In the Key is a series of radio shows and podcasts produced by Professor Sam Parsley (aka Dovetail) Showcasing music and career stories from female and gender expansive electronic music producers in a range of genres, and across the globe, these shows are part of an academic research project to investigate gender diversity (or lack of) in technological, creative industries through a case study of electronic music production. Find out more at www.inthekey.org
Episodes 1-34 were aired on Threads Radio in collaboration with Sisu and episodes 1-35 carry the original series title 'In the Key of She'

Each show features around an hour's conversation, cut up with original productions and ends with an exclusive guest mix.

In the Key

To mark our 'silver episode' number 25, our guest is Janika Tenn, Estonian DJ and Producer who makes the most fabulous chunky, funky, vocal tech-house. She's been producing for almost 13 years, including collaborations with Vanilla Ace and Todd Terry.
Her productions drive an emphasis on percussion, rhythm and mood; with a keen focus on underground, club-ready tracks made to meet the needs of peak-time dancefloors. Through the signing of her music with labels like Cr2, Safe Music, Go Deeva, Erase Records, Inhouse and many others, Janika has seen her work supported by artists like Loco Dice, Detlef, Roog, Dry & Bolinger, Steve Lawler, Roger Sanchez and more.

Fulfilling potential outside of the studio has also been positively progressive for Janika, with performances across some of Europe’s most-revered industry gems. Having played pretty much all of the major events in her native Estonia, she has also had the pleasure of gracing the booths of places like Fabric, Ministry of Sound and Cuckoo Club as well as Space Ibiza, KM5 and Blue Marlin on the world-famous white isle. With venues like that on her resume, it’s no surprise to hear that she has supported the likes of Todd Terry, Umek, Franky Rizardo, Jay Lumen, Guy J and many more.
With her own string of events and regular conversations about her music with some of the industry’s leading labels now becoming a reality; Janika is well and truly on her way to expanding her profile within the industry and starting to become a truly established artist to keep an eye on.
https://soundcloud.com/janikatenn
https://www.facebook.com/JanikaTenn

ItKoS Episode 25: Janika Tenn Mar 2021

Louise DaCosta started DJing when she was still at school, and was supporting the likes of Calvin Harris, Claude Von Stroke & Benny Benassi whilst still finishing her A levels! She started making edits and mash-ups to play in her DJ sets which progressed to producing full tracks.To date Louise has had 3 consecutive No1s on Beatport, plus tens of top 10s & top 20 commercial chart successes too. After working with many labels & studios she decided she wanted to be in control of her own music and launched her own label DaCosta Records in 2019 for dance electronic releases, & then sister label DaCosta Rocks to release indie/alternative/rock with a major push on homegrown Northern Irish talent. DaCosta Records now has over 250 releases across both labels with huge radio play & critical acclaim for our artists.

As a reaction to the gloom of lockdown Louise took all her live show energy and put it into her music. Setting up studio at home, she sat down to write fun, happy music as catharsis, escapism, & to have something positive & fresh to play post lockdown. In short, Louise DaCosta makes fun inclusive happy music that everyone can dance to!

Tracks featured in the interview:
Alone (Vocal Dub edit) - Louise DaCosta [DaCosta Records]
I Feel Love (Louise's edit)
DNR (Sax mix) - Louise DaCosta [Full Tilt]
Free (Radio Edit) - Louise DaCosta [Tiger Records]
Apres - Louise DaCosta [DaCosta Records]
All for the Disco - Louise DaCosta [DaCosta Records]

Tracklist for the mix:
Louise DaCosta - Thunder [DaCosta Records]
Louise DaCosta - DNR [DaCosta Records]
Louise DaCosta - Disco Bots [DaCosta Records]
Louise DaCosta -  WOW [DaCosta Records]
Louise DaCosta - All Night All Day [DaCosta Records]
Louise DaCosta - All For The Disco [DaCosta Records]
Louise DaCosta - Music High [DaCosta Records]
Louise DaCosta - FNK [DaCosta Records]
Lizzo - Truth Hurts [Louise DaCosta Club Mix]
Louise DaCosta ft Grace Day - LA Magic  [DaCosta Records]
Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill [Louise DaCosta Club Mix]

https://soundcloud.com/louisedacosta
https://www.facebook.com/dacostarecords/
https://www.facebook.com/djLouiseDaCosta/
https://www.beatport.com/label/dacosta-records/75353

