For the Record is a conversation series where we speak with all manner of music heads — DJs, music journos, indie label captains, record shop owners, listening bar kingpins, et al — about their stories + the music that makes them.

Raised in Pittsburgh as the sidekick to a fashionable 90's raver by the nickname of DKNY Caroline, Dianna gained her first exposure to electronic music and was hooked.

As a teenager she got involved in the dance community and started doing promotion for local crews, which led her into studying public relations at American University.

Following a stint at PAPER, and overseeing community at Soho House's three New York locales, Dianna co-founded Mizz Softee, a Brooklyn-based underground party brand with an emphasis on techno genres. In addition, she's building The Creamery, a boutique artist booking agency.

Explore more of this conversation and others:

https://www.greymatter.fm/community/ftr011-dianna-loevner

For the Record is a conversation series where we speak with all manner of music heads — DJs, music journos, indie label captains, record shop owners, listening bar kingpins, et al — about their stories + the music that makes them.

Brodie Conley (he/him) is an Ottawa-based music industry professional and artist with diverse experience in research, artist management, and community music initiatives, as well as government program and policy development.

Currently, he works as a researcher at the Center for Music Ecosystems, and also consults for research organization, Water & Music, where he explores the intersections of music and technology.

In the past, Brodie worked in artist management (Andy Shauf / Lido Pimienta / Ada Lea) and as the Festival Manager for the MEGAPHONO Music Festival, which provided opportunities for Ottawa-region artists to cultivate new knowledge and catalyze export opportunities.

Brodie is a motivated advocate for Canadian independent music and hopes to continue to support knowledge development for emerging and underserved artists. He is a proud board member for the Ottawa-based independent and underground music presenter Debaser.

Explore more of this conversation and others:

https://www.greymatter.fm/community/ftr010-brodie-conley

For the Record is a conversation series where we speak with all manner of music heads — DJs, music journos, indie label captains, record shop owners, listening bar kingpins, et al — about their stories + the music that makes them.

Xcelencia is both a founder and artist working at the intersection of music, technology, and culture. Born in Puerto Rico with Cuban roots, he grew up in the United States, where his cross-cultural upbringing shaped his distinctive musical identity. He’s also a devoted cratedigger with broad-reaching music taste.

Explore more of this conversation and others:

https://www.greymatter.fm/community/ftr009-xcelencia

For the Record is a conversation series where we speak with all manner of music heads — DJs, music journos, indie label captains, record shop owners, listening bar kingpins, et al — about their stories + the music that makes them.

Tim Shiel is a musician & broadcaster based in Naarm/Melbourne, known for his playful future-facing production style that draws inspiration from across dance, electronic, hip hop & pop. His open-minded approach has attracted diverse collaborators over the years including Genesis Owusu, Close Counters, Komang and Flight Facilities and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. His former lives include touring globally in Gotye's live band (including shows at Coachella, Sydney Opera House, SNL & many more); composing soundtracks for critically acclaimed indie games Duet and The Gardens Between; various radio roles at national stations triple j & Double J, plus Melbourne's iconic public radio station 3RRR FM. As a music curator, he has focused primarily on championing underrepresented and adventurous cross-genre music from Australia and around the world. He is also an passionate advocate for artist mental health & for how music communities can help people adapt positively to a rapidly changing society. He is currently the host of Double J's daily afternoon program, and is actively touring and releasing music with Chinese-born guzheng virtuoso Mindy Meng Wang 王萌.

Explore more this conversation and others:

https://www.greymatter.fm/community/ftr008-tim-shiel

For the Record is a conversation series where we speak with all manner of music heads — DJs, music journos, indie label captains, record shop owners, listening bar kingpins, et al — about their stories + the music that makes them.

Mark is an artist, technologist and community builder based in Los Angeles, CA. He is currently Head of Community at Songcamp. Most recently, he started Club Pacific, a vinyl DJ collective sharing eclectic finds IRL and online.

