Ciel + Physical Therapy / Gabrielle Kwarteng + Meilgaarden / Ron Like Hell

Who they are

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  Ciel

  Toronto, Canada · 14 bookings since Aug 2023

  “Since throwing her first party in 2015 and putting out her stellar debut EP, Electrical Encounters, on Peach Discs two years later, the Xi’an, China-born and Toronto, Canada- based Ciel has blazed a path as one of the hardest-working and most innovative artists in electronic music.”

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  Since throwing her first party in 2015 and putting out her stellar debut EP, Electrical Encounters, on Peach Discs two years later, the Xi’an, China-born and Toronto, Canada- based Ciel has blazed a path as one of the hardest-working and most innovative artists in electronic music. Solo production highlights since Electrical Encounters include Hundred Flowers on Coastal Haze, Why Me? on Ghostly’s Spectral Sound, Orlando on !K7 Records, Ecstatic Editions vol. 1, the premiere release on Eris Drew’s vinyl-only label, and her pièce de résistance; the 2023 debut album Homesick, which she toured live internationally in 2024. Collaboratively, Ciel’s efforts are just as impressive, from the intricate, delicate Free EP with Kilig to the subterranean, propulsive Lunagenesis with Priori as Loopchasers. Excursions in bass and breaks with Dan Only as Cloudsteppers and murky, doofy cuts with CCL (on Tilda’s Goat Stare) and D.Tiffany (as Psychedelic Budz) further demonstrate Ciel’s versatility and seemingly boundless imagination, as do inventive remixes for the likes of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Jacques Greene, Seb Wildblood, Off the Meds and Adam Pits. An adventurous selector adept at stitching together disparate styles and genres, Ciel has played at some of the world’s most celebrated venues including fabric, Robert Johnson, De School, Hot Mass, Smartbar, Berghain Panorama Bar and Nowadays, and at beloved festivals such as Draaimolen, Dimensions, Movement Detroit and MUTEK. A typical DJ set might move through dreamy downtempo, wiggly tech house, psychedelic techno, UK bass, slamming speed garage, and hardgroove to work through a diverse range of dancefloors and moods, from deep and trippy to unabashedly euphoric. Community-minded and deeply principled, Ciel has always supported and promoted colleagues and causes she believes in and is currently organizing with Toronto’s chapter of Writers Against the War on Gaza. An outspoken advocate for equity and social justice in electronic music, her values are inextricable from her work as a producer, DJ, label boss and radio host, a quality that endears her to like-minded fans and artists all over the world.
  SoundCloud ↗Bandcamp ↗Discography ↗
  Their RA profile lists Turbo Recordings, !K7, Spectral Sound, Tartelet Records and 6 more.

  Recently at Paragon, Nowadays, H0L0 · often with SPRKLBB, Temple Rat, Greg Paulus, none of them here that night

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  Physical Therapy

  New York City · 66 bookings since Aug 2023

  “Physical Therapy is the New Jersey born-and-raised producer/DJ, and head of the Allergy Season label.”

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  Physical Therapy is the New Jersey born-and-raised producer/DJ, and head of the Allergy Season label. Physical Therapy is known for a constantly shifting and abstracted take on club music, from bongo-infused techno to breakbeat science, and has released on a long list of labels number including Liberation Technologies, The Corner, Unknown to the Unknown, Work Them and SOBO. PT has also put out music as Kirk the Flirt & Peter Pressure and collaborations with Michael Magnan (as Fatherhood), with LA-4A (as PTA) and with Matrixxman. He currently resides in Queens, NY where he holds residency at the club Nowadays for his monthly Allergy Season parties.
  SoundCloud ↗Bandcamp ↗Discography ↗
  Techno on 46, House on 44, Experimental on 21 and Electro on 18. styles on their catalogued releases

  Released on Allergy Season (3), Cav Empt (1) and Mister Saturday Night Records (1); their RA profile also lists NonPlus+, Hippos In Tanks, Unknown to the Unknown, Liberation Technologies and 5 more. labels on their catalogued releases and on their RA profile

  Recently at H0L0, BASEMENT, Paragon · often with Michael Magnan, Fatherhood, Shaun J. Wright, none of them here that night

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  Gabrielle Kwarteng

  New York City · 17 bookings since Nov 2023 · Basement and Berghain techno

  “Gabrielle Kwarteng’s journey continues to be one of passion, dedication and fate.”

