Our Mutual Friend, Suggestions 27/11/25
15 December 2025
If you’ve never been to the Peckham Rye DJ-focused festival GALA, you’re in for a treat. It’s pretty small, but their lineups always pack a crazy punch. Last year saw Joy Orbison, Girls Don’t Sync and Chaos in the CBD take to the park, and this year is somehow even better. We’ve put together a list of our top picks, if you’ve not yet got tickets hurry up!
FRIDAY
Savssounds is truly up and coming with a really eclectic mix of experience behind her. Her live set for Art Beyond the Shell made Nirvana’ Smells Like Teen Spirit a song that you could grind to. She recently started the club night Altverse focusing on black alternative music featuring the likes of The Internet, Doechii and Kaytranada, and also somehow manages to juggle both being a DJ and a financial consultant – a seriously talented woman.
SATURDAY
Amaliah is super popular at the moment, playing a crazy run of shows over the summer. Other than GALA, catch her at Shangri-La, Maiden Voyage and Boiler Room in Ibiza. She started DJing in 2018 after record collecting since her teens. Her sets are varied, she plays around with house, techno and UK funky and she started the collective Borne Fruits to showcase some of the best underground music, something we can definitely get behind.
If you’re maybe in the mood for something a little more retro, Portuguese-born London-based Mafalda is known for her brilliant taste in soulful disco tunes. She doesn’t believe in guilty pleasures, as she told Dust & Grooves “Good music is good music”. She radiates joy, so if you’re in the mood to feel good make sure you get to her set.
SUNDAY
If you’ve been DJing for over two decades you better be good, and Michelle Manetti certainly is. Self-described as a ‘genre non-conformist’, she loves to experiment with a variety of genres from house to disco to acid. She also promotes and helps to curate multiple female/non-binary-focused club nights in East London including Femmme Fraiche. If you tend to spend your nights at Dalston Superstore, this is the set for you.
Millie McKee is a standout on this list. Her taste skews more into the psychedelic, with percussive dub and spiritual jazz beats. Another decade-long vinyl collector, she even manages the record store Hidden Sounds on Ridley Road. Truly a Sunday vibe, and maybe a good one to add to your itinerary if you’ve attended all 3 days of the festival and are looking for something to chill out to.
