Girls and Electronic Music....

[Tarekith]

I know quite a few girls who write electronic music, they just tend to get on with it and not spend all day online debating it. Guys have this machismo need to brag to other guys about what they do (and the internet is great for that, as is any public forum), where as girls just tend to do it and not care.

[anachroschism]

Ried Speed, founder of breakbeat science with DJ Dara
Heather, OM Records leading lady and soul house queen

Just saw these two within the last couple months and was floored by each of the sets, technical precision thats rarely seen in DJ's PERIOD. I'm talking Moonshine "Mixed Live" style Carl Cox analog 4 deck mixing level of skill, the kind that is almost guaranteed to never show up in the top 10 tracks or DJ poll.




Oh yeah, Wendy Carlos. END OF DISCUSSION.

[Sibanger]

I remember when I was at uni in the 90s chicks who weren't into electronic music often went to 'trendy' electronic club nights because...

Most of those same women would then go home and listen to Tori Amos (the smarter ones) or Take That and Boyzone (the typical ones).

Wow leeds, you hung out with some pretty boring girls way back.

The girls I know today go nuts for electronic music.(not living in the mainstream. don't hang there)

Oh, nobody mentioned b(if)tek. (1996-2003)

Those nerdy chicks produced some fucking great tunes. They rocked!

[anybody human]

I've seen a lot of brilliant female musicians. Known as many great female musicians as male ones. That's been my experience. Have you guys ever thought that you're part of an insular scene? If so then you are the answer to your question. If there's a lack of diversity in your musical genre it's social, it has nothing to do with ability. Case in point, I love sound but I have all day to do it, compared to the calculations per second St. Vincent's brain is doing when she's shredding on guitar and singing like an angel at the same time. So it's certainly not about ability. I can see the argument that guys dig geeky tech more or get off on the macho DJ/Rock star shtick, but look at a symphony- it's not about ability. Social norms perhaps, nothing more.

[Green Lemon]

ive never seen a girl dj that i thought was worth listening to...thats just the way it is.dj rap production is weak.pure crap.

You must not be hearing the same women that I am hearing. Also, I happen to be a woman who can wipe the floor with 99% of the male DJs I have ever heard.

But I digress.

This xkcd comic has always said it all for me. Extrapolate "math" to "DJing/Production" and you have one of the key problems we deal with.



If a guy sucks at DJing, he just sucks at DJing. If a girl sucks at it, then ALL girls suck at it.

Logical? Not really. Based in a pervasive sexism that still lurks in the creative world (even when so many want to think that somehow creative people are more enlightened)? Yup.

Take a look at some of the previous responses, and perhaps you might find a reason why fewer women get involved on a DJing/production level. Those of us who choose to despite the rampant idiocy, have all dealt with the bullshit.

You nailed it.


---

and to list:
DJ Chloe
Voice

I'm sorry to those who don't get to hang out with interesting, creative women...your lives must be frustrating.

[Pitch Black]

Oh yeah, Wendy Carlos. END OF DISCUSSION.

hmmmmmm...

[3dot...]

having worked in a recording/rehearsal space for 2 years...
I can say this... it's usually a sausage fest...

[taximouse]

of course I had to READ this thread! good grief.

the ladies are doing their musical thing all over the place and you're just not aware of them. um...Live user Imogen Heap...you've heard of her, right? does all her own engineering, recording, everything. She is probably more of a music nerd than most people on this list, and would take that as a compliment

Its a cultural problem, surely some of you noticed that it wasn't until late last year that Ableton finally added some female musicians to the featured artists list. musicians who've been using Live publically for years and years.

but it's changing, gradually, and I'm not going to get my knickers in a knot about it.

girl-ly,

zoe

[distaudio]

I think alot of it has to do with representation of women in music in general.

If you were to look at the "exposed" market of female "musicians"/recording "artists" that are out there in the Pop world of music. They seem to have such little faith in their musical ability (or they have none at all to begin with) that they find it necessary to exploit themselves sexually in order to get the attention/success they want.

I knowledge that there are probably a ton of talent female musicians out there (alot have been listed already).

But what I have mentioned above seems to cause people to cast a broad generalisation across a whole gender. And in some cases this attitude is completely justified.

Yes this also applies to male musicians too who use their looks to sell themselves. I knownledge that.

[1nfinitezer0]

Oh yeah, Wendy Carlos. END OF DISCUSSION.

hmmmmmm...

s/he counts right? it's internal gender that matters

and let's not forget about delia derbyshire

[Cool Character]

ive never seen a girl dj that i thought was worth listening to...thats just the way it is.dj rap production is weak.pure crap.

You must not be hearing the same women that I am hearing. Also, I happen to be a woman who can wipe the floor with 99% of the male DJs I have ever heard.

But I digress.

This xkcd comic has always said it all for me. Extrapolate "math" to "DJing/Production" and you have one of the key problems we deal with.



If a guy sucks at DJing, he just sucks at DJing. If a girl sucks at it, then ALL girls suck at it.

Logical? Not really. Based in a pervasive sexism that still lurks in the creative world (even when so many want to think that somehow creative people are more enlightened)? Yup.

Take a look at some of the previous responses, and perhaps you might find a reason why fewer women get involved on a DJing/production level. Those of us who choose to despite the rampant idiocy, have all dealt with the bullshit.

You nailed it.

No.

That's a related, but entirely different problem. [Women suck at discussion?]

Also, I almost never like the music of women who are sited as exceptions in "women suck at music" topics. They're the kind of artists people get mad when you say they suck, because they're so technically good. If they were dudes, they'd be douchebags.

[taximouse]

this is perhaps relevant....speaking as a female with an actual career in music...you should know that there is an astonishing amount of pressure to be perfect in every way...in addition to being attractive/hot/perpetually young & not-overly-self-promoting. it does feel like females in the biz, no matter what level, have to continually prove themselves and get very little respect for having technical knowledge .

delia derbyshire is my hero. however, i wish she'd been more publicly acknowledged for her contributions to electronic music earlier in her life.

[taximouse]

By the way, I took the time to reply to this thread just in case any ladies were to read it, get discouraged and never again visit the Ableton forums

with lurv,

zoe

[Kodama]

I have met awesome, intelligent girl musicians. Recently met one that was getting into modular synthesis with a G2, not a vapid dj or an acoustic folk singer, or tom boy or any otherstereo type we might conjure.

I think girls not wanting to deal with forums is more about forums and about guys always trying to get in their pants than about sexism.

My gf hates forums but will go all giddy throwing ones to strippers in her lap. So cute!

[Cool Character]

this is perhaps relevant....speaking as a female with an actual career in music...you should know that there is an astonishing amount of pressure to be perfect in every way...

I think that's more true for just a general girl without an "image."

Because Alice Glass be looking tore up 100% of the time.
Also, YMG and ESG are heroines among hipster faggots, and they were all dogs.
Not to mention Kim Gordon.
Lady GaGa sells more than anyone on the planet. AND gets tons of credit for just writing pop tunes.
There's that Victoria girl from Beach House.
Any girl who does Metal worth a shit will be jizzed over. Wata can't even play over 2 notes a minute and she's a legend. She's also not that cute.
Kaki King is a total douchebag, but don't say anything bad about her wonky looking ass.
Teagan and Sara are darlings.

It seems like every female getting tons of hype and respect is ugly.
Except maybe Fiest and uhhh... that's it!