Recently I taught 13-year-olds a lesson about electronic music – from Theremin to Skrillex via Eliane Radigue, Peaches, and Grimes. When CTM commissioned me to write about female pioneers in electronic music, I had only one wish: to find as many as possible. In the last years, to my great relief, the history of female pioneers has begun to be explored. My own contribution is just a beginning; the task is worthy of doctoral research. I hope this list will be filled over time with the names of more innovators, potentially from continents and corners of the world to which I have little access. Electronic music has traveled from the academic context of its emergence to clubs, from private homes to performances in public spaces. Here are some women who have pushed electronic music forward; dig deeper!
Timeline – by date of birth
Before 1900
Johanna Magdalena Beyer
*1888–1944, DE/US: First recognised piece of electronic music ever.
Listening tip: Johanna M. Beyer Music Of The Spheres (1938).
1910s
Clara Rockmore
*1911–98, US: Virtuoso performer of the Theremin, the first electronic music instrument; collaborated with Prof. Leon Theremin to refine the instrument.
1920s
Else Marie Pade
*1924, DK: Produced musique concrète and slow, elegant, dissonant electronic music that only existed on tapes.
Charlotte »Bebe« Barron
*1925–2008, US: Together with her partner created the first electronic film score to Forbidden Planet (1956).
Daphne Oram
*1925–2003, UK: The unsung pioneer of techno. Built her own studio for experimenting with electronic music in the 1940s. Invented the Oramics drawing-sound system. Co-founder of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Ruth White
*1925, US: Electronic music pioneer using the Moog synthesiser. Composer of Flowers of Evil (1969), and Short Circuits (1970).
Maddalena Fagandini
*1929–2012, UK: Electronic musician and television producer. Co-creator of proto-techno single, »Time Beat/Waltz In Space« (1962). Member of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
1930s
Eliane Radigue
*1932, France: Minimal drone composer, musique concrète, synthesiser. Used the ARP 2500 modular system and tape, and has been creating compositions for acoustic instruments since 2001. Makes extreme minimal music, very influential up and into the 21st century.
Pauline Oliveros
*1932, US: Influential composer, central figure in the development of post-war electronic art music. Wrote new music theory on the concept of »Deep Listening« and sonic awareness.
Yoko Ono
*1933, JP: Fluxus performance artist. Included electronic and sound art in her early »happening« experiments.
Delia Derbyshire
*1937–2001, UK: Style: musique concrète. Joined the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Created the first complete electronic music score for TV.
Annea Lockwood
*1937, NZ/US: Created field recordings. Fluxus artist. Electronic music teacher at Vassar College.
Maryanne Amacher
*1938–2009, US: Composer, performer and installation artist. Investigated physiological and psychoacoustic) phenomena, such as »otoacoustic emission,« in which the ears themselves act as sound-generating devices. Worked extensively with site-specific spatialisation of sound. Influential teacher.
Wendy Carlos
*1939, US: Interpreted classical works and film scores on Moog synthesiser, notably The Shining and Tron.
1940s
Annette Peacock
*1941, US: Recorded experimental electronic rap in the 1970s, I'm the One (1972). One of the first artists to feed voice into a synthesiser.
Pril Smiley
*1943, US: Played a significant role in the development of the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center and its programme. Her first electronic piece, »Eclipse« (1967), won first prize at the International Electroacoustic Music Competition.
Michèle Bokanowski
*1943, France: Composer of computer music for film and dance with stunning sound quality. Listening tip: Tabou (1983–1984).
Alice Shields
*1943, US: Technical director of CPEMC. Composer of complex electronic vocal works, including the important »Study for Voice and Tape« (1968).
Laurie Spiegel
*1945, US: One of the first to experiment with computers & algorithmic composition.
Maggi Payne
*1945, US: Composer, flautist, video artist, recording engineer/editor, and historical remastering engineer who creates electroacoustic, instrumental, and vocal works. Currently Co-Director of the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College (Oakland, CA). Teaches recording engineering, composition, and electronic music.
