Prague born, London-based DJ Ariane V is mostly known as one of the driving forces behind inclusive London/Bristol based collective Rhythm Sister, who have been been leading the charge in empowering women & LGBTQ+ in the music industry. Hosting panels & regular workshops in London for for attendees to practice DJing and learn music production skills in a safe and inclusive environment.
Having found a passion for records, Ariane also previously worked behind the counter as one of the friendly & knowledgable faces at London’s Phonica Records. Which if you’re into records, is one of the capitals finest outlets for getting your hands on a plethora of sonic delights from Reggae, Dub and Nu Jazz, Broken Beat to Techno, Minimal, Funk /Soul & Disco.
As a DJ, Ariane V can be found bumping Disco, UKG, Balearic House or Jazz-Rock on her Balamii radio residency, with a keen ear and ability to weave together sounds and styles, old and new, with consummate ease.
LISTEN: @soundcloud.com/arianev
Each week we will be taking a dip into the crates and minds of some of the digging scenes most prolific collectors.
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DIGGR: What is it about vinyl that makes you dig it?
ARIANE: “I think the initial thing that got me into it is that growing up I never paid for music – I grew up first burning CDs, then got my first cheap mp3 player and downloaded songs from wherever I could find them, then years later Spotify came around. When I discovered records I loved that it was a physical representation of music that I could pay for and own; until then, paying for music was a completely foreign idea to me, but paying for items was normal, so that bridged the gap.
Then when I started learning how to DJ I really struggled to understand CDJs, I just couldn’t visualise what I was doing to the track. Records just clicked and felt so much more natural, and in turn helped me understand CDJs as well. I just really enjoy the physicality/tactility of records.”
D: Name one institution that changed your life musically… and why?
A: “Can I cheat here a bit and just say London? I know, not an institution, but there are so many institutions that changed my life musically and they are all London based so it’s all just down to London really. I started learning how to DJ when I was studying in the Netherlands, but I didn’t have any friends who were into the same music as me, I didn’t have anyone I could connect with.
A few months later I moved to London and everything changed – I felt really welcomed, I found it really easy to make friends thanks to record collecting and being into the same music, everyone was happy to talk to me and introduce me to new people.
I started working at Phonica which taught me so much, it opened my eyes to so many genres that were unknown to me before, met loads of people, went to amazing nights, got my first radio show on Netil, slowly started getting gigs… It’s all just down to London and the community here.”
D: You’ve just been dumped… what’s on the turntable?
A: “Nils Frahm – Some from his Solo album. It’s such a beautiful, gentle track. Incredibly sad, but in a really soothing way. It forces you to calm down and slow down all the thoughts that are rushing through your head. It’s amazing for whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed. It makes you feel like everything will be alright.”
D: Name a song to soundtrack the sunshine
A: “Nohelani Cypriano – Lihue. What’s better to soundtrack the sunshine than Hawaiian funk?”
D: Weirdest most quirky record buying memory?
T: “I was hiking around Portugal one summer and I went on a day trip to Sintra palace. There was a guy selling records on a bridge with a view of the palace behind him. It was so random, it’s a really touristy place so you’d expect people trying to sell souvenirs or something, not a guy with his records just laid out on the pavement. He even had a small portable turntable and speaker set up and he was playing records to the passersby.
I actually picked out quite a few records but since I was hiking/backpacking for over a month I couldn’t afford any extra weight in my bag, so I only left with a 7″ of some Portuguese fado music.”
