Anna Jordan is a trans-disciplinary artist based in Berlin, who focuses her work in the digital electronic realm as a painter, video artist and electronic musician. Her auditive work is released under her moniker, The Allegorist, for which she has 2 albums out now, and she is quoted as saying its format mixes all styles and genres and sets no limitations… Anna Jordan, The Allegorist Her most recent album was released in 2018, on Detroit Underground, is called Hybrid Dimension I a full length audio visual masterpiece that features music videos for each track on the album. One of which is being screen at international film festivals, and is  entitled Humandroid Lovers, so please find time to view that before or after the podcast to expose yourself to a beautiful example of her work. We are so excited to have her on the podcast in which she talks about her inspirations, perseverance, some technical aspects of her productions, and her artistic motivations. Thanks for listening! You can subscribe and listen to the Femmecult podcast on Mixcloud, iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher and our hosted episode page. Find Anna Jordan online: www.annajordanproject.com...

With a dark sound that takes synth music into orphic dimensions, Beta Evers has been making and releasing music since the 90s. Her message captures the essence of the forgotten realms of early underground synth wave, and explores themes of existential angst, sensuality and subversiveness that have all but been swallowed up by commercial pop music. She’s released her own and other artists’ music on her labels which include Kommando 6, BodyVolt, and Venus Noir (a label devoted to female artists), and other record labels over the years, as a solo project in addition to various collaborations. You may have heard her voice in a dance club over some dark beat because her music is so easy to fit the mood and mix into genres ranging from techno, electro, experimental electronic and even rock music. But, her work transcends every genre it examines, and tells a unique multi-layered story. Femmecult is happy to present an interview with artist and composer, Beta Evers (Brigitte Enzler). Femmecult: What are your current musical projects and record labels that you are actively involved with these days? Beta Evers: After releasing 2 1/2 EPs with solo works within the last 12 months, I am now in a phase where I will let my solo activities rest for a longer time. Currently I am working on a collaborative project with Alek Stark and another one with Heinrich Mueller. Besides I am involved in the sporadic long time project Radikale Analog Fraktion. At this moment we just play and test ideas without having any concrete release plans. Femmecult: How do you divide your time between running record labels and composing music? Beta Evers: The record label is not that demanding because I release only 1 record per year. There are maybe...

Darkswoon is an electronic shoegaze band out of Portland, Oregon, the primary musical outlet of Jana Cushman. The band performs live as a duo, an energetic show that has Cushman on guitar, effects and vocals and Christian Terrett on electronics. In Cushman’s own words, “Darkswoon builds sonic landscapes from the foundation of loops and beats, layered with intricate effected guitar, harmonized looping vocals, and synths to create a transcendent texture of music.” The band’s second release, a 4 song EP entitled Silhouettes has turned quite a few heads for its flawless execution of the best parts of a teenage ripped-jean rebellion, and capturing the energy of that one enigmatic band from the old days that you just can’t forget. We caught up with Cushman to find out more about her songwriting process and what drives such a compelling sound. Isn’t it true that the best music so often goes unheard? Let it not be true for Darkswoon! Read on and be sure to watch the video that was produced for her song ‘Necromancer’, filmed in and around the lovely graveyards of Portland, Oregon. Femmecult: How did you get into making music? Did it start at a young age, and/or was it born of interest in other forms of art? Darkswoon: I use music to work through problems in my life and this is how I started writing music, as a way of therapy or my own version of praying. Putting an issue out into the universe and harvesting creative energy is the most effective coping mechanism I’ve been able to develop. That is how I started writing music, not so intentionally but more so in order to survive being young and fucked up. I grew up playing guitar and had a very musical family....

