How are you doing and what’s your favorite
drink for winter?
I'm doing okay thanks! Coffee, always
coffee :)
Tell us a little more about who you are and
how you found yourself in Music.
Well first and foremost I'm a mother of
two, my daughter Gina is 13 and my son Luca is 12, born in Cape Town, left
there at 21 to pursue a life in Joburg, I love cats and animals in general, my
mother was born in Egypt and I have always been involved in music really...I
had my first band at 12 with Lance from flypaper Jet and Paul from Lark, we
were called Dry Water :)
How easy was it for you to break into a
male-dominated field. Did you feel you had to work much harder to gain any form
of recognition because of being a female?
To be honest, I don't think I have broken
into it, I don't really get booked much as I don't really push myself as a DJ,
it kind of happened by chance. It was never really my first love. It was a
secondary option after performing live with a band. But it's definitely less
labour intensive and way easier, you don't have to rely on 4 other band
members, book rehearsal space, rehearse, etc. It seemed like a natural
progression as I was working with most of the artists I was playing and its
super fun. I don't see it being male-dominated as much
as it is ego dominated.
Do you feel electronic music as a genre
generally values the talents of most female artists other than for merely
lending their vocals?
Yeah, I do, I can say that for myself, I
don't just merely lend my vocals, when writing lyrics I am often involved in
more than just the vocal process, sometimes structurally and musically, to
choosing the title. But for me, I do tend to try to do more than just sing on a
track. I try to speak to whoever is listening and edify that person in whatever
way I can. I find it hard to sing about menial stuff. I wish I could...it might
make me more money :)
Having travelled all over the world and
having been exposed to the different music scenes in various countries, how does the local electronic scene here measure up and what makes ours unique?
Haha! Travel all over the world, I
wish...my music has, but not I! I have performed with Feed Me and Skrillex at
Bestival in the UK, Holland, where I went to record with Noisia and Paris and I
have been to Norway. That's about it. But from what I have seen, which is not
much as I have been knee-deep in my kids, I think we have a healthy scene and
its growing. People might have some blinkers to take off, but the only way
that's gonna happen is through the promoters and possibly mainstream radio.
They only know what they are being fed. So you can't blame them. But thank God
for the internet. It sure as hell helped me!
You have worked with many international big
names Nosia, Feed Me, etc. Did you find it easier to break out internationally
especially in a period where electronic music is becoming very much a global
phenomenon? Are our local talents seizing the opportunity?
Well, I'm not sure, the thing is the
relationships with Spor/Feed me was made well over 7 years ago as was the one
with Noisia. And when my album was released it seems the local market wasn't
quite ready for it at the time when we could have perhaps pioneered a sound
straight out of SA with topnotch European producers. I think we have always
been concerned about following suit. Or the majors have at least. We have all
we need here, we sure as hell have the talent, we just don't have the platform
half the time. It's frustrating. All these bass genres that are now huge, were
about to explode a couple years back and I know guys here that have been doing
it for years, only now are they getting the recognition they deserve.
Are there any women in the industry you
lookup to or respect?
Electronic or? Well, Emika is great! Imogen
is amazing. Bjork. All of these woman pioneers, produce, push the envelope. Beth
Gibbons obviously!
Do you think there's equality between men
and women in the music industry?
I do, I just don't know if there are enough
women! But there is always that thing, "yoh, so good, AND she's a
chick!" Haha...:/
What has been the biggest challenge that
you have faced in the industry and how did you overcome it to get to where you
are today? Any lessons learned you can share..
I
think I'm facing that challenge now, were basically for the last two years I
have been admitted to Tara hospital twice for 6 months at a time for Bipolar 1.
I lost everything, my house, kids moved in with their dad, my boyfriend, my
studio in Juta street, my career. Totally off the map for two years trying to
build myself up again. Had two severe manic episodes and people saw me in some
really serious states, I had to apologize to people and explain what happened.
Ask forgiveness and forgive myself. Pick myself up and carry on. Knowing that I
can only move forward and write powerful music from this!
How important is women empowerment not
only in music but also in every career?
Hugely, I don't think there is much of it,
but I'm not much of a socialite and people can take that the wrong way.
Empowerment in general and respect is vital. Knowing that everyone has their
own shit they are dealing with, but that music is a beautiful language that
bridges all gaps and is the glue that holds us together it is what keeps me
going!
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