Tara Rodgers

An excellent collection of interviews with women who create and perform electronic music, from early pioneers like Pauline Oliveros, Eliane Radigue, and Annea Lockwood to contemporary DJs and soundscape artists like Mira Calix, Maria Chavez, and Jessica Rylan. I love the variety of approaches that these artists take to their music, with some fully embracing the hardware (definitely putting the lie to the stereotypical belief that women don't understand or care about "gear") and others using synthesizers and computers as tools to finesse a more analog vision. The interviewees also vary in their responses to questions about how feminism has affected their experiences within the electronic music community; some claim that being female plays a significant role in their approach to music while others lament the continued need to even ask the question. The author also provides an intriguing introductory essay about the history of electronic music, tracing both its origins as a potentially militaristic (and thus perhaps more masculine) medium and its ability to invoke the intuitive and mysterious qualities often associated with femininity. A helpful glossary of tech terms and a discography of 100 electronic works by female musicians nicely round out the text.… (mehr)