Last year I got the opportunity to attend Mutek Montreal and interview Dasha Rush. I’ve been a huge fan of hers for several years now. She is the consummate artist, exploring a fascinating range of territories in her work with innovation and style. She performs live and DJs, and also does a live A/V performance. Her styles of composition range from dark dance floor techno to experimental electronica with spoken word. She heads up 2 successful record labels, Full Panda for the more rhythm oriented work, and Hunger to Create (on the same website) for things of a more of an experimental nature. Her touring schedule is relentless and this year she’s back at Mutek Montreal with 2 performances. In the interview we discuss her musical process and songwriting techniques, and the value of simplicity in creative work, as well as a bit about her personal experiences in the electronic music industry. We start out with some technical questions about her setup. Thanks for reading! Femmecult: When you began making music, did you get started with gear or software? Dasha Rush: Software. I mean there was a bit of gear but it was software and I didn’t have any of my own in the beginning, of course. It was from friends.. and people who were lending me things to try out, but yeah I started with Cakewalk and sampling things, usually with samples and then I used Fruity Loops for a while and then slowly developed try different things. I still partially use hardware, but mostly software. Femmecult: I’ve seen some videos of you working with modular synth. Dasha Rush: I’m not really into modular synth. I’ve tried and I have interest but it’s not like something that I do now. Now it’s developed...

DJ Mag, a monthly British publication featuring electronic music and DJs has come under fire recently for their 25 year anniversary special featuring 25 pioneers of dance music of the last quarter century, where not one woman was deemed worthy of inclusion. It’s not very surprising coming from a magazine that holds reader poll based top 100 DJ contests where year after year less than a handful of women ever make the cut. But this anniversary feature was not poll based. It was fully in the hands of the editors to decide. You would think that a magazine that touts itself as the “global voice of dance music” would be a bit more inclusive to women instead of playing up the brofest sausage party. Sadly, this was not the case, although hurried apologies and promises to do better next time have been issued, in a feeble attempt to fix what in hindsight has been called a bad PR move by the magazine. Here was a great opportunity to be cultural innovators and use their voice to bring attention to the contributions of women, but they dropped the ball, or maybe they never actually picked it up. How many times throughout history have tallies and lists been made of pioneers in art, music, science or any other field of study that have systematically excluded women? This is why it’s called history, and not herstory. Women have been doing the work alright, but have been consistently relegated to the shadows of pop culture by false positives like DJ Mags top 25 list. The fact is that DJ Mag is not enough of a pioneer itself to address the issues of inequality within the music industry that would help to propel it toward the status of authority...

Patti Schmidt, curator for MUTEK electronic music festival, talks about the politics surrounding raising the visibility of women in electronic music.

Midnight Magic is a nine piece live disco band based out of New York City that features Tiffany Roth on vocals, and is comprised of a horn section, keyboardist, guitarist, bassist, and a live drummer and percussionist. They give a excitingly modern perspective on retro space disco.

This in depth interview features 2 live performance videos of Midnight Magic performing in New York City at The Cameo Gallery. In the interview, Tiffany talks about her history and training as a vocalist, some of her influences, and also goes into how Midnight Magic develops song material including compositional techniques and touches on their creative process. Please tune in to this entertaining conversation that gives a glimpse into the evolution of an artform from the perspective of the charismatic and talented front woman, Tiffany Roth.

Femmecult interviews Bardo:Basho, Seattle based electronic music composer. Also featured in the interview is an exclusive live studio performance by the artist.

A DJ and producer known for her signature style of mashup that excludes few genres, the mixes of Experimental Housewife take the listener on a trip to the outer reaches of expectation. You may also have seen her name in print, as a music reviewer for the Berlin based No Fear of Pop blog as well as exploring topics surrounding the recent uproar regarding women in electronic music.

Mysterious newcomer NEYBUU sent Femmcult a music video trailer for her upcoming single, Squirt Cherry.

Check out our new interview and podcast, this time with Oakland, CA based Rubidium (Rachel Bisagni.)

Electric Indigo has been involved in the world of dance music on many different levels. She began her career in the late 80s and has had the opportunity to develop a well rounded perspective on the industry from being involved in it for over two decades. She has played all around the world as a live performer and DJ, and her sound design for theater works producing for multi-channel installations is gaining the attention of larger and larger audiences for its innovation. Femmecult is happy to have the opportunity to gain insight into the experiences of such a distinguished artist.

Femmecult interviews Portland, Oregon based event promoter Coco Madrid. In the audio podcast Q&A she gives insights on the history of the underground music scene in Portland, how it’s evolved, and her experiences helping promote events.

