As a DJ and broadcaster, I listen to a LOT of music. Listening at home I want the experience to be as organised and as enjoyable as possible. So how everything is structured is very important to me. I have an area for going through music for sets and radio shows and I wanted a separate area where I could experience listening to music in a more conscious way - like enjoying full albums from start to finish.
When Blok sent me the new Stax 2G Collection specs, I knew immediately the Natural Ash shelf with white finish was the one for me. It complements the rest of my music set up so perfectly - the style is contemporary and the natural wood is warm and sturdy. The units came in multiple boxes and while there was quite a bit of packing material to keep them from being damaged, the actual assembly of the unit was incredibly simple and easy. They stack together using magnets instead of screws which is an ingenious design.
I went for the 4 shelf collection because it includes a shelf for records at the base and I can always use more record storage space! It also allows me to pull vinyl that I truly want to create time and space to enjoy in more intentional listening sessions on the Roksan turntable, which is ultimately the most enjoyable thing about this whole set up.
Leanne first moved to London from Canada in the early 90s, during the ‘golden’ era of underground U.K. music. Years spent creating visual identities for people like Gilles Peterson, Benji B (Deviation) and Coop/West London massive, working with Patrick Forge on his Kiss FM radio show and behind the counter at Honest Jon’s helped to develop a broad appreciation and rich musical heritage.
Being tuned into this pioneering and vibrant scene for 2 decades has deeply shaped her musical palette. A selector in the true sense of the word, her sets are deeply felt, and genre-traversing - drawing from the heart and an intuitive sense of the atmosphere the moment. A DJ’s DJ, she’s played some of the most respected sessions worldwide.
Co-founder of MOONLIGHTING alongside NTS favourites Zakia and Marshmello - they have cultivated a hugely popular London residency which occasionally shares the booth with other like-minded sound shapers (Josey Rebelle, Ruby Savage, Lakuti, Tama Sumo etc).
An experienced broadcaster, she was part of Worldwide FM since the very beginning and has also produced audio documentaries like Basquiat: The Gold Griot for the Barbican and the much lauded Charles Stepney: Black Gold of the Sun. Her long running The Emerald Tablet show on Worldwide FM included guests such as Cleo Sol, Mad Professor, Amp Fiddler and Obongjayar. More recently she’s held down the coveted breakfast show standing in for Zakia and Shy One as well as guesting on the might Equiknoxx show.
You can catch her playing at We Out Here Festival in August and at Moonlighting alongside Marshmello and Zakia at the Carpet Shop in Peckham on September 21.