Womxn in Underground Music: Club Nights, Safe Spaces and Autonomy
Sofya. Photographed by Khadija Moustafa.
by Khadija Moustafa
Growing up in Glasgow has its perks. One of them being the vibrant nightlife which, as an angsty teenager, I took full advantage of. There’s a party every night of the week - whether you want to see an ABBA tribute or dissociate to some deep techno - Glasgow has got you covered. This vibrancy and range is something Glaswegians are not only proud of but also is super integrated into our ‘anything goes’, and ‘all are welcome’ attitude. After all what is a club for apart from pure hedonism?
Well, I’m glad you asked. This question comes up a lot. I love clubs, I love dancing and I need music to get me through almost any activity. When I started djing, it was an exciting way of expressing myself, and having a crowd engage and enjoy your selection is not only an ego boost but quite a magical experience. For some reason, sweaty, happy people light up my life. But back to the point, hedonism. Yes, clubs are advertised to be ‘enjoyed by everyone’ but that doesn’t include a pre-warning small print for trans, POC and womxn – and that’s a problem. We don’t feel welcome or safe in every space available to us. Only in recent years has the term ‘Safe space’ crept into our vocabulary surrounding clubs, and for good reason! This movement within the club scene has aimed to create not only a place to let off steam and bring communities together but to prioritise minorities in the same breath. An abstract concept for most - especially Glasgow’s club scene, which is dominated by men, mostly white. All of a sudden, the womxn, non-binary and people of colour were having their voices heard and being given opportunities, the club scene was being questioned and people were angry. It was at this time 3 years ago I met Sofya, a young art school graduate running club-nights focused around dubstep, grime, garage and all things bass related.
I was outside my old workplace, Stereo, smoking a rollie when we crossed paths and got chatting about music. They asked if I wanted to play one of their parties at the Art School and I’m not going to lie, I was chuffed, to say the least. Not only did Sof explain their ethics and involve me, they asked my rates. This was a new experience for me, as I’d been playing Grime nights and otherwise, mostly for free or for under what I asked for. A very typical thing for artists starting up in any field. Do it for ‘exposure’, a total cop out term for exploiting beginners. But we move. The Art School is an iconic venue and I felt so grateful that Sof had put their trust in me to play at their party. From then a beautiful friendship and professional team was born.
Sof aka VAJ.power, firstly a powerhouse, DJ, Visual artist, club-night promoter and parent of agency ‘FUSE by Vaj.power’ with an impressive roster of diverse talent based in Scotland. Not biased, just honest. Vaj.Power are one of the only club-night promoters, managers and humans doing the exhausting work of maintaining their ethics within a scene, based on profit. I was in awe at how Sof navigated the club scene with an unapologetic approach to prioritising womxn and POC, me being one of them. It is so common to see male-dominated spaces, especially within bass related genres such as grime and dubstep which Sof’s nights are centred around. It’s intimidating as a womxn to be in these spaces - never mind being trans or POC. It’s not a place where these conversations are being had but Sof was making sure the vocabulary was changing. It was so refreshing to be around and something I hadn’t seen been done previously. Even hiring ‘Safe space coordinators'' to ensure there’s no problematic behaviour on the dancefloor or elsewhere.
Sof’s attitude really opened my eyes to how much goes unsaid and how the club scene can move away from the standard cardboard cut-out and thrive. I think giving light to these special characters will make the club scene a more inclusive and progressive place. After all, what’s a club for apart from pure Hedonism.