Latest / Seen and Heard with Prue Aja / Val Fluery | Human Connection Through Music and Life

Transcript

Val Fluery | Human Connection Through Music and Life · Seen and Heard with Prue Aja

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Did you know much about Oliver Tree beforehand?
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: I'm not his demo.
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: I don't think I'm his demo.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I've heard someone call it a demographic demo.
• 0:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Like the Sokazia, I'm not in that demo.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: I think most of his followers and stuff are like Jen's ears, like really young, like 20 year olds and late teens.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Did you see that he was doing a documentary here?
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so he's literally being like Dave and Adam Brat, but because he's also called Dr Oliver Tree, I'm just thinking, imagine this young generation see his videos on YouTube.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: I think he's got the info and got it messed up.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: What's your demo with your music?
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: My demo Val Flurry's followers, I guess, and supporters are quite intersectional.
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: It's like Afro-Deutsch kids, you know who parents immigrated from.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: You know Nigeria and Ghana and now living in Berlin, you know, or you know people who are into music and technology and the arts and community.
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: Those are my demo People who can find themselves, enjoying and appreciating everything from architecture, literature to wellness.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: I think I've always been.
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: The joke is like I'm the middle child, you know, because I am and I've always been good, but not naturally.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: It's because I go beyond my natural comforts to try to make other people feel comfortable, knowing what it's like to be in the middle, or misunderstood or not fully included, and so that transcends through my music, I feel, and who I am as a person and ultimately like who my supporters are, like who my demo is.
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, so good.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: And when.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: Like how did you get into music?
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: Because it sounded like you were doing it early on, doing the design and branding for music.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: Were you playing your own music before then?
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: So my relationship with music started really early on.
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: I come I always say I come from like a large, loud, liberian family and, being the only girl and being a middle child, I've always had to like find a way to be heard and while everyone else was arguing about sports and politics and what not no one was really talking about, like music and the arts.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: So I'm like maybe this could be my thing.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: And not only could it be my thing, it's like one of the things where, like, people can actually agree, or like it's kind of like a unifier, kind of like food.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: It brings people together.
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: It brings people together.
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: And so I started making these like mixed tapes and such.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: When I was a kid I had a little magazine that I would do.
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: My family was one of the first to ever get a computer and I was like, like everyone likes these pictures, things that I'm drawing, and like I would sit because my family moved to the States when I was a kid in the 90s.
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: Then I would try to make friends and no one would want to talk to me or even, like the elders, no one's listening to me.
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: But, like I know they like songs, everyone likes music.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: So I would get the cassette tapes and I would listen to the radio all day and like, just hit record on the radio on the cassette tapes for the songs that I knew they liked.
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: And then I like, all day long I'm in front of these like boombox things like, and sometimes the you know the presenter would talk and I'm like, no, I meant to record this one, or sometimes they would, they would fade out of the song too soon and I'm like I've been waiting all day for them to play three minutes and 30 seconds of the song.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: They only played one minute and 45 seconds, like now to sit here further, you know, trying to get the song.
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: But I knew it's a thing like people liked, so I'd make these mixed tapes and I would like give it to people and they played at, like parties or the cool girls on the streets on the East Coast.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: You know I'm like, oh, I made this mix tape.
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: I didn't even know it was kind of mixed tape but I knew they'd like it.
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: I used to do it on Saturday mornings to music videos.
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: I'll sit there and record music videos.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: I think I was really into DeRue, like 91 or something, yeah.
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: And so I didn't realize that a lot of what I was doing is the fundamentals of being a music curator to being a DJ.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: Being a producer is like reading a room, knowing what to play, what people like, what people don't like, and like it's really come to serve me later on in the careers that I do.
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: So going on from there, like making the mixed tapes, and I became like known as like the mixed tape girl you know from the aunties and their parties and people in the neighborhood and I just really leaned in and I started playing in, like you know, school bands and stuff.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: And I was younger like I'm first chair clarinet girl and then into learning to play guitar when I was in high school and joining bands and recording and touring.
