We had the good fortune of connecting with Melanie Fauni and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melanie, what role has risk played in your life or career?

The DJ scene is a male dominant business. When I first started DJ’ing over 10 years ago, the industry predominantly had male DJs, and I felt that women did not get the same respect, pay and appreciation as we deserve. I had to let go of that fear of judgement and continue to pursue my passion and show what I am capable of. It breaks my heart that people would look over talent and think “She’s just charming and can press buttons” when it is more than that. It takes a lot of knowledge, skill and passion to be a great DJ especially if you are an open format DJ playing at different types of events.
There is still a long way to go for gender equality, but I’m glad to be inspiring women to break down barriers so that there wont be any gender classification in the future.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I was born into a musically inclined family. Growing up in our Filipino home, my mother would have weekly karaoke parties, and my brother and uncle would jam on their guitars and drums.
As a young kid, I would dabble with different types of instruments, trying to find what resonated with my heart. At 21, I would go to clubs not because I wanted to party but because I loved the music and how DJs would take you on a musical journey. The burning passion for music was always there but I wanted to
hone my skills, so I enrolled myself in a DJ school and then worked for a radio station to expand my knowledge in music and commercial production.
In the 12 years that I have been DJ’ing, I have established a multitude of DJ residencies in critically acclaimed clubs, performed internationally, and also won DJ of the year 2013 in Guam, USA. These days, I am a Marketing Consultant by day and Events DJ by night. I focus on brand corporate parties, luxury events, and intimate weddings. My recent notable clients include Spotify, Twitter, Red bull, NuContext, Hulu, ABC, to name a few.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

LA has so much to offer! I would definitely bring them to Grand Central Market & Filipino historic town because they have a variety of food vendors and I love to support small businesses, especially because they lost so much during the pandemic.
We also have an endless list of museums that are packed with beautiful aesthetics and culture. My top choices are: The Getty, Broad, Griffith Observatory, and LACMA.
Lets not forget about the theme parks: Disneyland and Universal Studios are A MUST.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to make a shout out to the small island of Guam. I lived there for a few years in my 20’s and the island accepted me and my music with open arms. At that time, I paved the way for house music (A genre that I absolutely love). The venues and events I played for definitely took me out of my comfort zone and molded me to be the DJ that I am today.

Website: www.DJ-lanz.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djlanzofficial/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanie-fauni-1019

Twitter: https://twitter.com/djlanzofficial

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dj-lanz-beverly-hills-2?osq=Female+Dj

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