Recorded during the 2025 edition of Amsterdam Dance Event, this episode is sponsored by Jägermeister's Save The Night.
Born in 2020 as an emergency response to the pandemic, Save The Night has grown into a global platform that supports the people and ideas keeping nightlife alive.
Through its annual Fund, Jägermeister provides €156,000 in funding, mentorship and visibility to bold projects - from making dancefloors more accessible, to pioneering greener club nights, to amplifying voices from grassroots creative communities.
Applications are now open for the Save The Night Fund. If you're a creative, a promoter, a venue owner, or simply passionate about building safer, more inclusive, and more sustainable nights, this is your chance to bring your vision to life. Check out jagermeister.com/exploration/save-the-night
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Music Not Diving is supported by Acid Nation (formerly AC55ID)... head over to www.acidnation.com to check out the fastest growing electronic music marketplace, a central hub for music discovery, streaming and purchasing!
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Watch the video episodes of Music Not Diving over at youtube.com/@WeNotDiving
Sofia Ilyas is currently Beatport's Chief Community Officer, formerly a key figure at the Erased Tapes label, and an important force in the emergence of ambient/neoclassical superstar Nils Frahm.
We discuss her upbringing and subsequent escape from a highly conservative family in Wales, discovering electronic music in her late 20s, and eventual career in the industry.
This is a fascinating and unexpected conversation - get involved!
This is the third of our four recordings at ADE, the final one will be along shortly!
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If you're into what we're doing here on the pod then you can support the show on Patreon! There are two tiers - \"Solidarity\" for $4 a month, which features the show without ads, regular bonus podcasts, and extra content. And \"Musicality\" which for a mere $10 a month gets you all the music we release on Hotflush and affiliate labels AND other music too, some of which never comes out anywhere else.
You can also make a one-off donation to the podcast using a card, with Paypal, or your Ethereum wallet! Head over to scubaofficial.io/support.
Plus there's also a private area for Patreon supporters in the Hotflush Discord Server... but anyone can join the conversation in the public channels.
Listen to the music discussed on the show via the Music Not Diving Podcast Spotify playlist
Chapters:
00:00 Brought to you by Acid Nation
02:40 Intro
03:35 The Role of Chief Community Officer
05:40 Loneliness, creativity & connection
07:55 Changing Beatport’s culture
09:40 Building a role from scratch
11:10 Beatport’s redemption
14:23 Early life in Cardiff
15:31 Escaping ultraconservatism
19:45 Temple life
21:36 Discovering club culture
25:16 Meeting Nils Frahm
27:36 The rise of Erased Tapes
30:08 Creative experiments
32:15 Leaving Erased Tapes
35:00 Saying No and authenticity
40:24 Joining Beatport
41:30 Loneliness, grief & identity
44:20 Coaching the next generation