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: Like I had a whole another life before electronic music and so people who know me from that life like Warp, tour, post, progressive, post Punk when they see me now they're like what the hell you know?
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: Wow, you do have a whole other life.
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but at the end of the day it's still what like brings people together and makes people smile and motivate them.
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: You know, and it's kind of in my thing.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: So good and I love that like a part of what I do is about inspiring and motivating other people and just bringing people together.
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: So it's really cool that actually we got to like meet you on the boat because we'd seen you at the airport, me being me and Paul Famous, who's like an artist, and I think you spoke with them earlier.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: We're like man, she looks really rad and we hope she's going to Antarctica too.
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: We didn't know you know he could have been going to, I don't know, argentina or something, but like she looks rad, well she's going to Argentina.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: We should talk to her Antarctica.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: We should talk to her later.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: It was funny.
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: It was pretty embarrassing walking through it, Not embarrassing.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: Well, in Australia it was maybe 30 degrees Celsius, which I think is like 60 or 70 Fahrenheit, Maybe I don't know the difference.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: I was wearing that big fur leopard print.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: They were like an absolute idiot.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: But I feel like at Santiago Airport and for the Sarenes you could tell who was going on the boat.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: They were just.
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: everyone was a little bit extra yeah who was on the crazy train and who?
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: Was going home to their families.
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: Yeah, or who?
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: was going to Patagonia to go mountaineering.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Speaking of bringing people together, you know we've all been brought together on this boat with some incredible musicians.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, what's been your highlight with the music?
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: What's your feedback from it?
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: Wow, I've taken away a few things.
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: One of them would be like really leaning into not being like just enjoying, like I think a lot of times being a creative, especially musician, like you have to be on, you have to be on all the time and I get to be off here.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: You know, I've been leaning into just like chilling, meeting people, like not everyone has to know what you do, etc.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: Like if we have a conversation it's one-on-one and you find out like great, but like a lot of times in our industry, like people have to like be up and trying to be loud and extra, but like I don't think I've gotten much of that here.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: Like I don't even think I know what two-thirds of the people on the bus on this um boat.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: I'm glad we're not on the bus.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, thank god we're not on the bus here in Ardika.
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: I don't think I know what two-thirds or like even 80-90% of the people on this boat does, and it's just been like nice to not be on, so just turn off.
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: I haven't even downloaded the internet since I've been here which I may regret later, so ask me in a few days but it's just been like nice not being like, just like just leaning into being a human in a person.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: Before I'm at this, I'm at that.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: It's been nice, even like one of the sets.
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: The other night, you know, somebody was like oh my god, this like set is so great, and I'm looking at the performer and I'm like this person is actually playing.
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: This is like a pre-recorded set and they're like given it, they're all, though, and I'm like it's not my place to tell this person who's enjoying what I can see technically, because I'm a professional in this field Like that's not my place.
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: They don't need to hear that.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: And ultimately, we're having the best freaking night and that's all that matter is the essence of this, you know, and I think myself a younger me, like you know, 10 years ago would have been like well, and this and that and a little more, and I'm like it's not even about that, like why are we here?
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: Why do we do?
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: What we do is to see the smile on this person's face and the energy and to give respect for this person, who may not be doing the music the way that I do the music.
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: However, they're doing the music and that is not less or not more than what I and how I do it.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: You know just, I'm really appreciating stuff like that lately in my life and from other people.
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: So people were stepping in and showing up and giving it their all and what I've actually.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: I've had conversations with lots of people on this boat and we're all the same.
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: We're all wanting to do our best, give, show up, bring people together, and behind the scenes, nearly everyone is like oh, I made so many mistakes, so that wasn't good enough.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: And we're always wanting to be better, but we always have to.
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: We have to remember that it is enough, and no one sees that we're so such harsh critics on ourselves yeah, I mean I especially come from a really competitive background, like I come from a family of like international business people and professional athletes and everything is such a competition and high stakes and poker faces, like even within our family, like you know, some of the people that you're supposed to feel you're safest and secure around and not to say like my family's, not like beautiful and funny and all those things, but like one of the resounding characteristics of who we are is competition and not necessarily having room to make mistakes.