Be sure to check out Song Camp (song.camp)

Explore more this conversation and others:

https://www.greymatter.fm/community/ftr007-mark-redito

For the Record is a conversation series where we speak with all manner of music heads — DJs, music journos, indie label captains, record shop owners, listening bar kingpins, et al — about their stories + the music that makes them.

As a bassist in the band Moot back in early-’80s NYC, Bruce Tantum’s formative years were spent soaking up club culture in such hallowed halls as Mudd Club, Pyramid and Danceteria. Later in the decade, his time spent in those downtown dance dens, and those that that followed, inspired him to get step into the DJ booth — and over the ensuing years, he's played at pretty much any club willing to have him, as well as at more dingy basement parties than he can remember.

For over two decades, Bruce has served as a music journalist, toiling for Time Out NY (where he served as the longtime Clubs editor), Resident Advisor, Red Bull Music Academy, XLR8R, Mixmag and more. He currently holds it down as North American editor of DJ Mag, while still heeding the call of the decks for the occasional night of record-spinning fun.

Explore more of this conversation and others:

https://www.greymatter.fm/community/ftr006-bruce-tantum

For the Record is a conversation series where we speak with all manner of music heads — DJs, music journos, indie label captains, record shop owners, listening bar kingpins, et al — about their stories + the music that makes them.

Ben Steidel is a DJ, musician, and co-owner of Brooklyn Record Exchange. Originally from San Francisco, he spent nearly 10 years working at Amoeba Music before relocating to Brooklyn with his band Lemonade. He opened his first store Co-op 87 Records in Greenpoint in 2011, which was re-named Brooklyn Record Exchange upon opening their Bushwick location in 2019. He's a passionate record collector and music head spanning a wide variety of genres and has been a resident DJ at The Lot Radio since 2016.

Explore more of this conversation and others:

https://www.greymatter.fm/community/ftr005-ben-steidel

For the Record is a conversation series where we speak with all manner of music heads — DJs, music journos, indie label captains, record shop owners, listening bar kingpins, et al — about their stories + the music that makes them.

Having founded Crack in the Road one of the leading independent tastemaking blogs of the 2010s, Josh has spent the past decade working across A&R and management. He's also currently part of the core team at next generation music marketplace Serenade. He's a big believer in supporting artist independence, and fighting for a fairer creative economy for all.

Explore more of this conversation and others:
www.greymatter.fm/community/ftr004-josh-dalton

For the Record is a conversation series where we speak with all manner of music heads — DJs, music journos, indie label captains, record shop owners, listening bar kingpins, et al — about their stories + the music that makes them.

Mark is a Glasgow-based musician and software engineer, as well as the a co-founder of Grey Matter and the Crate Coalition. Previously he headed up software engineering for an international financial services company, but music is his first passion. For the past five years, he’s been running two music labels (Future Archive Recordings and {int}erpret null), touring on and off as a musician and working as a recording engineer.

Explore more of this conversation and others:
www.greymatter.fm/community/ftr003-mark-mcglinchey

For the Record is a conversation series where we speak with all manner of music heads — DJs, music journos, indie label captains, record shop owners, listening bar kingpins, et al — about their stories + the music that makes them.

Kaitlyn Davies is a Canadian based in Lisbon, where she works and collaborates at the forefront of music and technology. She explores this nexus through research, facilitation and community organizing alongside her co-founded collective CO:QUO. She's the Membership lead @ FWB and she does Curatorial Partnerships @ Refraction – both of which are prominent culture DAOs, or decentralized autonomous organizations. She also hosts radio shows on Refuge Worldwide and Cashmere Radio.

MUSIC MENTIONS

Early Days

Dance / Techno Music Across Cities

Discovering Music

Three important artists from the past year?

Most under-appreciated artist from your favorite music decade?

Desert island discs?

Who should be on For the Record?