LGBT / LGBTQ+
Lady Shaka brings queer Pasifika to Bristol
Lady Shaka is a DJ and interdisciplinary artist from Aotearoa (New Zealand) and now based in London.
She blew up Bristol’s Propyard last summer with her high-energy Boiler Room set.
She’s now preparing to land in the city again as part of Love Saves The Day’s weekly ‘Love Saves Wednesdays’ programme at The Love Inn, in Stokes Croft.
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Shaka has Maori, Tahitian, Samoan, Tokelauan, Tongan and Cape Verdean ancestors.
She frequently plays music honouring her Pasifika heritage and makes sure to create space for the LGBTQ+ community wherever she performs.
“I love the vibes of a UK crowd, the energy is hard to beat. British crowds get it. Especially in Bristol, it’s giving gun fingers, it’s giving people shouting, making a lot of noise”, Shaka told Bristol24/7.
She continued: “Bristol has a great vibe.
“There’s a big university culture, so there’s all these young people who just want to party and vibe out.
“That’s why Bristol’s music scene is booming – they have all these international DJs coming through.
“It’s also great for those performers to see UK cities outside of London.”
Lady Shaka celebrates queer and Pasifika music in her sets
As a successful DJ, Shaka has played and toured all around the world.
This includes a viral set at the Boiler Room, Melbourne, where her remix of Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out of My Head, remixed with Fergie’s Glamorous and overlaid with If You Ain’t Got No Money by Raheem the Dream, gained millions of views on social media.
Shaka always loves coming back to the UK though.
She said: “I love the way people in the UK party. The culture around music here is so diverse, people are excited to listen to new sounds.”
She also told Bristol24/7 that she plays Pasifika music to decolonize and reindiginise dancefloors.
This is her way of reclaiming space.
Shaka also enjoys celebrating queer communities.
She said: “The first queer event I went to was Pxssy Palace in London.
We only had gay male-centred events in New Zealand at the time.
Now, there are collectives like Filth which centre queer, trans and indigenous people.
“But Pxssy Palace was the first time I felt safe, and able to let loose and have fun in a queer space.
“It was OK to be queer and brown. In fact it was celebrated.”
She now works to emulate this feeling through her performances.
She explained: “I always invite them (queer people) to the front and say, this space is for you.
“I love a mixed crowd, an integrated space. Seeing the boys with their shirts off chanting ‘OGGY, OGGY’ in one direction.
Then, next to them, the ballroom girls are vogueing. I love that.”
Talking about the upcoming event at Love Inn, Shaka said she’s excited for the lineup: “The girls are gonna rip it up.
“It’s a majority female lineup, it’s cool to see the way they’ve programmed the show.
“It’s gonna pop off, they’ve picked really cool people. Expect diverse sound selection, expect to dance.”
Lady Shaka is a DJ and multidisciplinary artist performing genre-hopping sets worldwide
Shaka’s multi-genre sets are renowned for being eclectic.
She jumps from dancehall, to drum and bass, and back via New Orleans bounce and American pop princess Alexis Jordan.
Shaka said she loves to find music by travelling and speaking with local people.
For example, she found one track while visiting in a bazaar in Tunisia, hearing a song and running to someone to find out its title and artist.
She added: “I was always a fan of music from all around the world.
“I loved Bollywood music when I was a kid.
“Hip-hop was my first true love. I grew up listening to diverse music.
“That’s always informed the way I perform.”
Looking to the future, Shaka hopes to play on the African continent – including in Cape Verde, where she has ancestry.
She’s also veering towards making her own edits and tracks and, after years of going to Notting Hill, she hopes to come to Bristol’s own St. Paul’s Carnival.
Lady Shaka is playing at The Love Inn, in Stokes Croft, on Wednesday October 30, This is part of Love Saves The Day’s ‘Love Saves Wednesdays’ programme. Tickets can be bought online.
All Images: Lady Shaka
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