Hosted by DJ Shani, the one-hour show “The Groove Temple” explores deep house music – the Black side of electronic music – with danceable tempos, inspired by funk, soul and jazz. To celebrate 100 episodes of The Groove Temple on KUTX, we sat down with DJ Shani to talk about her raver roots, radio, and the power of PLUR: peace, love, unity and respect.
How did you discover House Music and DJing?
It was the night of my 17th birthday. My best friend, who’s still my best friend, threw his first party, a.k.a rave. I begged my mom to go and I’m like, “It’s on my birthday.” Back and forth, back and forth and then she was like, “Okay, fine.” And I walked into this warehouse in Chicago and I was like, “This feels like a circus, but it’s like a special kind of circus. It’s like Cirque du Soleil and this is all very new to me. And I had the best time. And then I started going to more raves. And eventually started throwing raves.
then started meeting people who knew DJs that would sneak me in because I wasn’t 21. Sneak me into the clubs rather. And so I realized that it was the same kind of energy, but just an adult version of that energy and slower and I could dance to it. And I got to see all of these older cool people.
Where did your radio journey start?
I went to college and signed up for the radio station at Loyola, WLUW 88.7 FM. Mind you, from the first rave until I was like, “I think I want a radio show.” I didn’t buy any music. I wasn’t like, “This is what I’m going to do.” But I would go to all of the raves. All of them. And I tried it again the following year and they called me back and I was like, “Okay. Okay.”
[Former WLUW music programmer] Craig Kois says, “I got your proposal. I really like the idea. Can you be here in an hour with a typed proposal?” And I was like, “Yep.”
So I was living on campus in the dorms and I took the elevator down all the way down to the computer lab and, one could say, lied my butt off. I like to say “manifested.” I was like, “I know this person, that person and this club.” This is how the universe works. Every single person that I said I knew eventually was a guest on my show. So that’s why I say I manifested that.
Because I didn’t have equipment, I did that mess live, on-air. So I was messing up so much, so much, so much. And then I was like, to myself in his studio, “I got this.” Something clicked and then the rest is history.
How did growing up in Chicago and its scene influence you?
So Chicago is a great city, but there is division. It’s the most segregated city in the country, but here’s a caveat. If I’m a hip hop guy with locs and I drink whiskey and you’re a punk with a neon green mohawk and you drink whiskey, that’s what we have in common. So now we’re best friends. But it takes a little while to have the hip hop guy and the punk guy to unify.
So basically just like black people, music is not a monolith. So everyone is welcome. Everyone. PLUR, peace, love, unity and respect. We really don’t care who you love. We don’t care how much you make. We don’t care what you’ll look like. We don’t care. We want everybody to come to the boogie. We want this collective expression through this musical journey. That’s what I think.
“So basically just like black people, music is not a monolith. So everyone is welcome.“
Just being at that first rave, I was like, “Whoa.” I met so, so many people. Even people I’m still friends with to this day I just met on the dance floor. They’re parents now and their kids are teenagers. I’m like, “What? Do you remember when we went to that party?” Meeting on the dance floor to experience this collective love with many different kinds of people.
I would come in at 8:00 to my statistics class with my rave stuff. My big big JNCOs and little tiny shirts and stickers and purple hair and big afro puffs. And my teachers would be like, “How you doing?” And I’m like, “I’m great.” So I always knew I was different, but it was nice to meet other people that were also different
As we celebrate your 100th Groove Temple episode on KUTX, I wanted to ask you about your approach to programming the show. What would you say is the mission statement for Groove Temple?
I feel like my role as a DJ is to not spoon-feed you, but to let you taste a little of something that is so amazing. And don’t be embarrassed that you didn’t know about it. Be happy that you’re at the boogie, that you’re learning about it.
Anything you’ve learned from doing Groove Temple?
I’ve learned in the last two plus years at KUTX coming up on my 100th show that I can at least attempt to mix genres seamlessly. I used to live in Paris and I was like a super snob when it came to House Music. “Oh, you don’t listen to House? Oh, you’re stupid.” And I sometimes would say that because that’s what you do when you’re a youth. You just say dumb stuff and you don’t really think about the consequences.
“I’ve learned in the last two plus years at KUTX coming up on my 100th show that I can at least attempt to mix genres seamlessly.“
I started hearing music that was not House Music that blew me away. Keziah Jones. The jazzy part of Jazzanova, their production. Bugz in the Attic. Siren Filter which is a European emo rock. Omar, Les Nubians. So I’ve learned that I can infuse other genres. Sure if the beats match, okay, you can mix anything, but it’s how you do it that makes it make sense.
How do you approach mixing?
It’s like cooking. I always say that in every set I attempt to present a good gumbo. Not a can of chicken soup. You cannot cook a gumbo in five minutes. You have to get that roux started. Get your trinity ready on standby, get your andouille. Get all your things. You have to build it up.
I used to get very nervous when I first started playing out. So much so that my first gig, I was so nervous and I pulled my record and my hands were like this [DJ Shani does an exaggerated shake of her hand to demonstrate]. I held a record and I was like, “Oh, okay, I’ll just put it on the platter.”
I like to do a scan of the room and see what I’m walking into. But you just have to take deep breaths and meditative breaths. Just to be calm, know that your music is fire because why would it not be fire because you’re you. I’m not the kind of DJ that’s like, “Ooh, I’m going to hit you in the face with this song.” No. There’s some DJ’s that do that. I’m too old for that. So I like to ease people in little by little.
I love to speak through my song because the majority of homo sapiens, human beings, walking and breathing on this planet, there are many layers to each and every one of us. And at the end of the day, all we want is love. That’s all we want. Why do we want that? Many different answers. But I want people after listening to my show for the first time, to walk away feeling satiated, refreshed, excited about the newness of the song, especially the first-time listeners.
What’s next for Groove Temple?
I think I want to do a residency so that people can come and experience what I do in person. My shows are pre-recorded, so I’m never in the actual studio. It’ll be a different kind of energy. But when you’re out, you’re actually seeing people respond to certain songs that you play. I always say, “If I see this, I got you.” If I see any movement, I’m like, “Okay. That’s what you want, I got it.” And then I incrementally stay in that vibe or go higher, go lower. Yeah. I love playing out. Especially when I tripod it up to the decks with my cane. People are like, “What is going on? What is she doing?” And then when I get on, they’re like, “What?” I really love that.
This was a 15-year dream in the making. Radio has been my first love, and It just feels like home when I’m behind that mic.
