Carly Zeng: New Radical
Relocated to Berlin a couple years ago from New York, Carly Zeng is a Chinese-born DJ and an all round creative. While studying Design and Photography in the US, her taste for new experiences lead her to exchanges in Europe - it was in Rome where she attended a DIY electronic music event, which inspired the foundations of her musical values today. Back in New York she started collecting and mixing records, and throwing warehouse parties in Brooklyn, creating immersive experiences with visual mapping, prime soundsystem and an open minded crowd.
In just two years she’s showcased her varied and impressive record collection on platforms from the US (RA+RE, Honey Soundsystem) to Europe (Libertine, The Mudd Show, Opia). Since her move she's been on the hunt for records across Europe (Germany, Belgium, Italy...) and effortlessly shares some of her finds for this mix. She exhibits her quirky and edgy style with an 80s, New Beat and EBM theme, as well as taking inspiration from her previous gig at Superluminal & Discarded Gems x Satelliet Studio @ Crack Bellmer, Berlin. It’s fun, it’s fierce, it’s everything you’d want from the 80s.
If you've heard her previous sets you'd notice her craft for storytelling: "I enjoy uptempo, high energy sets and a nice buildup." She then confesses, "so I’m kind of a BPM junkie - I try to label a lot of my records so I can arrange them in certain parts of a set quickly."
You play a range of electronic music genres - is there a particular style you are particularly fond of?
I try to think of music outside of its genres. If certain elements of a track intrigue or touch me, I would play it. When I was organizing my records at home by genres, I realized I have almost the same amount of everything - techno, house, tech house, trance, electro, synth/ebm, new beat etc. I enjoy the versatility of being a DJ - you can lead the audience to a multidimensional journey if you want to, so why limit yourself? I believe the way we play also affects the music being made these days. Playing a more dynamic set may push producers to think across boundaries and make crazier sounds. After all, genres are invented by people and we should keep inventing them. :)
You mentioned that you studied design and photography but realised you were more comfortable behind the decks! How did you come to this realisation? Did you find yourself gravitating more towards music than other creative fields?
I have always been more of a visual person. I got into design, photography and making short films when I was a teenager and both of my education and career have gravitated towards those fields since then. I discovered the world of electronic music through going out and clubbing. And soon afterwards I started to collect and play records. But it wasn’t until I first started to play out, I realized how fun this is and I just want to devote myself completely to it. There is a certain euphoria I get from listening to a great record, making a mix, which is just too intense for me to focus on anything else, so I made a very conscious decision that this is what I want to pursue in the long term. Currently I work as a UX/UI designer, a job I absolutely enjoy doing, and I dedicate pretty much all my other free time to music.
What got you hooked on electronic music in the first place?
As I’m from China, a country historically with zero club culture, I’m very much a late bloomer when it comes to music. My first introduction to electronic music was after I moved to the US to study Design when I was about 17. During college I was mainly around New York, but also did an exchange in London for one year, and Rome for 6 months. Moving around for studies was exciting but socially challenging - I didn’t have many friends at school, or once I got to know them I already moved away, so going to clubs or parties was actually the best way for me to meet people. The communal experience of listening to music along with other people really attracted me and had gradually become extremely valuable to me.
When I was in Rome, some Italian friends took me to a party at some spiral 4-floor parking lot an hour away from the city center, with different styles of music and random art installations on each floor. That was pretty much one of my first ever exposures to the underground, rave-like scenes. I was drawn to how everything was without a constraint compared to a club: no searching at door, no closing time, no rules inside. The focus of the night was also more about the community and less about a few DJs in the spotlight. That experience stayed with me and I thought if I do an event I just want to recreate those feelings, of being free, safe and stimulated.
You’ve lived around the world - How much does a city or country you have experienced influence your music DNA?
Very much! Sometimes I think of the way I look for music as chefs look for ingredients - they seek locally. Old vinyl records are really not as mobile, despite that we use Discogs a lot, they still mostly stay in the city where they were pressed and owned 30 years ago. Digging in shops really deepens my understanding about geolocations of the larger music labels. Like in Detroit, I was shocked by the huge amount of electro labels like Metroplex, Direct Beat, Twilight 76… I came across. You can find records from the local radio stations back in the days, or a collection from some old dj who labelled every record he owned with his name. The stories you get from digging in person are just way superior than a simple click on Discogs.
I have lived in Berlin for the past two years and since then I have got a lot more into Synth, New Beat, New Wave, and of course Trance, Techno - simply because this is also what I find more with German sellers, and what I have heard at the parties here too. There is also something nostalgic about playing the records at the place where they were made decades ago. Like Trance was big in Germany in the 90s with the likes of Harthouse and Eye Q, but today it’s very much techno oriented here, so sometimes I feel compelled to bring some of the “lost sounds” back to the dancefloor.
How did you first get the digging bug?
I haven’t been digging for very long, but these years have been pretty intense. I bought my first record in 2017 and since then I probably have been placing an order a day on average on Discogs. In New York I had a very chill designer job, in which I had so much extra time that I could dig and listen to music. I basically formed a routine of looking for music from there. The more you look the less you know, and the more fun and addicted it gets. Actually I realized the “heavy diggers” around me all have a nerdy quality among them - you kind of have to be a nerd to sit and click so many hours a day, especially on a Saturday night!
Would you call yourself a city person?
I’m absolutely a city person. I was born in Shenzhen, probably the most fast growing city in China - the population alone grew from one to twenty millions since the 90s. Everything was so transitory and evolving there, and it changed as I grew older.