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: And I'm having to, even in my age, like still work around that and like still actually practice, actively practice, like it's okay to make mistakes or like things happen on my own time and give grace to myself but that's been hard.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: Like being in music for 10 years and like I'll get like little things, like oh, why aren't you here, why aren't you there?
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: But then I meet people and like I realize like I'm actually privileged.
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: It's all hell, like you know, like I get to do things that people can only imagine they're very much capable or even more capable than me.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: But like I get the privilege of being able to take the risk, even though sometimes I'm like what the heck, um, or who knows, there might be someone after me that's been doing it for 20 years and being like I wish I could do what she's doing, kind of thing, and everything just happens in your own time, or like how much you want to put in or get out of it, so yeah, actually I'd love to dive a bit deeper on that as well, because, as a photographer, I wanted to be a photographer when I was 18 well, actually, when I was two years old because I did used to take photos of my soft toys in house plants and then photo shoots down the beach in high school.
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: And then I got put off by the industry, being so masculine when I was graduating, so I went into the fashion industry instead, and then then I've gone into the photography industry and I am not a highly technical photographer people fooled me, cute fooled me, but people hand me.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: They're like brand new state-of-the-art cameras and I'm like I don't actually know how to use it.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: It's like can you just put it in manual?
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: Where's ISO?
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: and the real basic stuff.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: So or they're like what camera should I buy?
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: I'm like I actually don't know.
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: I just always get the best one that there is.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: I shoot on Canon and then I just go with that.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: I don't really know.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: I'm not too technical.
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: I'm technical as in lighting, but you know I don't use a light meter.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: I don't measure things, I just shoot if it looks good.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: It looks good if it doesn't change it.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: You know there's not too much to it, but there's people in the industry that have been around doing it a lot longer than me that are really annoyed at me for doing it or have said things to cut me down.
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: And it's like I just chose and decided that this is what I was going to do and I've had to sacrifice things and I've had to work hard and I've had to step in it and I've had to do scary things and ask scary questions or ask favors of people to be able to live my dream life.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: Like you really have to take risks and you can do anything and be anyone that you want to, but if you're going to sit by the sidelines and judge what other people are doing instead of actually just going for it, yeah.
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: I agree.
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: Um, I totally identify with what you're saying.
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: Like maybe even eight years ago, I was like I want to become a producer, not just a DJ.
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: And again, my industry still to this day, there's a lot more women, but still predominantly male and, on top of it, just having the presence of more male, it is a boys club.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: It's like specifically engineered to benefit the industry than I am.
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: And like people don't talk, people don't share information.
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: It's been the women mostly.
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: Initially it was caddy, but like I think it's become a lot more collective with the women where we're talking about like I learned this thing.
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: Like let me show you.
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: Or like creating organizations who are teaching each other how to like do production.
• 14:56
  Speaker 2: Or like how to advocate for yourself.
• 14:58
  Speaker 2: Or like book each other.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: Or if I can't do a job, like you need to recommend two other women who can, if you can't do it for any reason.
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: Like we've had to come and like find support and create safety, nuts and resources for ourselves.
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: And I've also had to look at like some of the youngest people younger people in the industry for help, because they're a little bit more closed-minded than going to like some of the people that I looked up to in the industry, like Right now.
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: I've been on this kick for the last five, six weeks of just like I need to make a song a week.
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: A song a week, a song a week.
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: And getting into it like I'm an athlete, like leaning into some of like what I've known for my family, believe it or not, and like, okay, they're training you know three times a week or a lot, or more.
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: Okay, then you need to sit down Monday, wednesday, friday and like ask questions and being afraid to ask the wrong question or not the right question, but I've been finding like it has been taking.
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: Some of the younger people are like I'll sit down, I'll show you.
