Gabrielle Kwarteng’s journey so far is one of passion, dedication and the occasional strike of fate. Born and raised in New York, Kwarteng’s name has recently risen in prominence throughout a challenging time for dance music and club culture. A DJ, radio host and curator, her sets have recently enchanted Panorama Bar in Berlin (four times in less than twelve months, no less), equally vital club spaces such as NYC’s Nowadays and Manchester’s own White Hotel, as well as a span of festivals including Love International, Glastonbury, Melt and Dekmantel Selectors.
Listening to Kwarteng, whether in a cavernous rave hall, a sweat-soaked underground club or making intimate selections on the radio, is an experience that feels at once familiar but always energizing. Kwarteng’s diverse taste and open-mindedness lead first, allowing her to fluidly slip through a mix of heady 80s and 90s NY house, disco interpretations that traverse diaspora and eras, percussive passages alongside boldly broken beats and, as the lights get lower, undeniable acid undercurrent. In an era of everything at once, Kwarteng weaves stories for the dancefloor that often look to the past but always focus on possible futures.
