1
Radio producer, Sienna Fekete, is all about including her community in her creative endeavors.
New York City resident Sienna Fekete is many things, but being a radio producer, curator and writer are her focus at the moment.
The CHROMA cofounder aims to curate immersive and interdisciplinary experiences in collaboration with her community. Whether through CHROMA, a podcast series or music programming, Sienna finds a variety of ways to mesh her community and the things that inspire her creativity.
We spoke with the radio enthusiast about vending machine ramen, fly as hell WOC and the one song she’d listen to for the rest of her life.
01. What draws you to radio?
I love the intimate quality of radio. The aurality and sonicality of the medium is really special. It’s a uniting and community-driven, and one that I feel honors the power and history of storytelling. I’ve also discovered some of my favorite music via radio shows—new genres, producers, singers, instrumentalists, etc. Radio feels personal, intentional, and beautifully curatorial. I used to listen to the radio a lot in the car when I lived in LA—KCRW, KUSC, Power 106—I think that’s when I first fell in love with radio.
02. What is your favorite thing to listen to on the radio?
My favorite things to listen to right now are radio shows on NTS, which is an online radio station and media platform based out of London. They’ve got a little bit of everything genre-wise and some amazing resident DJs and guest artists. Some of my favorite radio shows are Eclair Fifi, Beauty Blender w/ A.G & Manara, Casual Play w/ Spinorita, Public Order w/ JLTE & Lawson Benn, Puffy w/ Bapari, Rave Reparations Radio w/ Alima Lee and Mandy Harris Williams, and CCARTALKLA w/ Martine Syms. I also really like BBC Radio 1 & 1Xtra’s radio programming, which is also out of London. I used to work there and discovered so many different types of music and subsets of UK culture during my time there bopping around all the studios. They play both mainstream and underground stuff it’s amazing, and really rare to see on such a large platform.
03. If you could only hear one song for the rest of your life what would it be?
Deep Inside [1993] by Hardrive.
04. What color best describes you and why?
Sienna—the color I was named after.
05. Have you recently tried something for the first time?
I went to Morocco and Japan for the first time in the spring and summer of 2019, which was some of the most exciting traveling I’ve ever done. In Japan I spent time in both Tokyo and Kyoto. While there I explored as many neighborhoods as I could, had tea in a cat cafe, went hiking in the Arashiyama bamboo forest, sang karaoke, went vintage toy shopping, and ate some of the tastiest ramen of all time ordered from a vending machine. I tried all sorts of foods and drinks, it was amazing. Squids, snails, crab brains, teas, soba, candies, and sake. In Morocco, I was on a group trip of about 17 friends total which was so fun and pretty magic that everyone could fit it into their busy schedules. It was like a road trip because we drove all across the country from our arrival in Casablanca to staying in a riad in Marrakech to driving through Ouarzazate and seeing the historic Atlas Film Studios to camping in a Berber oasis in the Atlas Mountains to relaxing on the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen in Oualidia and ending our trip in Rabat at the home of my friend Meriem Bennani who organized the whole thing.
06. What do you want to see more of in the world?
I’d like to see more womxn of color in positions of leadership. I’d like to see more collaboration and skill-sharing, intergenerational knowledge exchange, matriarchal power, mentorship, love, wellness, and joy.
07. How does movement play into your work?
Movement is joy. I like to go out dancing and hear all types of music and see my friends play. It’s super liberating to dance. I am also a big fan of stretching and massage. We are all on our computers far too much, it’s important to balance that with gentle, graceful movements of stretching.
08. Who do you look up to?
My amazing community—especially womxn of color doing their thing(s) across all industries. Confidently, unapologetically, and fly as hell.
09. What motivates you the most?
I am motivated to create change in any way I can—whether it’s through the arts, a conference, an interview, a dinner party, just gathering folks together to have meaningful conversations. I’m motivated by all the people around me doing incredible things, different creative projects and working with each other to learn and grow collaboratively.
10. What do you want to accomplish next?
I want to curate more global projects with Chroma and partner with WOC-led collectives all over the world. I want to deepen my skills of business and entrepreneurship. I want to organize more music projects and have a regular radio show. I want to learn more about food culture and mixology. I want to explore different meditation practices and ways to incorporate movement into my life. I want to dance more. I want to build collective archives with my community. I want to bring joy, healing, and liberation into everyday life.
You can keep up with Sienna @siii_siii and CHROMA @chroma.ny.
