New initiatives have also been sparked by the festival, which remains independently-run. A DJ set by Ruby Savage led to a longstanding partnership, Don’t Be a Creep, which aims to create a safe and respectful dancefloor. It’s part of their wellbeing initiative, Mutual Future, which includes specialist teams on site an awareness campaign and a post-even survey that feeds back into the planning for future events. ‘We’ve got tangible results we’re very proud of. We want to change behaviour on a larger scale and leave a legacy of that.’

GALA’s cultural contribution, in terms of their bookings, is undeniable. As well as having Detroit legends Theo Parrish and Moodymann on the same weekend, they’re the chosen location for the inaugural festival outing for Floating Point’s totemic Sunflower Sound System. ‘This is a different beast,’ he says. ‘It’s a proud moment to be able to host it before it heads off to Glastonbury and Dekmantel.’

The system, made in collaboration with Leeds-based Cosmic Slop, is, says Gilles, ‘by far the most elevated, considered sound design’ they’ve ever had. ‘I think it’s going to be very popular,’ he says, describing a line up which includes whole-day takeovers by now-legendary club Plastic People, Floating Points’ own Melodies International label and Cosmic Slop. ‘I’m sure you’ll find that many people won’t leave the Sunflower Stage all weekend.’

More music lovers have been able to get a taste of GALA over the last six months as the festival has been on a world tour. Stop-offs have already included Womb in Tokyo and Lisbon’s DIY venue Higher Ground, with sessions to follow at Chicago’s Smartbar and Ephigenia in São Paulo with dates later in the year in Berlin, Amsterdam and Melbourne.

Congratulations on achieving double digits.

We feel a bit old now! There’s very few of us left in London from when we started out and I feel proud of the longevity.

I’ve seen some of the billboard images. How would you explain what’s on them?

It’s a celebration of the audience and where we’ve got to. We have a really loyal fanbase. The majority of people are returning each year, and that’s a special thing. It’s nice to shout about the line-up but it’s good to go back to who matters the most – people who support the thing.

What can you tell me about the photographs?

They’re all by Frankie Casillo. An incredible Italian photographer, based in Berlin. I was so impressed by his work at festivals like Nachtdigital. All the idiosyncrasies he finds, capturing the festival as a whole, those weird, interesting moments, finding the beauty. It makes for amazing albums.

Have you got any favourite shots?

The couple kissing is a work of art but each of the images tells their own story of togetherness. I love the one where people are going inside the dome, hands in the air. It takes you into that moment. I love the joy on people’s faces.

What’s your relationship to the visual world of billboards and fly posters?

I spent three years at university flyering student halls and sticking up posters over the city. The first year we did GALA me and Jonny spent every morning going to different tube stops and flyering the commuters, chatting to people outside Brixton station. Roped in some mates, sneaked posters up in pub toilets. So it was a special moment when we got our first billboard, right by Brixton Jamm. It might seem silly to say but when that went up, it felt we’d finally arrived as proper promoters.

The billboard is the people’s art gallery. It’s the perfect place to be sharing images from your festival, which is so community focused.

Exactly. It’s crazy we hadn’t thought of doing something so photo-led before.

What are your own photos like of GALA?

Probably mainly overexcited selfies.

What does this longevity give you as a festival?

Maybe a sense of calmness? When we first set out, we spent a lot of time checking things we couldn’t control. Now we understand what needs to be done, where we need to improve, and it’s dealt with in a more measured and calm way.

It’s rare for a festival to remain independent. How have you achieved that?  

Me and Jonny wanted full control and we’ve always been quite protective of that. When you lose control, things can creep in that we wouldn’t necessarily be comfortable with. I’m sure there are people who’d want a slice of GALA but it’s not something we’d consider. There are certain principles we wouldn’t compromise.

Within festivals there’s a lineage of free parties, or more recently, Brainchild, which was also independent, and which had a big impact on what became UK jazz. Did either of those strands feed into GALA?

No. It came from becoming semi-obsessed with the origins of club culture and their purist approach. The fact marginalised groups created spaces that were inclusive, had amazing sound, and where the DJs weren’t front and centre necessarily. We love the early house sound; we’re quite intoxicated by that. I remember watching Maestro featuring the story of Paradise Garage. It’s been us picking up books, watching, listening, learning about the originators and the pioneers. The principles resonated and we wanted to implement those values in a festival setting.

