by Mindy Abovitz
Photo by Nieto Dickens
DISCWOMAN is an NYC based platform showcasing the wealth of female and female-identified DJ talent in the electronic music community. DISCWOMAN is a force. DISCWOMAN is Frankie Decaiza Hutchinson, Emma Burgess-Olson and Christine Tran.
How did DISCWOMAN get started?
E- It was a simple idea that Frankie and I had about a festival featuring female DJs benefiting charity. Christine joined us and helped it really come together as a movement.
F- Yeah, it pretty much created itself- meaning we just responded to ridiculously talented women around us by creating a platform for them to play on.
C- We did the first event in NYC benefiting the Sadie Nash Leadership Project and showcased 12 female DJs. It was a successful event and now we’re planning on taking it around the world.
Are you a collective?
Yes.
Who is a member and how do you become a member?
E- The founding members are myself Emma Olson, Frankie Hutchinson, and Christine Tran. Discwoman is a movement so if you identify with it we want you to be a part of it. I define our collective as all of the DJs we’ve booked as well as the ones that inspire us that we want to work with in the future.
F- One becomes a “member” simply by liking and supporting what we’re doing.
C- Email us your Soundcloud and tell us what city you’re from 🙂
What is the mission of DISCWOMAN?
E- To provide a platform to showcase female-identified talent. A safe space for women to learn new technical skills. A community of women engaged in music.
F- Also, artist management and eventually a record label.
C- Showcase incredible female talent in our music communities, educate and empower each other.
What opportunities have come up for you that you believe you have gotten because of your presence as a group?
E- People are so much more engaged with what I do because I’m representing a movement. Being a good DJ is great but having a direction and a message really catapults it to the next level. Way more people come to my events since Discwoman’s launch and people want to have us curate events because there is a confidence that we will bring a following.
F- Folks have gravitated to us because we represent something that they already followed in their lives, we’ve just put a face to it therefore great opportunities have definitely come our way.
C- I love the reciprocal relationship we have with our community and those around the world. Individuals reach out to us because they want to start a DISCWOMAN event in their cities knowing it’s purposeful and powerful movement.
What would you change about the music industry?
E- I want women to be taken seriously as artists and producers. I want women to feel that they can put out an album without handing it off to a man at any point of the production. I want men to stop insisting that sexuality is part of marketing your music. I want men to stop assuming women need help from men to get what they want.
F – Men need to stop making this super tired, super wack argument that women aren’t booked as much as men because there isn’t enough women talent out there. This is absolute bs. It’s also a very manipulative tool to get women to stop talking about this very issue. Men are definitely booked over women because there’s a pre-existing FUCKING-ANCIENT-OMG-I’M-OVER-IT notion that men are better at stuff.
C- More women in decision making positions.
What makes a great DJ?
E- Someone who responds to sound and doesn’t see in genres.
F- Someone with good taste, lol. And practice.
C- Loving music and the role it plays in our lives. Practice