Meet Your Volunteer Director: Ivana Darancou

Meet Your Volunteer Director: Ivana Darancou

December 2, 2022 in Features

by Emilia Pashayeva - DJ Mint Chip


What's your position and how long have you been on staff?

Volunteer Director. 1st semester on staff Fall 2022

What is your typical day like as a staff member?

In my position, I usually check if anyone has submitted any points in the morning. I usually try to do this every morning and try to keep up with anything that KVRX'ers submit to me so they can get their points each month and also so we make sure that people are showing up to run our station. Other than that, I usually have class throughout the day and I am a Journalism major, so all my classes involve lots of reading, writing, and audio listening! Any time in-between classes I like to hangout in the station, talk to whoever is there and do my homework on the orange couch in the music library.

What do you do outside of KVRX?

Outside of KVRX I love to go to coffee shops, explore record stores and thrifts, and I love to make art. I love painting and drawing and you can usually find me at a park practicing my craft. I've also taken a recent liking into reading and journaling which I'm always trying to keep up with. My favorite book is called The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz which is a book that my dad gave me and it's special to me because it's gotten me through so many obstacles in my life and had me fall in love with literature. Lastly, of course, my favorite pastime is listening to music. I love doing this by myself or with friends and I love bouncing off from genre to genre. I always love to expand my music taste and challenge myself to explore a new song/album every day.

What is the name of your show? What is your show about?

My show is The Orange Tree Caffè. It's a show that aims to capture jazz caffè ambiance by playing genres of jazz, house jazz, psychedelic jazz, hip hop, r&b, international, and underground music. It happens every Sunday evening from 7 pm-8 pm. I had been wanting to do a show like this for a while after my first Freeform show because over the summer I became invested in jazz and hip-hop music. I was extremely excited to get it started and just share all the grooves I collected and still continue to find. It's definitely helped me become the person I am today. It's extremely special to me in furthering a career in DJing.

If you could only play one album on your show what album would it be? Why?

If I could play one album on my show I would love to play Roots by Ian Carr. This album is just an insane jazz album and it's composed so well in collaboration with Nucleus. This album came out in 1973 and was amongst one of the most influential in the UK jazz scene during this decade. It's such a perfect fit for my show and I've obsessed over it for weeks. I hope to keep on trickling songs from the album throughout the semester.

Favorite concert?

My favorite concert has to be when Michael Seyer came to Hotel Vegas back in May 2022. It was special because I had been listening to him for such a long time, ever since Lucky Love came out (if ykyk). Funny thing was, I wasn't able to get tickets to this show but then Michael Seyer posted that he needed people to help him do merch. I swiped up thinking he wouldn't respond to me but he did! So I ended up getting to meet him, hang out with him for a bit, and see his show all for free. It was such an amazing experience because even though he's such an influential artist for me, he's really just like any other person. He's absolutely down to earth. The show was amazing and I hope to see him again.

If you could have your favorite artist sing you Happy Birthday who would it be and why?

I would want this artist to be Erykah Badu. I think if she sang Happy Birthday to me my life would literally be complete. She has been such an influence to me and one of my favorite artists for a while. She's absolutely brilliant at her craft and truly makes it her own. I just aspire to be like her every day and her music has gotten me through so much.

If you could only listen to one song on repeat for the rest of your life, what song would it be?

If I could listen to one song on repeat for the rest of my life it would have to be Bag Lady by Erykah Badu. It was a song that I came across when I was at an all-time low in my life and felt at my weakest. But this song reminds me that I am my only competition but also, at the end of the day, I am my only best friend in this world. So it reminds me that I have to hold myself to my goals but I also need to be there for myself when I'm low. It's the biggest lesson I've had to learn with myself and I will always go back to it when I need to be reminded that I can live to my fullest potential.

What's your favorite KVRX memory?

My favorite KVRX memory has to be my first staff meeting and social afterwards. We went to Blue House and just hung out with each other for the first time all together as staff and it was so welcoming as I was a new staff member. There was a moment where we were sharing weird facts about ourselves and I shared how I have two different shaped thumbs so that was pretty cool. There was just a bunch of silly moments happening that night and it felt great to be a part of something so college core, moreover college radio core.

Lastly...what advice would you give to the new DJs?

The advice I would to new DJs is to try to come to anything and all things KVRX! Even if it's small like a deep listening or rotation. These intimate events are so fun and this is how you meet more people within KVRX and how you meet some of your friends throughout college. Being a part of radio is something special, especially in college, and you never know when you'll be in an environment like this again!

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