DJ Mini and Montreal’s Vulgar Dance Music

Abstract

This article advances claims about Montreal's electronic dance music scene through mapping the career of one of the key actors who shaped the electroclash scene from the early 2000s onwards-music producer/DJ Mini (née Evelyne Drouin). By way of detailing the career of DJ Mini, this text attempts to add to the queer musical narratives currently emerging from music scene analyses. Counter to the experiences of many women DJs and musicians participating in heterosexual and male-dominated music scenes, Drouin received extensive mentoring and support from various informal queer social networks spread throughout the circuits of the city. Not only did she gain access to a local production network of equipment and skill sharing, Drouin was also given access to spaces where she was able to develop production skills on her own time and at her own pace. DJ Mini's story offers a telling case for the ways in which the politics of access-institutional, social, technological-remain central to the vitality and inclusivity of local music scenes.

Jacques Greene’s Aging Temporalities

“…Much of this work circles around the intensifying growth of DIY (do-it-yourself) and independent music-making ever since the former first gained traction through the initial punk scene of the 1970s, before moving on to rap, indie and dance music (Bennett 2018: 134). More recently, the initial anti-corporate heroism and promise of DIY has given way to broader understandings of music scenes largely in the face of neoliberal capitalism; a situation whereby musicians have been increasingly pushed to embrace flexibility and innovation in building and maintaining careers through various practices of self-entrepreneurship (Madden 2021).…”

Introduction to Women and Electronic Dance Music Culture

“…While women in/and EDMC have been the theme of several articles of Dancecult in the past (Gregory 2009;Farrugia 2010;Madden 2011;Reitsamer 2011;Olszanowski 2012;Bhardwa 2013;Madden 2016) this is the first time a dedicated edition to the issue has emerged. Contemporary EDMC scholars are re-shifting the conversations and re-writing the limited histories to make room for more female role models, spaces and skill sharing practices to be established on a scale large enough to serve as inspiration for young girls to imagine being involved.…”