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: It's not about the competition per se or just because you know this information doesn't mean it's going to fall out of my head now because I've shared it with you.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's, strengthens it.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, a bit, and then, like me going in and being extra where, okay, I've learned this thing.
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: So now I'm telling other two other women or two other people of color or two other people who are less Represented in our industry, to like get them empowered and on board too.
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: But I think where a lot of people fail outside of wanting to do it, is like Creating actionable steps to get there, you know, and not to say like this is going to be the way, the steps, forever, but it's like I want to be this photographer, whatever.
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: What does that mean?
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: Maybe I watch a couple, I'm going to watch three youtube videos which cost you nothing today that talks about photography or whatever.
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: Okay, I don't have a camera, but I know I can go to that camera store, um, and like, ask questions to the people that like, literally, that's how I started.
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: I had no money, I knew nothing, but I would go and sit at bars in Los Angeles with a notebook, yeah, of like djs that I knew, some of them I didn't know, but like I would sit, like, like if I was training, like watching film for, like sports, and I'd like, okay, she played that song into that one.
• 17:16
  Speaker 2: He did this transition.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: Okay, like, how did people react?
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: Okay cool, um, so okay, then there's something here.
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: What can I take out of it?
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: I know money and DJ equipment is stupid, expensive, stupid expensive, but I knew that there was a guitar center in Hollywood and you can stay there as long as possible and they can't technically kick you out.
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: Oh cool, yeah, so always gonna announce me good afternoon.
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: Ladies and gentlemen, just wanted everyone to know that we have found a beautiful spot for our polar punch this afternoon.
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: Oh my goodness.
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: We are going to have the inspirational hip talk from Devin at 230 pm.
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: That will be in the auditorium on deck four forward.
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: That's for everyone 230 with Devin.
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: That will be in the auditorium, deck four forward, and then we will start our polar punch at 3 pm.
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: Thank you very much.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: So this guitar center, what?
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: What is that?
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: guitar center is just like um, a store, like a big manufacturer, like they like.
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: If you wanted to go to auto parts store, you would go to, like you know, auto zone and they sell mufflers and you know, oil for your car.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: They sell all kinds of things, instruments and Hardwares etc.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: Just like a big department store for music, basically.
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: And they have an electronics section with controllers and decks and vinyl you know, control vinyls and Cables if you need, and speakers and all that stuff.
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: And because they want you to demo the equipment To inspire you to buy.
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah and they can't kick you out, like you know.
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: So I'm like they got dj equipment and it's already set up and they want you to play it or in order to buy it.
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: So literally that's how I actually met paul.
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: Paul and I used to um share an office space.
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: We didn't work at the same company, but our offices were next to each other, on the corner of labrea and sun set in la, and the guitar center was like five streets away.
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: So for at lunchtime, because I had a nine or five job at the time at lunchtime, I knew exactly one hour.
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: It would take me 10 minutes to walk to the guitar center each way, which means I had 40 minutes to play for free every day, every day at lunch, and I would like practice like in little things like that.
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: So just try to improve to the next steps of saying I'm a dj, I am a dj, I'm a dj.
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: Until I saved enough money.
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: Matter of fact, um, someone, I guess, returned equipment like a large dj.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: They would rent out equipment to like professional djs and if it came back like messed up, they would sell it discounted to the public.
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: But because I would go there every day, I kind of became friends with the people who work there and they were just like we're gonna use all of our like employee discounts to like Get you further Discount to buy this busted equipment.
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: But now I had equipment right and I knew how to play finally, like actually Manually knew how to play from watching the videos, from going in there every day, and I got the decks and like never looked back and still kept practicing to get better and better but actionable steps to get towards what you want to do.
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: Until you can do it, you know that is so inspiring and I hope that you know someone that's listening to this who has got a big goal and just like it's too hard to remember just to take those little steps each day.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: You know, get up an hour earlier, use your lunch break and those little tiny bits, you know, 2% each day, it adds up, yeah, and that's how you get there.
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: 100%, yeah, instead of sitting there and going, oh, that person's privileged, their parents bought them all that stuff, or they can do that because of this.