Coming from there to other cities like New York, Berlin, London, it was still very different for me. China is still a rather homogeneous country, whereas the diversity I experienced in New York really amazed me. Even though I don’t do much either in a city, I love the possibilities that I have from simply going downstairs. The noise, dirt, vehicles, drunk people, and everything I can see and hear from my windows give me an assurance that we are still alive and together. Cities, contrary to what we think, are also greener and more sustainable than smaller towns and suburbs. We use energy more efficiently when living in denser environments.
Your tracks are so unique - to what extent is playing a set an expression of yourself?
Partially yes. I love partying and dancing, actually so much that I’m often in a dilemma if I should go to a party I like or play at a gig. I enjoy uptempo, high energy sets and a nice buildup. I also always prepare completely different stacks of records or folders when I play to keep things fresh. In a longer set, my range of BPM can go from 110 to 150 or higher, so I’m kind of a BPM junkie - I try to label a lot of my records so I can arrange them in certain parts of a set quickly.
However, I never consider DJing a solo experience: it’s a mutual feedback, effort that you achieved together with the dancefloor. It’s like a road trip: it’s exciting, you are constantly exploring new places, sharing emotions, and you never know what’s coming next. If I see the crowd responding to some weirder, more obscure tracks, I would try to push it even further to let them have it all, so we can all go home feeling satisfied.
What were your main references from artists and record shops to music styles and people?
I follow a lot of DJs and some of my favorites are the ones whose sounds are always evolving, with a completely different record bag every year that would surprise me. Jane Fitz would be a great example - she has a wide scope of records and is never afraid to try new things. I also love my friend Yoshi who is true to what he likes and always pushing smaller producers with new Libertine releases.
There were also DJs who inspired me in the beginning to start playing - like Eris Drew, DJ Nobu, Lutz, Francesco, Ben UFO… I saw them play at various settings and festivals, and was so impressed by their crafts. My favorite circumstances would be going to a party without knowing the lineup and being surprised by how great the music is: this year I discovered S-scandalo and Vale Budino in Berlin that way and their sets really blew me away.
How did you find your way in a predominantly male environment?
I always find it ridiculous that as gender fluid as we are today, there is still a huge gap in gender equality: whether it’s the music scene or the tech workplace I’m at, patronizing behaviors are yet indeed acceptable everywhere. It’s almost like as a woman, you are automatically considered less competent and knowledgeable to start with due to your gender, so you have to “prove your way up”.
I think it’s very important for us women to speak up and communicate when we feel disrespected or underscored. Sometimes people are also not aware of it if we don’t explain our perspective behind certain situations. I also try my best to support other women during these moments because we all feel the same way.
You used to throw parties in Brooklyn and invited DJs from Europe. You didn’t even give a name to your party, how underground is that! Did you rely on word of mouth? What made you start this project? What were your main values?
Yes, I started to make parties in New York in 2019, with a mixed lineup of locals like Rama, Ryan King, Hugo and abroad like Joe Delon, Marcolino(Life G) and Hicham. One at a former brewery warehouse another at a photo studio in Manhattan.
During that time I had an amazing group of friends who were still at party phases and I dragged them a lot to other people’s parties, so I thought why don’t we just make our own. My friends have helped me a lot - promotions, video installations, lighting, setting up… My friend Kate and her partner even made custom steel lighting pieces that people could purchase at the party. Basically I wanted to see my DJ friends play at a proper setting, while pushing my artist/designer friends to show their work too - a party was the ideal scenario for it. Friendship and building a community were probably the core values for those events.
Did you continue organizing similar events in Berlin? How has your life in Berlin been so far?
I moved to Berlin about two years ago, unfortunately almost right before Covid. That was a particularly difficult period for me - I barely knew anyone and there was no party, and I also struggled to find a new job. Digging was almost the only thing that kept me going for a while. Later I decided to take a UX/UI course and transitioned from Graphic to Product Design, which led me to a new job that improved my mental health immensely.
For a long time I didn’t feel ready to organize anything, but last year I finally started to do some private events at a loft in Neukölln with my friends, which reignited my love for making parties again. This year I’m very much looking forward - I’m starting a new party series called Dissident. It’s a monthly series across different venues in Berlin, focusing on fresh, non-conformist, freethinking styles of music and pushing more underground artists.
Could you describe the concept behind the podcast?
The mix features some of the tracks I played at the last Crack Bellmer party along with my friend Andrea. It was the last weekend before we entered another no dancing lockdown in Berlin. This mix is a form of escapism - of me not thinking about staying in and pandemics while recreating the energy from the dancefloors. It’s a quirkier mix with some tracks that are not for everyone. I also included some 80s classics, New Beat, EBM that I really enjoy finding in Germany and Belgium. I consider it a fun mix for listeners to get physical with, perhaps while doing sports, going for a walk, or simply move around to it at home.
This year I want to get better at sharing music, so here is the tracklist (partial) of the mix :)
Podcast Tracklist
Twice Of Love – 24 Hours From Culture (enjoy mix)
Puma & The Dolphin - Fosils
Commanding Language - Einsamkeit (Radio Mix)
Midi Mode - Making Deals
Torch Song - Don’t Look Now
Akasa - One Night In My Life (It’s Time)
Sheep on Drugs - The Flaming Church
David Carretta - Standing In The Forest
20 - What Acid?
N.O.T. - Feel the Beat
LDC - Abflug
Secret Intelligence - Master Control Program
S.E.I.T. - Thrust
Frank de Wulf - The Tape
SAY WHAT Carly Zeng - New Radical
Photography Lucia Buricelli at Opal, Milan
Graphic Design Domenico Nes
