In much of the documented history of electronic music, little is mentioned about the contributions of women and how they’ve affected the music we love. Today we change that by highlighting just a few kick-ass women who left an indelible mark on our scene. So let’s raise our glasses together and celebrate these five influential women who unleashed limitless potential upon the art of electronic music.
Clara Rockmore: Kick-Ass Theramin Rock Star and Immigrant Innovator
This is how kick-ass Rockmore was. She started out as a violin prodigy, becoming the youngest ever student at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory at the age of four. She and her family came from Vilnius (think Russian Empire) to the U.S. in 1921, where she became a student at the Curtis Institute of Music, but developed tendinitis in her bow arm because of childhood malnutrition and had to quit playing the violin. Serendipitously, she met super genius and fellow Russian Empire immigrant Léon Theremin, where she became a total rock star on the sci-fi-esque instrument, and even helped refine it. Her first commercial recording, The Art of the Theremin, was produced by THE Bob Moog. Her style was all about physical and emotional control (take that, patriarchy), and despite being proposed to by Theremin several times, kept their relationship 100% professional. Her performances, many of which were to huge crowds for the time at places like New York City’s Town Hall, were critically acclaimed and changed the way people thought about nontraditional musical instruments. Grab a tissue; here she is playing “The Swan” composed by Saint-Saëns:
Pauline Oliveros: Kick-Ass Researcher and Reality Disrupter
Aside from the fact that Oliveros had a black belt in karate and thus literally kicked ass, she was one of the founding members and eventually director of the San Francisco Tape Music Center, a “nonprofit cultural and educational corporation, the aim of which was to present concerts and offer a place to learn about work within the tape music medium,” in 1962. Tape music, by the way, is an early form of electroacoustic music, whereby pre-recorded sounds are altered into fragments, loops, samples and various speeds/pitches to create a composition. Not only was this a major philosophical change in musical production methods, but also disrupted the assumption of hearing versus listening. Here’s the TED Talk she gave as a kick-ass 83-year-old:
Annie Nightingale: Kick-Ass Radio Revolutionary and Global DJ
She’s not just BBC Radio 1’s first female presenter, and now longest-serving presenter. She first did one of the most kick-ass things ever by taking over the country, blues- and prog-rock loving Bob Harris’ show, The Old Grey Whistle Test, in 1978 and aired punk rock and new wave, among other modern styles of music. Then in 1994, she hosted The Chill Out Zone, a weekend overnight dance music show that liberated the musical tastes of British (and global) listeners by exposing them to all the amazing dance music, DJs and producers of the time. She’s still spinning, by the way—notably breaks. She DJs live all over the world, has published two books, is an appointed member of the Order of the British Empire and was inducted into the Radio Academy Hall of Fame. Listen to her BBC shows here and here.
DJ Sharon White: Kick-Ass Set Marathoner and Industry Professional
Imagine playing for a crowd of 6,000 people in the winter—from 10 p.m. to 7 p.m. the next night. When you want to call it quits after a 21-hour marathon set, your backup is tripping his ass off and the crowd is getting chaotic with no music and no coats. You summon everyone you can to bring any records they can find, and half of them are near-ruined. You grab something from the crate, drop the needle, and next thing you know, you’re continuing the marathon until 1:30 in the afternoon. You’re damn right people are paying attention to you now. This is one of DJ Sharon White’s many epic stories of spinning at New York City’s legendary clubs—among them, the Saint (first woman to do so), Paradise Garage (only woman to do so), Limelight and Studio 54. Not only is she known for the stories surrounding her sets, but also for her sets actually telling stories. She was also the first female DJ reporter for Billboard (an achievement that I, personally, raise my glass to), and hired by Motown Records, making the label the first to hire a woman as promotion director. Watch her Legends of Vinyl recording:
Heather Heart: Kick-Ass Foremother of New York Techno
It takes guts to follow your passion both creatively and as an independent business owner, and Heather Heart had no shortage of them in the 1990s. With Frankie Bones and Adam X, she founded the first all-techno record store, Groove Record Shop, in Brooklyn. She also started an underground techno music zine (to which we, the DoD staff, majorly raise our glasses) in 1991. Members of the U.S. and global dance music undergrounds—fans, DJs and producers—could share ideas and make the scene thrive. She and her bros threw and DJed foundational parties to the U.S. rave scene that served as the model for every city with an underground dance scene. Enjoy some fine techno here: http://www.sonicgroove.com/
Ash Cash Dillon is a legit word nerd with a killer bass face and a love of all that is stone cold groovy. You can find her writing all over the interwebs, business world, and take-out menus via sharpie vandalism.
