More and more women are becoming successful DJs, despite the boys-only atmosphere, writes Fionola Meredith
Fatboy Slim once famously observed that DJs used to hold a status just below that of the person who collected the glasses in a club. But with the advent of the "superstar DJ" phenomenon in the 1990s - characterised by a champagne-rich lifestyle, record-box-carrying entourage, and "attitude" - the profession began to acquire a glamorous mystique. Saucer-eyed teenagers dreamed of becoming moody turntablists, weaving their own brand of scratched-up magic for adoring crowds. While the excesses of superstardom have passed, DJing retains a certain subversive cachet. And in recent years, what was once definably a boys' club has been infiltrated by increasing numbers of women keen to try their hand at the decks.
"It's fine for a woman to play an acoustic guitar - but not an electric one," says Carol (27), a DJ at Belfast's first alternative queer club, Howl.
According to Carol, the same principle is often applied to women DJs.
"Male DJs can be such nerds about music, with their massive record collections," she says. "It's a real closed club. But girls have the magic touch - they're not trying to out-cool each other. If there are three guys DJing on a given night, they'll all be busy watching each other's technique. Girls have a natural ability to feel what's right at the time. My DJing isn't perfect - I have a philosophy of "can't mix, won't mix" - but at least there's a bit of soul to it. I have faith in my own taste in music."
Genie (25), a drum'n'bass DJ with Bassbin in Dublin, was inspired by two female DJs, Chemistry and Storm, when she saw them play at the Point Depot in Dublin.
"DJing came naturally to me: it's easy to pick up the skills if you have rhythm and a musical ear," she says. "And being female can be a benefit - it makes you stand out from the crowd. But it's still a male-dominated industry, and I have taken some stick over the years. Some people assume you won't be any good, that you're just a novelty. You hear them say: 'Oh, look at that little girl spinning records up there.' I'm not bothered - the promoters who gave me the gigs wouldn't have done that if I didn't have the ability."
"In the last five years, the number of female DJs has increased dramatically," says John Hennessy, booking agent for the Village venue and club in Dublin's Wexford Street. But why? "Ten years ago the music scene was dominated by indie and hip hop, and was filled with spotty young blokes. The effect of dance culture has really opened up opportunities for girls nowadays."
Like Carol from Howl, Annie Gierney (24), resident Saturday night DJ at Carnival Club in Dublin, believes that women often bring a more unselfconscious, laid-back style: "Girls are better at the good-time stuff, they're far more relaxed. While guys can be obsessed with creating something obscure, women are happy to throw together a party mix. They appreciate the flow better."
With big-earning hard-house DJs such as Lisa Pin-Up and Lisa Lashes making it into DJ magazine's top 100 - possibly assisted by the flimsiness of their black latex tops - there's no doubt that women are feeling increasingly at home in the dance scene. But outside the female-friendly world of house music and party tunes, women DJs are much rarer.
Tanya Mellotte (30) is a resident DJ at Belfast's most successful alternative music club, Skibunny, which she co-founded with Mark Gordon in 1998. With her dark hair and enigmatic demeanour, Tanya is a commanding presence behind the decks, delighting the crowds with her own idiosyncratic mix of hip hop, soul and electronica. But does she enjoy the performing side of DJing?
"You do feel on display, and I'm not terribly comfortable with that," she says. "To be honest, I'd be happy DJing out of the way where no one could see me. For me, it's all about the flow of the music, choosing what to play, the reaction on the dancefloor. You have an idea about the structure of the night, and then you build it up and up. I still love that - I'd do it for nothing."
Over the years, Mellotte has had ample opportunity to observe punters' reactions both to herself and her music. "You do get people coming up and saying how brilliant it is to see a woman DJ. I suppose when people stop noticing the gender of the DJ, that's when we'll know it isn't an issue any more. There have been occasions when I've been mistaken for the DJ's girlfriend. Now that is really annoying. As a woman DJ, you need to be pretty thick-skinned."
Although the male-dominated music industry is gradually coming to terms with the idea of female DJs, there's a certain amount of head-scratching about why on earth women would want to master the art of the turntable. Glen Falconer, of the British Association of Sound Systems (also known as DJ Glen Tee), recently mused: "The equipment is heavy. You need to live, eat and breathe sound systems, and maybe women have other priorities."
Kevin Traynor, director of Sonic DJ Academy in Belfast, Ireland's first dedicated DJ training school, says he's always trying to encourage more women to attend the academy's courses.
"DJing appeals to the obsessive trainspotter part of the male psyche. I think women probably have better things to be doing with their time than standing around in record shops looking for deleted copies. When young guys get behind the decks, it's often all about bravado, trying to out-perform each other. Women don't do that. And they're great at the technical side of things. In fact, women DJs are at an advantage in some ways because they're still relatively unusual. Promoters look at it from a business perspective: if you have 10 equally competent DJs and one is a woman, she'll be the one that's chosen."
Yet that perceived novelty value can be a burden as well as a boon to women DJs. Co-editor of Remix magazine, Erin Hutton, recently acknowledged the problem. "I don't know how many times I have heard or read people (that is, men) when referring to women in the industry (especially DJs) say: 'Given that you're a chick, you have a built-in gimmick, so use it - as long as you have the skills to back it up.' Is that to say, then, that as females, we're a welcome spectacle, but we don't automatically garner any measure of respect until we 'prove ourselves'? Well, do you know what? That sucks. Screw the idea that being a woman is a gimmick at all! It's that kind of backhanded encouragement that makes women not want to even give it a go in the first place. And that has to change, not only in the gear-is-for-boys mentality but also in the willingness of women to ignore those knuckle-dragging attitudes."
The idea that technical wizardry is required is what deters many young women from giving DJing a try in the first place. London-based LektroLAB runs DJ workshops across Europe which aim to demystify the process. Emma Davidson (32), aka Lektrogirl, says: "Learning to use a set of decks is like learning to use a toaster. There are a few more buttons to press, but after a session here, hopefully you'll be able to do it without getting your fingers burnt."
While Davidson has publicly admitted that for every one woman who makes electronic music or DJs, she knows 50 men, she isn't asking for women to be treated differently. "I'm not comfortable with the idea that girls need a special access ramp to perform. But it's true that women are often lacking in confidence in the technical dimension of DJing - and we aim to change that. Once they've been shown there's nothing to be scared of, they're fine."
What does Davidson think of the female DJs who are happy to pose semi-naked draped around a record box to advance their careers? "Put it this way, you wouldn't see a boy in his underpants doing the same thing."
Like their male counterparts, it's a passion for music that draws female DJs to the decks. But for many, sharing that passion with the people on the dancefloor is the real motivation.
As Amtrak, a female DJ from Chicago, says: "I think it's thefeeling that you get when you know there is a connection between you, the turntables, the records that are on them and the people. When you get that, you've made people dance. When I see people dancing to my music, there is nothing better than that feeling."