Zooey is a DJ, presenter, creative director and drag artist, having toured with artists like Sugababes, Robyn and Romy. He chatted through his journey towards finding his niche, how he got started in the DJ world and what appealed to him about taking the path less creatively trodden.
Z: I’d obviously done my fair amount of clubbing when I was at uni, but when I came back to London, my best friend Cheska - who’s an amazing DJ called Lil C - had started DJing at nights like Pxssy Palace and Babes, which were these really amazing formative nights in the mid-late 2010s in London. That was my first time going into spaces that were gay or Queer, where I would listen to 8/9/10 genres in a night.
Discussing the artists who’ve inspired him over the years, Zooey spoke about how he was particularly drawn to the names making moves in spaces they hadn’t been heard in previously.
Z: A lot of the music I had started discovering independently when I was young was by artists like Mickey Blanco, Jungle Pussy, Leaf, who were Black Queer artists making rap music, and a lot of stuff that didn’t feel automatically like what you’d reach for necessarily as ‘gay music’.
A lot of Zooey’s work involves research and exploration of the cultural history that paved the way for artists like him.
Z: I do a weekly content series called References where I unpack different things in visual culture, pop culture that I love, either something that caught my eye or something I know a little bit about, but I’ll have to research it to be able to present it. I love it. I love that feeling you get when you’re learning something new.
FIND YOUR NICHE: Episode 2 Ft. Lagoon
In our latest Find Your Niche episode, our host, Dora, met up with Zooey Gleaves, a.k.a. Lagoon, at his home in Dalston to chat about his career trajectory into the world of DJing, as well as the importance of finding and being the community for others.
Zooey talked about his journey as a DJ, explaining the necessity of being comfortable with being bad at something before you get better.
Z: When I started gigging and playing… I was absolutely horrible at the beginning, not good. I think you’ve got to have an ear or an idea for what you’re doing… but still, skill-wise, it was not great. But I think I always had a perspective and an idea of what the world or mood was I wanted to create.
Zooey started DJing as Lagoon in 2019, and was the first drag artist to curate and DJ a Boiler Room set in 2022.
Z: I think a lot of people were like wait, this is a drag queen, but he’s not playing house or techno, he’s playing like, Reggaeton and Dem Bow and Bass and UKG. I knew [Boiler Room] was something I wanted to do and something that felt important in terms of drag, at that time. I quite liked the idea of expanding what people thought drag could look and feel like and what it could do and what it could be.
As a DJ, presenter, creative director and drag artist, Zooey emphasised the joy of becoming a multidisciplinarian artist and how not being afraid of failure has allowed him to explore so many different careers.
Z: I’ve always been interested in a wide variety of things and have always wanted to do a wide variety of things. I think it’s so easy to worry about all the things you might want to do. The thing I wish I had known sooner is… you just have to do it. It doesn’t matter if you fail, it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t matter if you get fired. balance.
Success is not linear at all. You can have moments where you really feel like you’re on a frequency and things are just coming for you and you’re like, right we’re cooking on gas! But it doesn’t matter how old you are, or how successful you are, there are always going to be bumps in the road.
Z: When I started gigging and playing… I was absolutely horrible at the beginning, not good. I think you’ve got to have an ear or an idea for what you’re doing… but still, skill-wise, it was not great. But I think I always had a perspective and an idea of what the world or mood was I wanted to create.
Zooey started DJing as Lagoon in 2019, and was the first drag artist to curate and DJ a Boiler Room set in 2022.
Z: I think a lot of people were like wait, this is a drag queen, but he’s not playing house or techno, he’s playing like, Reggaeton and Dem Bow and Bass and UKG. I knew [Boiler Room] was something I wanted to do and something that felt important in terms of drag, at that time. I quite liked the idea of expanding what people thought drag could look and feel like and what it could do and what it could be.
As a DJ, presenter, creative director and drag artist, Zooey emphasised the joy of becoming a multidisciplinarian artist and how not being afraid of failure has allowed him to explore so many different careers.
Z: I’ve always been interested in a wide variety of things and have always wanted to do a wide variety of things. I think it’s so easy to worry about all the things you might want to do. The thing I wish I had known sooner is… you just have to do it. It doesn’t matter if you fail, it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t matter if you get fired. balance.
Success is not linear at all. You can have moments where you really feel like you’re on a frequency and things are just coming for you and you’re like, right we’re cooking on gas! But it doesn’t matter how old you are, or how successful you are, there are always going to be bumps in the road.
“Success is not linear at all. It doesn’t matter how old you are, or how successful you are, there are always going to be bumps in the road.”
D: So, Zooey. You have supported the Sugababes, Romy, George Riley… but who has supported you?
Z: Haha… it takes a village, honestly. I’ve always been very lucky to have a group of friends, half of whom have absolutely nothing to do with the London nightlife, arts and culture scene, and then half who are involved in it. It’s very easy to think that world is everything, and fundamentally it’s not. Actually, I think the thing I’ve found enormously helpful and grounding is to have a group of friends where those things don’t overlap and aren’t a topic of conversation, because it means you end up being able to talk about all the other things going on in the world.
“It’s very easy to think the nightlife world is everything, and fundamentally it’s not.”
D: What do you think community means to you?
Z: I have a community of people I know who do the same job as me, or work in the same environment as me, and I think that’s really amazing and really beautiful. But then I’m best friends with girls I met 20 years ago and I’m celebrating friendship-versaries of 20 years this October with a whole group of people I’ve grown up with, and the things we talk about are not about work or London or anything like that, it’s just kind of about who we are.
It’s about how you define it. It’s really important to look around at the people who are younger than you or just coming up and think, how can I be of service; when I was in my early 20s, there was a group of people who were 7/8 years older than me who, very graciously extended a hand, and I think that in terms of community is really important.
“It’s really important to look at the people younger than you or just coming up and think, how can I be of service?”
D: So, Zooey. You have supported the Sugababes, Romy, George Riley… but who has supported you?
Z: Haha… it takes a village, honestly. I’ve always been very lucky to have a group of friends, half of whom have absolutely nothing to do with the London nightlife, arts and culture scene, and then half who are involved in it. It’s very easy to think that world is everything, and fundamentally it’s not. Actually, I think the thing I’ve found enormously helpful and grounding is to have a group of friends where those things don’t overlap and aren’t a topic of conversation, because it means you end up being able to talk about all the other things going on in the world.
“It’s very easy to think the nightlife world is everything, and fundamentally it’s not.”
D: What do you think community means to you?
Z: I have a community of people I know who do the same job as me, or work in the same environment as me, and I think that’s really amazing and really beautiful. But then I’m best friends with girls I met 20 years ago and I’m celebrating friendship-versaries of 20 years this October with a whole group of people I’ve grown up with, and the things we talk about are not about work or London or anything like that, it’s just kind of about who we are.
It’s about how you define it. It’s really important to look around at the people who are younger than you or just coming up and think, how can I be of service; when I was in my early 20s, there was a group of people who were 7/8 years older than me who, very graciously extended a hand, and I think that in terms of community is really important.
“It’s really important to look at the people younger than you or just coming up and think, how can I be of service?”