The DIY Careers of Techno and Drum ‘n’ Bass DJs in Vienna

Reitsamer, Rosa

doi:10.12801/1947-5403.2011.03.01.02

Cited by 22 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…It is precarious, and people's livelihoods depend on the whim of other players-booking agents, promoters, label owners and club managers (Reitsamer 2011). In contrast to social services departments or public health systems, the DJ's working environment is not publicly regulated, is characteristically informal, unpredictable, cash-driven, devoid of official paperwork or organised representation and intertwined with networks that are under the radar of the law (Reitsamer 2011). 8 DJs are frequently sole traders, thereby not falling within the category of employment that safeguard the rights of other staff at the same events (such as bartenders). Consequently, if women experience discrimination, there are no systems in place to protect them-they have no formal method of complaint and no one to complain to.…”

Section: Flexible On Work Flexible On Equalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Forty-Seven DJs, Four Women: Meritocracy, Talent, and Postfeminist Politics

Gadir

2017

Dancecult

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In 2016, only four of forty-seven DJs booked for Musikkfest, a festival in Oslo, Norway, were women. Following this, a local DJ published an objection to this imbalance in a local arts and entertainment magazine. Her editorial provoked booking agents to defend their position on the grounds that they prioritise skill and talent when booking DJs, and by implication, that they do not prioritise equality. The booking agents' responses, on social media and in interviews I conducted, highlight their perpetuation of a status quo in dance music cultures where men disproportionately dominate the role of DJing. Labour laws do not align with this cultural attitude: gender equality legislation in Norway's recent history contrasts the postfeminist attitudes expressed by dance music's cultural intermediaries such as DJs and booking agents. The Musikkfest case ultimately shows that gender politics in dance music cultures do not necessarily correspond to dance music's historical associations with egalitarianism.

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Section: Flexible On Work Flexible On Equalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Forty-Seven DJs, Four Women: Meritocracy, Talent, and Postfeminist Politics

Gadir

2017

Dancecult

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“…In addition to Peaches, Chicks on Speed and Le Tigre, as discussed above, other artists like Ellen Allien (née Ellen Fraatz) 14 factor heavily in shaping electroclash on many different levels by taking on both entrepreneurial and artistic roles. In fact, drawing on the careers of the above named artists along with recent scholarship on the subject of DIY DJs in Vienna (Reitsamer 2011), it can be persuasively argued that a certain entrepreneurial experience seems to be an essential skill for artists working within the realm of current commercially produced electronic dance music.…”

Section: Producersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crossdressing to Backbeats: The Status of the Electroclash Producer and the Politics of Electronic Music

Madden¹

2012

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Addressing the international emergence of electroclash at the turn of the millenium, this article investigates the distinct character of the genre and its related production practices, both in and out of the studio. Electroclash combines the extended pulsing sections of techno, house and other dance musics with the trashier energy of rock and new wave. The genre signals an attempt to reinvigorate dance music with a sense of sexuality, personality and irony. Electroclash also emphasizes, rather than hides, the European, trashy elements of electronic dance music. The coming together of rock and electro is examined vis-à-vis the ongoing changing sociality of music production/ distribution and the changing role of the producer. Numerous women, whether as solo producers, or in the context of collaborative groups, significantly contributed to shaping the aesthetics and production practices of electroclash, an anomaly in the history of popular music and electronic music, where the role of the producer has typically been associated with men. These changes are discussed in relation to the way electroclash producers Peaches, Le Tigre, Chicks on Speed, and Miss Kittin and the Hacker often used a hybrid approach to production that involves the integration of new(er) technologies, such as laptops containing various audio production softwares with older, inexpensive keyboards, microphones, samplers and drum machines to achieve the ironic backbeat laden hybrid electro-rock sound.

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“…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.…”

Section: Guest Editors' Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%