Paquita Gordon is one of the most exciting and fresh DJ’s to emerge from Italy in recent years. Her singular approach, which often surprises with wild stylistic and tempo jumps, is made coherent through exceptional timing, skill and a deep connection with the records she collects and plays.
Currently residing in Mallorca, Paquita spent some considerable time about 15-years ago living in London, which is where she first began building her record collection and cutting her teeth DJing. Then she could often be found frequenting the dancefloor of notorious London party Secretsundaze, as she explains in her own words.
“London in the middle of the 2000s was like being in the ravel of a musical world: so many parties and after parties, so many venues, warehouses and a strong international community of people gravitating around the dance floor. The vibe was really high and, I guess, DJs were finding huge inspiration and forms of expression into this context.
Around 2007 a technological digital revolution hit the musical system, while record stores started to suffer the rental market and shut down, this culture shifted more towards East, especially to Berlin, due to the wave of policy that saw the UK closing many important and historical clubs while making space to real estate developments.
Since twenty years, Secretsundaze has been one of the coolest parties in town, enduring social changes and transformations, always combining the quality elements every London raver would look for: a secret venue on a Summer Sunday afternoon, dancing in the daylight to the warm grooves of the most radical DJs around.
The standards that James and Giles propose in their parties have been a landmark at every stage of this musical journey, still being an important influence to people of different generations. I’ve been attending to many of their parties and personally found a getaway to the understanding of House music, discovering the moods and the tones of the Afro-American culture thanks to the appearances of guests from Detroit and Chicago who would deliver stunning DJ sets on vinyl, always keeping it real, despite the world around them was already moving on.”
This Saturday (October 2nd), Paquita makes a long-overdue Secretsundaze debut at Hackney Wick’s Colour Factory, co-hosted by ourselves and Kala Festival. Ahead of the party, she has curated a small playlist representing, “a glimpse of what is my personal perception of the original Secretsundaze atmosphere, a musical concept embracing past, present and future into a unique form of love.”
Chez Damier & Ron Trent – Morning Factory (Original Mix)
Mood II Swing – Move Me
Mike Huckaby – Luv Time
Round Four Feat. Tikiman – Find A Way
John Swing – Free Time Groove
Remember, Paquita plays at Secretsundaze this Saturday alongside the likes of Young Marco, Orpheu The Wizard, Frankie Valentine and iona, hosted in collaboration with Stamp The Wax and Kala Festival. Final release tickets are available here.