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: Well, actually, I started from nothing.
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: Like I bought my first, I didn't even have a camera when, I graduated because I used the uni camera and I had.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: I had my daughter while I was studying, so I had a baby, was studying to be a photographer, didn't own a camera, borrowed camera gear.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: Bought my first lights of ebay for like 400 dollars but each time I made money I put it back exactly never got a loan and just kept learning, kept going step by step each day and getting confident, and it took a few years, though, like what's this thing around and not feeling like.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: You know you can say that you're a photographer, say that you're a dj.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: You know it takes a while to really step into that, because you know what I do.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: Now I just say I am this, I am an international motivational speaker, and then that means it creates no one's going to say you are that.
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: You have to say that you're.
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: That, I think, the hardest part is like people like being like well, prove it, show me your work.
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: And it's not even like the outside people asking you like to show you the work.
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: That's a responsibility on you now to be like oh.
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: I gotta do the work.
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: Yeah well, and it's a motivator.
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: What's scary for a lot of people.
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but if it, if you truly want to do something, then you can do it like a thousand percent.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: You're gonna make yourself work for it.
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: So it's.
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: You know, if I decided I wanted to be a dj and I got booked for a job, I know I would dedicate every day leaning up to that job to getting it as good as possible.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: And I might make mistakes, but I'm gonna learn from that and be better the next time.
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: Be good to start somewhere.
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I always like to say, you know cause I find myself in a lot of spaces where there are not a lot of people who look like me or have my gender or like even a remotely similar storyline as myself, and it's I really try to lean into what I tell other people, you know, who look up to me.
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: It's like it's okay to be other, it's okay to be alone, it's okay to even be the first.
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: All that's fine, it's human.
• 23:14
  Speaker 2: Be afraid, but do it anyway.
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: Be afraid, but do it anyway.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: And I mean, if I wasn't going to do it anyway, there's I couldn't be sitting here telling you today that you know, I'm a producer or a DJ, even product design.
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: I got into product design later in life, in my 30s even, and the same thing I was like, okay, I know I have this interest and I had to go back to school.
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: Basically I did a training and I'm in this program with like all 22 year olds, you know kind of thing, and I'm like man, I'm like a decade older than everyone here and like I had to do an internship even, and I'm like doing this internship with like people I'm much older than, but I'm like, okay, be afraid, be embarrassed, be nervous, but do it anyway, you still have to do it.
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: It's fine, hell, be double nervous, but still you have to do it.
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: Son, you have to do it anyway.
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: And with also the hopes that, like, maybe if you do it and people see you who are afraid, or maybe look like you, it'll make it easier for them or there will be more people.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: So yeah, it's not just for yourself.
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: But, it's to show others as well that they can do it too, and that's something that I put together.
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: A few years ago.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: I saw all these really talented, creative photographers but struggling financially, didn't know how to get clients, didn't have a clear brand or brand message, and I built a business academy for photographers called the Go To Photographer, to teach them how to just focus on being a really, really good photographer and being known for one thing.
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: And when you're known for one thing, then no one will wanna go anywhere else because they're like that's the person that shoots coffee cups.
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: I'm just saying that because it's a coffee company and that's probably not a good niche to shoot, but anyway, I mean how many?
• 25:21
  Speaker 2: people in the world drink coffee.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: And how many clients have money for coffee.
• 25:24
  Speaker 2: You know there's an opportunity there.
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: So imagine a coffee brand.
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: They're like well, I'm not gonna go to that architectural photographer, I'm gonna go to the coffee cup photographer because, they're the best shooting coffee cups and you can then choose when you're available because you're premium your price.
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: You charge a premium rate and then get to shoot what you really really love as well.
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: So I'm really passionate about helping other photographers, because the photographers that were around when I started they didn't wanna help.
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: They're mostly men, and they just wanna brush you aside.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: Just massive, yeah.
