Introspective, Drum & Bass
Who And Where Are the Best Female Drum and Bass DJs?
Mar
Why Aren’t There More Women Djs In Drum and Bass?
Female Drum and Bass djs are not a new thing. In fact women-anything is not a new thing. It’s very much just the awareness and perspective that people have about the thing they are looking at. So why is it that there appears to be such a dearth of women dj’s, not just in DNB, but in music in general?
Are women just not into DNB? Are women not very good at mixing or is there something a little more sinister at play?
I’m going to take a little bit of a round trip in this article and will eventually get to the best female Drum and Bass djs, but I need to give a little context to what is actually going on in the scene. It’s important to understand the current state of play within the scene so as to get to grips with why there seems to be so few women Drum and Bass djs.
A Male Dominated Industry
This may not come as a surprise, but the Drum and Bass music industry is overwhelmingly male dominated. Recent statistics show that in all areas of DNB, it is weighted 97% in favour of the guys. From djing to sound engineering, women just don’t seem to be getting a look in. The numbers give a stark look at the disparity in performances from some of the largest Drum and Bass events across the UK. In 2017 at Hospitality events, 251 sets were played by men and a measly 2 by women. That’s 0.80%. Coming from one of the biggest records labels in the scene, that’s a pretty damning indictment of the current state of affairs.
I would like to make a point though, that this was from 2017. Recently the Hospital Records label has publicly announced that they will be looking to promote, sign and raise awareness of women Drum and Bass djs, but we will come to that in a little bit.
Even in doing research for this article, it was incredibly hard to find more than one or two articles that actually addressed this issue, yet if you were to ask any of the female Drum and Bass djs out there, they would say that it’s probably the biggest barrier they face in that no one really seems to be paying that much attention to it.
Now interestingly enough, many women don’t feel that the imbalance is deliberate. It might be said that it was kind of accidental as the movement grew. It’s only natural that more and more people wanted to get involved but what raises the question is why women weren’t an equal part of this?
Pioneering Female Dj’s
In the earliest days of the rave scene the top dj’s were women. Legends such as DJ Rap and Storm & Kemistry. These girls played a crucial and formative role in the development of early jungle in the 90’s. Without them, we simply wouldn’t have had the scene that we have today. In fact, Storm has had such an influence on the Drum and Bass scene she is even the partner and co-founder of one of the biggest labels out there; the legendary Metalheadz.
Now what makes this even stranger is that the rave scene and DNB have been going for more than two decades. There really should be more female Drum and Bass djs who are household names. Fabio was recently quoted; “D’n’b is still very male dominated. It shouldn’t be, after being around for two decades – but unfortunately it hasn’t changed much since the ‘90s in that respect.”
Women Breaking Into The Scene
Now, I want to stress that female Drum and Bass djs are nothing new. As a long time listener you may have been quite unaware that there weren’t really all that many women djing at events. You may not really have been paying attention when at the rave. It’s easy to let it all pass by and get lost in the music after all.
A lot of women do, however, feel as through Drum and Bass is very much a boys’ club, moreso even than other areas of the music industry. Unfortunately this does bring challenges along with those looking to make a name for themselves. Hell, even Storm and Kemistry had to hide the fact they were women when they were first getting started!
Sexism does play a part in all of this. There is still the mentality that female Drum and Bass djs get booked because they happen to be pretty good for a women, or because a warm up act is needed or some diversity is needed to please the PC brigade.
As a result, women have to work even harder just to make par with the guys. It’s almost an unwritten rule that women have to be producing and djing to even get a look in, whilst the guys simply have to be a dj. This also means that the women must seem to be much better at their craft than their male counterparts, who may even then get booked over them.
This unfortunately spills over into the studio when women’s work is scrutinised far more, they are pre-judged and criticised unfairly. Some of this may be due to the threat of competition and upsetting the status quo, but it’s definitely unwarranted as there are incredibly talented female musicians everywhere. You wouldn’t criticise Lady Gaga or Adele, so why and female Drum and Bass dj?
The DNB scene has always been about equality and freedom of expression. I’ve never been to a rave where I have crossed words with some because they liked a different style of DNB nor have I ever seen someone who needs help not get it for whatever reason that may be. The music has always been a leveller where everyone goes to share the same experiences and enjoy themselves.
Recent events highlight this where Mistabishi was dropped unceremoniously from Hospital Records for his racist comments on Twitter. With so many different cultures and influences within the DNB community it just doens’t make sense for anything like this to take place. Yet here we are with a huge gender divide that is only now being addressed and not really even by the men within the industry.
