ColoRising Interview with the DNB Girls of Canada

Words-Art Jefferson
Photos-Tiffany Ireland, V.A Callihoo, Aaron Kostiuk, West Olson, Lord Loxley, Arden Shibley

The DNB Girls of Canada are a bold and fierce collective of deejays and producers representing various cities and provinces throughout the country while simultaneously pushing the sounds of drum and bass in the heaviest of fashion. Founded by DJ Sw@t, these ladies shatter any stereotype of the “cute, trendy girl DJ jumping on the bandwagon because it’s the in thing to do” criticism. First and foremost it’s about the music and for the record, don’t confuse the sex appeal for anything soft. The DNB Girls pound it out tune for tune with rumbling bass music and pulsing drum and bass like a heavyweight fight. From radio to their live streams, club nights to tours, they have worked effortlessly spreading their brand resulting in their gaining of global recognition. With members such as Sw@t, releasing her solo records and working with UK artists such as InsideInfo and Biome, Crystal Fresh playing throughout Canada, Europe and South America as well as being spotlighted by DJ Mag Canada and DNB Girl affiliate and Digital Soundboy act B. Traits, now residing in London, doing radio on BBC 1xtra, the movement that started in Canada has now branched out pass the borders and is rapidly spreading daily. I caught up with Sw@t and Jayme Eddie aka DJ Jams to talk about the present and future of the DNB team.

AJ-I suppose for starters we should list the members of the DNB Girls of Canada collective.

JE-From coast to coast, Vancouver to Montreal, we have Crystal Fresh (Squamish, BC), J.F.Killah (Vancouver, BC), Distinct (Calgary, AB), Mittz (Edmonton, AB), SW@T (Winnipeg, MB), Jams (Montreal, QC) and Ella Grave MC (Montreal,QC).

AJ-Let’s get into the roots of the collective because you all are actually from various cities and provinces throughout the country. So first, who started the DNB Girls and how did it spread throughout Canada?

JE-The Drum & Bass Girls of Canada group was founded by SW@T from Winnipeg, MB. More recently she decided to share the responsibly of managing the roster with myself, who is located in Montreal, QC. The reason behind starting up the roster was to have a support group of likeminded, hard working women to inspire and teach one another along the way in what can feel at times like a “Boy’s Only Club.” Our team is focused around working exclusively with these Canadian women who are serious about making big moves in both their DnB communities and careers. Our music does a majority of the talking but at the same time due to our nationwide touring and cross-promotion the word of the DnB Girls Project has rapidly spread throughout the country.

AJ-It’s safe to say that although drum and bass is a key sound, most of you actually spin and produce various forms of music. Talk about the other styles that many of you tap into.

Sw@t-We are all Drum & Bass heads at heart however this particular genre happens to bring a lot of influences from other genres, such as Hip-Hop, jazz music, you name it. It was only natural that the girls would find interest in other genres and BPMs. We always encourage our girls to play whatever moves them. That being said we do make the focus on Drum & Bass when it comes to our radio shows, podcasts and tunes that we promote. Booking any one of the D&B Girls you know that they will play to their crowd and that they can effortlessly switch and transition between the genres at any beat. As said before, Although our roster is musically open minded our weapon of choice is and forever will be the sounds of Drum & Bass.

AJ-While there are a number female superstars in the DJ world, it’s actually rare to find female collectives in the scene. What have been the reactions in the scene considering that you all have pretty much kicked in the door and rocked parties from place to place, done the radio shows, released the records, produced live shows and demonstrated that you won’t take back seat to anyone?

Sw@t-The reactions are mostly positive. People find it refreshing, exciting and motivating. We get emails every month from women that want to join the team. We get emails from men and women alike in support and acknowledgment for our work, thanking us for showcasing the music we love and doing it with class and style. We are so proud and can’t believe how much things have grown and changed in just a few short months since the revamp.

AJ-Talk about some of the shows that you’ve done these past years. I know there was the Bass Belles Tour and the L.O.U.D Tour. So give us some travel highlights.

Sw@t-I find traveling is always a life changing experience, from our first tour a couple years back, “L.O.U.D” to the “Bass Belles Tour” and everything in between. We got the face to face experience and made new friendships and professional relationships for life. You meet so many inspiring and wonderful people that push you in the right direction and motivate you. We have also met some of our newest girls while out on the road after being totally impressed by their talents first hand. The places we’ve been and the people that we’ve reached have really made a huge impression and impact on our lives and these memories are something each of our girls will cherish forever.