Suzanne Ciani
*1946, IT/US: Made sound effects for Star Wars. Studied computer-generated music at Stanford University’s Artificial Intelligence Labs in the early 1970s.
Hildegard Westerkamp
*1946, DE/CA: Composer, radio artist, and sound ecologist, gives soundscape workshops and lectures internationally, performs and writes.
Laurie Anderson
*1947, US: Composer, performance artist, tape-bow violin with magnetic tape instead of horse hair, MIDI, etc. She developed a talking stick, a six-foot-long baton-like MIDI controller that can access and replicate sounds, and is the first artist to hold a residency at NASA.
Christina Kubisch
*1948, DE: Sound artist, »Electrical Walks« series of works, studies electromagnetic radiation which turns into electronic sound walks, and also developed new headphones for the purpose.
1950s
Christine Newby (Cosey Fanni Tutti, Cosmosis)
*1951, UK: Industrial music, roots in performance art, co-founder of avant-garde groups Coum Transmissions, Throbbing Gristle, and Chris & Cosey. Listening tip: Selflessness (2004).
Ikue Mori
*1953, JP: Drummer, digital composer, visual artist, drum machines, digital percussion, experimentation with musical form.
Carla Scaletti
*1956, US: Harpist, composer, and music technologist.
Zeena Parkins
*1956, US: Besides standard and electric harps, her work also incorporates Foley, field recordings, analogue synthesisers, samplers, oscillators, and homemade instruments.
Pamela Z
*1956, US: Processes her voice in real-time to create dense, complex sonic layers in her solo works that combine experimental extended vocal techniques, operatic bel canto, found objects, text, and sampled concrète sounds. Uses software along with custom MIDI controllers to manipulate sound and image with physical gestures.
Laetitia Sonami
*1957, FR/US: Composer, performer, sound installation artist. Designs and uses her own instruments along with wearable technology for her compositions and sonic story storytelling.
Elisabeth Schimana
*1958., AT: Composer, performer, and radio artist practicing and researching musicology, ethnology, space-body electronics, gender, art, and technology.
Cio Dorbandt (Cio D’Or)
*1958, DE: Cologne-based DJ and producer, ranges from warm techno-derived to ambient productions.
France Jobin (i8u)
*1958, FR/CA: Minimal digital music composer, audio art, today uses various analogue and digital technologies, releases on the label LINE.
Miya Masaoka
*1958, US: Electroacoustic works for koto and electronics, field recordings, laptop, video and written scores for ensembles, chamber orchestras, and mixed choirs.
1960s
Gudrun Gut
*1960, DE: Founding member of Einstürzende Neubauten, and Malaria!. Founded the label Monika Enterprise, first solo record 2006, techno songwriter.
Kaffe Matthews
*1961, UK: Influential sound artist and digital music composer, multi-channel composition, founded »Music for Bodies« and builds sonic furniture.
Ana-Maria Avram
*1961, RO: Spectral music style, acousmatic, heterophonic and transformational. Electronic music and computer assisted music. Works closely with composer Iancu Dumitrescu.
Valerie Olukemi A »Kemi« Olusanya (Kemistry)
1963–99, UK: Pioneering drum’n’bass artist as part of the DJ duo Kemistry & Storm, co-founded the Metalheadz label.
Jane Conneely (DJ Storm)
UK: Highly regarded as the first lady of drum & bass, co-founded Metalheadz back in the early 1990s, involved with all female DJ/MC-collective Feline.
Saskia Slegers (Miss Djax)
*1962, NL: Techno and acid DJ, founder of Djax Records.
Susanne Kirchmayr (Electric Indigo)
*1965, AT: DJ, composer, musician, spatial-temporal placement of subtly textured sounds, founded the international collective female:pressure.
Riz Maslen (Neotropic)
*1965, UK: Keyboardist, built a home studio in the early 1990s, collaborated with 4hero and Future Sound of London.
Tone Åse
*1965, NO: Works with both electronic sound processing and acoustic sound on voice.
Barbara Hallama (Barbnerdy)
*1965, DE: DJ in Munich, took part in 1990s garage parties, today is a cultural initiator for Berlin’s »Support Your Local Ghetto« events, publishes mixes extensively on SoundCloud.
