Female DJ’s are under-represented in most musical genres but particularly in the drum & bass scene. Anyone attending drum & bass or even breaks nights will notice a significant gender imbalance both behind the decks and on the dance floor.
This is why it is so important for the drum & bass calendar to include nights like last Saturday’s all girl DJ line up at Subvert II. Event organiser DJ Mixtress understands this, and tries to keep the female aspect throughout the whole process by even arranging giveaways through another female DJ, Ginger Martini at Slap Records.
A mixture of well-recognised and relatively new female DJ’s join Mixtress in the line-up including Astrolgirl, Dust, Lucid and Dystopia, followed by local Krachmacher and Bassix residents Fiend and Gem. The intimate, underground atmosphere of Basement 407 provides the perfect backdrop for what turns out to be a night of deep, dark and banging drum & bass.
The mixing is fairly tight and the vibe is energetic as the crowd buzzes while each DJ takes her place at the decks for a 45-minute set. An MC mounts the stage early in the night but unfortunately we fail to hear much of what she says, as there seems to be a problem with the sound system. This is a bit disappointing because the MC can play such an integral role in hyping up the crowd and providing some fat vocals. After a few more attempts she gives up and retires to the dance floor .
Earlier on, the dance floor is sparse but by 2am everyone is up and having it in time for the last few sets. VJ’s project erratic animation onto one of the walls as they try to keep up with the high frequency beats heard pounding from the speakers. Others lounge on couches but find it hard to keep still amidst the banging baselines, and heads can be seen bopping up and down to the beats.
As I head off for the night I still encounter a steady flow of people making their way down to the basement. So, well done to the organisers for arranging both a successful and an important event. With a bit of luck it might inspire more female drum & bass DJs to get out there. Especially if they see people are interested in hearing them play and judging by Saturday night, there is no doubt about that. Hopefully we will see more highlights like it on the drum & bass calendar.
