- A vital presence in modern music tells his story.
- Gaika Tavares fuses traces of dancehall, R&B and club rhythms into a richly reflective and articulate music that nevertheless bangs on a visceral level. Apart from releasing an LP, mixtape and numerous singles with Warp Records, his talents and ideas have also blossomed across a variety of media.
The Spectacular Empire, a text written in 2017, described a speculative but all-too-recognisable future touching on austerity, economic collapse, geopolitical struggle, racism and a "quasi-paramilitary bike gang"; SYSTEM, an audio-visual installation that challenged the media's demonising of Notting Hill Carnival, presented the sound system as an affirmation of the cultural and technological power of black and immigrant experiences; then there's his work scoring music for dance, writing pieces for the Ballet Rambert and English National Ballet.
Martha Pazienti-Caiden spoke with Tavares following the release of Seguridad, a new EP made with NAAFI's team of producers. He shared his story of rising up through Manchester's party scene, switching aerospace engineering for fine art, and escaping the oppressive "deconstructed club music" tag.
TracklistGaika - Of Saints feat. Tayhanan [NAAFI]
Gaika - GKZ [Mixpak]
Gaika - Brutal feat. Zutzut [NAAFI]