The High Priestess // Alina

What is your name and DJ name?

My DJ name is The High Priestess. My government name is Alina.

What is the name of your show and when is it on?

I do Office Hours with The High Priestess, every Monday noon to 2.

Please describe your show. What is its format?

The format is a playlist of whatever I feel like playing that week, of music and sometimes words. 

An organizing theme that I think about is using the metaphor of the Priestess as a channel for a consciousness that’s out there and I like how that ties in with the way that broadcast and live radio works – it’s like a tangible material thing, but contained in the immaterial waves. I’ve really just been thinking a lot about how powerful information is this past year, and so I really want to use my energy to find the most healing and beautiful parts of expression and information. 

What drew you to participate in KMRD?

I was always interested in radio, live radio, and I wanted a community to plug into, to feel like I was part of something creative. I moved out here a couple years ago, and it took me a minute to get acquainted with everything in town, in the local scene. 

What is the appeal of doing a radio show? How does it fit into the rest of your life?

It’s a really nice structure to have. I think that this year – this past year – it’s been a really positive space for me to come into every week, and it keeps me interested in all the new music that’s always coming out. And it keeps me interested in old music too, and just finding things that I’ve never heard before, because there’s always more stuff that I haven’t heard.

What difference has being a DJ made in your life?

It’s given me more experience in public speaking. It’s been helping me keep my tech skills sharp, which is something I appreciate since I’m not doing making any money off of those skills right now. And I think it’s helped me get more comfortable with myself in my own voice. I feel like it’s helped me grow some parts of myself that are kind of shy, and to kind of get a feel for what it’s like to be presenting. 

What are your hopes for your show?

I hope to just keep getting better, and I’m always working on making my transitions smoother. I hope to keep engaging with the local community – because that’s the coolest part about it for me, is getting to amplify friends, or bands that don’t have a big studio behind them, a big company behind them. My hopes are just to keep improving at the skill – I feel like the overall skill is creating a wavelength, not a brand, but like a recognizable tone or recognizable voice, and like keeping that consistent and making it a space that people can tune into consistently. 

What are your hopes for the station?

I just really appreciate being part of a group, a community, and I hope that I get to keep making new friendships and getting closer to the other DJs. And I hope that if we can do live music again, that I’ll be able to be an audience and participate in that, because that’s the best thing in the world.