Sin and a couple of her mates have launched an official website for their database of female, non-binary & gender minority DJs in NZ.
The website - TheNewMood.nz - comes just over a year after the database was made available to the public in the form of a spreadsheet. A couple of years before that, it existed purely in the notes apps of Sin and her co-creators (Becca Barclay of Sugar & Spice and Fenella Stratton of Twice The Hype) phones.
Now a fully-fledged website, the database can be used by DJs, MCs, vocalists, producers, and even promoters to ensure lineups at gigs around Aotearoa are diverse. Diversity in lineups is a goal Sin, Becca and Fenella have long held.
“There is truly nothing more important to us than making sure lineups represent every single person on the dancefloor attending the gigs,” Sin said. “So instead of getting annoyed, we utilised our iPhone notes full of artists & decided to make it official in a user-friendly online database, in hopes there will be no excuses anymore for lack of diversity.”
Once you enter the database, your profile is linked to your Soundcloud, Bandcamp, and/or Spotify accounts, as well as your social media and any booking information. Talent can increase their visibility by chucking themselves in, while promoters can utilise it to find the talent to craft their perfect lineup.
Fenella, an artist manager and talent agent, said that promoters would often want to book non-male acts but struggled to find any, hence the creation of the list.
“I was having discussions with numerous promoters across Aotearoa around booking diverse line-ups and found that many would tell me they didn't know of any non-male DJs to book in their region or that suited the particular genre of the show they were planning,” she said.
“So I started my own spreadsheet of non-male acts that I could refer to and then make suggestions to these promoters when this excuse was used.”
Becca, a DJ and promoter, tells me that the website being up and running is evidence of a new era in the NZ gig scene, but there’s still a way to go to reach their goal.
“There is well and truly a 'New Mood' in Aotearoa and our scene is more thriving and conscious than ever,” she said. “There is still so far to go in terms of seeing more equality on electronic music lineups in Aotearoa, whether that’s gender minorities or more BIPOC artists on the bill.”
“But we hope with this website, we give those people an industry-standard platform and everyone in the industry learns about the incredible talent nationwide.”
Aside from assisting in building diverse and talented lineups, 'The New Mood' will also contain monthly spotlights on upcoming shows and artists, as well as a resource page that pro or amateur DJs/performers can use to up their game.
How fkn good?! You can submit your profile to the website right now and the database to view artists launches on Monday (12th June).
