BIG TIME MUSICALITY
Tirana, June 2026
At just twenty-one years old, musical prodigy GALA DRAGOT has already reached remarkable milestones. Her music soundtracked the FW26 Dries Van Noten Women’s show, where she sat front row alongside Celeste and heard her voice echo through the fashion world for the first time. Now, she presents her latest body of work, Twerking Music – a melodic femcel memoir written throughout her teenage years that lays bare her fears, vulnerabilities, and coming-of-age experiences.
Raised in Belgium, Dragot developed a distinctive artistic sensibility shaped by a childhood immersed in music and the arts. Inspired by artists such as Björk and Duke Ellington, she blends Belgium's rich creative spirit with elements of her Albanian heritage to create a sound that feels both intimate and unconventional. We caught up with the singer while she was on her way to a television interview in Albania to discuss planting a seed in the world with her new release and performing in a barn surrounded by animals.
Dress Marie Adam-Leenaerdt, earrings D’Heygere, gloves Ganterie Boon
Hi Gala, how are you? What’s been up lately?
I just had a cheesecake with my brother at a cafe in Tirana (Albania), and there's a taxi picking me up because I have an interview on Albanian television. I've had a lot on my mind. We organised a release party on a farm where I played my EP on a piano in a barn between animals. That was a whole thing. Since then I've just been chilling and working on new music every day.
Do you feel like you find a lot of inspiration in Albania?
Traditional Albanian music, polyphony, inspires me a lot. But I’m as inspired by Albania as Italy, as Belgium. Everything that catches my attention will inspire me in a way.
Earrings D’Heygere
What was the inspiration behind performing your EP in a barn surrounded by animals?
As a kid, I was really a farm girl. After school, I used to take care of farm animals, feed the sheep and stuff like that. It's an image that strongly remained. I really see this EP, Twerking Music, as a collection of music I made in my late teenage years, and it just felt like it made sense. I see this EP as a seed that I’m planting in the world. As a carte de visite.
Growing up, would you say music and artistry were very present, and maybe why these ideas come so naturally to you at a young age?
My dad used to be a really big musician in Albania, and I was always strongly encouraged by my parents to do anything creative. He is also a painter, so painting was really encouraged by him. I always wanted to do it, and it felt inevitable – this feeling where you just have to do something, and you can't question it. And the same goes for music.
Left Collar and mask Adelina Bernard, top Semicouture, tights Falke, shoes Morobé
Right Top Kamilla Szemere at Royal Academy Antwerp, feather headpiece Elvis Pompillo
There are so many cool and original artists coming out of Belgium; you all have your own unique flavour, and it’s interesting how such a small country can produce such varied artists.
It’s crazy. Belgium dominates in so many fields. In painting, in music, fashion and theatre. Belgium is absolutely the dominator.
Did you feel like creativity and pursuing your artistry was encouraged at school?
Teachers never pushed me to do anything. I did normal school, and then after I won The Voice Kids, I wanted to study music. My last two years of high school were at an art school where I could do extra music hours and study jazz. I loved it so much; it was life-changing, and the teachers were very good, but I don't really remember them giving me life-changing advice. They would tell me that I needed to finish school even though I wanted to drop out and focus on music. I did not believe them back then, and I still don't believe them.
Left Full look Ann Demeulemeester
Left Top Kamilla Szemere at Royal Academy Antwerp, feather headpiece Elvis Pompillo
Your music is a mix between Björk's weirdness and Rosalía's drama. Growing up, who were your musical inspirations? And who do you listen to today?
When I discovered music independently, Björk was my first musical love; I was 14, listening to her all the time. I still listen to her very much. She changed my life, and she's a very important musical figure to me. Then I started getting into classical music and jazz, on a nerd level. Maybe the most important composer for me during my teenage years was Scriabin (Alexander Scriabin). He really nurtured my musical language and how I see harmonies. Another classical composer that influences me a lot is Puccini (Giacomo Puccini). I feel like he's the best at melodies. Recently, I’ve been listening to a lot of Geordie Greep, the singer of Black Midi. Both his work in Black Midi and his solo projects really inspired me. Also, I love Nina Simone.
Left Collar and mask Adelina Bernard, top Semicouture, tights Falke, shoes Morobé
Left Top Kamilla Szemere at Royal Academy Antwerp, pants Vince, shoes Morobé, feather headpiece Elvis Pompillo
We can definitely hear that in the music that you make that you're pulling from classical, jazz and rock, and they blend really well together. Can you tell us about your album, Twerking Music and why you chose that name?
I chose that name because I couldn't really take it seriously, you know? I had no other name in mind. That’s the only idea I had, and I thought it'd stick with it because it might be fun when people mention it. After all, it’s not actually twerking music.
You were a teenager when you wrote those songs; do you still relate to those themes nowadays?
I feel like the themes are just endless; it’s about longing, yearning, crushing on people and missing them. That’s a very big part of my writing. That's something that even in my new music is just constantly there. Then I have the more socially engaged songs. That's something that I think I will forever keep talking about because it really concerns me.
Left Earrings D’Heygere, headpiece by the stylist
Right Suit and shirt Adelina Bernard, shoes Morobé
And if you could collaborate with an artist, dead or alive, on a song, who would you choose?
Okay, wait, this is the hardest question ever, because I have so many. I'd love to have lived in the time of Duke Ellington and have him write songs. He made such wonderful songs, and having an album with him would have been so fire. Also Léo Férré, Sun Ra and Leonard Cohen.
You appeared in the film Comeback in 2025. Did you enjoy acting? Do you have any other cinema projects coming up?
I love acting, but I don't have a project coming up right now. I need to start doing castings again. Acting is also a really big passion of mine, just like painting; I paint my own sleeves, my own single covers. Acting is inevitable for me too. As a kid growing up, I thought I was an actress. It was a love that came before music.
Left Suit and shirt Adelina Bernard, shoes Morobé
Right Dress Nadav Perlman, feather headpiece Elvis Pompillo
I feel that to do music, though, you have to be good at acting, or else it's hard to transmit the emotions.
Yeah, it touches others so much.
You also worked on the soundtrack for the Dries Van Noten show for Fall/Winter ’26. Were you familiar with the brand before this collaboration?
Julian Klausner invited me to his first Dries Van Noten show at the Palais Garnier, which was such an incredible, unbelievable moment, because there weren't any other singers, and at the time I didn’t have one proper project out. I felt so incredibly honoured and inspired by the show; I felt like I was watching a piece of theatre, and that was incredible. And then a year later, they asked me if I wanted to be the voice on the track. The whole context seemed sacred. I sat next to Celeste, who I really look up to, and then suddenly the models started walking, and I heard my voice. I was just like, I was sick. It was a dream.
Left Full look Julie Kegels
Right Sculpture by Gala Dragot
Left Collar and mask Adelina Bernard, top Semicouture, tights Falke, shoes Morobé
Right Dress Nadav Perlman, feather headpiece Elvis Pompillo
Photography by Sieme Hermans
Fashion by Xander Pauwels
Hair by Sanne Schoofs
Make-Up by Gala Dragot
Photographer’s assistant Gianna Zappettini