“In the queer scene, I was accepted straight away as an equal and as a DJ, irrespective of my gender or sexuality. It was only when I went to record shops where straight guys were, where I started to hear criticisms of me as a female DJ and for what I wore and how I presented myself. Up until then I hadn’t really even had to think about the difference, because I was fated, I was celebrated. I only heard that it wasn’t great to be a female DJ when I started shopping for music in the male-dominated shops.”

“What I’m trying to do is scratch the surface a bit on how the gatekeepers keep our names away from people a bit. Because that then has a knock-on effect on line ups. If people don’t read about us then they can’t know about us, then they can’t come and stand at the front of our stage and then women can’t command the same crowds. We’re not being allowed to get through, we don’t get the same breaks.”

“The more we work together, the better it will be. The more we realize we’re all in this together — as it was in the beginning and as it should be now, that’s how it will be in the future… But if we get lazy and let these fissures grow, if we let this separation continue, then we’re in trouble.”

“Sometimes with DJing, the mistakes are what can make your set different! So I’m not afraid of making a mistake.”

This month, my guest is a true icon in the UK dance music scene, and that is Manchester’s own DJ Paulette. 

A club kid from her earliest days, Paulette cut her teeth at Manchester’s number one club, before earning her first residency at Flesh, the beloved queer party at the infamous nightclub Hacienda. She helped forge the electronic music scene in the UK as one of country’s first and best-loved black female DJs, celebrated for her expert selection and her inimitable charisma behind the decks. She continues to carry the torch for the next generation of young artists — a journey explored at length in her new memoir. 

In this conversation, Paulette and I discuss her book Welcome to the Club, her vital and pioneering role in music, and what it means to be trailblazer. 

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Music:
"Sheroes" - Massey & DJ Paulette (2018)
"And I’m Telling You" - Donna Giles (Stonebridge Poppers Full Delight Remix) (1994)
"Violins & Things" - Massey & DJ Paulette (2018)


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AIR 064 / DJ Paulette

AIR is an interview podcast series with a different theme each episode. 

Created in 2017, AIR aims to be something different in the wide world of music journalism. Tired of the usual promotional fluff, host Emma Robertson invites artists, DJs, and musicians to get deep on one topic that inspires them — everything from nature, to film, to spirituality — in the hope that it inspires you, too.

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