These Women Are Here To Make You Dance!

January 27, 2019

Discwoman shoe-ing away female oppression

Slowly, women within dance music are stealing the spotlight, gaining the recognition they deserve within a male dominated industry. Never has the scene lacked incredible talent, yet the industry’s unfair structure has hindered female visibility. However, with collectives such as SIREN, Discwoman and Female:Pressure creating a safe space for those unrepresented within dance music, as well as global icons such as The Black Madonna, Peggy Gou and Honey Dijon, there is hope that new surges of talent will continue to burst on to the scene, proving that dance music belongs to women as much as it does to men.

There is countless female talent creating waves within the scene right now, not only in terms of production and DJing, but also behind the scenes. New York city based promotor, Discwoman are an equality-championing musical militia, bringing only the best selectors within the dance sphere to over 15 cities worldwide. Co-founder Umfang, is playing clubs and festivals in all corners of the globe showcasing the harsher sounds of electronic music, mashing together relentless techno and electro. The collective have also booked the likes of Octo Octa, Shanti Celeste and Peach.

The latter is responsible for ‘Silky’, one of the top tracks of 2018 - it is fast paced yet gentle and rousing, with a nostalgic mid-point vocal that floats above the beat. Her biography on Resident Advisor simply reads ‘ball of energy’, and this is all that needs to be said about Peach. This particularly translates within her DJ sets where you can expect to hear pumping house, high octane techno and electro, as well as a dash of euphoric breakbeats. It is far too common for DJs to appear bored and stiff behind the decks, but Peach couldn’t be further away from this. Constantly bouncing around the DJ booth and smiling like a kid before Christmas, the London based Canadian is clearly in scene for the right reasons.

San Fransisco’s, Avalon Emerson is colourful. Everything she touches unveils creativity and innovation, whether that be her glowingly flamboyant DJ sets, emotional journey-like tracks, or the visually orgasmic videos that accompany them. Her most iconic track ‘The Frontier’, juxtaposes a murky, galloping 4x4 techno beat with floaty synths that denote images of an infinite desert. The track feels as if it is yearning for something, perhaps reflecting back to simpler times. Utilising her creativity in a new realm, Emerson has recently launched new site ‘Buy Music Club’ which encourages DJs to share their favourite tracks on Bandcamp, a platform which as she notes,‘actually pays people’. She is continuing to build her reputation as an incredible DJ and all round amazing creative. You can catch her Sonar Reykjavik, Primavera Sound and AVA Festivals this summer.