The Dazzle Diversity Initiative discusses breaking down barriers to accessing electronic music with The Sound Lab and Sub Club. The panel for this session includes representatives from the Dazzle Initiative, The Sub Club and The Sound Lab discussing barriers to access, program delivery and the wider systemic change they are aiming to achieve through offering free DJing tuition in the world famous Sub Club.
JIDEOFOR MUOTUNE #theafrowegian
Jideofor Muotune is a black man, and his pronouns are he/him. Born in Lagos, Nigeria and brought up in Glasgow, he is fiercely proud of his dual identities. He is a multi–platform content creator producing radio features and drama, podcasts, music, and short form video. Jideofor is passionate about using technology to support emotional storytelling. Jideofor’s artistic background is in music. He co- founded Scotland’s most successful independent dance label Soma Records, co-writing and co-producing Slam’s landmark release Positive Education. He was also part of the team that discovered Daft Punk.
He is passionate about equality, diversity and inclusion and believes that ‘You can’t be it, if you can’t see it’. Jim is a board member of The Dazzle Diversity Initiative.
REBECCA VASMANT (ARTIST/THE SOUND LAB)
While promoting her own parties and record fair in Glasgow and touring over the last five years, her busy schedule has fitted in a six month tour with eight-strong Ghanaian outfit Kakatsitsi, her monthly radio show on Worldwide Fm, as well as working on her new live project which features world class musicians from The Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and more, as well as having just released her now sold out debut Album ' With Love From Glasgow on her own label, Rebecca's Records, her talents are not only in spinning records, but in composing, producing and live shows also.
Rebecca has already made a name in Glasgow with her residency at Sub Club, and a spot on BBC Radio Scotland. A huge jazz fan, she also airs this facet of her irrepressible musical passion at key events like Worldwide Festival Sete, Glasgow Jazz Festival, EFG London Jazz Festival, Jazz Cafe London, Kasheme Zurich, Brilliant Corners, Casper Montenegro and the Baltic Soul Weekender, and Ronnie Scott's upstairs as part of the 'Panro' collective.
Rebecca’s musical activities have taken her to 22 countries in the last five years, including premiere spots in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Estonia, India, Africa, Nicaragua, Bosnia, Latvia, Dubai, Austria, Turkey, Serbia, Algeria and Bulgaria.
With love From Glasgow, Rebecca's debut Album featuring 22 Scottish musicians :
Album of the week on BBC Radio 6, Jazz FM, Worldwide FM, BBC Radio Scotland with support from Gilles Peterson, Jamie Cullum, Tom Ravenscroft, Mr Scruff, Huey Morgan and more. Reached number 10 in the international Jazz Album Charts. Rebecca is one of the regular tutors within the Dazzle Diversity Initiative.
AARTI JOSHI (MARKETING CONSULTANT/DJ/PROMOTER)
Aarti Joshi has worked in Music for over 21 years - She is currently a Marketing Consultant, Presenter, a Transformational Coach, DJ & Club Promoter and Artist Manager.
Previously Head of Marketing, Communications & Sponsorship at Scotland’s biggest promoter and events company, DF Concerts & Events, as well as being a member of the company's Senior Management Team. Day to day Aarti oversaw Marketing campaigns for the likes of T in the Park, The Papal Visit, Ryder Cup Gala Concert, TRNSMT Festival and Edinburgh & Glasgow Summer Sessions.
She has an incredibly varied skill set which includes Marketing, PR, Crisis Communications and Sponsorship, as well as Coaching and Presenting. She has also worked with some of Scotland’s top brands including Tennent’s Lager, 5pm.co.uk, Irn-Bru, FOPP, Edinburgh Fashion Festival, Radiance - Festival of Light and many more.
In addition to her Marketing Experience, Aarti presents a show on Go Radio and is about to launch a brand new podcast with STV’s Laura Boyd & Scotland’s Big Light Podcast Network. Aarti also manages one of Scotland’s most successful independent acts – The LaFontaines and is promoter and DJ at one of Glasgow’s longest running alternative and female fronted club nights, Pretty Ugly. She is on the Board of SWIM (Scottish Women Inventing Music) and The Advisory Board of the Marketing Society Scotland as well as the Board of Sub Club’s Dazzle Initiative which is focussed on increasing diversity in the clubs/DJ scene in Scotland.
After being coached by The Handel Group, Aarti experienced first hand the difference that being coached could make and trained as a Transformational Coach with Animas UK in 2021 and has recently started a Wellness Company - Freedom & Joy. She is a naturally curious and analytical person, who enjoys helping others find their joy and reach their goals. Aarti is a board member of the Dazzle Diversity Initiative
MIKE GRIEVE (SUBCLUB)
Mike Grieve has spent 35 years in the industry beginning as a DJ and promoter in the mid 80’s before opening trailblazing club ‘Fever’ in Aberdeen in 1989.
In 1994 he was appointed GM & head promoter/booker at Sub Club in Glasgow.
Sub Club has a Legendary status as one of the best and longest running clubs in Europe, having first opened in 1987.
In 1999 the Sub Club was forced to close following the complete destruction by fire of the next-door building. During the course of the next 3 years, Mike along with business partner Paul Crawford took over the lease and business, overseeing the complete rebuild of the fire damaged venue before reopening in 2002.
Ironically the site next to the club still lies vacant and has recently been the subject of a judicial review action brought by Sub Club in an ‘Agent of Change’ legal fight against planning approval granted for a major hotel development.
Meantime the club continues to thrive, and Mike and his team also operate a number of off-site events every year.
Apart from sitting on the board of the NTIA, Mike is a member of Glasgow’s exploratory NTE Commission, set up in 2019 and co-chaired by Glasgow City Council Leader Susan Aitken to examine and agree the structure of a permanent Commission focused on the city’s late night culture and economy. Mike is one of the Directors of the Dazzle Diversity Initiative.
OLIVER MELLING (WSHOM)
Oliver has been a promoter, DJ and producer for almost a decade, running regular club nights in Sub Club with ‘We Should Hang Out More’ and having released commercially successful music under the ‘Saol Nua’ alias. He has worked in creative mentoring and tuition for almost five years for The Sound Lab and cares deeply about removing barriers to access opportunities in music. Having worked extensively in secure care environments and other settings with reduced access to conventional music tuition, Oliver recently delivered a conference workshop for the Scottish Institute of Residential Child Care.
He is the program coordinator for the Dazzle Diversity Initiative.