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: And then, yeah, there was this kind of sense of jealousy and stuff.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: And also, cause I changed the way things were done, they told me to quote a certain way and add on all these extra things and I thought, if I'm a client, I don't wanna see a list of things added on, I just wanna see, like, what's the outcome from working with you in the bottom line.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't wanna do the details, but that's also the way in my brain works as well.
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: Like to simplify things, but yeah, paving the way means that you can give back and help the people that wanna do what you're doing as well.
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I definitely agree with that.
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: When I first started I was trying to be everything for everyone musically and I think it gave me good training, like being an open format DJ Like I can play polka into punk rock, into Madonna, into like Fela Coutti, you know, if I want it and do it very, very well.
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but it burned me out.
• 26:56
  Speaker 2: It burned me out the minute that I experienced that burnt out and did some self reflection like who am I, what do I want to be, what is my lane, or even what are my lanes.
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: If I don't wanna pick a lane Like what are my lanes, and really invest into like that for myself, the narrative, the branding, all of that it gave back to me exponentially, like almost doubly, in a short period of time.
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: And you know me being able to be like, oh, what kind of music do you do?
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: Oh, I do techno and house with the West African onset.
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it took me a long time to get there and I think the quicker that I was able to pick my lane or like my brand may have helped my career further faster.
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: But again, everything and it's time.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: But I do try to encourage that with, like the other DJs, producers, musicians, creatives in general, that I like mentor or that I speak with.
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: Like you can change in 20 years what that narrative is for you, but like, what is your thing now?
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: And hone in on that and that is get booked for that, get booked for that.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: Or reach out to people like I do this or I am that, and then you know if they're like oh, but do you also do B and C?
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: Perhaps you do B and C, but like your thing is A.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: You don't talk about B and C on social media or on your website.
• 28:22
  Speaker 2: Exactly.
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: I still get booked for all sorts of random jobs and if I have availability and it's easy enough, I'm like yeah.
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: I'll do that, but I'm not gonna be like, hey, I also went and shot this restaurant the other day.
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you're going really narrow and deep, because then you're memorable.
• 28:38
  Speaker 2: Yes, you know jack of all trades yeah, I mean that's not a diss to your ego for the people who are listening to this, like it's not saying that you can't do those other things, but like you are the best of the best in whatever your lane is.
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: And so part of that too is like some of the music that I've been making recently, now that I have the acumen for production.
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: You look at people and you're like, oh, she's really great, she's crushing it in disco, she's crushing it at, like you know, base house and you know maybe I should try that.
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: And I'm like you know, go back to the anchor.
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: You do techno in house 80%.
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: You do add that with the West African twist 20%.
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: And like the music that I make is authentic to me, I can go to sleep at night, even if I'm the only person dancing to it in my house.
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: I'm happy with it.
• 29:32
  Speaker 2: But it's been amazing to see that translate like the feedback from other people, like I've never heard anything like this before.
• 29:38
  Speaker 2: Like what is this, you know?
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: And like it can be a little bit lonely where it's like there's literally no one else in my lane.
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: You do not see other people doing the music that I do Playing the music.
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: Okay, maybe I played a techno song and then I played an after beat song, but, like this being my thing you know, the valve flurry thing has been like phenomenal and I'm meeting so many people like they're like, oh my God, this is great, great, great.
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: So it's really encouraging to know that it's also like authentically myself and going into 2024.
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: Like, one of the goals that I have for myself is to be doing these releases, like my own music, for once every four to six weeks.
• 30:18
  Speaker 2: So the music that I've been working on, like just even getting comfortable playing it out and being like, oh, I've never heard anything.
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: This is so you feels really good.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we did that yesterday in the cafe and we all had a little listen to some of your music.
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: Thank, you, and that must have been nice for you to see other people react and get that feedback as well.
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's still nervous, I still struggle talking about it again because of the competitiveness of how I grew up, but like, the more I do it, the more comfortable it's getting, and especially like knowing that people are liking it.
