We handed the keys to Jovella to unlock her favorite dancefloors, pride, and her mission to champion women in the music industry.
Photo from Divine Dimensions by Sisiety - photo by @cody___p
What brought you to San Diego?
I graduated from college last summer, and when it was time for me to decide where I wanted to call home, San Diego just felt right. I’m originally from the Bay Area, and after going to college in Central California, I made my way further South and fell in love with San Diego, and here I am now. I initially came to San Diego because I had some important people in my life who introduced me to this place, and after getting a job working at a local homeless shelter and opportunities in the music scene opened up, I settled in SD, and here I am now.
What inspired you to enter the music space?
Music has always made such a huge impact on my life from as early as I can remember, so to some degree I always felt like I would be involved in the music space or creative arts in some capacity. Granted, while I was making up interpretive dance routines in my bedroom room at age eight, I absolutely did not anticipate a future in DJing or event production, but it’s not too surprising either given the many talent shows I’ve planned, performed in, and promoted throughout my years in summer camp. I was exposed to music really young and was heavily influenced by my family members love of music; such as my grandpa, Joe Vella (hence the DJ name), who was a jazz drummer in San Francisco years ago, and my mom, who is a fitness instructor and has been bumping high BPM electronic music throughout my childhood.
I grew up listening to a lot of RnB, Soul, and Jazz, then got exposed to some more classic and psychedelic rock as I grew older, later I grew fond of anything from classic 90’s Hip Hop to alternative rock and shoegaze, and of course, eventually fell deeply in love with electronic music and have explored it more and more through the years. In college, I got more involved in the music space through my college radio station KCPR, where I learned how to mix music live on air. I also got more exposure to the electronic music scene and festival and event production through a collective I was a part of back then, which opened up a lot of doors of inspiration and connections in the space. Upon moving to San Diego, I got involved playing with some organizations down here like Church of Music, Afternoon Umbrella Friends, and some other music groups, and eventually made my way to starting my own organization, Sisiety, and getting where I am today as Jovella.
Talk us through your favorite genres to DJ?
As a DJ, my style has evolved so much through the years, and my favorite genres to play truly vary depending on where I am at in my life (and in my head) and what feelings I want the sound to emulate. When I first started mixing, I was super inspired by deeper, more afro, tribal, percussion-influenced sounds and was super inspired by the likes of Marques Wyatt and the Keinemusik Crew, and felt drawn to DJing after getting more exposed to that kind of production. Through the years, I dove into organic and deep house, I had my tech and minimal house moment, and as I grew more comfortable on the decks, I became less intimidated by styles of techno, and eventually got all hot and bothered by variations of breakbeat and electro.
Early in my DJing journey, I stuck with music that seemed the most predictable and comfortable to me, the standard 4 x 4 house beats that I saw coming and ending and I felt confident in blending. The more I DJ, the more I yearn for more of a challenge, playing around with the ability to make some unconventional sounds mesh together in a cleverly crafted way. As someone who is constantly evolving and shedding layers like an onion, I have such a hard time putting myself in one box or another, and I feel the same about genres of music. It’s hard to pick a favorite when all the flavors are so delicious in their own way, so I tend to define my DJing style as a bit of a buffet.
We love your style, can you tell us about your ethos on fashion/ art and self expression?
Thank you kindly!! I have always loved getting all dolled up and flexing a fit that feels right to me. My past and present roommates, lovers, friends, and parents alike can attest to the delicate process that is picking out my outfit(s) of the day. I remember showing up to school in the fourth grade with rainbow suspenders on and playing flag football at lunch, and while the suspenders no longer fit and my days as an elementary school athlete are behind me, my style is no less my own today than it was then. I tend to dress in a lot of color and am a sucker for overdoing funky patterns and prints. I take great pride in my ability to score some thrifty finds, a large majority of what I own is either thrifted at shops or is hand-made from local artists or vendors. My style is 100% me and it makes me feel really empowered wearing pieces and creations that are as original as I am, and it feels really great supporting someone else’s artistry along the way too.
You're a self proclaimed dance floor enthusiast so we have to ask... when you're going out dancing in San Diego on a night off from DJing, where will we find you?
I definitely love a mean dance floor, and when I can find a good one, it’s hard to take me off of it. There are plenty of shows and spaces in San Diego to hear some great music and no shortage of great artists, but let’s be real— San Diego’s gotta dance more. I have some fun dance floor memories anywhere from clubs in Hillcrest to seeing great artists in the Gaslamp, but I think the overall energy most club and warehouse environments in San Diego have prevent a certain level of comfortability and liberty on the dance floor, and they are often spent with more mingling than movement. Personally, I think I tend to get my groove on in my element most at festivals like Lightning in a Bottle (my happy place) and renegades or other outdoor event escapes. It takes a certain level of feeling safe, respected, and supported in your surroundings and inspired by the music to enable people to feel empowered enough to truly bust a move, and when you see people really grooving, it reflects a certain level of security that the best music spaces entail. Definitely something I strive for when curating my own events and when planning my DJ sets in hopes of getting people to move.
Walk us through the inspiration that led you to create Sisiety. What your goals are for the collective?
Sisiety really came to life after having an idea for a single event—The Gala— which I hosted at Revel Revel in January of 2022— featuring a lineup and production team of all-female identifying artists. The intention of this event idea spawned into an entire event production organization, and five events later, the rest is history in the making. At the time I came up with the idea for all femme-focused event, there were a ton of New Years Eve/Day lineups coming out, and I noticed that there we so few female artists featured (if any) on almost every local lineup I saw. Those NYE bookings were no different than the average lineups curated by local venues and producers in San Diego. Paired with my own experiences in collectives and playing in the electronic music industry, I came to recognize so much opportunity for growth for representation in the scene.
