The nocturnal world of DJing is known for being male-dominated, but according to my quick vibe check, the future for females behind the decks is looking bright.
Whether they’re performing across the motu or living their best lives in Europe, Aotearoa’s DJ queens are booked and busy. From Lady Shaka to Half Queen and Kédu Carlö, to Ludus, Hurricane Emily and Aw B, these women are masters of the nightlife; juggling between time zones, side hustles and making music, while somehow having the energy to play six-hour sets in sweaty clubs.
Everybody has their own way of appreciating their craft - whether it be shaking your assets like Ash Williams, dancing like no one’s watching à la Lindsay Lohan in Mykonos, or watching the action through your phone screen, tucked up in bed.
No one can read the room quite like a DJ, so with that in mind, I asked five to share their thoughts on the best and worst club behaviour, and what it’s like being a woman in the industry.
Kédu Carlö
What do you love most about DJing?
Jess: I love being able to cross-pollinate genres and play songs in a new context. We like to do multi-genre sets and often mix non-electronic tracks with electronic music so it’s always exciting when it creates something magic.
Carly: I like the visceral feeling, feeling the sub in my chest, the all encompassing feeling of loud dance music in a dark club. The repetition, it’s meditative. As a DJ, I love the element of surprise, and providing the duet of the stomp and the hip-sway.
What do you do when you’re not DJing?
Jess: Usually producing. Or developing our electronic live set.
Carly: Yes, a lot of time creating music. I’m also deep into my yoga (ashtanga). I also love cooking and sharing food and wine with my close friends.
What’s the best set you’ve ever performed?
Jess: Oooh that’s hard. Probably our Splore performance in 2021. Started off in the DJ tent stage which was pretty much empty and by the end it was packed with groovy lil dancers! So fun.
Carly: That Weekend 2023 was pretty awesome, energy and vibe were on!
What about the worst?
Jess: There was one set where Carly and I had constant interruptions and experienced harassment throughout. To be honest, the set we delivered was great and probably one of our best mixes but everything surrounding it turned it into one of my least favourite performances.
Gross! That sucks. What are the challenges of being a woman in your industry?
Jess: A lot of the time we just have to push to be heard more, given opportunities and taken seriously. There’s not a lot of room for error but honestly these things have made me a better DJ, producer and performer. If you are the best at what you do things will come, it might take a bit longer for people to get it but it will happen.
Carly: I think having the fact that we are women at the front of the conversation and the reason for being booked, or getting coverage, is getting a bit grating. Like, who gives a shit what my gender is? But that’s not really a challenge.
The challenges I’d say are double standards and basic safety. I feel like my male industry peers often have a longer leash when it comes to things like behaviour and professionality, and that people are quick to call us divas just because we have boundaries and working-condition expectations.
What are the biggest dos and don'ts in the club?
Jess: If you're dancing, like actually dancing in the club, you’re my favourite. If you're catcalling or harassing DJs on stage, it’s not cute, we don't like it, please escort yourself out.
Carly: If you wanna have a conversation, go to the bar or outside, get the f*ck off the dance floor you are cramping our style. I don’t wanna hear you yelling in your friends ear whilst you slosh your drink down their front. And definitely don’t even try talking to me on the d-floor. I’m there to DANCE.
What’s a guaranteed banger to get people dancing?
Jess: Shotgun Baby - Kédu Carlö.
Carly: We have a WAP edit that always does the trick.
What about DJ don'ts?
Jess: Playing two tracks by the same artists back to back… But we do that all the time with KC tracks so, do whatever really. Except use the sync button. Let’s not do that.
Carly: Pulling the fader down for the crowd to sing the lyrics haha.
How do you stay up so late?
Jess: Pre-party naps are essential for me.
Carly: I don’t… I go straight to bed after the gig and I strongly avoid the closing set.
What’s one thing you wish people knew about the reality of being a DJ?
Carly: Post-gig depression. It’s acute, a comedown from adrenaline, but for me at least, it can be harsh.
Listen to Kédu Carlö’s debut album, Space Girl Finds Cash here.
Hurricane Emily
How long have you been a DJ for?
I began learning to DJ at the start of 2019, but it wasn’t until towards the end of 2020 where I started playing out at clubs and bars.
Best set you’ve ever performed?
Definitely the six-hour all night long, back-to-back set with my dear friend Emma (Aw B) at Wellington's Club 121 back in June last year. The sweat was dripping off the walls and the vibes were high!
What do you do when you’re not DJing?
