DJ, Broadcaster, Marketer & Mental Health Advocate
Vanessa & I met through the joys of Instagram. Vanessa merges music and mental health together, and what a beautiful mix she makes. Such a treat getting to know her.
What we talk about
✨ Her living legend and inspiring mum. She is a horse trainer & pastry chef, and now lives in Iceland making ice cream!
✨ Learning to DJ a year and a half ago via Mix Nights (part of Saffron Records). She’s since DJ/broadcast on Rinse, NTS, Foundation FM, BBC 1Xtra
✨ About making your own path, and importantly, doing research into the path you choose to go down
✨ How, as a DJ, she was inspired by radio host Snoochie Shy
✨ Landing her dream job at Black Butter Records (Sony) this year!
My guest
Vanessa Maria
DJ, broadcaster, producer, mental health advocate & marketing specialist@nessamariaw
✨ DJ’s global club music & afro trap & also has a love for underground rap & drill
✨ Also raises awareness of Black peoples’ mental health through @blackmindsmatter as well as her own documentary ‘When Well-Being is White.’
✨ DJ inspiration Snoochie Shy
✨ Part of Alternative Power 100 Music List 2020 → read here
✨ As of January 2021 → NEW POSITION as digital marketing intern @blackbuttermusic at Sony
✨ As of mid/end Feb 2021 → Foundation FM show — Recently announced ‘No Stress With Ness’ (global club music, drill, and everything in between)
Path to now
Vanessa’s journey has always been getting closer and closer to music.
✨ Went to Bristol Uni to study Psychology
✨ Her first job at the uni was as a Mental Health Representative advocate at the student union
✨ The next step was to get into the creative industry
✨ She landed a job at the BBC through Creative Access (offer internship) at The One Show
✨ Moved to London with BBC and worked at Dragons Den, where she worked in production and is now sound and camera trained
✨ Ness loved the activism life, but really wanted to DJ (knew no one in music)
✨ Learning to DJ a year and a half ago via Mix Nights (part of Saffron Records)
✨ Around 2 years ago won the Foundations FM Wireless competition, and played Wireless from them. Which is when she met all the girls there. So has been a family friend from afar. This year started her own show with them, ‘No Stress With Ness’ (global club music, drill, and everything in between)
✨ Next step → move into music! Saw the Sony internship and applied and got it!
Tips
Checkout:
✨ Creative Access if interested in getting into the industry
✨ Social Fix it (run by Mercedes Benson, also a DJ and sick black woman creative). Great to follow if you want to get into music
If you are starting out:
✨ Grab your hand on a controller that you can practice on Pioneer DDJ-400 — you can practice at home.
✨ Get a record box or Serato so you can store your music
✨ Youtube is the fools guide to anything!
Advice
Everyday is an opportunity to better yourself.
✨ Have a purpose, have a why, and do not worry where you are. If you have that solid foundation of why you are doing what you are doing down, you will be fine
✨ It honestly does matter if you don’t know how you are going to do it, as you will make it happen
✨ Have a document of who is in the industry and how they got to where they are now
✨ For DJing, you need to know who the artist and producers are. What the origins of the music are, who made it first? When did it start to pop? Who was pushing the genre?
✨ Great place to find music: Soundcloud, Spotify (predominantly for her trap and drill new music), Social media, and other peoples DJ mixes
Shout Outs
✨ Martha radio amazing DJ and runs a collective called Tempo (running crew) @martha_radio
✨ TRPHSE @trp.hse
✨ Nasra Ayub @nasra_ayub
✨ $noochie Shy @snoochieshy
✨ Jake who runs a label called @clubdjembe in Bristol
✨ Black Butter Records @blackbuttermusic
✨ @mixnights Working with women & non-binary ppl to develop DJ skills in an encouraging, safe, and welcoming environment. In partnership w @saffronrecords
✨ @1020_radio in Bristol
✨ @Resident _Advisor working on a podcast project, in association with Black Minds Matter, called RA Exchange. Every month they highlight a black-owned music business and donate to them and black minds matter (charity) and talk about music, the industry, mental health