Although it is not widely addressed by most, there is a major representation gap on lineups, on production teams, and in organizations within the music scene. Women are just one group who are underrepresented in the music industry, along with other marginalized identities like queer folks and people of color, so while Sisiety originated spotlighting female-identifying artists, it has evolved to be an intersectional space for a variety of identities who often go overlooked. Sisiety is meant to provide opportunities for underrepresented artists of all kinds to perform and produce creative experiences, while feeling safe, supported, and connected to one another. We are intended to be a community of individuals who dare to challenge the norm in the scene by creating our own spaces and supporting one another as we push for creative liberation and equal representation. I see Sisiety as much more than a collective who throws parties— we are movers and shakers, not just dreamers, but doers. Our organization has grown so much in the short time it has come into fruition, and the sky is truly the limit; I cannot tell what exactly the future may hold for us, but I would expect more opportunities for community connection through hosting music events, creative workshops, education and advocacy, and so much more. Follow @sis.iety on IG to come along for the ride.
What did playing San Diego Pride 2022 mean to you?
Playing the San Diego Pride festival this past summer was one of the biggest opportunities of my DJing career and one of the most humbling experiences personally as a queer identifying person. This past Pride was my first one fully embracing and celebrating my identity as a queer person, and to be able perform while celebrating how colorful of a community we truly are was one of the most fulfilling experiences I’ve had as a DJ. It is always a pleasure having the chance to DJ, but to do so for an occasion that means so much to me was a major bucket list experience that I wish I could relive. I am super grateful to the Afternoon Umbrella Friends, who brought me on board to represent the crew at the festival, and I am hopeful to get more involved in Pride next year through Sisiety and other means to celebrate it as loud and proud as ever before.
Who are your 'ones to watch' from the San Diego scene?
San Diego is a city that is drowning in an overflow of talent, it is hard to pick just a handful of folks to shout out, but here are a few…. First and foremost, I have to show some love to my resident Sisiety DJ’s and dear muses and friends, Dusty and Sophia. Kendall Mangano and Embher are another two rad emerging artists in the scene to keep your eyes on. All of these ladies are incredible artists and human beings, and I am excited to see where their DJing journeys take them next. I’ve been stoked on the growth of Veluda coming to life in SD; their founder and director, Taylor Celeste, is a boss bringing more techno-centered experiences to our city, and normalizing more representation on the decks, spotlighting some badass femme-focused talent like Anastasia and Ana Valdes, who are awesome as well. Also I would love to shout out some SoCal homies, the wonderful and talented Jacob Cardell making music & creative magic happen with Complicit Club up in LA and his photography and design endeavors, as well the lovely Suppa — a really rad human being with so much passion for the scene and an overall infectious energy. And lastly, I want to spotlight a San Diego-based emerging creative in the scene, beautifully capturing memories on and off the dance floor with his film photography, Dakotah Puccio.
If you could play anywhere, at any venue in the world tonight, where would it be?
I would want to play where it all began for me, the Woogie Stage at LIB. That place has such a sentimental draw for me, it’s where I fell in love with house and techno music and inspired me enough to start DJing in the first place. That dance floor is ALWAYS on point. Would be an absolute dream to play alongside some of the most talented artists in the world and dance with some of the best folks you’ll come across on one of the coolest stages out there. Manifestation currently in progress!
What are your future plans, and what should we look out for from you?
I came into the San Diego music scene hot last year, and these last few months, I’ve been resting, reflecting, and assessing what my next moves are, personally and professionally. Music is such a huge part of me, I have really been trying to stay grounded and balanced, and make my role in the scene sustainable and meaningful for the greater good. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunities I’ve had to play locally thus far, and as far as my DJing journey goes, I hope to have more opportunities locally, as well as performing at festivals, renegades, and outdoor event experiences next year, and hopefully start producing original music, and learning to mix vinyl and developing more as a DJ in the future. I am interested in exploring my creative capabilities beyond the means of DJing as well, and am eager to dip my toe in the water of other projects and find what other artistic endeavors excite me. I plan to continue developing Sisiety, shaping it into the strong and beautiful community it already is and embellishing the great potential it has. My main focus though, is to just continue learning and growing as an artist— but most of all— as a human being.
In what ways can the San Diego dance community support you or collaborate with you?
If you want to keep up to date with all things Jovella, I recommend dropping me a follow on the gram @jovella.the.creative, where I keep my upcoming shows and creative endeavors pretty up to date. Be sure to follow Sisiety @sis.iety as well— we have some really exciting opportunities to connect with the creative community coming up like an Intro to DJing Workshop, and some events happening early next year. Check out the form in our bio to get involved volunteering and supporting as well! If you can’t catch me live but want to give me a listen, I have quite an assortment of mixes from the last few years on SoundCloud as well!
Lastly, what’s a track you want to share?
It’s no easy task to ask a DJ to select just one song to share, but today, I wanted to bless you with the one and the only— Logic1000’s “I Won’t Forget”. This is a track I have been bumping a lot lately and gives me all the feels in my brain and belly that good music should. Logic1000 is a huge inspiration of mine, and if you haven’t already relished in all her musical glory, this track is a great one to get you started!
You can catch Jovella this weekend at her event Spinnin’ With Sisiety— an open to the community the Intro to DJing on (November 19th 2022).
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