Art was always the gateway for many repressed individuals over the years, with the electronic music scene seeming to be one of the best scenes where gender diversity is rather balanced. While it may still lack the diversity we’d like to see, it’s progressing in a commendable manner. To be fair, a lot of club owners, artists, and participants in the electronic music industry believe that there is a noticeable gap in female DJs/producers representation compared to their counterparts.
What’s also interesting is that even though the number of female DJs in the scene is considerably lower than their male counterparts, their effect on the DJ industry is quite noticeable. As mentioned by the sound engineers at Samplified, a lot of new sample packs focus on prominent female DJs and producers’ unique sound. From underground scenes to famous international venues, female DJs are showing formidable dominance in the industry. To help you view the DJ industry from a different perspective, here are 6 women that are shaping the DJ scene.
Suzanne Ciani
Suzanne Ciani isn’t only currently shaping the DJ industry as we know it, but she’s been doing it for decades. Those who are familiar with modular synthesizers know that her modulations are in a class of their own. Suzanne started studying classical music at Wellesley College back in 1964, in addition to enrolling in music technology courses at MIT. Her modulation talents can be seen in several iconic pop culture themes, from the famous opening of the Coca Cola bottle to movie soundtracks. Suzanne’s strong feminist beliefs made her devote a lot of her time and effort into battling the known and rooted machismo of the tech and electronic music world. Ciani has her own label and has produced over 15 solo records.
Madame Gandhi
Kiran Gandhi, known as Madame Gandhi, is an American multi-instrumentalist, in addition to being a DJ. She’s known for her interesting tours with many popular bands like M.I.A and Thievery Corporation. Kiran is a strong advocate of 4th wave feminism and is involved in various activist movements related to female empowerment and gender diversity in the music scene. She often advises the encouragement of young girls into discovering their own beats and starts DJing as young as possible. She herself started DJing at such a young age where she wasn’t even allowed to drink alcohol at the venues she played her music in. She believes that the producer and DJ culture isn’t marketed towards women, which is a position that she’s actively trying to shift.
Ciel
Many of those who are familiar with Boiler Room events have at least danced once or twice to the sets of Ciel in Toronto. Cindy Li is originally from China, and she moved to her new adopted home in Toronto. She is quite famous in the underground scene for being someone who breaks the gender norms and advocates for the betterment of her local scene. She is currently working with another project alongside the DJ decks; a radio show that hosts female guests and focuses on relevant progressive topics. Ciel has techno-political commentaries on right-wing policies, especially those of Trump’s, in addition to gender and identity politics.
The Black Madonna
Marea Stamper, known to many underground electronic music dwellers as The Black Madonna, is one of the fiercest rising talents in the electronic dance music community. Her sets as a resident in Smart Bar, a famous nightclub, are known to cause enough sparks to light any dance floor on fire. Marea has been involved in a myriad of dance music projects since she was a young girl, where she got involved in marketing-based projects like promotion and management of music labels. The Black Madonna is a fierce activist of the fair representation of the LGBTQ community and people of color in the electronic music industry.
Marie Davidson
Hailing from Montreal, Marie Davidson is one of the DJs who have generated a lot of buzz in recent memory. She has dabbled in acoustic music quite enough to become involved with numerous bands before she started DJing. Her solo electronic music projects were featured in more than one label, with the most famous being the Minimal Wave and DFA Records. Marie’s equipment is quite diverse, ranging from synthesizers to portable records and pedals. A colorful mix of electronic music genres that includes techno, synth, house, pop, and Italo disco makes Marie an exemplary female DJ of the scene.
Umfang
Many people have heard of Discwoman, which is a female-based label that includes various artists and promoters on a mission to show female dominance in the electronic scene in the US. Umfang is one of the founders of Discwoman and she is spearheading the movement in the techno scenes with unique and special mixing sets.
The DJ industry is one of the few landscapes that give a fair chance for a myriad of artists of different genders and views to showcase their talents. The 6 women mentioned are quite influential to the DJ industry as a whole, but they’re not the only ones. Every single female DJ is helping create a balanced and gender-safe space that allows the propulsion of the industry forward.