Björk Guðmundsdóttir (Björk)
*1965, IS: Electronic music producer and songwriter, connected UK club sound with elaborate song writing and innovative production. Influential record: Debut (1993).
Bev Stanton (Arthur Loves Plastic, ALP)
*1966, BS: Downtempo electronica, queer culture.
Vicky Bennett (People Like Us)
*1967, UK: Music and sound collagist, radio maker, multimedia artist, sound films, currently runs the show »DO or DIY« on WFMU radio.
Keiko Uenishi (o.blaat)
JP/US: Known for her works that formed through experiments in restructuring and analysing one's relationship with sounds in sociological, cultural, and/or psychological environments.
Ellen Fratz (Ellen Allien)
*1968, DE: Berlin techno DJ with her own label and network, Bpitch Control.
Merrill Beth Nisker (Peaches)
*1968, CA: Beat and song writer, pioneering beats, sexuality, otherness, video artist. Influential record: The Teaches Of Peaches (2000).
Andrea Polli
*1968, US: Digital media artist, addresses issues related to science and technology in contemporary society.
Terre Thaemlitz
*1968, JP/US: Critically combines themes of identity politics – including gender, sexuality, class, linguistics, ethnicity and race – with an ongoing critique of socio-economics, styles include electroacoustic computer music, club-oriented deep house, and more.
Marina Rosenfeld
*1968, US: Sound and visual artist, influential turntable-as-instrument work.
Iris Garrelfs
*1969, DE/UK: Composer and performer of raw voice into machine noises, curator of the London-based SPRAWL series.
Beth Coleman (DJ Singe)
*1969, US: Co-founder and in-house DJ of SoundLab, an innovative turntablism arts group dedicated to creating location-specific performances of sound and visual art, master stylist of illbient genre.
1970s
Sachiko Matsubara (Sachiko M)
*1970, JP: Minimal electronic composition, seminal work Sine Wave Solo (1999).
Barbara Morgenstern
*1971, DE: Beat-blasting electronic music and songwriter, first wave bedroom producer movement in Berlin.
Rekha Malhotra (DJ Rekha)
*1971, UK/US: Almost solely responsible for putting bhangra music on the western plate-os-phere, DJ, producer, curator, and activist, fuses the Indian genre of bhangra music with international hip-hop and drum beats. Runs an infamous club night in NY, also an activist.
Bevin Kelley (Blevin Blectum)
1971, US: Electronic crazy laptop punk, multimedia composer. Partnered with Kevin Blechdom to form the duo Blectum from Blechdom.
Monika Kruse
*1971, DE: Successful techno DJ, music producer and record label owner.
Leila Arab (Leila)
*1971, IR/UK: IDM-derived personal irregular ambient, electronic pop.
Andrea Parker
*1971, UK: DJ and club music producer, sampling, remixes, bass. Listening tip: »Ballbreaker« (1998).
Jo Thomas
*1972, UK: Uses multi-speaker systems and writes for vinyl, tape cassette, and digital media. Golden Nica award in Digital Music from Prix Ars Electronica, releases on Entr'acte label.
Maja Ratkje (Solveig Kjelstrup)
*1973, NO: Composer and performer, expressive voice in digital music, electroacoustic composition, part of the noise band Fe-mail, releases on Rune Grammophone; plays theremin, laptop, and violin.
Caroline Hervé (Miss Kittin)
*1973, FR: Electroclash DJ, singer, and songwriter.
Tara Rodgers (Analog Tara)
*1973, CA: DJ and electronic musician, writing about sound and audio technologies, published the important book Pink Noises (2010).
Nicole Lizée
*1973, CA: Composition with unorthodox instrument combinations that include the Atari 2600 video game console, omnichords, stylophones, reel-to-reel machines, Simon and Merlin handheld games, and karaoke tapes.
Jessica Rylan (Can't)
*1974, US: Designs and builds modular analogue synthesizers, rhythm boxes, and distortion pedals, founded Flower Electronic, producing editions of her unique instruments.