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: So like, oh, okay, cool, maybe sitting down and investing the time and energy and finding my lane and doing the work and all of these things that I've been doing to get here has been worthwhile and yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: Like the first single, called Statues, is going to come out on the weekend of January 20th and yeah, it's just like seeing even people trying to shazam it.
• 31:18
  Speaker 2: Sometimes when I'm playing it out, like I sneak it out into set, sometimes various songs, and you'll see people trying to shazam it.
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: Or sometimes they'll come up to me afterwards gigs like, oh, I'm trying to find the song, what is that?
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: And I'm like you're going to hear it next year, you know kind of thing, or in 2024.
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: So, yeah, excited.
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: And where is it going to come out?
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: Where can people find it?
• 31:39
  Speaker 2: It'll be on all platforms internationally.
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: So right now we're still deciding on what date, but it will be the week or the weekend of January 20th.
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: Okay, and what is your name on Spotify?
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so Val Flurry.
• 31:56
  Speaker 2: My full name is Misange Bodhi.
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: Everyone friends call me Sonny for short, but my like creative endeavors persona is Val Flurry, so V-A-L-F-L-E-U-R-Y like flurry, french flower, yeah.
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: And I'll pop it in the show now so everyone can find you.
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: And there was one thing I just wanted to go back to.
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: You mentioned being a producer.
• 32:19
  Speaker 1: Is that something that you still want to do?
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: Yeah, 100%, these, all the songs that are coming out in 2024, and so on.
• 32:28
  Speaker 2: Like on my productions, you know, I think finally having like a competence, like I told you, those actionable plans ended up into me being able to become a producer ultimately, and like work on my own songs.
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: I'm not opposed to collaborating, like I can name a few folks that I worked on with the records that actually helped inspire me, and we were accountability buddies, even like it's Monday, it's 10 am.
• 32:57
  Speaker 2: Have you worked on your songs, you know?
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: Or like on Friday, I go over to my friend, you know, zach Adams house, and he's like listening to the songs, like, oh, I think you should change this or I think you should do that kind of thing.
• 33:08
  Speaker 2: Just like also having those people you can count on.
• 33:13
  Speaker 2: I had to find them.
• 33:14
  Speaker 2: I didn't know anyone.
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: You know, I recently moved to Philadelphia and, as you said, like some people were like, oh, that's how you make music, like kind of judgmental in a way that I do things, but there's a million ways to skin a cat, if you will.
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: And I have my songs and I found my people who were supportive and helped me stay accountable, and now I'm ready to put it on the world.
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: So good, and that's the thing.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: It's really important to have people in your network who can give you constructive feedback and keep you accountable.
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: I mean an accountability group where each week we talk about we've got our year goals, six months goals and three months goals and we say what three things did you do last week towards that and what three things are you doing next week?
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: And we keep it in an Excel spreadsheet.
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: It's actually great, because sometimes I don't even know what I did in the last week, but it makes you conscious that you're doing the steps towards the bigger picture as well, yeah, it's what gets you there.
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: And I want to know one thing about this trip in Antarctica it's been a privilege for both of us to come, to put everyone on this boat, to be in this spectacular place.
• 34:22
  Speaker 1: What's been your moment of awe?
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: Wow?
• 34:31
  Speaker 2: My moment of awe in this place has been one of them has been leaning into this idea of ancestral enjoyment.
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: Being Liberian, we've experienced two civil wars in a relatively short amount of time, when I lost two thirds of my family.
• 34:57
  Speaker 2: Outside of that, my mother passed when I was younger.
• 35:00
  Speaker 2: She passed at the age of 47.
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: And one of my life goals is I don't know that I'm going to become this huge artist and be able to affect or impact millions of people, but if I in my lifetime can have a good impact on at least 47 people would be amazing.
• 35:29
  Speaker 2: It would be so wonderful and that would be part of my legacy in the world.
• 35:35
  Speaker 2: And so part of that has been also trying to make sure my ancestors who could not make it here, and also the future, whatever, that is, anise's and Matthew's if I have or don't have children people that I'm impacted.
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: How can this trip that I'm experiencing and my contributions will affect them some way?
