It’s not the easiest out there for a female producer.
If you take in the label rosters, festival lineups, or even regular club bookings at face value, it would be easy to believe that there’s little to no room to be made in the circuit for female voices. You might even be told (time, and time again) that there just isn’t “enough” talent out there to book a lineup even approaching balance.
More than there existing a lack of options for talent, there’s a definite lack of visibility. Rather than buying into the illusion of scarcity, we’re here for linking with the folks already out there countering this myth through action– experimenting with new sounds, putting out records, developing networks of support, and finding ways to be seen, knowing that things have been and will continue to change in a big way.
Read on for a sampling of beatmakers you should know that are setting themselves up for a killer 2015, with names spanning Chile, Argentina, Peru, Spain, and the US. Is there someone we should check out, a collective we should know about? Get us in the loop in the comment section!
Ana Helder
Ana Helder caught our eye earlier this winter when she released Fiebre de Marte, a six-track EP on one of our favorite experimental house and techno platforms, Cómeme, with bossdude Matias Aguayo behind the label operation. Originally from Rosario, Argentina, Helder’s third release on the label plays with live vocal dubs and a clear fondness for analog tools– a sound that she’s coined as “togetherness in motion” by eliminating the need for narrow genre definitions, and focusing instead on the ways that bodies move on the dance floor. With the prolific rate of releases already, we’re sure to see more in 2015.
Awwz
While we still don’t know a whole lot about Barcelona-based artist Awwz, we’re certainly watching close to see what will follow her two-track debut EP GALS. Though many miles away, the producer recently linked with Houston label Freshmore, which is home to reliably solid releases by party stalwarts Wheez-ie, Doctor Jeep, Cosmic Revenge, and Sines, who also teams up with Panchitron for darkwave dembow duo Svntv Mverte. “Gals” showcases a masterful sense of restraint at the intersection of smooth instrumental R&B and synthetic club sensibilities.
https://soundcloud.com/freshmore/awwz-gals-master
Shushupe
Ursula Talavera, also known as Shushupe, takes ñu-cumbia and other such chichadelic sounds to the club in her home of Lima. An unwavering presence in the city’s underground circuit and drawing her namesake from a venomous viper creature of the Amazon, Shushupe most recently released her Indocumbia EP, which samples melodies of the region, moombahton kicks, and bird songs from creatures she only imagines she’s met. Puro trippy. And, if you’re based in NYC, lucky you: Shushupe is headed to the five boroughs on January 2nd to play at Afro-Latin party Salsa y Sexo at Nublu, hosted by psychedelic salsa band la Mecánica Popular.
Stud1nt
If you were in town for the inaugural #CulturaDura tour stop at Santos Party House in NYC, you’ll remember STUD1NT on the decks, opening up for acts that nod to the future of the digital urban age like Venus X, Brenmar, Füete Billēte, and Álvaro Díaz. In a very short amount of time since relocating back to her home of Queens, she’s already laid down live appearances at Papi Juice at One Last Shag and Legendary at Cameo Gallery. Also a member of #KUNQ, a multidisciplinary collective of queer artists based in Brooklyn and Oakland, Stud1nt’s production chops and blend of aggressive club loops from the best of the Internet’s underground have her poised for an even bigger 2015 in the city and beyond.
Valesuchi
Having spent years in Santiago’s music scene, Valesuchi is now stepping out as a solo producer, and is wasting no time. Earlier this year, she landed a highly sought-after spot in Red Bull Music Academy’s month-long session of lectures and performances in Tokyo, and released her debut EP, Golosynth, on Chilean indie label Discos Pegaos. We highly recommend the cerebral title track that creeps through a serene beat in washes of handclaps and strings, and ’80s-reminiscent hardware.