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  Gabrielle Kwarteng’s journey continues to be one of passion, dedication and fate. Born and raised in New York, Kwarteng has withstood shifting sands in dance music to represent a curatorial presence with a deep knowledge of music history, driven by a dedication to regenerating its culture. In an era of everything at once, Kwarteng is a DJ who weaves stories for the dancefloor that often look to the past, while always focusing on possible futures. In an era of sonic singularities, Kwarteng’s flexibility and curiosity is a virtue; her long-awaited debut at Dekmantel Festival in 2023 resulted in no less than three sets across the weekend, each possessing contrasting energies. Elsewhere London’s iconic Fabric have championed Kwarteng on multiple occasions, programming her into their prestigious 25th birthday celebrations alongside the likes of Ben UFO and Ricardo Villalobos. At Berghain, she has appeared with even greater frequency as part of some of the fabled club’s most crucial parties, including CSD, Silvester, as well as smoothly piloting seven-hour closing sets in Panorama Bar. Such reverberations have reached far beyond the club; FKA twigs extended a personal invite to soundtrack her 2024 Met Gala afterparty. Taking place at The Standard, Kwarteng played just a few blocks uptown from the Soho Grand ballroom, where she had once furtively begun her first DJ residency, less than a decade earlier. The roots of this keen musicality run deep. Born in Brooklyn to Ghanaian parents but raised in the Bronx, Kwarteng’s childhood was soundtracked by a mix of first-wave Highlife, Afrobeat and disco. Outside her own front door, in a thriving neighborhood of diverse American experiences, entire sounds and scenes expanded and exploded as pop-culture began to mutate in new ways, both online and off. Crossing to Manhattan for school, the tempo changed entirely as rock, hip hop and experimental music filled Kwarteng’s ears, accompanying her intense study. Juggling academia with the beat became part of life, and she was later presented with the Mixcloud Online Radio Award for Best Eclectic Show, broadcasting on then burgeoning online radio station, The Lot. An early and completely unexpected acknowledgement of an instinct for music that traversed genre expectations, it laid down the foundations for her later move and return to Europe, and a commitment to trusting her creative instincts. Here, Kwarteng has not only become a fixture in established, open-minded musical spaces everywhere from Berlin, London, Amsterdam and Paris, but is equally called upon to establish the energy of new ventures, such as Horst Club in Belgium. Her resplendent selections have made connections further still, on tour in Australia, South America and soon to include Asia. Listening and dancing to Kwarteng, whether in a cavernous rave hall, a sweat-soaked underground club or amid the temporary pleasures of a festival, is an experience that feels at once familiar but always energizing. Fluidly slipping through a mix of heady 80s and 90s US house, disco interpretations that traverse diaspora and eras, and the futurist pulse of physical, emotive techno, Kwarteng expertly matches the requisite energy of contemporary queer rave culture. This understanding led to an invitation to make a storied Glastonbury festival debut at the legendary Block 9, the deepest pleasure center within the nocturnal NYC Downlow, before returning in 2024 for a back-to-back set with Shanti Celeste, this time on the wider scale of the Silver Hayes stage. Wherever she performs, Kwarteng’s expertise serves to not only continue the championing of Black American genres such as house, techno and disco, but equally, to explore the continuum of global dance music as a whole. Having laid the foundations for a unique musical journey, it’s a level of respect that’s tangible on any dancefloor. In these increasingly sacred spaces, Gabrielle Kwarteng’s personal passion translates into collective ecstasy. The dig continues.
  SoundCloud ↗

  Recently at Paragon, Nowadays, public records · often with Berghain, Massimiliano Pagliara, Boris, none of them here that night

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  Meilgaarden

  Stockholm, Sweden · 56 bookings since Aug 2023

  “Meilgaarden started her DJ journey in 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden.”

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  Meilgaarden started her DJ journey in 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden. After her move to New York in 2018, she started the intimate Thursday club night Sound Gymnastics that became a frequent night at Mood Ring. Throughout the years, she cemented her sound and presence behind the booth, and is now a regular at BASEMENT, appears consistently at Nowadays, Public Records, Bossa Nova, Paragon, and more. She is also the co-host of Mister Sister and is a regular at The Lot Radio.
  SoundCloud ↗
  Acid House on 1 and House on 1. styles on their catalogued releases

  Their RA profile lists Sorry Records and PLOT.

  Recently at BASEMENT, Bossa Nova Civic Club, Elsewhere · often with Ian Crane, Byron Yeates, Yazzus, none of them here that night

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  Ron Like Hell

  New York City · 105 bookings since Aug 2023

  “Approaching a dj mix as assemblages, Ron Like Hell aligns sound with emotion, focusing on texture to create psychedelic soundscapes, imaginative spaces for comfort and surprise spectators with an unexpected crafty transition.”

  their own biography

  the whole biography

  Approaching a dj mix as assemblages, Ron Like Hell aligns sound with emotion, focusing on texture to create psychedelic soundscapes, imaginative spaces for comfort and surprise spectators with an unexpected crafty transition. With 26+ years of making people dance in numerous countries along with years of vinyl shop experience and music promotion, his/their role in the industry is unique and influential. Their latest production, EXALT is their dream come true where Ron selects a personally beloved dj to play solo then close out the night together with a b2b set. EXALT's first guest was Matrixxman in April 2022 at Basement in Ridgewood-Queens, NY. Ron also djs as Wrecked, a music first queer dance party which recently turned 14.
  SoundCloud ↗
  House on 1, Alternative Rock on 1 and Indie Rock on 1. styles on their catalogued releases

  Released on Heavenly (1) and Mister Saturday Night Records (1). labels on their catalogued releases

  Recently at H0L0, BASEMENT, Nowadays · often with Ryan Smith, Sterling Juan Diaz, Ne/Re/A, none of them here that night