OPENSIGNAL is a collective of artists based in Providence, Rhode Island (USA) concerned with the state of gender and race in experimental electronic-based sound and art practices. They host technical skillshares, critical discussions, and events featuring artists pushing the boundaries of thought and practice in electronic performance. (Taken from cargocollective.com/opensignal). In this Q&A, they share some insights into their experiences as women working and studying in the field experimental electronic arts.

Doris Schmid, video artist and Christina Nemec, author, composer and label head of Comfortzone Music speak with Femmecult about the process of collaborating for the music video, Uruguay Lovely Maldita.

Singer and composer, Jennifer Touch has a unique sound that really stands out in the saturated world of electronica. Drawing from electropop and disco influences that came decades before her, she does a great job of reinventing them with a rare essence that leaves the listener wanting more. The kind of music that sticks in your head long after listening is characteristic of her style that could work on the dancefloor and off.

Today is an important day to celebrate women and their contributions to this world. So many women have inspired me along the way and have made me who I am today. When I was younger, it was Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth and Bjork who taught me that I could realize my dreams in music. That I too, could be punk rock and DIY and do things on my own terms.

li-z (Lisette Calis) is part of the Hit N Run Soundsytem based in The Netherlands. She is a DJ and composer of idm, breakcore and techno electronic music. Femmecult interview and podcast by li-z.

Cynthia Valenti aka The Perfect Cyn has been holding it down as a house, techno and electro DJ for over a decade. Well known all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond for her sleek style behind the decks, she’s been building a collection of loyal dancefloor junkies who appreciate her breadth of musical knowledge. She tells us how it all began with Ham radios, Front 242 and punk rock among other things…

UK based electronic music artist, Plum (Shona Maguire) is an electro-pop producer and multi-instrumentalist celebrating the release of her fourth album, Besty Thunder. It’s received high praise online and off and we were happy to catch up with her and chat about everything from her incorporation of field recordings into her songs to her fascination with the sound of earthquakes.

Pussy Riot Freedom compilation is now online! Across a variety of countries, these electronic music producers of female:pressure offer their music in solidarity with Pussy Riot calling for freedom for imprisoned Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina.

Pumping out fresh beats with more than just a tinge of west coast attitude, San Francisco based Ana Sia is a straight up gangster behind the decks. On the edge of a release on Hot N Heavy Recordings she will be touching down for more damage in Portland, OR (12.14.13) for Bubblin at The Rose.

Olivia Louvel of Catwerk Imprint presents her lastest release, Doll Divider at Earsthetic, a festival merging visual art, new electronic music and experimental soundscapes. Featuring also cult electrorock artist Peaches (14 Dec), Japanese visual artist Ryoji Ikeda’s immersive art project datamatics [ver 2.0] (13 Dec), awardwinning composer and visual artist Mira Calix (10 Dec), Brighton based experimental music collective Spirit of Gravity (11 Dec), visual artist and musician Planningtorock (12 Dec).

Portland based electronic music artist, NeveroddoreveN (Heather Tucker) is early in her career as a solo artist but already turning quite a few heads with her original work and live show. Her work can be classified as dark wave and synth pop, drawing inspiration from notable industrial and postpunk synth bands of the 80s among others. She is a talented and expressive vocalist and her live performances are known to feature live video projections and dancers as well. Femmecult got a chance to pick her brain on her creative process and that gnawing feeling one gets when creativity becomes stagnant. Femmecult: Where are you from? NeveroddoreveN: I was born in a tiny town in Texas near the border of Louisiana. But I grew up in Houston, TX from the age of 2. Femmecult: What is your musical background? How did you get started? NeveroddoreveN: I am not formally trained. I’ve had no schooling in music. I was mostly a vocalist up until about 2 years ago. After being in a handful of bands from the age of about 22 I decided to go it alone. I find that working with others can be a lot like being in a relationship. You like someone more than they like you or vice versa. I was either looking for a way out of whatever band or completely heartbroken when whatever project didn’t work out. Not that I’m against collaborating now but it’s so much easier to answer to yourself with artistic endeavors. Also, I’ve never been less stage shy than when it was just me…..representing what I want to make…..from start to finish. Believing in it more. Standing by it, you know? Femmecult: Please comment on your musical style. NeveroddoreveN: Downtempo dark synth? Electronic droneloop sample? I...