Bristol Mix Nights DJ course makes line-ups more diverse

A beginners DJ course in Bristol has helped change the musical landscape of the city.

Mix Nights aims to bring gender equality to an often male-dominated industry by training cisgender women, non-binary and trans people to DJ.

Many of the initiative's 160 graduates are now successful DJs, bringing diversity to line-ups in Bristol and beyond.

Project manager Lizzy Ellis said seeing the success "is the best feeling ever".

Mix Nights was launched five years ago when Laura Lewis Paul, founder of Saffron, the UK's first record label releasing music only by cisgender women, non-binary and trans people, and Bristol DJ Shanti Celeste teamed up with the former organisation Bristol Women in Music (BWiM).

Ms Ellis, a director of BWiM at the time, said: "We were all working in the music industry in various different ways, especially in electronic and dance music, and we were all really frustrated that we were working with so many cisgender men.

"We wanted to be working with and booking more diverse DJs and from a personal level we just wanted to see less male-dominated line-ups."

Cisgender describes someone who is not transgender. It applies to an individual whose gender matches their "assigned" sex at birth.

Ms Ellis said the aim was to bring gender balance to the city's music scene.

"And within a few years we've done that. Line-ups are definitely more gender-diverse in Bristol.

"The success feels very tangible here. What we want is to see it breaking out of Bristol and having more of a ripple effect," she added.

This year the project was expanded to Nottingham and London.

"When the team was in the informal, early days of the course, I don't think they ever imagined it would have this sort of effect.

"One of the best things is not just seeing people achieve industry-standard success, but it's seeing the community they form."

The not-for-profit course, which is run by Saffron Records, has arts council funding and partnerships with brands such as Pioneer DJ and Pirate Studios who give space, equipment and time to help them run in an affordable way.

Mix Nights also works with Bristol's Team Love which runs Love Saves the Day, the city's biggest music festival.

Its director Tom Paine said: "They've held some amazing nights at the Love Inn which have in turn fed into DJ sets at Love Saves The Day and what we hope will lead to the development of future headline stars and further inspiration for more non-male musicians to find the confidence to pursue their passion."

Graduate Vanessa Maria recently played a Boiler Room session at the Warehouse Project in Manchester.

"Mix Nights started my career in the music industry off, allowed me to form a community and meet like-minded people," she said.

"I've worked for Sony, DJ'ed across the UK, had my first international booking and interviewed my DJ heroes."

She also hosts a podcast which showcases black creatives working in electronic music and has recently launched a radio show for Black Butter Records.

"The work (Mix Nights) are doing and have done has already had such a huge, positive impact in the industry", the DJ added.

Another graduate, J Oh Zee, said: "Without Mix Nights I wouldn't be the DJ that I am."

She has gone on to host radio shows, had mixes featured on BBC Radio 1Xtra and Kiss FM and performed at festivals and clubs across the UK.

"They helped me realise this is what I want to do, and it gave me the confidence to play in front of an audience," she added.

"The way they make everyone feel safe, with no judgement and no elitist mind state, paired with top-tier tutors who are actively performing is also amazing as it really gives students a view into what could be.

"The best part is I'm also now a tutor on the London Mix Nights course and a freelance DJ tutor. Talk about a full circle moment," she added.

Miss Ellis added: "There's been a need to make that shift over time of getting more visible role models and showing women it's something you can do and you don't need to be intimidated."

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