Nia Archives uplifts non-male DJs with ‘Bad Gyalz’ rave: “Sisterhood in dance spaces is so important”

nme.com:

Nia Archives organised a day rave with a line-up of female and non-binary DJs, promoting inclusivity in the rave scene. The award-winning DJ and producer spoke to NME about the event alongside some of the acts on the bill.The Bad Gyalz rave took place in East London on August 6 and featured a set from Nia Archives, as well as her mentor and UK dance legend DJ Flight, Pxssy Palace (Nadine Door and Mya Mehmi), Sim0ne, Izzy Bossy and Saint Lude.“I’ve always wanted to do a Bad Gyalz rave,” Nia told NME after taking over a shipping dock with some of London’s immense DJ talent. “I’ve been running ‘Up Ya Archives’ events for nearly a year and surprisingly those parties are full of young women under the age of 25.

So I really wanted to do a party for all the baddies.”Known for championing the LGBTQIA+ community in the clubbing space, Pxssy Palace’s Door and Mehmi said it was “normal” for them to be on a solely female and queer line-up.

They added that they “love to be in that bubble” of comfort such environments create for them.Noor explained that the fact they “pretty much DJ with other women, trans and non-binary people”, or at events to honour initiatives like South Asian Heritage Month, sometimes making them feel like “tokens” on other, less inclusive line-ups. “[Just because they DJ on predominantly LGBTQIA+ line-ups] doesn’t mean boys shouldn’t book us,” they said. “We don’t just play for the girlies.

We’re serious DJs.”Their musical partner Mehmi added that it’s “hard to really gauge how much things have changed” because she mostly appears on line-ups that champion inclusivity. “I’ll be like, ‘Oh my God!