i think it's a social, political and creative imperative that there be a
group
dedicated to female involvement in electronic music, and specifically idm.
while it may seem to divide and make a distinction between "male" and
"female" music, i think there is a very valid difference between the two.
i think that idm in particular needs to have a community which fosters,
supports, encourages and nurtures female creativity (whether through
listening beneath the radar, or producing music) because it is a field of
music which is dominated by men more than any other than i can think
of. idm is not as conventionally marketable as other forms of electronic
music... you don't buy the new autechre because it's got a cover which
depicts a fine ass ho in a thong with fifty cent pieces over her nipples--
you buy it because you know it's going to be innovative... whearas, for
instance, when filing through the myriad house mix compilations-- if
you're not searching for a particular dj or you're just the average joe music
buyer-- you might just be persuaded to pick the record with the scantily
clad women depicted on the cover.
check p. sherburne's webzine this week for an article about this:
http://www.neumu.net/needledrops
the female image is used to sell
more products than anything else in the world, yet women represent a
disproportionate minority of those who produce the goods we buy.... (sorry
if this is too tangential, i promise i'm winding my way back on topic).
when you think of computers and who use them, odds are you imagine some
computer geek, a specifically male archetype... women are associated with
more intimate and/or acoustic instruments (but firstly, they're associated
with
a voice). these stereotypes are inaccurate, there is a wide array of female
idm producers out there... sadly, i can think of only a handful off the top
of my
head:
laub/antye greie fuchs (yes, laub has a male member too)
nicole elmer
leila
swims with dolphins
chicks on speed (hopefully crawling out from behind the shadows of their
producers)
peaches (sex sells, eh?)
noriko tujiko
bjork (never given the production credit she deserves)
blectum from blechdom
and that's really all i can think of. i'm not as underground as the
undergroundest
of you, but i do keep abreast of what's out there in a not insignificant
way... i can
assure you i can think of a virtual googolplex more male artists out there at
any rate.
hmm... this is quite fragmented (but so is thought, right?), i apologize,
it's 5AM ;).
women usually have different things to express than men do. that's not to
say
that the two genders never intersect creatively, nor is it to imply that men
and
women cannot identify with one anothers' music either. women are
underdiscussed
on this list, women are underrepresented at shows, record stores, in the
press, etc...
these are reasons why a community dedicated to female involvement in the
scene
is a good idea. it's not to set women and men apart delibrately... it's to
give women
a chance at the same sort of attention that men are awarded (sometimes 100
times
a day) on this list, to reach out to women producers lacking a female
community
to discuss their music with and to use as a resource, to pursue alternate
avenues
of thought amongst the babble of ones and zeroes and x's and y's so pervasive
on
the web.
interested females ought to participate...
the only two resources i know about on the web are
the list that was referred to at the beginning of this thread:
idm girls
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/idmgirls/
and
http://pinknoises.com
get up and do something.
suspiciously male,
gregory