At 08:04 PM 9/18/95 -0700, you wrote:
quoted 94 lines At 02:01 PM 9/18/95 -0700, you wrote:
>> At 02:01 PM 9/18/95 -0700, you wrote:
>>
>>> Although there are not nearly as many female Techno artists as there
>>> could be, there are at least a few. DJ Rap makes great, deep Jungle;
>>> the late Lee Newman was one half of one of the most innovative Techno /
>>> dance Industrial groups ever (GTO / Greater Than One / John & Julie /
>>> Tricky Disco), and Chelsea Grin makes deep headfuck weirdness. Not to
>>> mention K. Hand, Deep House mistress from Detroit.
>>
>> This is something that has concerned me for a while now. Though there are a
>> few female artists, artists, and DJs, I don't think the ratios in electronic
>> music in general are any more inclusive than rock or punk.
>> [...]
>> Instead of discussing these individual
>> artists as reasons to not do anything about it, maybe the thing to do is to
>> ponder why female presence in techno is so easy to forget about.
>
>Well, seeing as how I might be the only person on this list whose better half
>is a Real Live Working Female Techno Musician, I'll put my big mouth in.
>
>The reason you don't see more working Women Techno artists is simple:
>
>Men.
>
>There's one big problem with most men, and especially men that are musicians:
>
>E-G-O.
>
>I've seen so many male egos try to assert themselves around Jennifer (said
>aforementioned better half) when it comes to music that it isn't funny. From
>former bandmates to associates to people she's just trying to strike up some
>sort of conversation with or association with, I see this endless parade of
>males who feel this need to assert their supposed superiority.
>
>One time I was in the studio when she and her band-mate (in a previous guise,
>working in an Industrial band for Belgium's Kk Records - home of Psychic
>Warriors ov Gaia et al.) were talking to the engineer. Even though she did
>most of the work on the music, every time there was a decision-point, the
>engineer turned and looked straight at her bandmate. Finally I said "Why
>don't you ask try asking *her*, you woman-hating sonuvabitch?" And don't
>EVEN tell me that this is an "isolated incident". I've seen it, sports fans,
>and it ain't pretty.
>
>And when I don't see the suppressed-male-dominance ego breast-beating at work,
>usually instead it's a sort of begrudging "One of the Boys" type of thing.
>i.e., she gets treated as if it's nothing special that she's a female trying
>to do this kind of thing. To a certain point I understand that - hey, sex
>*shouldn't* matter, after all - but given that it's a Known Problem, some
>allowances should be made to acknowledge that.
>
>Related to this is having a support network. A lot of really creative people
>are a lot more sensitive than others. They *need* that "Atta girl!" or
>"Don't let the bastards grind you down" kind of support sometimes. Ever read
>the credits on some of these IDM male-generated records? The ones with the
>credits like
>
> Thanks to me Mum, Ben the Old Geezer, Tony, Andy, Fluid the Mad
> Trainspotter, ... [insert dozens of other oddly-named people here] ...
>
>These people have support networks. Lots of people around to give them
>encouragement, not be competitive or negative, even collaborative (how many
>collaborations have been mentioned recently? Gescom? Aurobindo? Plaid +
>Mark Broom? etc. etc. etc.?) MY Female Techno Artist doesn't have that kind
>of support.
>
>(Of course, then again we *do* live in Los Angeles, land of "Hi! What can I
> get out of you?".)
>
>Then there's the geek factor. Being an electronic musician is like being a
>computer geek in a lot of ways (like people on this list wouldn't know that).
>I mean, isn't being fascinated by the endless pathways that is the Black Hole
>of the K2000 (thanks Jon D. (-: ) not terribly dissimilar to being, say, a
>UNIX weenie? When he tables get turned - when I go to net.geek events, she
>doesn't have the vaguest idea what I'm talking about; conversely, when she
>starts throwing around "bulk dumps" and "SysEx" and chunks" in Performer or
>whathaveyou, I don't have the vaguest fuckin' idea what she's talking about :-)
>It takes a very particular mindset to involve oneself in the intricacies of
>making IDM, and there's a techie quotient involved that might not be of much
>interest to women (or too intimidating, for whatever reason).
>
>There's also the cost factor. Gear ain't cheap! How many women have you heard
>lately say "Oh, if I only had the cash for a Mackie board ... " or "Man, I'd
>give anything to be able to afford a VL-1 ... "?
>
>Wanna support female Techno artists? Fine. C'mon out to L.A. next month on
>October 14th for "Funtopia" - http://www.forfood.com/~garyblit/funtopia.html -
>and see Jawa Sandcrawler for yourself. What kind of music does she do? All
>kinds, mostly in the heavy Trance/IDM/Funk/Electro-influenced vein. If you
>want more specifics, how about this: "Wagon who? Jake who?"
>
> - Greg
>
>
>
Apparently nothing needs more to be done. I was just thinking that since a
lot of the fans for these kinds of music were introduced to it through raves
and club culture in general, professed open and free scenes, that this
freedom would somehow have extended itself into a more integrated musical
output. Of course there are isolated incidents of female performers and
producers in techno, it's the law of averages or the force of chaos (your
choice).
There are a lot of artists that work without large support networks. I think
that by the time they are putting out albums that there are enough people
involved that a thank you list includes more than their personal circle of
friends. It is not impossible to set up your own path of production. You
seem rather concerned with the ways that women are treated in a male
dominated recording and performance industry. Congratulations on recognizing
that sexism still exists! But perhaps in the absence of an open mnded
industry women would do better to ignore the male dominated paths - maybe
this is one of the allowances that could be made for "Known Problems". I'm
sure they're sick of it too, you know? But, and this could be due to male
pattern blindness, I don't see interest expressed on these noncompetitive
DISCUSSION boards, and I know about the occasional de-lurk.
I guess I just want to know what my $15 towards funtopia could possibly
change in all this. Is it going to open any doors? Are there any doors that
CAN be opened?
eh
p.s. what's up with this?-> "...MY Female Techno Artist doe..."
onnow: The Unknown DJ/"Let's Jam" (Techno Hop)