Do you see GALA as a cultural contribution, then?

I hope so. Electronic music’s popularity has exploded, and the DJs of the moment are idolised. We want to tell stories and celebrate dance music’s lineage, paying respect to where it came from as well as where it’s at.

You’re booking artists who’ve been around the block a few times alongside those who are doing it for the first time…

One of the most exciting parts of the job is contextualising the programme with James our booker. A few years ago, we booked Nia Archives for her first London festival, right before Goldie. There was a moment that felt like the passing of the baton from one of jungle’s originators to its next big star. It was so special.

The word ‘community’ is becoming very contested. Nigel Farage and Reform have used it on a poster as one of the three words to describe what they’re about, alongside ‘Family’ and ‘Country’…

I hadn’t seen that. It’s scary how overused the word is, for sure. For us, it’s about bringing partners, and people with shared values, into the fold and creating a space which feels safe and inclusive. GALA is also very collaborative. We have a long list of partners who come year in, year out. Horsemeat Disco, Rhythm Section, Born n Bread, Refuge Worldwide, Deviation. It’s become a bit of a family. We also invite independent venues to host stages, like Jumbi, and The Cause. Festivals have in many ways stolen the limelight from clubs in recent years, so there’s a sense of solidarity that feeds into this.

Where’s your spot on the dancefloor?

Wherever the sound is best, and where there’s room to dance. I went to Horst a few years ago. I was at the back and I was quite happy soaking up the atmosphere. It’s really beautiful, the stages are architect-designed, really elaborate. In a club? Up the front, dancing my socks off. One time at GALA my phone ran out of battery. Loads of people were trying to get hold of me but I was just taken by the energy of it all, stood on the dancefloor for an hour, by myself.

I understand the background in terms of where you’re coming from. But was there an instigating moment for GALA number one?

I didn’t feel ready at the time, but Jonny was set on the idea and made me believe it was a logical progression. London at that time didn’t have anything intimate, with a decent sound, and that put the audience first, but mainly we got lucky with timing as councils were just beginning to commercialise their parks. There’s no chance we’d have been able to do it, with this level of saturation.

After GALA number one, did you think ‘never again’ or were you energised into doing another one.

So you know the story [laughs] about how bad it was!

No, I don’t.

We had a tough time the first year. The inexperience showed. There were quite a lot of queues. I remember after the festival, sitting in my mum’s Polo, which we were using to shuttle things around, and being in tears with Jonny: this has not gone how we planned. I was semi in hiding for three months, feeling like I didn’t want to see people or face questions. Luckily, people were forgiving. We ended up replying to every single person who emailed in with complaints and gave out free tickets for the next year. We were maybe too proud to call it a day at that moment, even though it took a lot out of us. Once the dust settled, there was no question we had to go again, and thank god we stuck with it.

I respect what it takes to do a festival…

It’s an extremely pressurised industry but we do live for it.

The need for the dancefloor space has only amplified…

That’s the main drive for keeping going. That we can give people those moments, each year.

Any intentions for the line-up this year that you’ve been able to realise?

As well as having artists who’ve been important to our journey, we wanted to bring over more of our musical heroes. Hosting giants like Moodymann, Theo Parrish and Robert Hood come to Peckham Rye is as special as it gets for us. I also wanted to try and throw in a curveball or two. The likes of Hudson Mohawke should help bring the unexpected.

In my own work, I often find myself arguing the balance is wrong when it comes to noise complaints, and that it’s anti-social to complain about noise if you live in the city…

We don’t get a crazy amount of noise complaints. Of course, there’s a very vocal group of people who would like to shut us down but for the most part, I think people respect the importance of events like ours. The thing that’s moree sad is that clubs aren’t properly protected. They’re the ones at risk from noise complaints. Sadiq Khan now has powers to step in when clubs are being shut down, so hopefully there’s a brighter future ahead.

We spoke at the beginning about turning ten. What are your future plans for GALA over the coming years?

We’ll always refine, tweak, to keep it fresh and exciting. We’re starting a record label, which no-one knows about yet. We’ll launch it later this year with a compilation.

An exclusive! Sounds great. Any final words for us?

We’re so lucky to be where we are. Peckham Rye is a natural arena for 10,000 people. Other promoters might want to keep pushing numbers whilst the sun is shining, but the intimacy of the festival protects the experience. We’re very happy with what we’ve got.