Leira

Ariel van Spronsen, known as Leira, gets her deep (obsessive) love of music from her late father Will. Weekend visits with her dad were filled with delicious record listening sessions while she wrote menus for her imaginary restaurant called "Leira's Cafe." A brief move to Houston in the early 80's brought gospel, R&B, and new wave to her ears. Six years in Saudi Arabia opened her to different music frameworks and scales. Back in her hometown of Seattle for middle and high school, her little weirdo heart found outcast comrades in the goths and punks. She was dancing to industrial at Seattle's legendary Underground nightclub at the tender age of 15 when she first heard a DJ called Dominator (Donald Glaude) stepped in and played some house music. Like any good punk, she hated it. :) Dance music finally won her over when she moved to a small town near Trenton, NJ for her final year of high school. Techno was really happening in nearby NYC at the time, and tapes (yes, tapes) from early pioneers like Moby, 808 State, and Quadrophonia found their way into her hands. In 1992 at University of Michigan, she was introduced to the craft of DJing at University by dorm homie, Matt Chicoine (Recloose), but it felt totally out of reach for her at the time. DJing as Leira would wait decades. And decades. That didn’t stop her from soaking up the rich Detroit scene of the 90s, hitting nights there whenever she could get a ride from Ann Arbor. Throughout the 90s and early 2000s, Ariel dove into rave scenes in Seattle and SF and soaked up legends like Rabbit in the Moon, Garth and Jenö from Wicked, and more. Jungle hit US shores and became another core influence in what was becoming an omnivorous taste for underground electronic music. Fast forward to 2013 when she was living in Missoula, MT. Then-partner Ken Crawford (Deadline) taught her the art of mixing vinyl, and her DJ journey finally began. Within Missoula’s supportive music scene she played for crews like The Fox Den and Absolutely (headed up by the venerable Kris Moon), as well as a run of techno nights put on by Brian Thabault (Taboh), now making waves in NYC. Back in Seattle, Leira has been honored to play venues like Monkey Loft, Diffusion, and more. In 2025 she and her partner Will Barentz (formerly DJ Dirk) opened for Justin Martin at the Uniting Souls 4th of July 12-hour party. Later that year she opened for Denver's Viktop at beloved underground venue Diffusion. And she was honored to play at Dane Garfield's annual Christmas Day party at Monkey Loft to a packed dance floor of smiling faces. Today it’s her greatest joy to channel the universe through her heart and hands, vibrating out a curated catalog of tunes in the spirit of sharing and community.