I co-run Sets, which focuses on providing quality hearing protection to club goers. I was also working in marketing at a fashion store but I’ve just moved to London, so right now it’s a lot of walking around exploring my surroundings.
Are there challenges to being a woman in your industry?
There are definitely challenges, whether its unbalanced line-ups, pay or just general gatekeeping, the industry can feel like a boys club. I once played a gig where a group of guys at the front of the crowd were yelling inappropriate sexual comments at me. It threw me off heaps in the moment and angered me as I doubt my male counterparts would get heckled like that.
For the most part, I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by progressive promoters and a strong female DJ community who are interested in uplifting one another and sharing opportunities. It’s awesome to see so many females and gender non-conforming DJs thriving in the scene as well. I think there’s been more awareness and action around gender in the industry but there’s still loads of work to be done.
What’s the biggest sin as a DJ?
Not learning about the history of the music you’re playing, always strive to be a more informed DJ.
Biggest dos and don'ts in the club?
Be respectful of the space and people around you, and wear your earplugs! Don’t be on your phone the whole time or having full blown conversations while you’re on the dance floor. Don’t touch the DJ gear either, and be friendly to the staff always.
What’s a guaranteed banger?
Ludus
How long have you been a DJ for?
I’ve been DJing for six or seven years now, but I feel like I’ve come into my own style only in the last couple of years. I’m currently based in Whanganui – a great get-around point for the whole of Te Ika-a-Māui.
What’s your favourite set you’ve ever performed?
The day after moving to Whanganui I played a set at a renegade club night called Runners Club in this abandoned building and the energy was insane. My partner and I went knowing one person and not knowing what to expect, and as a result were thrusted into this highly creative community. That was pretty great.
What’s it like being a woman in your industry?
For the first few years, I would be the only female in the majority of the gigs I played. And then there were the (god forbid) ‘ladies nights’ hosted by events with typically all-male lineups. There were talented female DJs everywhere and yet so often they were limited to one slot a night or crammed into a ‘female night’? Still baffles me.
Looking back now, I really didn’t used to enjoy gigs and feeling isolated sucked so much joy out of performing. Not to say there weren’t events and collectives that focussed on diversity in a non-tokenistic way, because there absolutely were, but I guess I was playing mostly the wrong gigs.
In the last few years especially, queer, trans, non-binary and female DJs are at the forefront and absolutely killing it. There are dire representation issues in the more mainstream music industry but I’m glad to be playing and supporting gigs that I align with. It’s made me love performing again and there are so many people doing amazing things.
What are the biggest dos and don'ts in the club?
Do remember your earplugs, drink lots of water and consent always. Don’t leave the club deaf and dehydrated.
What’s the biggest don’t as a DJ?
Dissing other DJs for playing bangers or using the sync button! Literally who cares.
What’s a guaranteed banger to get people dancing?
The classic has got to be Techno Disco Tool by Mella Dee. Otherwise Priorfest by Besançon Rythmique Club & Amor Satyr or anything by Same O.
Ludus’ Dance EP Hill Top Valley is out soon. Follow her here.
Aw B
How did you get into DJing?
Seven years ago I played my first ever set, an Inky Waves party at the infamous Garrett Street flat in Pо̄neke. But before I started DJing I would always be creating playlists for any occasion I’d be a part of, finding the perfect tracks to build the evening, so my love of it basically stemmed from being an aux cord hog lol.
What do you do when you’re not DJing?
I work at a record label and throw the occasional party under my promotions company, Moments.
What do you wear when you perform?
Fun makeup always! Simple fit and Crocs are an essential for the six hour sets.
Are there challenges to being a woman in your industry?
100% and especially when I was starting out. There was such a lack of wahine DJs when I first started which meant a lot of people were booking me to diversify their lineups.
There are still promoters who have no idea what they’re up to in that sense but I’m experienced and steezy enough now to back myself and don’t feel the need to play for sexist assholes :)
What’s the biggest sin as a DJ?
Not letting the last track play out when DJing after someone and honestly, it’s always men who do this hahaha.
Biggest dos and don'ts in the club?
Do have fun, respect the space and people around you. Don’t get on stage unless the vibe permits, or be creepy on the dancefloor!
What’s a guaranteed banger to get people dancing?
Most requested song from the crowd?
I always get miscellaneous requests for drum & bass tracks (lol classic NZ).
How do you stay up so late?
Napping before the set - essential!
Stay tuned for Aw B’s upcoming shows in Tāmaki Makaurau here.
