We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeli Daniel and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Jeli, how does your business help the community?
I like to feel that my business helps the community and the world by healing through music and sound, as a form music entertainment! I have been fortunate enough to become involved in local non profit organization events and fundraisers for St. Joseph Center and S.P.Y (Safe place for youth) these organizations provide hope and sustainability for low-income and homeless in the LA county!
I have also provided music and supported for Local former city council candidate Aura Vasquez, during her City Council campaign parties! I love what she advocates for the city of Los Angeles, and continues to thrive, as a California Democratic Delegate in 2021!
I coordinated my own fundraiser for the first time this year for Black History Month, I Dj’ed to raise funds for Push Black! A non-profit organization dedicated to raising up Black voices, fight for criminal justice reform for protecting communities, and to publishing modern news and Black History awareness everyday
My Business helps the world by sharing my music globally, I have to monthly residencies Broadcasting Live! Worldwide.FM out of the U.K. and Root Radio based out of Istanbul! Both of these platforms give me the opportunity to connect to the world, we share and support each others music, we build a global community through the music. It has been most important this past year to have a duty in curating sets to heal, reflect, and uplift our consciousness! And the results have been all around successful in the mission!
Lastly There is a huge Vinyl community that is local and global on the uprise! My business I began called Red Light Vinyl is an all women all vinyl collective, where we have began spinning records at bars and LA events around town, creating a vintage fun vibe with our music selections, which has taken off immensely, I am currently in a huge social media community of vinyl record enthusiasts, we share music and support each other with one another’s knowledge of all genres! It’s fascinating!
What should our readers know about your business?
I have officially become a business owner for my Lady DJ Music Collective Red Light Vinyl (RLV), it started out 6 years ago with me and a dj partner, we spun records at various venues around LA to vintage flea market events such as Artists and Fleas in Venice, to music festivals such as Echo Park Rising.!
With all of it pretty much sounding like a big party, it was fun! But a lot of work, we were basically developing our own business as lady DJ’s without even realizing it. And began to grow before our eyes, we still maintained a full time job, as DJ’s do not get paid so much, but we said yes to every opportunity to experience, network, and get our message of great inspirational music out to the public! we Lugged pounds of vinyl records in crates and suitcases from gig to gig,! Set up turntables, managed soundcheck, curating sets in advance, and breaking equipment down. It’s a crazy hustle! But all worth it!
What was most meaningful, we created a weekly lady dj vinyl night, giving aspiring female (all ages of ladies) DJ’s the chance to exercise their craft by coming and spinning records at my friends local venue, Bar here in LA. That night ran every week, for almost a year! Until COVID hit But I had the chance to connect and meet so many talented ladies creating a community! Heard lots of all great music! And we spun all Vinyl!!
I have had the blessing to now work under various corporations that even in the pandemic, have hired me for zoom / VMX and virtual events, this is the new normal! And I’m ok with it, as it feels to have all brought us closer in a way.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well…considering L.A. is STILL Currently on Lockdown! I would have to get extremely creative..! Most are music related because I am with music and Art!
1. Record Shops! to go crate digging, I’ve been obsessed with going on Record Store Crawls, and supporting the local music shops, so hitting all points of LA, here are few to list.. Cosmic Vinyl Echo Park, The Record Parlor Hollywood, High Fidelity West Adams District, Surplus Records in Santa Monica, Soundsations in Westchester, Record Box Truck in Long Beach,
2. Leimert Park,! Not only is my upbringing, and my roots for learning about Pan-African Arts and music, there has been a renaissance and has been extremely thriving since Juneteeth of 2020, I’ve never seen so many cultures and race of people in LA come together in a black community as I did that day, I want to continue to support the community, it has so many cultured stores from SIKA being one of the first African shops ‘Sole Folks” “Harun Coffee Shop” (co-owned by Issa Rea) where they feature outdoor live DJ’s every Sat, its a whole vibe!
3. Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine in Pacific Palisades for
4. I love working at the Union-Co Work in the Artists District, it’s a great community of creatives and entrepreneurs that rent out space to work, have meetings, it is not your ordinary co-work, it’s vibrant with colors, murals, and large trees and plant live thriving in open spaces on the upstairs, it’s an all around inspiring environment to just be in. I have done some photoshoots, and Dj’ed theire grand opening last Oct. of 2020
5. A please for outdoor dining, I Love Zinc Cafe, not to get it confused with the Zinque French bistros that are established throughout LA, this is a one and done, in DTLA all vegetarian, that serve great wines, a beautiful airy green outdoor environment, I love being outdoors as much as possible when the weather is nice. And Vegetarian cuisine like never before! They have the best burgers!
Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
In the Rise of my recent Success I have recently had! Would be Art Don’t Sleep & Art Form Radio, Organization, For giving me the opportunity to expand my music horizons on an artistic and deep sophisticated level with my music studies I have attained, and allowing me the opportunity to broadcast worldwide for the first time in the past year! It has been a full year Since the pandemic, this has been my saving grace and creative project to look forward to free me and challenge myself to go beyond my safety parameters as a DJ.
Website: https://linktr.ee/Jelidaniel
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redlightvinyl/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCRpKzjmr00&t=33s
Image Credits
images credits go to photographer Christian Siguenza Instagram – @xiansigue for all images accept for the first default “horizontal” image!