious collecting can be heard in the way she weaves together the many genres that she likes–be it a trippy tribal or prog track with a weird structure or an off-kilter sound effect in a punchy house tune – she’s forever on the lookout for tracks with that little extra spice.

Carly’s entry point into dance music in NYC, led her into smaller parties, DIY spaces and warehouse raves and the community spirit she found there is something she still carries with her today. A known name within Berlin’s queer music scene, she is regularly billed at parties such as Cocktail D’Amore and Body Language. Whether as a DJ, community organizer or dancer on the floor, Carly is staunchly attentive to her role within the dance music ecosystem and how to best curate a warming experience for everyone involved.

Their Resident Advisor profile, in full and unedited.