On Tuesday night, the Dublin University Philosophical Society (The Phil) Conversation room hosted “All Girls on Decks –Women in DJing” in conjunction with the Trinity Arts Festival (TAF). The event aimed to give female DJs a platform to speak about their experiences as women in the electronic music industry. Six Irish DJs – Aoife Nic Canna, Sally Cinnamon, Jess Tillon and Lauren Kenny of EVE Collective, Ellll and Lolz of GASH Collective – spoke about their experiences as women in the world of DJing.
The panel discussion was chaired by Úna Harty, who asked questions on gender imbalance, confidence, role models, harassment and solidarity. The discussion was preceded by a music production workshop by Ellll, and similar workshops were highly recommended as a means of getting started in DJing throughout the discussion.
When Nic Canna mentioned how much of an “egotistical environment” the Irish DJ scene could be, all other five DJs agreed. They said that women DJs can at times feel like outsiders in a scene they have every right to be involved in. Although the industry can at times be “intimidating and cliquey”, Ellll maintained that she is trying, with her workshops, to change that. Her goal is for beginners to go to her workshops and feel free to make mistakes.
Nic Canna and Sally Cinnamon both began their DJing careers in the early 1990s, a time that, according to Nic Canna, didn’t have a lot of male or female DJs. Cinnamon remembers thinking “this music isn’t just for boys, so why are only boys doing it?” She admits she took comments from males in the industry personally at the time, such as when they sniped that she was being booked for “novelty”. However, Cinnamon didn’t let the comments deter her, and worked harder to prove that she was being booked on merit.
Cinnamon assertively told those in attendance that as a DJ, male or female, “fundamentally, you need to be self-taught”. She also stated that as an aspiring DJ, collecting new music consistently is necessary. Nic Canna encouraged would-be DJs to go digital and download good quality music, avoiding cheap sites. Although she has an astonishing vinyl collection at home, she said that “digital is the future”.
Tillon and Kenny of EVE Collective spoke about experiences they’ve had at gigs, where men assumed that they were unable to set up their equipment. This prompted much laughter from those in attendance. Ellll and Cinnamon agreed that misogynistic comments were not uncommon within the predominantly male DJ circuit in Ireland. Cinnamon spoke about how hard the work could be at times and that it was nothing to be scoffed at. Ellll concurred that with the number of hours that go in to preparing for and setting up a gig: “You can’t just see it as you’re lucky to be there, it’s work.”
The conversation moved to the level of diversity at gigs, including the controversy that surrounded the 2017 Higher Visions festival. Ellll passionately explained that as a promoter, it is your job to book a diverse range of acts. If you’re not, “you’re not doing your job”, she said. All five DJs agreed that there has definitely been a shift in the last year, with female DJs paving a new path and gaining the belated recognition they deserve. “And Time’s Up!”, Cinnamon shouted happily. The final message from the discussion? Watch this space.