• 35:59
  Speaker 2: I brought my mother's necklace her wedding ring is on the necklace and I dipped it in the water and I was like see, mom, now you've been to Antarctica as well and just trying to have this ancestral enjoyment and me being here means that they get to enjoy too.
• 36:16
  Speaker 2: And when my niece's and nephew's maybe hear about my story one day and she went, where did she get that?
• 36:24
  Speaker 2: Maybe that can motivate them to find, exploration and enjoy in their lives as well.
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: So beautiful and profound Thank you.
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: I feel like I know for sure that everything that you have shared right now is going to inspire and motivate more than 47 people.
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 36:49
  Speaker 1: So your job is done in one day in like half an hour.
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: So I see so much for you ahead and I love it when people tell me their dreams, because it plans to see in my head and I'm a big manifesto, like, if you tell me you're going to do something, I create that vision of you doing it and I see you there, oh, awesome.
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so Recalling you up regularly.
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: So the more people you tell like obviously the right people that aren't going to judge you by that, or people that do dream big and believe, and I really wish for everyone to be able to have that and do that.
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: That's what this podcast does.
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: It's called seen and heard, so to really give people the confidence to be seen and heard and step into their power and own their gifts and share and inspire others to do the same.
• 37:42
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's very important, especially on the community level.
• 37:46
  Speaker 2: Like, definitely start within yourself, but I really try to like lean into, like how does this affect other people too?
• 37:55
  Speaker 2: And again, I don't know if this is the middle child thing, I don't know if this is being the eldest daughter kind of thing, but outside of myself and being seen and heard, like coming from the smallest country that no one has never heard of, and like trying to take up space, especially for like my people, my compatriots, like we've just been lately I teamed up with like seven other people because sometimes, like doing what we do can be lonely and when you find like the people who are also doing similarly.
• 38:26
  Speaker 2: We decided to come up with a summit that's in Liberia every December, now called Up Next Liberia, and it's like how can we be seen and how can we be heard when we're in you know, industries like culture and innovation and business entrepreneurship for ourselves, knowing that there's been a blueprint for other countries like Ghana and Nigeria.
• 38:48
  Speaker 2: Seven, eight years ago no one was talking about that.
• 38:50
  Speaker 2: Now everyone's like Afrochella and Afrofuture and all these festivals and fun things, and you hear it in the music, you hear it in award shows, grammy awards and things like that and beyond, and I'm like, how do we not get forgotten?
• 39:07
  Speaker 2: How do we step up and make sure like there's visibility and representation for like what we contribute?
• 39:14
  Speaker 2: Even though we're like the underdogs and small, and sometimes it just takes like a few people to begin, that will be an impact.
• 39:23
  Speaker 2: So I've also been working on that as well and it just happened and we have a whole another year and, man, just looking at the footage and seeing the feedback from what we're starting, it's just so exciting to know that there's gonna be more and more in the future years.
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: I'll share information about that as well.
• 39:43
  Speaker 2: I'm so proud of you and I'm so grateful I got to meet you on this trip.
• 39:46
  Speaker 2: Yes, likewise, likewise, it's so good.
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: I remember you were sitting in front of me on the plane from Santiago and I was like who is she?
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: Is she going on the trip?
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: She was really cool.
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: She's making music, she wanted the DJs, and then it was scary for me to ask you.
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: Remember I was standing behind you.
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: I was like are you going on Antarctica too?
• 40:05
  Speaker 2: Yes, yes, and sometimes again being scared and doing it anyways.
• 40:09
  Speaker 2: And now like, look at us, like I'm so glad you took that step and, yeah, I eventually would have found you for sure.
• 40:17
  Speaker 3: Cause we had it out for you.
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: We're like we're gonna talk to that girl, we're gonna find her.
• 40:20
  Speaker 2: So likewise, like like-minded energy and just a little bit of like motivation.
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm excited to cross paths again and stay connected and hang out again.
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: Thank you.
• 40:34
  Speaker 2: Thanks so much.