I started consciously being a music nerd in my teens, like most people – it's pretty typical to use music as a tool for carving out a new identity for yourself. My sister did tell me a story the other day about me dancing and singing along to Pato Banton when I was about three years old, so maybe the obsession runs deeper than I think. But even as a teenager, my love for music was about forming deeper connections with people, not just exploring my own identity – I listened to Frank Sinatra for months when my nan said he was her favourite musician. There's been a lot of discussion in recent years about the political power of the dance floor and 'underground culture' in general. To me, that starts with a prioritization of empathy over ego.

It's definitely an influence in my music taste, but one of many – I like minimalism almost as much as polyrhythms, and my radio shows and DJ sets are often about me trying to find cohesion in a variety of genres. Generally, I'm inspired by how juxtaposing conflicting sounds, textures, or even musicians can reveal something new or draw your attention to an underlying connecting factor.

I'm just a fan. In all seriousness, by genuinely being passionate about music and also being up for anything, happy to get my hands dirty. I had just written an article about NTS when they were looking for an editorial intern, so I got the job on the basis of that. But sticking around in the creative industries – rather than getting a ‘real job’, which I'm sure my family would love – has been a matter of saying yes, taking on projects even when I wasn't a hundred per cent sure I could do them, and learning on the job.

I'd probably be an English teacher.

It's a cliché, but every day is different; the only constant is spreadsheets – my job involves a lot more spreadsheets than you might expect. The main thing, whether I'm producing a project or programming an event, is working out how to balance different people's ideas and needs.

James K is my current obsession. I've also been revisiting Lemonade by Beyoncé, underrated album. 

The event I'm presenting is about taking the idea of Black creativity beyond the stereotypes. People are a lot less tribalistic about music taste now than when I was growing up, and there's definitely much more freedom for black creatives than there was fifty years ago. But I still think ideas about black creativity and even black identity at large can be a bit prescriptive.
There are a few pieces in Dreaming/Diasporas that deal specifically with who gets to claim blackness, and what it means to be made up of conflicting identities, which is as much an issue for mixed-race people as it is for people from immigrant backgrounds. But in general, I hope that the event rejects that prescriptive outlook for something a bit freer, and therefore more interesting.

For Dreaming/Diasporas I prioritized artists of black diasporic descent, but I wasn't too restrictive about it. So Naima Karlsson, for example, is presenting two works: her project in collaboration with Kenichi Isawa, and also a new solo piano piece written specifically for this show and inspired by its themes. In all my programming, I try to give a platform to emerging artists and allow people to try out new ideas. I've worked closely with Estelle Birch and other collaborators to develop her piece, so I'm especially excited for that, and for Zakia Sewell and Amey St Cyr's performance. Given the themes of the exhibition and my event in particular, I think it's really interesting to have an inter-generational performance.
Hannah Catherine Jones is an artist who I really want to spotlight more because I think the way she straddles different mediums is really powerful, and Kelman Duran's work is also really interesting to me for the way it combines the ghostly and the corporeal – again, a very pertinent artistic practice given the exhibition's concerns.

Apart from Dreaming/Diasporas, I'm looking forward to seeing Jenn Nkiru's new work in the exhibition itself, and it's also great that B.o.s.s. are doing a sound system workshop.

Come and find out! And arrive early because it's all live performances for the whole evening. It's going to be experimental, immersive, moving and fun.