Montreal is widely known to be a music-rich city full of opportunity. It is renowned for its many music festivals, and the city’s dedicated female DJs reflect the global rise in women on the DJing scene.
A study by music tech company A2D2 revealed that female DJs play almost twice as many gigs as their male counterparts, with female DJs playing an average of 23 gigs in 2023 compared to 13 for male DJs.
“It’s empowering. I’m so excited to see how women are slowly emerging into this field, especially in a male-dominated field, and I think that they bring such energy and sound to the industry,” said Sabbia Eljarrat, a journalism major at Concordia University.
One DJ rising in popularity within the community is Aniika. Currently in her third year at Concordia studying liberal arts, she is originally from Toronto and moved to Montreal in 2022.
Aniika began DJing last year but has always been interested in the profession. She has been featured on local radio stations such as CJLO, CKUT, and CIBL, and she has also performed internationally, playing at events in the U.K., at the Brixton radio station, and at fundraisers.
She makes upbeat dance music that spans genres such as electronic, South African house, hip-hop, R&B, U.K. house, Jersey Club, techno, and music from the African diaspora. She incorporates nostalgic 2000s music into her sets as well, with the aim of spreading messages about activism, human rights, and sustainability.
Some of the influences behind the music she makes are KAYTRANADA, Doechii, the Black queer community and its producers and beat makers, and other female DJs around her.
Aniika explained that Montreal has shaped the music she makes with its culture and accessibility. She mentioned that although there is a lot of good to the city and industry, she has faced challenges within the community as a woman and person of colour.
The DJ recounted that she has felt rushed to finish sets at times or felt like the people around her underestimated her talents, as well as noticed a difference in accommodations compared to male DJs. She has also noticed that promoters may choose female DJs based on conventional attractiveness instead of their music.
Despite these experiences, Aniika believes that speaking up for herself will make a change for the female DJ community.
“My uniqueness is something to be proud of, and I don’t allow myself to feel small just because I may be small within a large group,” she said.
This enthusiasm is felt in fans as well.
“I love seeing women pushing boundaries in a once such male-dominated field. It’s funny to think that now, instead of women in the booths watching men DJ, it will be the opposite,” said Lea Larichelliere, a history major at Concordia.
Many of the opportunities Aniika got at the beginning of her music career were from other women in the industry. She credits them with opening doors for her in the DJ community.
Aniika wishes for the creation of safe spaces at events to be seen as a higher priority in the future, allowing not only the DJs but members in attendance to feel safe during the set.
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