ItKos Episode 26: Louise DaCosta April 2021

Our guest this episode is Gnarly - a UK based Finger Drummer, Producer and DJ. Her musical roots are firmly in urban culture, producing lo-fi hip hop, DJing drum & bass and jungle and with a long time love of rap and MC-ing. Tune in to hear her story, how she's built her brand on social media, and how she's blazing a trail in pushing the boundaries of live electronic performance with her fingers. Literally!
https://linktr.ee/gnarly

ItKoS Episode 27: Gnarly June 2021

This month we are joined by the fabulous Lucydafirst, DJ, Producer and Gamer from Edmonton, Canada - our first Canadian guest!  
Lucy is Global DJs Radio Managing Director, Youtuber and Twitch Streamer as well as Resident DJ for True North Radio Official Music on Spotify. With an infectious sense of enthusiasm and confidence Lucy talks to Sam about how her Twitch community as a gamer has been a source of creative collaboration that's resulted in four albums that showcase her eclectic style. Her production career started aged 13 with her making noises quietly into a microphone, using the computers and the public library, and has grown to encompass mixing and mastering her own tracks, with a breakbeat release earlier this year on Diesel Recordings. A genre she's increasingly excited by.
https://soundcloud.com/lucydafirst
https://www.facebook.com/lucydafirst
instagram: @lucydafirst

ItKoS Episode 29: Lucydafirst Aug 2021

Our guest this episode is Kyrist - a UK drum and bass Producer and DJ revered for dark, bass driven vibes delivered with soul and panache. Her swift rise to eminence reflects superb quality control, with a handful of outstanding releases on premier drum & bass labels such as Dispatch, Critical and Hospital, plus a successful 140 foray with Uprise Audio. A striking talent behind the decks, Kyrist is an increasing regular for high profile events such as Let It Roll, Outlook, Boomtown and SW4, whilst twice combining with Red Bull to curate her own lineups. Despite a hectic 2020 for all, her stature continues to build, with music on Lenzman’s The North Quarter, a collab with T>I on Critical and her own Bandcamp self-release ‘Chimera / Space Junkie’, dropping to great acclaim.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/kyristdnb/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kyrist_
Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/kyristdnb
Twitter - https://twitter.com/kyrist_
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfB7VB0aMqEwiVm_E5RTk_w
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/7yr3XMGUy9WwHmk90NMRsN

ItKoS Episode 28: Kyrist July 2021

Sisu's very own Shauna joins us for Episode 30 this month! Only teaching herself to produce at the start of lockdown, Shauna's career has taken off like a rocket - join us for a hugely inspirational ride through her successes, and of course to hear her great music.

Her eclectic, genre-bending sets encompass everything from house, techno and breaks to club and footwork, with her own productions leaning towards techno and breaks. She’s released on Gimme A Break, Come Play With Me, Rhythm Lab, and Interpolate Records, with her tracks receiving DJ support from Ross From Friends, Dobbs and Jaguar on Radio 1 Introducing Dance. Shauna currently has a residency on Manchester’s Steam Radio with her show Liquid Orange and has guested for Threads, NARR, and Charivari Detroit.

soundcloud.com/shaunastapleton
shauna.bandcamp.com/
facebook.com/djshauna/

ItKoS Episode 30: Shauna Aug 2021

This month we are joined by one of the most unique techno talents around right now, Samantha Togni. Expect high octane, bass heavy techno from Italian born producer Sam who joins us to chat about her production career, and the seismic shifts she is making happen in the queer and gender minority space with her collective Boudica. With one conference under their belt, a bunch of parties and a full festival in 2022, Boudica follows in the foosteps of their namesake, the warrior queen.

https://ra.co/dj/samanthatogni
https://soundcloud.com/samanthatogni
https://www.facebook.com/Samanthatognimusic/
http://boudicafestival.co.uk/about/

ItKoS Episode 31: Samantha Togni Oct 2021

The Yardwoman swings by the studio for Episode 32. A techno DJ/Producer, she’s half English, half Greek and gets excited by all things groovy, melodic and mystical. After years of clubbing in Bristol she wanted to transfer some of that Bristol 'energy' into her own production. Only teaching herself to produce at the start of lockdown, The Yardwoman’s career has taken off like a rocket – she’s produced 16 tracks already and has had plays on Radio 1! Join us for a hugely inspirational ride through her successes, and of course to hear her great music. 

Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/theyardwoman/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/theyardwoman
Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/artist/4vrLjXzQTMGCbrdAYtkpQE
Soundcloud- https://soundcloud.com/the_yardwoman

Tracklisting for Dovetail's mix at the end of the show:

Katie Pride - Seaside (Dub version)[Magnesia Records]
Joyce Muniz - Sleepless (Gorge Remix)[Exploited]
Blanka Barbara - Lights of London (Original Mix) [LSA]
Just Her - Retrospective (Original Mix) [Sincopat]
Meet, Laydee V - SoO Good (Dubman F Remix) [Platform 7]
Pete Tong, Goom Gum - Signal (Anja Schneider Deep Code Remix)[Renaissance Records]
Beth Lydi - Vocoder Knows (Original mix) [Desert Hearts Records]
Harry Romero, Eli & Fur - Be Somebody (Original Mix) [NYX Music]

ItKoS Episode 32: The Yardwoman  Mar 2022

This episode Sam invites Canadian based Producer and DJ Sydney Blu to take us through her 22 year musical journey - from financing her first decks to getting signed to Mau5trap records. We hear some of her original productions spanning across progressive house and deep tech house and Sydney tells us about her 23by23 campaign – a hands-on initiative to help increase representation of women, trans and non-binary artists on dance music record labels to 23% by 2023. We also have a great guest mix from Sydney to polish off the show 

Instagram- @djsydneyblu
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/djsydneyblu
Spotify- https://open.spotify.com/artist/2Js5903erwUWbAijR6A8rb?si=P7uL9MLEQo-U3ccBnFZmww
Soundcloud - https://soundcloud.com/sydneyblu

ItKoS Episode 33: Sydney Blu April 2022

DJ Lizzie Curious joins Sam Parsley for this episode. Lizzie is a prolific singer, songwriter, house music producer and international DJ from the UK, with two Billboard Number One hits to her name and releases on Toolroom, Let There Be House & more. Whether on stage performing, or hard at work in the studio, her passion for music and unique curious energy shines through in everything she does. Lizzie’s ability to ignite the crowd, with her joyful stage presence, is second to none. Not one to rest on her laurels, Lizzie also teaches for the prestigious Point Blank Music School and you can catch her live streaming several times a week to her devoted Curious Crew on Twitch. Add in to this the launch of her new label Curious Energy Records and you can be sure this episode is full of curious energy!

www.facebook.com/LizzieCuriousMusic/
www.instagram.com/lizziecurious/
https://soundcloud.com/LIZZIECURIOUS
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5R2GATpm4U3ef8PGROt67B

ItKoS Episode 34: Lizzie Curious June 2022

Ann LoV is my guest for this episode of In the Key of She - a London based house and techno producer, DJ and singer with a passion for introspective, melodic vibes. Join us for an hour of inspiring chat as Ann talks us through her journey into production, alongside 5 of her tracks, including one as yet unreleased! In the second hour, Ann treats us to a gem of a guest mix - 45 mins of deep, melodic lushness. Enjoy!

Ann's tracks featured:
Ann LoV - Paradox (Original Mix) [Saturo Sounds]
Emod - Brittle (Ann LoV remix)[64k recordings]
Matt Ransford - Rapture (Ann Lov remix)[64k recordings]
Ann LoV - ID [unreleased]
Ann LoV - Recluse (Original Mix) [ARRVL records]

Tracklist for guest mix:
1. Anii - Breathe
2. Batuhan Mericli - Greedy 
3. Cora - Kingdom of Dreams
4. Paride Saraceni - Allegory of The Cave
5. Seyamu - Ena
6. AnthonyF Collins - Dream Extraction 
7. Q - Green - Birth of the universe 
8.  Danny Quasar - Unexpected Day 
9.Matt Black & Chris Sterio - Beautiful  World (Sub Aqua Dub Remix) 
10. Nae:Tek & Alexander Bogdanov - Union Dub 
11. Shaun James - Lost 
12.  Dub Taylor - Bontempi

ItKoS Episode 35: Ann LoV  Oct 2022

This episode our guest is Madame Electrifie (aka Little Jo) talking about her glittering DJ career and journey into production with her band Cassini Circles. Fusing the best vintage beats with the best of the modern age; Madame Electrifie takes classic grooves and threads through everything from hip hop, to house, breaks and drum and bass to create a raucous dance floor focused party, all with that distinctive driving sound that’s a firm nod to her breaks and tech roots missed with plenty of funk, fun and nonsense on the way.

In 18 years on the decks, she's played some of the UK’s leading venues across the years, from Ministry to Turnmills, and has graced many of the leading London warehouse parties supporting some of the biggest names in electronic music over the years across all spectrums of the dance music world including The Stanton Warriors, Jon Carter, Elite Force, A Skillz, , Annie Nightingale, Rob Da Bank, Krafty Kuts, and a whole host of bands. 

