DJ professor Suzi Analogue 'un-defines' music

An artist, producer and professor, Suzi Analogue does it all.

Analogue has been redefining — or rather, "un-defining" — music since the age of 15. Specifically, Analogue rejects music defined by genre, in what she calls "post-genre" music, or music that breaks more traditional labels. Since then, they have paved the way for women and nonbinary people to enter electronic music through their shows, recorded music and their classes.

In 2022, Analogue started teaching officially at UNC, and today, Analogue can be found on the Chapel Hill campus at the Beat Lab teaching their students the art of making beats.

But their history with the University started almost 10 years ago with Mark Katz, the John P. Barker Distinguished Professor of Music. 

The pair met in 2015 through Next Level, a program encouraging cultural exchange and diplomacy through hip-hop music. Katz was the director and Analogue applied to the program. They had traveled to Uganda and Ghana together and had seen each other in Miami and Washington, D.C., but it wasn’t until 2016 that Katz invited Analogue to speak to his students whenever they came into town. 

“Suzi really inspires students who see a lot of possibilities for themselves, when they share their own story,” Katz said. 

Analogue has always seen themself working as a professor one day. They said they wanted to give back to the community and share their passions and have always felt at home with students and colleagues "chopping it up" about music. 

The professional approach Analogue has taken aims to leave an impact, however small the change. They actively seek to make the music community more inclusive and innovative. 

“I'm always looking for the people who are creating the culture, the DJs that are really organizing within [the] community, the producers that are making the tracks that are really getting to the people,” Analogue said. “So just because of how I set up my socialization around creating, I'm able to permeate the actual cultures of the places that I create in. And I do it very intentionally in a way to maybe even restructure the resources.”

Analogue shapes culture specifically through their record label, Never Normal, which they created in 2014. Katz said that the name suits Analogue’s brand well, describing them as "quirky" — which he said resonates with their persona. 

With the record label, Analogue has been able to provide opportunities and tours with artists like them. 

One of those artists is Le Poodle. Like Analogue, Le Poodle is also a professor. With Never Normal, Le Poodle has toured and also produced on The Lot Radio in Brooklyn, which is a monthly show to spotlight different producers and selectors. The record has been helping artists like her for 10 years now. 

“I know the purpose is to have a community of black, queer, femme artists and trans artists that don't really have that support or a meta label or a booking agent," Le Poodle said. 

Analogue is always looking to share their knowledge. This fall they will tour at different universities where they will incorporate research and music. 

Some of the events can be accessed through an R.S.V.P and are designed for people of color and feminine/gender non-conforming people, Analogue said. 

Analogue has been looking to create safe learning spaces through their music and teaching for years now, and they are always finding innovative ways to do so. 

“Inclusion means that I can walk into a space and I'm not dismissed," Analogue said. "My ideas aren't dismissed, my personal body isn't dismissed, my thoughts aren't dismissed and I can share freely and knowing I'll be heard and seen and included in the choices that are made to have — especially when it comes to events — a successful night." 

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