Meet The Residents: Sela V

Sela V, is a multimedia artist and performer who has been surrounded by music since birth.  The daughter of a blues musician father and a mother who loved Billie Holliday and Jimi Hendrix, she remembers that Sundays was the day that her father would break out all his records and DJ all day playing blues, jazz, funk, and rock.  While a film major at New York University, she discovered New York club culture, at the time a hot spot for the developing alternative band scene,with clubs such as Mudd Club, Peppermint Lounge and CBGB OMFUG.   After a brief stint as a lead singer for bands like Hands Through Glass, and Call and Response, Sela linked up with the Black Rock Coalition (BRC), headed by guitarist Vernon Reid. 

The Coalition helped black artists who were considered “alternative” to gain entrance intomany clubs to perform.  In the Coalition, Sela collaborated with members to produce “Ravers” the official publication of the BRC and to form a punk/funk band called “Nu-Lyf”, which played CBGBs, the Pyramid Club and other Village venues.  Somewhere along the way a relationship with a mobile DJ (and future husband) and a trip to Paradise Garage sparked a love for dance music which led Sela into new paths of musical exploration.  After moving to Birmingham, Alabama in the early 90s she began studying African Dance and continues to study and perform here in Miami with her group SASA African Dance Theater (www.wasanihouse.com), and publishes an online publication called Miami Drum and Dance, which covers the local house music/cultural scene (www.miamidanceanddrum.com).