Female Djs Who Don’t Help The Cause
This has to be one of my pet hates. Maybe I’m alone in this and maybe I see things differently as part of the community but one of the things that sets this movement back are the female djs (predominantly in the more commercial areas of electronic music) who wear bikinis, very revealing outfits or even go topless. This perpetuates the view that women can’t dj, aren’t as good as the men and will use other ways of getting attention and gigs. Can these women dj? I’m not really sure. I’m always so pissed off that they are parading around like that that I don’t take any notice of what they are doing. I’m probably not alone in thinking this.
Now this may come across as antagonistic and there are legitimate reasons behind why a female dj may do these things. We’ve already covered that the music industry is dominated by men. As they say, sex sells. Get a pretty lady up there on the decks, play some repetitive music and flash some skin. It’s certainly sure to please the male side of the audience. Some of these women may feel that the only way for them to break into the scene is to go topless or play up to the stereotype set for them. They could simply just be looking to do what it is they feel necessary to make it.
You could also argue that a women has the right to express herself in which ever way she sees fit. If that means she wears bikinis or even nothing, then surely that’s her right. Should she feel that is the way for her to express herself and promote her brand then that’s up to her right? These points are all up for discussion, but the way that I see it is that there are so many female dj’s out there working really hard to be taken seriously for their music that those that are doing anything other than pushing their music are setting everyone else back.
I certainly appreciate that not everyone will have the same opinion as me. I just don’t want to see all the hard work being put in dismissed by the minority who are looking to promote their brand rather than be part of the scene they love.
What Is Happening To Promote Female Drum and Bass Djs?
There are several efforts being made to promote female Drum and Bass djs. Some are better than others and by and large this movement has only just begun. These efforts are being made all the harder by clubs and events focusing more on label centric nights, rather than individual acts. Women dj’s who aren’t signed to labels face a challenge to get in front of people.
Fortunately, several high profile labels and Dj’s have set the wheels in motion to bring up and push this issue.
Annie Mac has team up and is the spokesperson for the Equalising Music campaign by Smirnoff. This is a multi-million pound, global campaign that is encouraging all people within the music industry to improve gender parity, given their huge contribution to the sector.
Annie Mac herself is proudly pushing this cause and even has an all female events company, Annie Mac Presents (AMP London) that runs events where women are the lead role in all aspects.
More and more labels are making the gender parity pledge to support and promote female Drum and Bass djs, most notably, Hospital Records (See? I told you we’d come back to this). As part of their ever and far-reaching influence, they are now actively looking to bolster their already stellar ranks of producers, artists, engineers and talent management ranks with the best female artists around. One of whom will be featured in the who’s who of female artists you need to check out later on in this article. Now, as part of the label nights that are put on, it means that women signed to these labels will be getting more opportunities to play as it will be part of their contract.
The awards scene is making an effort to bring recognition to the hard work that women are putting in. Adding in best women categories is a massive push towards equalising the gender gap. However, this may be seen as a bit of a double edged sword. Best dj, for example, shouldn’t be automatically assumed that it will be male, but awarded on merit. Many female Drum and Bass djs feel that they wouldn’t get any awards if there wasn’t a women’s category.
Lastly, and probably most importantly, women are promoting themselves. They are setting up record labels, creating and producing music, running events and generally grinding just as hard as anyone else to make it happen for them. Rupture is a prime example of this. They have been putting on Jungle nights since 2006 and are headed up by Double O and Mantra.
Who Are The Female Drum And Bass Dl’s You Need To Get To Know?
Now for the fun part! Here is my list of women you need to get to know. It’s not an exhaustive list, however I will be giving you links to where you can find more women dj’s. As ever, I try and keep it localised to just DNB, but that’s not to say there aren’t plenty of very talented female dj’s in other scenes.
I won’t be including some of the golden oldies (I’m sure they’d be DELIGHTED to be called that) such as Rap, Storm and Kemistry as I have already mentioned then and their importance to the scene.
Without further ado, here we go…
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Mantra
Whilst Mantra isn’t exactly new on the scene, she has and still does play and incredibly important role in pushing new music, events and promoting women. Most of her lineups at Rupture nights are female and the Rupture label is focused on promoting women and giving them ample opportunity to progress their careers.
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Mollie Collins
At 22 years of age and the breakthrough star of 2017, she is truly the future of Drum and Bass. Forged in the fire of jungle and DNB from 15, she has spent her life immersing herself in the culture and music we love. Famed for her 3-deck mixing style, silky smooth technique and face-melting banger sets. This exceptional woman is breaking barriers and speakers everywhere she goes.
