Ten Years of GALA is both an archive and a horizon:
a reflection on where GALA has come from, and a
signal of what lies ahead.
Founded in 2016 as a one-day gathering in South
London, GALA has grown into a global point of
reference for dancers, artists and collectives drawn
together by a shared commitment to independence,
collaboration and underground music culture. Rather than charting success through scale alone, the festival
has consistently prioritised integrity, community and
musical curiosity – values that underpin this release.
Spanning fifteen tracks, Ten Years of GALA unfolds
as a considered journey. It opens with an intimate
spoken contribution from Charlie Dark, grounding
the compilation firmly in GALA’s home of Peckham
before gradually expanding outward into fuller, club-
focused terrain.
The compilation brings together longtime friends
of the festival alongside newer voices drawn into
its orbit in recent years. Each artist contributes a
distinct perspective, but collectively the tracks form
a coherent portrait – not of a single sound, but of
a shared ethos shaped over ten years of gatherings,
collaborations and days spent dancing together.
Rather than a retrospective in the conventional sense,
Ten Years of GALA functions as a living document.
It captures fragments of past editions, scenes and
relationships, while remaining firmly oriented toward
the future. Together, the compilation holds a piece
of GALA’s first decade.
Compiled and curated by Tim Garcia & Giles Napier.
released May 1, 2026
all rights reserved