“There’s so much happening right now with different collectives, artists and DJs making this one of the best times for the London sound,” says Tommy Gold. And this born and bred West Londoner knows what he’s talking about. The DJ is in high demand for his people-pleasing ear for international sounds and dance inducing sets, as well as for his strong connections to some of the most forward-thinking nightlife leaders across the city.

Right now, he asserts that it’s the women who are leading the way. “Nayana Iz is an incredible artist, a real force of nature,” he says of his first one to watch. “Then there’s Fauzia, a superb DJ in the all-women collective 6 Figure Gang, who are better than any male crew right now. In the hip hop space, DJ Taylah Elaine is killing it. And then there’s No Signal, a Black-owned radio station that launched in lockdown as the sister brand to Recess, which is the best party in London. Shout out to all the women involved in that, especially Ghadir Mustafa, who is completely inspiring.”

Gold also shares a residency at Brixton’s Phonox with woman duo Bossy LDN, and is Ama Lou’s tour DJ. But the biggest woman boss in his life is his sister Phoebe Gold, who manages his career as well as that of PinkPantheress and Tendai. “Within a system built for powerful white men to flourish, she is a young woman of colour making change and nothing gets in her way. A lot of women in the industry are like that – it’s a patriarchal environment but that makes them strong,” he asserts.

For this story, Gold joins Nataal to celebrate International Women’s Day, and this year’s theme #BreakTheBias, with Valentino and FARFETCH [See our womenswear story with Priya Ragu here]. This self-confessed clothes junkie cuts a rug in some of the brightest and most audacious looks from Valentino’s SS22 collection alongside fellow rising star, Priya Ragu. “I love clothes and I love shoes. So, I feel confident in what I’m wearing. I’ve always appreciated Valentino and then my friend Cosima performed at the brand’s AW21 show, so that was my full introduction. I love clothes and I have a lot of them, preferring a straight or baggier fit. So, these looks are something I’d go for in the summer.”

Gold was born with music in his blood. A Ladbroke Grove boy, he grew up listening to his Iranian father’s soul, funk, R&B and hip hop records and his Kenyan mother’s Bob Dylan and classic rock albums. Then through his sister, got hooked on indie rock. “My first performances were playing guitar in bands doing covers of Blur, The Cure and Arctic Monkeys,” he recalls. Aged just 15, he started interning at NTS Radio, where its roster of scene-making DJs took him under their wing and taught him the ropes. “My first booking for a DJ set was a 400-capacity show and I was terrible but from there I started taking it seriously.” He was soon getting gigs with Boiler Room, and then joined the Bone Soda crew of party people and music curators. “I’ve gotten to work with people I was a fan of and am very grateful for all of those collaborations,” he muses.

Now 23, he’s ready to step up as an artist in his own right with his upcoming debut EP, ‘Underwater Music’. Approaching the project like a DJ mix, the four tracks move through his far-reaching influences from trap and R&B to indie and IDM. Think Aphex Twin meets Timbaland. “I’ve always made beats just for myself. At home, having fun. But when I had time off during the lockdown, I was like, I’m known as a DJ, I’ve grinded, I love what I do but now I want people to come out to hear my music. Hopefully it will appeal to a lot of people as well as the real music lovers.”

Now coming out of the other side of the pandemic, Gold is positive that London’s nightlife scene is as strong as ever, despite the club closures and curfews that resulted from it. “We’re very pragmatic and know how to make the most of every situation. And we have it ingrained in our culture to party. So since we’ve been released from lockdown, I’ve seen the crowds I play to are really going for because they have two years of this pent-up energy to get out. I can take people on a journey, throw in a popular song, go deeper for half an hour and just feel free.”

And right now, what’s moving his sets forward the most are the new sounds from across Africa. “I’m playing a lot of amapiano from South Africa, which has that afro house vibe. It’s beautiful to see how popular it’s becoming internationally with big producers like Juls making tracks,” he enthuses. “I’m also into gengetone, which is a mix of genge – Kenya’s local rap music – and reggaeton. Many of these sounds from east Africa haven’t made it to the UK in the same way that afrobeats has, so I’m into promoting that. As my mum is from Kenya, I’m going over there later in the year to work with some local artists.”