For the second episode of the rubric dedicated to its hosts, RBL shares with y’all Stefania Vos‘ interview, who’s author and host of the shows Pizzakebab and Radial Tone.
1. Tell us something about you. Who are you, where are you from and what do you do in your life?
My name is Stefania. I’m originally from Bari – a city on the South-Eastern coast of Italy – and I’ve lived in Turin since 2014, after a few years spent in The Netherlands, where I completed my studies. I studied design, but since 2018 I’ve been part of the team who runs Imbarchino of Valentino – a cultural center based in Turin – and, alongside that, I manage the show schedule of RBL Turin. In my spare time I like to DJ at parties and events.
2. Which experiences pushed you towards radio as a medium of expression? How did you get to know about RBL specifically and why did you choose to join it?
Since I’ve been in Turin, I’ve been exposed to much more new, different, experimental music. This broadened my idea of what that was interesting to listen to and what wasn’t. I started going to festivals and gigs very often and at some point I decided that I wanted to harness my passion for music into something else. However, since I couldn’t play any instruments nor compose music but I’m a good communicator, I thought that it would be a good idea to channel my passion for music into a radio show. So then I started my first radio show on RBL, called Pizzakebab. I came across RBL through some parties organized at Bunker, a club in Turin, where RBL was a media partner for some events at the venue.
3. Where does your nickname come from?
Stefania Vos – that used to be Vosje, but it was too difficult to pronounce for many people, so I’ve decided to make it easier – comes from my name plus the Dutch word for “fox”. When I lived in the Netherlands, I had a very close friend who used to call me “Vulpina” (because of my surname, Vulpi) and back then I decided to use this nickname on Facebook too – but in Dutch, Vosje. Since then I’ve kept using it.
4. In your bio on RBL website you say you come from Southern Italy but you also lived in The Netherlands. Even though you spent a different amount of time in those two places, do you think that such different life experiences could have somehow influenced what you do today with the radio?
I can’t tell you exactly how Bari could have influenced what I do today with the radio: probably the group activities I used to participate in when I was a teenager strengthened my passion for community projects, like the one of RBL. When in The Netherlands, instead, I got to know many new realities and cultures – and I was exposed for the first time to electronic music. In particular, I remember a breathtaking live show by Amon Tobin and an extreme dj set by Aphex Twin at the STRIJP Festival in Eindhoven.
5. How did you come up with two very different radio shows and how each of them reflects something about you?
I believe that I came up with two different shows thanks to my growth in terms of music knowledge and my training in listening – but also because of a change in my own temperament that occured since I’ve started doing radio . When I started Pizzakebab I had just found out about many new things, most of them characterized by a super energetic sound, very strong and diverse – that’s why I created a hybrid container – maybe a little messy – that could welcome everything that I liked. With time, I’ve continued discovering much more new music and, step by step, I opened up my mind to more contemplative listenings, in a time of my life during which I needed music and sounds that gave me a feeling of calm and warmth. That’s how Radial Tone was born. That show is indeed a more quiet and relaxing exploration, but it is also more daring and experimental than Pizzakebab.
6. What has RBL given you in this years?
RBL has given me a lot. First of all, I had the opportunity to approach get closer to music in a closer and more practical way, as it made me . I have explored and discovered much as well as and I could also experience being it made me try my first steps as a selector and a dj. RBL gave me a community – people of different ages, from different places, united in the open spaces from where RBL has always broadcast its shows. by the RBL in those places where the radio has always broadcasted. Last but not least, RBL led me to an unexpected life-changing opportunity I unexpectedly had a turning point in my life thanks to RBL – because in 2018 I met and joined a group of young people who reopened Imbarchino of Valentino, with whom – and these people still run the place today. This choice changed my life and . If I hadn’t joined RBL, I could’ve never got this opportunity otherway.
7. Are there any shows on RBL that you particularly enjoy? If so, why do you like them best? Are there any conductors that you admire in particular?
There are many! I particularly enjoy the shows hosted by Roberto Lupano, Easy Living and Onde Martenot. I discovered a lot of beautiful music thanks to those two. Then I absolutely love Carichette, a show carried out by Enza and Marta from Circolo del Design of Turin. I must admit that I might be taking sides since I help them with the direction of the show, as well as with the music selection for each session, but nevertheless they make me laugh a lot. I also really like the 0250 show by Nodef – to whom I owe my personal discovery of ambient and experimental music – and I definitely miss Space Cake – the Monday show by Spacerenzo that’s been over for a while now, that helped us / me start the week with a kick.
8. Do you have a song that represents you or that sends a message that you appreciate? Can you share it with us?
This is a very hard question to answer! Songs that represent me change often according to what I’m going through in a specific moment . In some moments there might be no song at all that represents me, as well as there might be many tracks all at once. It all depends on these circumstances.
Here I want to share a song that touched me since the very first time I listened to it, and it still continues to give me shivers every time – because of the melody, of the lyrics, because of the strength and the determination that it gives me every time I listen to it: Untitled 03 by Kendrick Lamar.
AUTORI-tratti is the series of interviews dedicated to getting to know better the hosts from all RBL’s hubs.
Project curated by Valeria Alimandi Graphics by Chiara Manchovas
