AIDA is the alias of Aida Rezaei, an Iranian-born, Canadian-raised artist currently living in San Francisco, United States. She found electronic music aged 14, shortly after she and her family had left the hustle and bustle of Tehran, Iran behind in favor of the serenity of Canada’s west coast. She began to DJ at that age, persuading her mother to drive her to rent some CDJs and teaching herself the basics through Youtube. Her first sets came at friend’s house parties, where she developed her taste and her skills, driven by what she describes as an “obsession” with music.

It’s only in the past three years that Rezaei has started to perform in public, firstly at a local Vancouver club where she installed herself as a resident, and, as her reputation has grown, through Europe and across North America. The dichotomy of east and west that inhibits her being infiltrates her music, which blends world-inspired music with groovy house, techno, and breaks, but it also extends to her lifestyle: she works full-time as a Senior Product Designer at a financial technology startup in San Francisco, working an increasingly busy music career around a demanding nine-to-five. “Often you say you cannot do both, but I want to do both really well,” she explains.

Off the back of a breakthrough year that has included performances in Berlin, Amsterdam, and, more close to home, at Vancouver’s Bass Coast Festival—where her set was highlighted by Resident Advisor’s recap—XLR8R invited AIDA to deliver a podcast, recorded in her San Francisco studio over the past three months. Its introduction, a production in itself comprised of chopped ’70s and ’80s Latin American music, sets the scene for an hour of techno, electro, synth-pop, and breaks that twists and turns, engaging you from start to finish. Buckle up, this is a good one.

Iranian-born, Canada-raised, and now in San Francisco. What’s your story?

I grew up in Tehran, Iran until I was 12, and then moved to Vancouver, Canada. The two cultures, however different, blended into a beautiful cohesion of east and west, each equally split in who I am today—an even split between the flavors and colors from my Iranian background balanced with the serenity and natural environment of the Canadian west coast. Now living in San Francisco, my life is an even split between my two careers, music, and product design.

How did you learn to DJ, and what drew you to it?

I fell in love with electronic music when I was 14. A friend introduced me to the melodic trance/progressive styles that were popular back then. An obsessive year later, I saved up all of my allowance and made my Mom drive me to Long & McQuade, a music instrument shop in Vancouver, where I rented my first CDJs and mixer. At the time, I was mixing premixed compilation CDs into one another. I had no idea what the heck I was doing! I remember spending an entire day in my room watching YouTube videos. That’s how I learned and began playing house parties for friends.

Your sound is described as “energetic minimal.” How has your sound and style evolved over recent years?

Well, the “energetic” remains though the “minimal” has evolved because of my fascination with various styles. Now I love to blend different genres so long as the energy makes sense. In this XLR8R mix, for example, you will hear tango, poetry, techno, breaks.

How do you divide your time nowadays—are you touring full-time?

Besides DJing and production, I am actually a full-time designer at a startup in San Francisco so I am managing my time between the two sides and always trying to maintain a healthy balance. My professional training has always been design, so now I work during the days, do DJing and production outside of that, and travel over the weekends.

When and where did you record your XLR8R podcast?

This mix was recorded in my studio in San Francisco.

What can we expect with the mix?

I wanted to do something different with this one so there is quite a bit of chopping and sampling of old ’70s and ’80s Latin American records in the eight-minute intro. There you will hear Latin percussions, tango, and poetry. This eventually evolves and blends into an energetic atmosphere of breaks, techno, electro, synth-pop, and more.

What’s next on your horizon?

I am currently working on my first EP, so there is quite a bit of excitement ahead for that.

What would be success for you, in terms of music?

Success for me would be reaching a high level of artistic prowess in knowledge and technique. I generally can’t do the same thing for too long, so the ability to continue to evolve and trying new things is an important part of this journey. There are many aspects to the artistic process and each artist may break the mold in a particular area. For me, as long as I am finding new ways to inspire myself and others in a way that continues to feel fresh and maintain the quality I am happy.

You sound very driven as an artist. How does that make you feel?

The drive feels like an endless chasm. The more time I spend with this medium, the more the world has to offer, and the more I want to do in it. It also feels like there is always something to look forward to in terms of creation and exploration because the inspiration is endless.

XLR8R has now joined Mixcloud Select, meaning that to download the podcast you will need to subscribe to our Select channel. The move to Mixcloud Select will ensure that all the producers with music featured in our mixes get paid. You can read more about it here.

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Tracklisting

01. Sebastia Tapajoz, Pedro Santos “Estudio No.1 (H. Villa Lobos)” (Diorama)
02. Burnt Friedman & Mohammad Reza Mortazavi “YEK 132-11” (Nonplace)
03. Jorge Luis Borges, Astor Piazzolla “Aparacion de Real” (Polydor)
04. Audri “Smashin” (YAY Recordings)
05. Sepehr “Roll the Dice” (SPE:C)
06. Cherriep “Get up” (Posse UP!)
07. Lealani “Floating” (Fantastic Planet)
08. Svreca “Peels a Tangerine(Pris Remix)” (Semantica Records)
09. Anunaku “Temples” (Whities)
10. Sleep D “Special Sector” (Incienso)
11. A² “Break the Limit” (Traffic Records)
12. Softcoresoft “Overstatement (Space edit)” (Lobster Theremin)
13. Lisiere Collectif “S – 2204 – 17” (LSR)
14. Shanti Celeste “Dolphin Chant” (Craigie Knowes)
15. Local Group “Inside Out” (art-and)
16. Chris Moss Acid “Querida” (Balkan Recordings)
17. FOOOL “Shoplifting 4 Ewa” (KANN)
18. Two Dead Voice “Slipping Into Orbit” (Here to Hell)
19. Plant43 “Twilight Sequence” (Semantica Records)
20. TRP “Things Won’t Change” (Lobster Theremin)
21. Overmono “Yell0w Tail” (Whities)