Women in Drum & Bass: 5 Rising Stars
Dance music fans are a remarkably diverse bunch, but the industry has often struggled with gender balance across its DJs and producers. Nowhere has this been more keenly the case than in Drum & Bass, historically a very male-dominated scene - both on the decks and in the studio.
Thankfully, long standing institutions such as Hospital & EQ50 are now using their platform to address this imbalance, working from the grassroots up to bring more women into D&B - about time and deservedly so, because some of the scene’s most exciting producers are female.
Check out our ones to watch below - five phenomenal talents to keep an eye (and ear) on…
Special mentions to Flava D, Kyrist, Kat Nvrsoft, Liz-E, Mollie Collins, Harriet Jaxxon, DJ Rap, DJ Flight, DJ Storm, DJ Kemistry (RIP) & Mantra too!
A.Fruit
Sweetpea
Already well-established & one of our favourites! From Fabric to 338, Motion to Corsica, Sweetpea has laid down sets in the top tier of clubbing institutions in London and beyond, purveying a marvellous mix of D&B sonics to ravers up & down the country. She’s also released music on legendary labels such as Hospital, its sister label Med School and the iconic Dispatch recordings. Towards the end of 2018, Sweetpea joined other women in the D&B scene to host the first ‘EQ50’, headed by DJ Mantra. EQ50 is a safe and open space for like-minded women with a love of music to develop their skills in DJing, production and the industry in workshops, Q + A's and producer showcases.
Check Sweetpea’s D&B Portal Mix:
A. Fruit
Again, a solid discography already awaits any individual who researches A. Fruit after reading this. Providing the world with a sublime blend of Jungle, D&B, Footwork & Hip-hop elements in a melting pot, she’s one of the most talented and unique producers we’ve come across. Hailing from Russia but showcasing her sound across Europe and beyond, A. Fruit is a firm favourite amongst the scene for delivering he kind of sets that can catch you off guard completely - and gloriously.
Check her latest mix here:
Indika
Manchester-based Indika enjoyed a meteoric rise in 2019. Starting out on the city’s Bloc2Bloc radio, her live streams have since captured the hearts of thousands across the UK and beyond. Combine this with her incredible sets throughout the summer at Hospitality In The Park, Outlook Festival and Boardmasters to name just a few, it’s clear to see how her fanbase has dramatically increased so rapidly. Now turning her hand to production, we’re so excited to see the final results when she releases her much-awaited debut, presumably some time in 2020. Stay tuned…
Check a Bloc2Bloc set here:
Euphonique
A real Junglist! First DJing on the rave scene in 2006, Euphonique now performs internationally at some of the scene’s biggest events and festivals including Glastonbury, Boomtown, Hospitality, Beatherder, Creamfields, Wickerman and Outlook Festival – she plays regularly throughout Europe and went on her first South East Asia tour in the summer of 2016. This year she has really made her mark as a producer, with releases on a number of the top tier Jungle labels – including Born on Road, Deep In The Jungle, Murky Digital, Audio Addict, Liondub international - and more exciting content incoming on Run Tingz and Juicy Fruit this year.
Check out Euphonique on Bloc2Bloc here:
Missledz
Hailing from Adelaide, Australia, missledz moved to the UK in 2017 in an effort to make her mark on the UK’s historic homegrown D&B culture. In recent years, she has thrown herself into pursuing music production professionally, and has now had releases on Lifestyle Music, Strictly Deep DNB, and with Concrete Jungyals - with forthcoming releases on Boey Audio and Strictly Deep. Two of her most recent tracks have also seen plenty of deserved support and airtime from Radio 1’s Rene LaVice on his weekly D&B show.
With a DJ career spanning over 13 years, missledz’s sets are eclectic, energetic and technical - incorporating a diverse spectrum of techstep, minimal, tech rollers and neurofunk. She has supported artists such as Break, Calyx and Teebee, Ant TC1, Zero T, Koven, Marky, Current Value, Emperor and more.
Check out her mix for Cardinal Sound on Reprezent Radio: