gyrofield: “I was on at 6.50 in the morning, deep in club delirium, but it felt like I’d found something”

Hong Kong-born Kiana Li, a.k.a. drum ’n’ bass shapeshifter gyrofield, takes us back to the Eastern Margins club night that confirmed she was on the right track.

I always considered myself an outsider in drum ’n’ bass, which, to some degree, was an advantage, because I wasn’t so entrenched in what the scene was. I grew up listening to it transitively via the internet, so it wasn’t a direct thing; I was interested in the music as a listening medium. That got me into a position in 2022 where I was starting to get gigs, but the NTS night for Eastern Margins was out of nowhere.

I was beginning to write music that was moody and introspective. I was keen on implementing that into what I was playing out, which was mostly high-energy and melodic. It was a real shift. And this was happening around the time I met Eastern Margins. I was still coming to terms with this new music, so to have them give it their support was really special.

I was on at 6.50 in the morning, deep in club delirium, but it felt like I’d found something. It was a very queer and Black crowd, and it felt like there was a real freedom on the dancefloor to just move and feel. I spent time speaking to Eastern Margins after the set and it was so eye-opening; I felt more at home with them than I’d ever experienced. That was the moment where I understood I could reach a different place with my music and everything I’ve written since has had this new level of emotional clarity and expression in mind.

It was important in getting me to break out of my shell. Eastern Margins bring together artists who are Asian – no matter what genre – to find a sense of belonging. I think the power of what they do is in linking up so many different scenes, like DJ Love, a Filipino producer who founded this genre called Budots on a cheap computer at the back of his internet café. They’re not troubled by limitations, which brings new life to music that can be quite stagnant and codified.