In contrast, her band Cassini Circles are a electronica act featuring vocalist Shannon Kait and producers Jo Burns (Madame Electrifie) and Yoshe Watson. Their music takes a journey through dark brooding basslines and haunting vocal melodies, through electronica, trip hop and house. Influenced by the energy of the dancefloor combined with the ambience of the after party, it’s a heavy blend taking in influence from everything from jazz to dub.

https://soundcloud.com/cassinicircles
https://soundcloud.com/madame-electrifie

ItKoS Episode 16: Madame Electrifie May 2020

Mali Larrington-Nelson AKA Shy One lives and breathes the eclecticism and diversity of her DJ sets and productions. Having started off DJing on pirate radio at 13 years old, Shy One has been exposed to and influenced by the full spectrum of sounds her hometown of London has birthed and nurtured over the years. As with many teenage Londoners at the time, grime and the wider family of indigenous London club music was what gave Shy One the passion to pursue music as more than a pastime. Obsessively collecting white labels by some of her local production heroes quickly developed into obsessively making beats in Fruity Loops for a plethora of different crews and MCs bubbling up in Harrow, the North West London borough she grew up in. Undeterred by those in the scene who called her beats “weird” or “different”, Shy One ploughed on carving out her own sound which eventually caught the ear of Scratcha DVA, who went on to release the Decaffeinated Love EP and her debut LP, Bedknobs and Boomkicks, on his now renowned DVA Music imprint.

Since her initial releases with Scratcha, Shy One has continued to grow as an artist and diversify further into a somewhat undefinable sound that’s origins are undoubtedly London but take in a huge variety of musical cultures, from hip-hop and jazz to house music and West London’s own brokenbeat movement – all of which are well represented on her various radio shows across stations like Balamii, NTS and Rinse FM. As well as DJing and releasing music more recently on labels like Diskotopia and Through My Speakers, Shy One is also a resident DJ and part of London’s BBZ and Touching Bass collectives – two forward thinking groups of artists, DJs, and activists that strive to create a space for London’s marginalised LGBTQI+ and POC communities respectively through art, music and culture.

https://earth-agency.com/artists/shy-one/
https://soundcloud.com/shyonebeats

ItKoS Episode 17: Shy One June 2020

This is a radio show, presented by Sam Warren to showcase the music and stories of female, female identifying and non-binary electronic music producers as they navigate their way through a very male dominated world. Each episode includes an in-depth, heartfelt interview with several of the guest's own productions, all rounded off with a guest mix.

Our guest for this episode is Johannesburg based René King, who’s been producing Drum & Bass since her early teens, and started DJing so she could play her music to the masses! René is one of a growing number of D&B DJs in South Africa. and one of only 10 fxmale artists to be part of the Hospital Records producer mentoring programme. In this show, she talks to Sam Warren about how that’s going for her so far, the drum & bass scene in SA, and she’s full of super useful pieces of advice for anyone starting out in production, one of which is to be patient and bide your time! While her soundcloud page is full of cracking tracks (and we feature several in this show) she has yet to release on a label. We’re pretty sure she’s going to go far when she does!
https://soundcloud.com/staycmusic

Tracklist for the mini-mix:
Sleep on Mars - Stay C (free DL from s/c)
Argus - Kyrist, DOT (Lost Recordings)
Chimera - Kyrist (Kyrist)
What You Mean 2 Me - Flava D (Hospital Records)
Empyrean - Kyrist (Dispatch Recordings)
Medal - Stay C (free DL from s/c)
Ergo - Skylark, gyrofield (DIVIDID)
Cold Sink - gyrofield (Overview Music)
Selektah - Stay C (free DL from s/c)
Draw 5th Gear - DJ Rap, Top Cat (Propa Talent)

ItKoS Episode 19: Stay C Sept 2020

This is a radio show, presented by Sam Warren to showcase the music and stories of female, female identifying and non-binary electronic music producers as they navigate their way through a very male dominated world. Each episode includes an in-depth, heartfelt interview with several of the guest's own productions, all rounded off with a guest mix.

Jini Cowan is a DJ, producer, head of Anima Records and runs her own mixing & mastering company. Full of enthusiasm, experience and great advice she opens up to tell us her story in this episode, all rounded off with a great guest mix.

https://soundcloud.com/dj-jinicowan

ItKos Episode 18: Jini Cowan July 2020

Our guest for Episode 20 is Jacki-E, a techno DJ and producer based in Northampton, UK. Jackie is a member of Sisu and curator and presenter of the excellent Draw the Line - a radio show that airs weekly on Radio Flintshire, features music by womxn and guest mixes by female and non-binary DJs. With her first EP released on Get Physical, and several more now under her belt, Jackie is certainly making a name for herself with her go-getting attitude, energy and enthusiasm. All the more impressive when you realise that Jackie is doing all this in her retirement! Join us for an fantastic chat, lots of inspiration, and a great techno guest mix!

https://soundcloud.com/jackiepalmer

ItKoS Episode 20: Jacki - E Oct 2020

This episode we're doing things a little differently. The show aired on 30th October, as Black History Month 2020 drew to a close, so we invited Niks Delanancy to join us to tell us the story of how she and a group of friends instigated the 'Black Bandcamp' website, and talk about the music of black women that has often been overlooked in electronic music scenes, and feature five of Niks favourite tracks by black female artists during the interview. We also talk about Niks own musical history and DJing, plus what we can do to 'de-colonise' electronic music. 

