Reid Speed and DJ DALI Speed talk women in EDM, taking drum and bass mainstream

NO BS sat down at Eden Fine Art Gallery with New York native DJ DALI and Drum and Bass DJ and bass music pioneer Reid Speed to talk about the women in music, the “Girls & Boys” party at Webster Hall and more.

DJ DALI, known for his presence in the underground culture and his weekly shows at Webster Hall for the Girls & Boys event. During his portion of the interview, DALI opened up about his thoughts on the expansion of EDM in the mainstream and shared some sage advice for any starting out DJs. He also filled us in on his experiences with fellow DJ colleagues he booked.

“We had Skrillex’s first show in New York City ever. He also played our last show ever. I knew he was going to get so big from the day I met him. That guy is a musical genius. The first conversation I’ve had with him was a two-hour conversation about drum and bass, which he was not making at the time.”

Reid Speed is a one of the most highly skilled drum and bass DJ’s and recognized as a trailblazer of the multi-genre bass music movement and spoke about her experiences of being one of the few female musicians in her genre and how the male-dominated scene has evolved over the span of her decades-long career.

She helped kick-start the careers of the likes of Dillon Francis, Must Die, Figure, Bare, Singularity, Cyberoptics, and many more.

“When I started I felt that being a woman was super helpful because there weren’t any, so the fact of being the only one at first, I was like the token female DJ. Then the fact of being really good–that was cool. Then I got a bunch of residencies and if I was a guy I don’t think I would have been afforded those opportunities just from being good.”

The DJs wrapped up the interview talking about drum and bass’s place in the world of electronic music, especially during the rise of EDM’s popularity on mainstream radio.