08: Frankie Decaiza Hutchinson on Dweller and making actual change

Frankie Decaiza Hutchinson has had a monumental impact on the last decade of dance music, first by disrupting a male-dominated industry through the agency Discwoman, and then by creating a new, dedicated zone for Black artists with Dweller, an annual festival that takes place across various venues in New York each February.

And all without ever lowering herself to the status of a DJ.

With the peak of Discwoman press hype now a distant pre-pandemic memory, we thought it’d be a perfect time for a No Tags interview with Frankie. We’re not really in this game to speak to amoebic newcomers about their career hopes – you’ll find plenty of that in what remains of the music press. Instead we wanted to talk to Frankie as a seasoned veteran of rave, and as someone who’s both seen and enacted immense change in the scene, even helping overturn NYC's racist "cabaret law".

Ahead of next week’s Dweller festival, we talked to Frankie about the need for Dweller and the unique family atmosphere at their parties, as well as the underground films the platform has curated for a season on The Criterion Channel. We also discuss why Dweller recently cancelled a showcase of Black artists at Berghain, the state of NYC nightlife, and how raving brought a shy, scared teenager out of her shell.

Plus: her favourite films about white men in crisis. Enjoy!

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