Trans DJ Ariel Zetina keeps
the dance floor diverse
Written By: Jade Sayson
Edited By: Shakyra Everett
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Photos By: Shakyra Everett
On a weeknight, Ariel Zetina has a cup of tea in one hand and two kittens in the other. One might talk about wanting to live through rose-colored lenses, but Zetina does so quite literally, as she casually walks around her apartment,wearing pink sunglasses. She gets up to play a Grimes album on her record player to “add some more ambience,” setting up an aura that is less intense than the music she typically creates.
Hyperactive, amplifying, and full of energy—all words that can be used to describe DJ Zetina’s glitchy club tracks. Whether it’s mixing in front of an eager crowd at the Hideout or producing in the comfort of her own apartment/studio, Zetina’s need to mix and remix is constant.
But when Zetina experiments with hard-edged house beats, she doesn’t just think about the instrumentals. She creates with the principles of diversity in mind. Reflecting her own experience as a trans woman, she’s turning club settings into a safer space for the underrepresented—an environment where people of all colors and identities can dance.
“I always aim to have a diverse and inclusive lineup so that you’re seeing someone like you behind the DJ booth,” Zetina says.
One mix, titled “<3 out in the world but her eyes surf the web <3,” starts off with a sample from a speech by trans activist Sylvia Rivera. And from there, she builds it up. But to Zetina, it’s really about making people dance. That’s when she knows she’s connected with her audience and transformed the dance floor into a place where everyone feels comfortable.
Feeling that she couldn’t grow as an artist in her small Florida hometown, Zetina left for Northwestern University in 2008, just after turning 18. She originally went to pursue a career as a theater director, but she discovered a new passion in the process. In the performance department, she met other people with similar ideas to hers, and wanted to focus on the anthropology of performance and how to approach it in unconventional ways. And so she began to see a major transition in her life after joining the LGBTQ performance art group Witch Hazel and realizing she wasn’t finding the type of electronic music she needed for their shows.
Just as the Witch Hazel team was constantly observing performance from non-theatrical perspectives, Zetina wanted to go beyond the limits of a script. In order to be able to convey the right message to Witch Hazel’s audience, she knew she had to provide even more context through sound.
“It slowly but surely got to the point where I was like, ‘Oh, I need something more specific than what I’m finding. I can’t be sourcing this, I have to be actually making it,’ ” Zetina says.
So, she started learning how to produce her own music, teaching herself programs like GarageBand, Mixxx and Virtual DJ.
Zetina collaborates on projects with other artists in the area, whether it's dance music veterans or new groups just coming together. Although it’s no longer her main artistic focus, the multi-hyphenate hasn’t completely abandoned her first love of theater. This stream of work stems from her talent for connecting with people.
“Artistically, she has a really amazing way of connecting to anyone in a way that makes everybody feel warm and supported while also putting on a killer show. She just has a really good ear for curation, and also an eye for curation,” says Zetina’s longtime roommate, Maddie Higgins.
Maybe it’s this perpetual talent for human connection that makes Zetina so successful. John Williams, a producer at Northwestern University’s radio station, WNUR-FM Chicago’s Sound Experiment, says he’s experienced it firsthand. “Every artist she meets, she’s extremely welcoming and grateful for their support,” says Williams.
Williams praises Zetina for her radical inclusiveness.
“Aside from Ariel, I’m not really sure what would’ve been a welcoming space for queer, trans, and people of color,” he says. Williams describes Zetina’s party at the Hideout as one of the most welcoming spaces, where Zetina plays music that resonates with other underserved people.
For Zetina, sharing artistic visions with others has been another source of discovery and inspiration. Ever since she started working in theater, which eventually brought her to the experimental music scene, she’s been challenged with how to maintain her own artistic vision while still being able to collaborate with others. “I think it’s a lot about finding people who answer your questions before you do,” says Zetina.
This sense of collaboration has always fed into her artistic practice, but has evolved over time. “Before I transitioned, I feel like I was better at doing theater stuff,” Zetina says. “But music actually became a better way to express myself just because it’s less about words and can be more abstract.”
In terms of her transcendental work, Zetina has big plans in store, including her recent release with New York-based collective and DJ booking agency Discwoman. Like herself, the platform is a game-changer, working hard to represent cis women, trans women and genderqueer artists.
Zetina’s career is growing rapidly, but she says she’s still learning. “I’m not afraid to be messy in the same way I was before. I trust myself more as a DJ, and I know that taking risks is something that’s important,” she says.