Missrepresent
UK: Drum & bass DJ and producer, perfected the art of production, now working as part of Silent Code.
Chantal Passamonte (Mira Calix)
*1974, ZA/UK: Composer, performer, DJ and sound artist, releases on Warp Records.
Jennifer Cardini
*1974, FR: DJ and producer living in Cologne, Germany.
Esther Venrooy
*1974, NL: Audio art, employing electronic and digital techniques in compositions, works at the IPEM (Institute for Psycho-Acoustics and Electronic Music).
Johanna Fateman (Le Tigre, Swim With the Dolphins)
*1974, US: Keyboards and samples, made a five-song cassette titled The Struggle for the Full Exercise of Woman's Equality (1999).
Alexandra Dröner & James Grabsch (Sick Girls)
DE: DJ-team for grime, dubstep, UK underground, gangsta rap, B-more, and digi-dancehall. Run the party series »Revolution N°5« – a sound concept with no limits.
Hild Sofie Tafjord
*1974, NO: Electroacoustic noise music, experimental electronics, also part of Spunk and noise duo Fe-mail.
Yôko Higashi (hamaYôko)
*1974, JP/FR: Fearless electronic music production and composition, unique, acousmatic, anarchistic, pitch-transposed atonal chanting, samples, distortions, and paroxysmal rhythms.
Heidi Mortenson
*1975, DK: Electronic song writer, singer, and producer, skilled energetic live performer, entertainer, advanced live sample beatbox-to-beat techniques, live processing, employs wide range of outboard effects, mixing, and loop techniques.
Mathangi »Maya« Arulpragasam (M.I.A.)
*1975, UK/SL: multimedia artist, pioneering »rest-of-the world« view approach in off-club music, off-rapper.
Magdalena Chojnacka (Magda)
*1975, PL/US: Minimal techno DJ/producer, close to Ritchie Hawtin’s Minus label.
Sara (That Fucking Sara)
*1975, DK: Early turntablist, enriched nightlife with hip hop, disco, electro, grime, jazz, soul, Italo disco in Copenhagen and Berlin.
Manuela Barile
IT/PT: Works in the rural region of the mountain range of Gralheira (S. Pedro do Sul Municipality), focuses on place-based projects and on social sound / sound in community.
Tujiko Noriko
*1976, JP: Unique electronica songwriter and filmmaker, releases on Editions Mego, favourite gear: MPC 2000.
Ryoko Akama
*1976, JP/UK: Composer, digital music to electroacoustic, ecology of sound, develops personal instruments, involves a Geiger counter in her work.
Ami Yoshida
*1976, JP: Extreme variety of vocalisation, electroacoustic performance.
Chloé Thévenin (DJ Chloe)
*1976, FR: DJ, artist, and composer aiming to make the dance floor more beautiful, softer, more intelligent, more open.
Gina V. D'Orio
*1976, DE: Main former vocalist from German Digital Hardcore band EC8OR and member of Cobra Killer, distorted electronic hard core production.
Alexandra Cárdenas
*1976, CO: Live coder, has a passion for code and her electric guitar and supercollider, involved in the live coding scene in Mexico City.
Jam Rostron (Planningtorock)
UK: Queer synth-pop electronica songwriting, expanding gender perception.
Jocelyn Samson (JD Samson)
*1978, US: Producer, songwriter, and DJ best known as member of the bands Le Tigre and the MEN, also part of electro-activists Ultra-Disco that support the Occupy movement.
Kristin Erickson (Kevin Blechdom)
*1978, US: Experimental electronic musician/performance artist low-fi, pop distortion, noise, comedy-laptop anarchy. Part of the duo Blectum from Blechdom.
Natalie Beridze (TBA)
*1979, GE: Innovative self-producing electronic musician, unique crossover of techno, indie, classical influences, film scores, writes all her music in FL Studio.
Laura Escudé
*1979, US: Violinist, music producer, composer, controller-ist, music technologist, and Ableton Certified Trainer, designed and played shows for Jay-Z and Kanye West.
Merja Kokkonen (Islaja)
*1979, FI: Her music is notably psychedelic and very intimate using a large variety of instruments.