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Mrs. Magoo
Hailing from rural Scotland, we have another dj who has been in the scene since her teens. Voted as one of the top female artists in 2012 she has overcome the challenges of living in remote areas to travel huge distances to play sets. Winner of the Best Female Jungle DJ at the We Love Jungle awards in 2016 there’s a high likelihood that this woman has graced your rave at some point. Boasting a huge range of events and labels clamoring to get her signature, she is pushing the boundaries of the industry to its limits.
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Mizeyesis
Representing the U.S. Drum and Bass scene you could say that she is a pioneer for the American movement. Bringing a range of flavours and styles to her sets Mizeyesis has had it lock down since 2004. Playing alongside greats like LTJ Bukem, Aphrodite, A-Sides, Total Science, Breakage and many others, here is a woman who knows how to mix it with the big boys. Whilst she may not be as well know in the U.K as others on this list, she is a heavy hitter at home who is pushing the DNB scene. Mizeyesis also heads up the Threshold & Heavy as well as being the U.S. manager for DNB Girls.
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A.Fruit
Hailing from Moscow, Russia, A.Fruit is the very definition of a triple threat musician. Not only does she have a degree in sound engineering, but she also produces and dj’s. A relative late-comer to the djing world, her career began in 2015 but has seen a meteoric rise culminating in a record deal with the mighty Hospital Records. Make no mistake, this has nothing to do with luck. Her mixing is highly technical, slick and sophisticated. She will be seen a great deal more this coming year, especially at Hospital events.
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Meraki
Meraki is a two for one deal. Grinding hard at the local scene in Brighton, these two girls are becoming big hits in the DNB community. Frequently playing at club nights, guest mixes on Trickstar Radio and smashing their way up the set lists to recently playing as part of the Valentines Bash hosted by Problem Central, these girls are the epitome of hard-working dj’s. Blending a mix of jump up, neuro and basically anything else that gets people dancing. These two are still very much at the start of their careers but it definitely won’t be long until a big label comes along and snaps them up!
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Bulletproof Tiger
Another dj from across the pond. Bulletproof Tiger is part of the DNB Girls team that is tearing things up in the States. A smooth, polished style can be heard blazing through the speakers at any event she plays, as well as her podcast (Make sure you subscribe). Another lady who has shared the big stage with some of the industry heavyweights and when she isn’t tearing it up with S.P.Y, Kasra, Icicle and the like, she can be found promoting Drum and Bass at her community events, Bass Social.
There are loads more female Drum and Bass djs out there and as I said, this is not an exhaustive list such as Djinn, B-Complex, Annie Mac, Kyrist and a multitude of others. The reality is, we could be here forever listing just how many women there are making, playing and producing music. There are simply loads, which makes it all the more a shame that many aren’t getting the recognition they deserve. I feel though that these are some of the hottest properties in the world right now and need to be given the attention and respect that any other hard-working industry professional is.
Bonus Addition: I couldn’t very well create this list without adding in THE pioneer of women in music, never mind electronic music. You may not know the name but you definitely know at least one track she made. The Doctor Who theme. Delia Derbyshire was one of the very first people to use sampling. Not only this but she created tracks and music out of those samples, paving the way for electronic music to be born. The original female badass taking on the original boys club in the BBC!
To learn more about the groups and promotions I have mention here, please check out:
Aside from this, scour Instagram, Soundcloud, Mixcloud and all other resources to find more women who are smashing clubland up left right and centre. Show them the same love and respect that you would show for anyone else and actively promote women as you would men.
I hope that you have all found this article interesting and it’s opened your eyes a little bit to what is happening in a side of the industry that we don’t often talk about.
Peace, love and DNB.
Aaron.
Thank you for presenting the question that dnb media are hesitanr to even mention: why? The inner structure of DNB, from promoter to label head, must be shuffled to the side to make room for all women of DNB, from producers to DJs to promoters.
This was actually a really tough subject to write about and there doesn’t seem to be any clear answer as to why. Just a lot of indifference. What upsets me the most is that music is one of those industries where it literally doesn’t matter about what gender you are as it has nothing to your ability to perform. Totally agree that a shakeup is needed.
Thanks so much for the mention in this article! 💜
Brighton all-vinyl crew: https://rkbassrecords.wordpress.com/rk-bass-djs/; https://www.mixcloud.com/jungalice/; https://soundcloud.com/xs-dj; https://www.mixcloud.com/caroline-hamilton/
Thanks for adding this to the article. If you know of more people who should read this send them this way and encourage them to share links here too.