I've tried to do that in my own small way in the mix in the second hour of the show which is a house and techno set selected and mixed by me, Dovetail (as Niks decks were in storage due to a house renovation so she wasn't able to do a guest mix!) The mix is made up of music I found using the Black Bandcamp tool - all tracks are by black female artists, only two of which I was aware of before I began my search! I shout out track IDs during the mix, but the tracklist will be posted her shortly too, with show notes available on www.inthekeyofshe.org

ItKoS Episode 21: Niks Oct 2020

This is a radio show, presented by Sam Warren to showcase the music and stories of female, female identifying and non-binary electronic music producers as they navigate their way through a very male dominated world. Each episode includes an in-depth, heartfelt interview with several of the guest's own productions, all rounded off with a guest mix.

The Queen of Hard House Lisa Lashes is our guest this episode - what an honour! Lisa's long and glittering career covers just about every musical accolade you can think of, join us to hear how she's made the shift from noughties hard house DJ to techno producer (via psytrance!), built her own worldwide brand and record label 'Lashed', and established a hugely successful music school for disadvantaged folk. Expect infectious energy, and eclectic tunes in this one!

ItKoS Episode 22: Lisa Lashes Nov 2020

Our first guest of 2021 is multi-talented Estelle Rubio! A DJ, Producer, singer/songwriter and self-confessed music tech geek with Latin heritage, Estelle tells us about her work with Basement Jaxx, Native Instruments, as well as her unique project 'Bow Balearic Beat' where she has teamed up violinists Gita Langley & Jessie Murphy - an innovative and stylish collaboration of DJ, Beats and live strings!

In this episode, we hear a whole bunch of unreleased new music from Estelle - from progressive tech-house, to meditation music, violin based vocal house to a deep house mix to round off the show. Estelle tells us about her journey into music and her self-confessed 'schizophonia' and how her aim is to 'bring the glamour to the geek' in busting sterotypes and being a role model to show that girls can be glam, gorgeous AND techy. We chat motherhood, age, networking, confidence, and much more - full show notes are available on the ItKoS blog at www.inthekeyofshe.org

https://soundcloud.com/estellerubio-1
insta: @estellerubiomusic
facebook: @estellerubiomusic
YouTube: estellerubio
https://www.estellerubio.com/

ItKos Episode 23: Estelle Rubio Jan 2021

In this episode we are delighted to welcome fellow Sisu DJ Suyá to join us on the metaphorical ItKoS sofa to tell us her story, and share her beautiful experimental, improv-based electronic sounds with us. Suyá is a Brazilian producer, from Salvador, Bahia. She is also a guitarist and vocalist and her debut album 'Aquarius' was released on 12th Feb and is free to download, listen to and share! We'll be hearing several tracks from that album as well as a dreamy improvised set from this talented musician to round off the show.

www.suyasynergy.com
@suyanascimento
Facebook - @suyasynergy
Links to 'Aquarius' here: https://suyáynergy.hearnow.com

ItKoS Episode 24: Suya Feb 2021

Dovetail: blending tough and soaring beats

Portsmouth based electronic music artist and researcher Sam, took her life-long love of electronic dance music to the next level when she taught herself to DJ. She's now taken her first steps into production, with her first EP hitting the No.1 spot on the Beatport Top 100 Breaks Releases chart in Dec 2020! A champion of small labels, self producers, and minority gender artists, behind the decks she's known for her infectious energy, drive and sense of fun, and spinning genre-spanning tunes - if it makes her heart soar, her hips shake, or her face bass, it's in! And her productions look set to continue in the same vein.

Off the decks, she's the brains behind research project and radio show 'In the Key of She' (SISU Presents, now on Threads Radio) investigating how it is for women carving a space for themselves in the male-dominated underground techno and tech-house scenes. This project, looks at the life and careers of female producers in underground electronic music scenes and epitomises the bringing together of music and curiosity that is Dovetail.

In the Key

Dovetail (UK)