AJ-Paint a picture of the drum and bass and electronic scene in general in some of the different cities in Canada because there are definitely different vibes with music in general depending on the province.

Sw@t-I’ve always had the theory that the scene is what you make it. If you are excited about what you are doing, others will be too. Some collectives are more excited about the music they play then others, but at the end of the day I think any artist can sway and excite their crowd into something new, fresh or old school if they’ve got the right flow and hype. I think we’ve all got it in us to make something of the music we are truly passionate for. Yes it does change from city to city, but it’s all on the attitude of the artists and promoters. Are they flexible and can they work with their crowd? We’ve been booked for shows across Canada and heard things like, “D&B is dead” or “No one cares about breaks out here anymore”. Then there you are…jamming out, switching up the genres, playing a serious old school tune or a crazy bootleg and people are going off. I think the most important thing in this scene is to be open minded to new music and ideas that way no matter what the city enjoys, you can incorporate your own style into it.

AJ-I also want to mention that while all of you represent Canada, many of you work and collaborate with other entities outside of the country. B. Traits is working with Digital Soundboy in London, DJ Sw@t having worked with InsideInfo and Biome whose also in London and not to mention rocking with deejays from the U.S. Expand on that a little more.

Sw@t-Our roster actually consents of 2 sets of girls.

Our first section is one that we work closely with each one of our girls. We probably talk at least once a week or couple times a month, via email, phone call or Skype. Sometimes we actually get to chill one on one when on tour and when some downtime is available. These are the women that we are always pushing to do more, helping out with anything from setting up photo shoots to connecting them with labels and producers for their vocal work or production. We teach them how to promote themselves and help promote them as well. We offer words or wisdom, knowledge from our years of experience and guidance when things get hectic. We are all here for one another for support, inspiration even relationship troubles. You name it, we look out for one another.

The second one includes the Canadian women of drum and bass that live or have lived in Canada but are still making big moves in dnb and/or other genres. B.Traits currently lives in London and although we don’t work with her exclusively, we promote, support and hope to have her guest on our shows in the next year, though she is a busy lady. Ill-esha is another one to be mentioned as she has been in Drum & Bass for years but has moved to the U.S. and dabbling in other genres as well. We support our ladies of bass 100% and as we are not always able to be as close in contact, we are pushing them out there.

JE-Even a few of our listed ladies have moved away, taken a break from performing or they no longer play and produce. It’s a part of growing and learning. Sometimes it’s a hobby, sometimes it’s a career and sometimes you start a family and things go in a different direction. Either way we like to show our support and showcase their past mixes and tunes and for that, we leave them up on our list.

AJ-Finally as we’re winding down in the year, what’s coming up for the DNB Girls of Canada in terms of music, shows and projects?

Sw@t-Our ladies are very busy! Production, collaborations, radio shows, podcasts, music videos and even an upcoming tour in Central/South America. We are going international and there is no slowing us down or stopping us. Tune in Every Sunday for our DnB Girls Ustream Radio show broadcasted live from a new city each week as well as the L.O.U.D Podcast Series (Ladies of Ultimate Destruction) dropped on the 15th of each and every month.

Video streaming by Ustream

DJ SW@T
http://www.djswat.com/
http://soundcloud.com/djswat

Crystal Fresh http://www.djcrystalfresh.ca

J.F.Killah
http://www.jfkillah.com/
http://soundcloud.com/jfkillah

Distinct
http://distinctdnb.tumblr.com/

Mittz
http://djmittz.tumblr.com/
http://soundcloud.com/mittz-1

Jams
http://www.soundcloud.com/jams-1
http://www.djjams.ca

Ella Grave MC
http://ellagrave.com/
http://soundcloud.com/ella-grave

Upcoming UStream.TV Radio shows: (Go to UStream.TV and watch previous shows featuring all of the DNB Girls and guests)

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/drum-bass-girls-of-canada

Upcoming Shows UStream.TV Shows:

Dec.23 Distinct (AB)
Dec.30 SW@T (AB)
Jan. 6 Jams w/ Mc Ella G (QC)
Jan. 13 (Special Guest host- TBA)