In Conversation with Vielka

by Leni Bryan

Can you introduce yourself and what your involvement is at WKCR?

My name is Vielka and I’m a 4th year at Columbia College studying African American studies. I was the former Latin department head. I started in January 2021, so that was my sophomore year. A lot of my really good friends used to program at the Latin department, and they were doing a lot of cool shows, especially Urbano Latinx. They were always trying to immerse the Latine community within WKCR, and I loved it. When I was asked if I would get Involved with the Latin department, I was like, “Yeah of course!”

So you were around when the station was still less active from Covid?

Yeah. So I started WKCR remotely before being Latin department head. I would send in remote shows. I remember being in my dorm editing sound clips on GarageBand and doing the mic breaks, compiling shows that way. My first ever show was a 3 hour- long show for a Nina Simone broadcast. It was fun, but it was very different. A lot of the people submitting shows were alumni, non-Columbia students, or E-board members. I never really got to participate in the in person KCR happening until Fall 2021. That’s when we started again in person and wearing masks.

You mention that there are a lot of alumni programmers, many of which are consistent hosts in the Latin Department. Can you talk about some of the legacy of some of these shows and how you work with alumni? So the Latin department is indeed very different from other WKCR shows because it is mainly run by alumni and non-CU affiliated individuals. I think some people might find issue with this, especially because WKCR is a student-run station, but over time, being part of the Latin department, I’ve grown to appreciate how the non-CU students contribute to the station. Especially given the fact that WKCR is a radio station that has a big reputation in New York. Something one of the alumni told me is that students are only here for four years, but a lot of the alumni are from the city and grew up listening to the radio, be it WKCR or another station. You can really see that they are very passionate about the music they play and the shows that they host. Jassvan of Som Do Brazil is always inviting guests. He’s been programming that show for over a decade, and his co-host is a student. Sadys—who is the former host for Sonidos Colombianos— used to be a student at Columbia, and he started that show then, so it’s definitely a department with strong roots, and I think its long lasting impact is very different to some other departments.

I also wanted to ask you about the Workaround show! What is it and how did it get started?

I started Workaround because I noticed that, after the pandemic, there was a surge in people wanting to be DJ’s. Something that I noticed was that WKCR didn’t have contemporary or experimental music at its forefront. And when I say experimental I’m not talking about the New Music department, but I’m talking about people that genuinely enjoy mixing music and messing around with the DJ deck. And so I got the idea because I was talking to a programmer last year about how WKCR used to do live DJ sets. We had a mixer and all this stuff and it was super cool, but we stopped doing that, I don’t know why. I thought it would be so cool to bring that back. To introduce people to DJing and mixing their own music. I remember I did the first show and people liked it. The second show I did my computer wasn’t working, so I did a very experimental show. I played Motown and mixed it with ambient sounds. I basically pretended that our regular soundboard was the mixer. It’s the kind of stuff I wish WKCR did more, like giving students the opportunity to experiment within individual shows. It’s been a huge success! A lot of people have reached out asking to DJ, including some DJs who compose their own music. Workaround then extends to late night, and Dylan (Design Director) does his own Workaround, but it’s Hip Hop-focused and it’s just really cool. My goal with Workaround was that I thought it would be really cool if people tuned into this at a college party, and have Workaround playing in the background.

Lastly, I would like to know what you’re most proud of at KCR.

I think something I’m really proud of would be the work I was doing last year in terms of developing an anti-harassment policy. Especially in spaces not dominated by nonmen, and white non-men, I think it can be very easy for people to feel like they are not respected or heard and feel like they are more vulnerable to harassment. A handful of us stepped up and tried to develop something to make sure that students and programmers were protected. It’s a tool of reassurance that shows that the station is now open to people that WKCR has historically excluded.

Jazz ‘til Dawn (cont’d)

Field Trip

Amazing Grace

The Moonshine Show

Monday Morningside

Cereal Music

The Tennessee Border Show

Sunday Profiles

Out to Lunch

Afternoon New Music

Raag Aur Taal

SoundStage

Live Constructions

Back in the USSR

Seachran: The Celtic Show

Coordinated Universal Time Phil Lives

PopTalk

Caribe Latino

Urbano Latinx

Honky Tonkin’

Tuesday’s Just as Bad

Transfigured Night Night Train

Traditions

Notes