Happy International Women’s Day fellow DiSers! I wanted to start a thread to celebrate the many amazing (but, unfortunately, often unappreciated) women working in all sectors of the music world.
I’ve been thinking for the past week of a meaningful way to celebrate the amazing music made by women already in this young year. Making lists of your favourite “women’s albums” is often sniped at for ghettoising music made by women (though I think it can still be a good exercise if done sensitively and with the right intentions)
Therefore I thought it might be fun/useful to discuss our favourite albums of the year so far as a whole, and then look in particular at what percentage are made by female artists and groups featuring women/how high they rank.
Or we could do something else. Or we could nuke this thread! Whatever we do, please make sure to appreciate and respect the countless women working in the music industry, not just today, but everyday.
As I haven’t listened to enough 2018 music to make a comprehensive list, I’m going to project this to my 2017 EOY albums:
Actress - AZD
Children Of Alice - s/t
Chino Amobi - Paradiso
Circuit Des Yeux - Reaching for Indigo
Derya Yildirim & Grup Simsek - Nem Kaldi
Differ-Ent - It’s Good To Be Differ-Ent
DJ Python - Dulce Compañia
DJ Sports - Modern Species
Earthen Sea - An Act Of Love
Ekoplekz - Bioprodukt
Ellen Arkbro - For Organ And Brass
Félicia Atkinson - Hand In Hand
Jonny Nash - Eden
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith - The Kid
Karen Gwyer - Rembo
Kuniyuki Takahashi - Newwave Project
Tom Rogerson & Brian Eno - Finding Shore
Träd, Gräs Och Stenar - Tack För Kaffet / So Long
Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory
Yamaneko - Spa Commissions
If I only count the people who are listed as the ones who actually wrote the songs (so, excluding the session musicians or featured artists) then I am getting to only 7 women for 23 men.
Not a good statistic.
If you check which albums have been created by woman as a leading person of the project then you get at 14 albums that has a leading man and 6 albums that have a leading woman. But in that aspect women even aren’t represented half as much as men.
Pretty early in the year atm to do 2018 - my favourites have been Hookworms and Ought which are both all male, but theres plenty of time. Both of the new Hop Along singles absolutely slap so i’m dead excited for that record.
So many women in music have cited Joni as a role model, even women who make music entirely different from what she makes (made). “Uncompromising” is the word often used.
FWIW the last time I did an inventory I had more albums by Joni than by any other single artist or band.
People talk about quotas for women on company boards, that kind of thing - well how about setting a quota for yourself, where you make sure that at least 50 per cent of the music you listen to is by women?
Just going to big up some of the females/bands with female members making incredible music atm in the form of a list… I like lists
Nadine Shah
Kelly Lee Owens
Susanne Sundfør
EMA
Big Thief
Priests
Jesca Hoop
Julien Baker
This Is The Kit
St Vincent
Chelsea Wolfe
Widowspeak
PJ Harvey
Japanese Breakfast
Waxahatchee
Marika Hackman
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
Jen Cloher
Aldous Harding
Nadia Reid
Allison Crutchfield
Adia Victoria
Julie Byrne
Oathbreaker
Pinkshinyultrablast
Annie Hardy
Daughter
Angel Olsen
Mitski
This Becomes Us
Haley Heynderickx
Rolo Tomassi
Anna von Hausswolff
Soccer Mommy
Loma
Joan As Police Woman
Goat Girl
Some of the best music has been/is being made by women
Sound. Cheers for the list, a lot of new stuff to give a go (and old stuff I guess - how are Django Django still around?!) Also can’t believe I missed a new Tune-Yards, loved all her other stuff.
Have to head out for the day and already posted way too many links in the corresponding thread on the social board, but as a latecomer to Sleater Kinney I just want to say that The Woods is one of the best albums ever made by anyone and I would give anything to be able to sing like Corin Tucker does on it. All three of them were so incredible on it, and I’m still finding new amazing subtleties that each contributed each time I listen to it.
My top three albums of this year are releases by Joan As Policewoman, U.S. Girls and Brigid Mae Power. Best gig of the year was Jen Cloher at an afternoon Rough Trade East gig with her wife Courtney Barnett on guitar.
Early to rate 2018 albums, but I’ve got 11 that I’ve liked so far this year of which 6 are made by female artists or female fronted bands:
Tuneyards
Gwenno
Breeders
Anna Von Hausswolff
Loma
Laurie Anderson/Kronos Quartet
and five are male:
Ought
Nils Frahm
Ty Segall
Rhye
Hookworms
We did a similar survey a while ago looking at previous years and there was a definite year by year increase in the proportion of female artists.
I’ve always had female artists I love, including some of my absolute favourites (Joni, Bjork, PJ Harvey, Joanna Newsom) but what is new is the volume of women producing high quality music (or being able to get themselves heard)
