Built by mad scientists in a secret underwater laboratory on the Lost Continent of Atlantis deep within the Bermuda Triangle; AMANDROID is a state-of-the-art being: A Human/Android Mutation. Originally programmed as a covert SubSonic Operative, an assignment led her on her fateful rendezvous with SPAZ and 5lowershop at the AUTONOMOUS MUTANT FESTIVAL- forever altering her life’s trajectory. Thus Submerged in the festival’s Bass Saturated 23rd Dimensional Landscape; AMANDROID’s circuitry was completely washed and re-written. Now, in Solidarity with her Audio Comrades near and far, FREE and imprisoned, AMANDROID and the ARMY of LOVE SOUNDSYSTEM are proud RENEGADES of the SubSonic RESISTANCE! From their Underground base deep within the Liberated Territories of Northern Californiastan, they are forever venturing forth bringing Audio Mayhem to points up and down the West Coast, across the continent and Worldwide. And like yourself, AMANDROID is yet one more gleaming point of light in the perpetually expanding Galaxy of Artists and Musicians RESISTING the oppressive forces of the Mundane and Complacent! You can hear her live every Thursday on Dam Free Radio on the internetz at: http://www.spaz.org/radio/ at the AUTONOMOUS MUTANT FESTIVAL: http://www.mutantfestival.org/ and at a party near you soon! LONG LIVE THE RESISTANCE!!! www.spaz.org (bio by Be Wun) Femmecult: Tell us about your early years, and any parties, crews that pushed you in this direction and motivated you to begin djing. Amandroid: I think the telling moment that kind of sewed it all up and sent me in the direction I have been going in for the last 16 years was meeting some people from the S.P.A.Z, and Blackkat sound systems on the street next to their tour bus in Madison, Wisconsin, where I was living at the time, in about 1998. I had just returned from almost 2 years...

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.

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.

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...

Comfortzone Music is a record label founded by Christina Nemec in 2009, and is based out of Vienna, Austria. It’s a label for experimental and electronic music with a majority of the artists being comprised of female composers. I wanted to find out her perspective on running a label while working as a musician at the same time. Femmecult: Where did you grow up and where do you live now? Christina Nemec: I was born 1968 in Villach which is a small town in the south of Austria very close to the former Yugoslavian (now Slovenian) and Italian border. The neighborhood I was brought up was quite poor and/ or working class. Lots of families my parents age with kids and refugees from second world war as the colony of Untere Fellach was a former camp for forced laborers freed by the allied forces and the UNO who didn’t go back to the Soviet Union countries. My childhood was very exciting, my parents were very liberal, so I can say I had a really good time in this weird environment. At the age of 14 I discovered punk (1982 – way too late) for me as a way of living and I left home as runaway kid to visit squads in Vienna. FC: How did you get into making music? CN: Punk was the promise that anyone can do music with or without training or education. I started to play guitar, switched to bass guitar later. my first electronic works i produced in the early 90ies. first with Atari, later with Apple. FC: Did you have formal musical training? CN: When I was a kid, I started to learn to play guitar – but after one year I gave up – for I was...

I recently discovered this amazing artist, Emika, who has released a full length on Ninja Tune in 2011. She samples her voice to create instrumentation that accompany her ingenious electronic compositions. Her compositions are well thought out, and seemingly non genre specific. Emika is a song writer’s songwriter; each track offers a unique atmosphere that navigates a range of moods.  Some songs are dance music and some are more ambient, but all are exceptionally interesting. Her substantive lyrical content adds to the intrigue, alluding to political issues and showing the world she’s got something to say. Here is a video interview she did with Minimum Wastage on her LP and philosophy on music. Watch Emika Interview Listen to Emika here...

I was lucky enough to catch up with Scottish/Burmese producer and vocalist Fiona Soe Paing for an interview in support of her new EP, Tower of Babel, coming out on November 30, 2012. It will be a free download release by Black Lantern Records, so be sure to get it here: www.fionasoepaing.bandcamp.com Evolving her unique sound since 2007, Fiona Soe Paing’s music has been described by Tom Robinson of BBC 6 Music as “weirdness to soothe your soul,” seemingly an early insight into the brilliance that was to come. Tower of Babel can be described as an exploration of the world in a state of flux; a haunting translation cloaked in an apocalyptic backdrop. Fiona’s compelling voice is woven into minimal yet well placed instrumentation that wastes no time pulling you into its mutant world. Expressive in her ability to convey a type of carnival futurism that is reminiscent of a bladerunner-esque reality, Fiona stands on the precipice where genres are redefined and transcended. Her work is at once strikingly original and sure to be supremely influential. Tower of Babel was funded in part by a grant through Creative Scotland and is accompanied by a limited edition DVD of music videos by the New Zealand animation artist Zennor Alexander which have been screened on Sky TV New Zealand and film festivals including Digital Fringe Melbourne and NEON digital arts festival. The DVD is available at her bandcamp page. A series of tour dates are planned for 2013 with a follow up EP of remixes by other Black Lantern artists planned for the spring. Here is the interview: FEMMECULT:  Would you tell me a bit about your background? Where did you grow up? What did you do in your youth? FIONA: I grew up just...

A FUSION OF modern electronica bathed in Middle Eastern influence could be the best way to describe the music of Kalya Scintilla—the alter ego of one Yaygon Lamagaia—but the imagery it inspires all but transcends known genres. Each song is a journey into reinterpretation and improvisation, ending up far from its starting point. The intricate electronic compositions are graced with psychedelic string sections that bring to mind gypsies playing under a starlit sky; Lamagaia creates a harmonious ground for world music fans and diehard electronic audiophiles to meet in peace. It’s no wonder, given the influences he cites. “Nature and her infinite beauty, sacred geometry, and the frequency of love,” Lamagaia says, adding that growing up in the wild Australian countryside has made nature a heavy influence on his musical process. Over his last several releases, Lamagaia’s compositional style reflected a development that came from discovering multilayered intricacies in himself and the world around him—developments that he’s mirrored in his art. In asking what guides the construction of his sound palette, he says, “A song will usually start with an intention, a word, a color, an idea, or concept, or combination of these things.” He then locates a backbone of highly intricate rhythms, beats, and bass that make his music so compelling to dance to. He hopes the imagery that his music conjures for listeners might include “temples, deep-forest adventures, extraterrestrial worlds, and gypsies dancing in the desert in front of Funktion-One speakers.” Kalya Scintilla’s live performances are “ever growing and evolving,” says Lamagaia, “to create a multilayered intentional journey that is never the same twice.” Gearing up for several more releases and a string of shows in the United States and South America—including one at Burning Man, of course—have kept him busy. When...