1980s & already pioneers
Sara Abdel-Hamid (Ikonika)
*1980, UK: Electronic musician, producer, DJ, garage and house, dubstep, releases on Hyperdub label.
Maria Chavez
*1980, PE: Sound artist, abstract turntablist, curator, and DJ based in NYC, uses broken vinyl.
Helena Gough
*1980, UK: Powerful expressive musique concrète for the 21st century. Listening tip: Mikroklimata (Entr’acte, 2010).
Kateryna Zavoloka
*1981, UA: Electronic producer, performer, and sound artist, crisp IDM-influenced production, unique colour, interweaves sampling of Ukrainian folk elements using instruments from Waldorf, Dave Smith, and Native Instruments.
Hildur Ingveldardóttir Guðnadóttir (Hildurness)
*1982, IS: Use of electronically treated cello sounds for drone and noise music.
Merrisa Campbell (Cooly G)
*1982, UK: Producer, DJ and remix artist, dub organiser, genre-defying, bass-influenced R&B-laced tracks, releases on Hyperdub label.
Rosa Menkman
*1983, NL: Artist and theorist who focuses on accidents in both analogue and digital media called glitches, compressions, feedback and other forms of noise.
Asma Maroof (DJ Asmara, one half of Nguzunguzu)
*US: Tour DJ for M.I.A., mixed the Vicki Leekx mixtape, style: futuristic global bass, classily hybrid club music, bass music, tropical/global bass, trap, seapunk, moombahton, and other internet-spawned genres.
Maya Jane Coles
*1987, UK: Music producer, audio engineer and DJ, also part of electronic dub duo She Is Danger, with Lena Cullen.
Vicky Wickenden (Lady V Dubz)
UK: London drum & bass. Founding member of the »Feminine Takeover« movement alongside MC Lady Blazer.
Claire Boucher (Grimes)
*1988, CA: Beat and songwriter, instruments are keyboards and synthesisers, uses looping and layering techniques, particularly with vocals; many of her songs feature layers of over fifty different vocal tracks which create an »ethereal« sound, just signed to Jay-Z’s label.
Bonus: New Artists to Watch-Out For
Lina Bautista
CO: Live composition built-up with amplified sounds from the environment, the voice, and the generation of algorithms for processing and location in space.
Kate Simko
US/UK: Minimal house producer, composer.
Tinker
US: melodic take on instrumental hip-hop and beat-driven bass music.
Laurel Halo
US: Electronic musician written techno, ambient, and synth-pop, using synthesisers, drum machines, and samplers, as well as voice, piano, electric guitar, and violin.
Holly Herndon
US: Digital music, laptop- and software-based production and performance.
Christina Ryat (RYAT)
US: Producer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and sound manipulator on live electronics, instruments, pedals, and software, signed to the Brainfeeder label.
Jessy Lanza
UK: Electronic R&B-influenced club music with haunting vocals.
Pharmakon
US: power electronics/death industrial music, noise.
Christine Clements (Vaccine)
US: Dubstep producer, releases on labels Hotflush and Nonplus.
Ema Jolly (Emika)
UK/CZ: Composer and sound designer, uses Native Instruments, new, dark, downtempo dubstep, releases on Ninja Tune label.
Kyoka
JP: Heavy rough sound resulting in a broken pop-beat with experimental yet danceable rhythms, started with tape recorder as her toy by cutting and editing, later began to use synthesisers and computers, released her debut on raster-noton in 2012.
Kito & Reija Lee
AU: Producer duo for dubstep-pop tunes.
Sarah Farina
DE: Berlin's digital DJ of grime, dubstep, and footwork.
Nina Kraviz
RU: minimal techno DJ and producer.
Jennifer Lee (Tokimonsta)
US: DJ and producer, uses live instruments, percussion, digital manipulation, and dusty vinyl.
Ferhiwot Tadesse (DJ Lee)
*1988, ET: DJ and radio-producer in Ethiopia.
AGF's »Nerdgirls Mash« mix
Year: 2014
AGF's »Nerdgirls Mash« mix
Year: 2014