FEMALE DJS RULE

BY: Brett Callwood

Look around you — women are ruling the musical world right now. Hip-hop, punk, pop, country— you name it, females are creating the best tunes in pretty much every genre. The wide and varied world of electronic music is no different. Here are 11 killer DJs and producers that highlight what is possible when dudes just get out of their way.

Charlotte De Witte

First comes the pulsing beat, as dancy, trancy DJ and producer De Witte sets about infecting your brain — in fact, your entire body — with her Belgian glory. Before you know it, she’s a puppet master and you have no choice but to submit. Dance like no one’s watching. Then dance like everyone’s watching. De Witte’s in control, and she won’t let you down.

Sara Landry

Techno has rarely slammed as hard as when Landry employs it as a tool with which to really fucking slam! She’ll lull you into a false sense of security with some sensual feminine vocals and then, THERE’S THE DROP! It’s hard-hitting and simultaneously hypnotic, which makes for a glorious dichotomy.

 

Alleycvt

True to her name, Alleycvt slinks and curls around traditional pop structures and saccharine-sweet melodies, and then deconstructs the whole thing, resulting in club-friendly tunes that simply slay. The appropriately titled “SO DAMN GOOD” purrs along, a magnificent mish-mash of melody and mood.

Alison Wonderland

Whether she’s recording/performing as Alison Wonderland or her Whyte Fang alter ego, the artist born Alexandra Margo Sholler is one of the best in the biz right now. “I’m proud of where I’ve gone as a lyricist. I’m always trying to be better than I was last time,” she told this writer. “I like the idea of parallels working together.” Her expertise is creating waterfalls of sound that envelop the listener, an all-encompassing core-shaking experience.

MELTX

“Imagine a rave that feels like a fever dream: hyper-feminine, metallic, saccharine, slightly unhinged,” MELTX said of her own sound. “I love contrasts — soft vocals over hardcore kicks, sweetness that bites, nostalgia that feels toxic in the best way.” She’s all about the yin and the yang, the broken glass in the ice-cream, and we’re here for it.

Mary Droppinz

California-based Mary Droppinz says that she’s all about the “experimental and experiential.” She created bass music and techno, blurring genre boundary lines with a deft touch but no apologies. You just have to swim in it.

Marie Vaunt

Acid techno with lots of energy and a dark twist — they’re the ingredients that L.A. producer and DJ is playing with. She’s like a musical mixologist, tossing the sounds in the air and allowing them to land organically, though entirely by design. Her Secrets EP is mind-bending.

Khira Li

“I love blending hypnotic vocals, shimmering synths, and driving techno with a strong sense of feminine energy,” says Berlin producer and DJ Khira Li.. “I want my music to pull people in, make them feel something, and completely lose themselves for a little.” Well fuck, recent track “Like Me” proves that she’s achieving those goals.

XS BULLY

Slovak-Spanish DJ and producer XS BULLY is all about Latin club and rhythm-driven electronic music. Her sets bring sensual grooves and exotics rhythms, but she doesn’t sleep on the beats. It’s all there as you’re coaxed in, sonically seduced, and eventually left in a crumpled heap. Metaphorically, of course.

Ninajirachi

Australian EDM artist Ninajirachi only dropped her I Love My Computer album a year ago, but she’s been releasing EP’s since 2019. Her hyper-sound is what happens when anime and old school computer game music collides, bits and bytes flying like rain.

Nicole Moudaber

“I’m known for techno, but it has to have soul. It needs groove,” Moudaber says. “I feed off the crowd, so I might plan for a deep, driving techno set, but if the energy shifts, I’ll pivot.” And pivot she will. Moudaber can read a crowd like a detective reading a crime scene. She sees and senses everything, and reacts expertly.