Angie was born and raised in South London and began collecting vinyl records since her first Fisher Price record player. She had a love for most music especially black music. After leaving school she worked in the print industry namely The Observer Newspaper for a few years and played her records at friend's birthday parties and then their weddings. After 7 years in an office Angie decided to leave and pursue her DJ career in Pirate and legal radio (Kiss FM). During the early 1980's, all-night house parties were very popular and realising she could use her carpentry skills to make her own speaker boxes, created one of the first all-female sound systems called 'Silhouette' based in South London. Teamed up with Dj GB who also bought Soul and Reggae music they went on to play out around the South London area. The pre amps and amplifiers were built by the same Sound System engineer for famous Sound Systems like Saxon and Sir Coxone. 'Silhouette' was also featured in Anna Arnones 'Sound Reasoning' book (purchase info below) and Black Echoes Magazine.
Angie also volunteered at Radio Thamesmead and presented a Soul & Reggae show then left to join the Pirate Radio scene in South East London. LWR and TKO were interested in having more female voices on their stations and both studios were close to where Angie lived. She was one of the first few women who had their own vinyl collection willing to take the risks involved for the love of their music. During the mid 80's the other stations Angie worked for were WNK and Brazen Radio.
In the late 80's Angie decided to slim down the Silhouette Sound System and began her professional legal radio career and joined Kiss FM (London) in September (1990-1999) hosting/producing her weekly 'Soul and Reggae' show as well as 'The Late Show'. She also formed the 'Spinnin Jennies' (all female DJ's) along with DJ Anni V and promoted a weekly club Nite's in 'Spats' on Oxford Street in Central London. Angie was soon head hunted by a Night Club owner offering her an opportunity to manage his club 7 days a week in Gerrard St, Soho.
Not long after leaving Kiss FM Angie worked on Solar Radio and First Love Radio as well as running DJ workshops for young people especially young girls. Left London and moved to West Wales going into the retail business.
Other Radio stations - FEM FM (Bristol) - JWave Radio (Tokyo) -Brazen Radio
She is currently working on her autobiography about her life in the music industry and planning her comeback!
Angie's demo tape using links from Kiss FM Radio
Soul and Reggae Show from Kiss FM - Saturday 18th May 1996
Check out more of her other radio shows on https://www.mixcloud.com/angie-darani/
Sound Reasoning is a compilation of photographs and interview extracts by Anna Arnone, a documentary photojournalist, from her 1980's UK Reggae Sound System work. This beautifully designed and produced book provides the reader with a solid chunk of the dancehall culture of the day with words from and photographs of the Sound System men and women, MCs and singers, dub cutters, amp builders, and record shop people. Fatman, Coxsone, Saxon, Unity, King Tubby's, Channel One, Sista Culcha, Bionic Rhona, amongst others, are featured, as are the MCs like Smiley Culture and Asher Senator, Philip Levi, Jah Screechy, Lorna Gee, Sister Candy, Tipper Irie, Pato Banton, Pepi and Olive, and many more. Other key people, like the Hassels and Wembley Loudspeakers, feature in this book which serves to educate and entertain in a high style and fashion. This was the key period in UK Reggae Sound Systems when the MCs changed the music from the yard style of Jamaica into the fast style favoured by the first generation of Caribbean rooted youths born and raised in the UK. Peter King, originator of the fast style, features. Lovers' Rock UK singers like Sandra Cross and Deborah Glasgow UK also took the music and gave it a new twist,
Sound Reasoning takes you on the journey from the Sound truck, with the box boys, to the excitement of the dance. Whether you are a follower of Sounds, a lover of Reggae, studying Black music and culture or photography, this book is essential reading. And last, but not least, there is an introduction, with photographs from performances in Brixton in the early 1980's, by the great dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah, which gives a personal insight to his Sound System roots and which is illustrative of the importance of the spoken word/poetry within Sound System culture.
Published by Arandora Press Introduction by Benjamin Zephaniah 180x180 mm, 128 pp Sewn binding, matt laminate soft back cover (4 pp). Monochrome photographs. Sound Reasoning is printed in full colour. Limited print run.
https://annaarnonephotographs.bigcartel.com/product/sound-reasoning
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