Album covers taken from DJ Luz’s Spotify playlist linked below. Collage by Alex Levy. 

This week’s DJ spotlight highlights Natalie Vogel, AKA DJ Luz. Natalie is a third-year economics major from Portland. She became involved with KWVA during her sophomore year and has been sharing her love for world music on the radio ever since. 

Though her show is currently on hiatus, you can plan to tune in Fall 2025 to hear and learn about music from across the globe. 

KWVA Music Blog: What is your DJ name and how did you come up with it? 

DJ Luz: My DJ name is DJ Luz. The first song that I ever listened to that got me into world music was “Lite Spots” by Kaytranada. It features a sample from a song called “Pontos De Luz” by Gal Costa, who’s from Brazil. I loved that song – “Lite Spots” – and I was like, ‘Oh My God, I’m obsessed with this sample’. This was in 6th or 7th grade that I found it … I think that song particularly was kind of what triggered my love and interest for world music. So I thought it would be cute for my DJ name to have a call back to that.

KWVA: What is your show name? 

DJ Luz: It started out as ‘Internationally Acclaimed’. But my last showtime was on Tuesdays from 4 - 6 p.m., so I called it the ‘Tuesday Commute’ because I think that a lot of my listeners were tuning in on their drive back from work and would call in on their way back from work. 

KWVA: What made you want to become a DJ? 

DJ Luz: I just thought the idea sounded cool. It was in my sophomore year that I applied. I didn’t really feel like I was being myself at college. I didn't really have a group where I left like I really belonged or anything. I’ve always loved music, and I thought maybe it would be fun and cool to become a DJ, because it felt more like my scene … I was always into playing instruments when I was a kid, and then as I got older I started getting into listening to a bunch of different kinds of music. And then when I was in 8th grade I started getting into world music specifically. 

KWVA: What is the theme of your show and how did you decide on that? 

DJ Luz: I feel like it's just kind of an amalgamation of lots of different types of world music. I think that I got the impression that there really weren't other people who played exclusively world music, so it kind of seemed like an untapped area. I know how much I love world music, and anytime I would share it with other people they’re like, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t know that existed’. So I thought it would be really fun to be able to share that with lots of people, because there is so much good music that’s not just in English, and so many English speakers aren’t really exposed to it because usually, you know, you find music based on lyrics. So it’s just kind of an area of music that’s not easy to be exposed to unless you’re looking for it. So I wanted to make it easier for people to be exposed to world music.

I think the coolest part about world music is that you realize you can relate to a song so much, and you can really feel what the song is about in your bones without understanding a lick of the language. That’s one of the things I love so much, that it really speaks to how much music is a universal language, because you don't have to know what they’re saying to still be obsessed with the song. 

KWVA: Do you have a favorite musical region of the world? 

DJ Luz: I think it depends on the time that I’m in. Like in summer I love a lot of music from South America – especially Brazil. I think that a lot of the music I listen to is in Portuguese and Spanish, but I also love Eastern and Southeast Asian Music. I’ve been really into Thai music lately, it’s so awesome. 

KWVA: How can other people go about finding more world music? 

DJ Luz: There’s a couple ways that you can find world music in the wild, and then there’s a couple places you can find it online too. In the wild, go to restaurants with foreign cuisine and sit in the restaurant and just listen to the music they're playing and Shazam it – I do that a lot when I’m back home in Portland. If you find one world music musician that you like, go down the rabbit hole on whatever app you like, because there’s so much music out there … There’s also a couple of great blogs online. One of them is Awesome Tapes from Africa, which is also a record label. Another good one is Mr. Bongo, is another good one – it’s a blog and it’s also an online record shop. And also Sahel Sounds has a lot of really awesome music from the Sahel Region of Africa.  

KWVA: Do you have a favorite KWVA memory? 

DJ Luz: I think my first show that I played my Tuesday from 4 - 6 p.m. showtime. Before, I was playing in the morning on Sundays, so I didn't get a lot of callers. But on my first show that I played from 4 - 6 p.m., it was like every couple of minutes I would get a call from people saying like, ‘Whoa, this is so cool. I haven't heard music like this played on air before’. That felt so special to me, that it was being noticed and that other people liked it too. 

KWVA: What advice would you give a new DJ? 

DJ Luz: Speak louder than you think you have to, and speak slowly and enunciate. Blow a big rasberry before you talk on air, it’ll help you enunciate better. And talk often. I think the reason people listen to college radio is because they get to hear college students talk about music, and that's such a treat. And I would say don’t just play music that you think is cool to play, play music that you genuinely love to listen to and that you think others will too. 

KWVA: What artists have you been listening to the most recently? 

DJ Luz: Honestly, the Beastie Boys. And I’ve been listening to a lot of Thai music. I was watching The White Lotus and it put me on to an artist named Ter Rewat. 

KWVA: If you could have an artist, dead or alive, perform a show for you, who would it be?

DJ Luz: I would say Erykah Badu. She’s been my top artist for the last three years. She has such a cool stage presence and is just a cool, creative, totally addicting person. I feel like it would be so fun to watch her live. 

KWVA: What do you hope to do in the future with music? 

DJ Luz: I want to get really good at spinning vinyl, and I want to grow my record collection so much. I want to have mountains of 45’s that I can play, like all of my favorite random world music songs. So basically, get rich and buy as many records as I can from around the world. 

KWVA: Do you have a favorite KWVA memory? 

DJ Luz: I think my first show that I played my Tuesday from 4 - 6 p.m. showtime. Before, I was playing in the morning on Sundays, so I didn't get a lot of callers. But on my first show that I played from 4 - 6 p.m., it was like every couple of minutes I would get a call from people saying like, ‘Whoa, this is so cool. I haven't heard music like this played on air before’. That felt so special to me, that it was being noticed and that other people liked it too. 

To hear some of the music highlighted on DJ Luz’s show, check out her Spotify playlist below!