Once accused of being an ‘undercover DJ,’ ilana ariella’s natural talent and ear for tunes has helped propel her career from bedroom aficionado to fully fledged artist. Pushing through a global pandemic, she stayed relevant by regularly streaming with her Chicago residency SHFFT. She also found time to get into the studio, putting out two original productions, “Rock the Vote,” self released in the fall of 2020 and “Falling Up” a collab with her SHFFT colleague Shmoo, released on Chicago legend Ron Carroll’s digital imprint Electric Disco in summer of 2022. Notably, she was recently named a Defected Records top 100 DJ in their Unsung Heroes contest, beating out almost 4000 mix submissions. ilana has a surgical like precision when it comes to her mixing style, spinning records when she can or dexterously using a CDJ (never Master Tempo, never Sync, always by ear). ilana’s card has been punched by many of the Chicago House legends, she has been awarded the opportunity to be direct support on numerous occasions to Derrick Carter, DJ Heather, DJ Lady D & Diz to name a few. Soon she will add ‘Label Boss’ to her list of credentials, launching a digital imprint of her own “Cheap Talk” in 2023. Truly one to watch, you can catch her vibe in person at any one of the major Chicago nightlife spots as well as the occasional underground.