With just 2% of music producers being women, it’s rare to see women in the forefront of sound, when it comes to the music industry. Not because women are any less capable, but because of the lack of opportunities and the presence of biases. Let’s just say, the struggle is real. However, seeing more women working and shaping the music industry is our passion and – albeit slowly – the times are changing. In celebration of International Women’s Day, here are five really great women who work in sound, and are simply great at what they do.
1. WondaGurl
Ebony Oshunrinde, a.k.a Wondagurl, is a Canadian-born producer and beatmaker that has established herself as a true contender in the hip-hop and R&B game.
From an unexpected beginning, her beats featured on Jay-Z’s ‘Crown’ – becoming one of the youngest women to be credited on a platinum hip-hop album at the young age of just 16. The now 24-year-old, gained further acknowledgement for her production on Travis Scott’s ‘Antidote.’ After being signed to the rapper’s own label Cactus Jack Records, she is continuing on that partnership with Scott’s more recent track ‘The Plan.’ This track is featured in the soundtrack for 2020 action-thriller, Tenet.
With research suggesting that less than 1% of music producers are black women, WondaGurl continues to push past that ceiling, creating tracks that will surely not be forgotten.
2. Beth O’Leary
Ireland-born live sound technician and engineer, Beth O’Leary is based in Sheffield’s live scene.
Starting out volunteering at her university’s music events and club nights (distracted from her zoology degree), O’Leary’s love for music and the live scene has taken her to working tours for the likes of Kylie Minogue. Still, being in the minority is not foreign to O’Leary. In her honest reflection, she explores why the live sound industry is still lacking in equality:
“I think a lot of people say it’s just that women aren’t interested…There’s plenty of women who tried to make it in the industry and just gave up and left. I’ve even questioned why I’m still here at times. Most people are lovely and supportive, and while the whole industry is getting more inclusive, there is still sexism – both personal and systemic.”
3. Jumi Akinfenwa
This dissatisfaction with the current state of the industry is echoed in the sync and supervision field. Jumi Akinfenwa, who is now Music Coordinator for Amazon Studios Europe, has had her fair share of battles in the industry as a woman of colour. However, she continues to advocate and campaign for equality in the creative industries.
In her time as music supervisor and cultural curator at Pitch & Sync, Akinfenwa launched “Make Noise,’ an initiative geared towards encouraging the creative industries to be more educated and vocal about inequality within the industry.
With music supervision roles rarely occupied by women of colour, Akinfenwa is a notable pioneer for equality and inclusiveness in her efforts to make the creative industries more diverse and accessible when it comes to gender, race, background and disability. She continues to seek out and raise others up who may not have received those opportunities otherwise, so we look forward to how this impacts and diversifies the sync industries.
4. TOKiMONSTA
Emerging as the first woman to be signed to Brainfeeder (the indie label founded by Flying Lotus) TOKiMONSTA, sometimes known as Jennifer Lee, has continued to be a tastemaker in modern dance and beat music.
The Los Angeles-based producer and DJ is also a classically trained pianist. She is known for her experimental, intricate melodies and her luminescent sounds that always feels somewhat transcendent. A key moment in Lee’s career was the release of her triumphant 2017 album Lune Rouge which made her the first Asian-American producer and the first woman to be nominated for the GRAMMY’s ‘Best Electronic/Dance Album’ award.
While Lee mainly creates her own music, Lee also has experience producing for other artists. Collaborations include Anderson Paak, Jessie Ware and Gavin Turek, with whom she released the LP You’re Invited.
From making GRAMMY-awarded music to recovering from two brain surgeries that could have destroyed her music career, Lee has demonstrated remarkable strength and innovation to overcome challenges and continues to create textured, technicolour sounds that always move you.
5. Emily Lazar
Emily Lazar is one of the few women to break as a mastering engineer. Starting out as a singer-songwriter, Lazar has made a name for herself, having mastered and engineered for artists from Sia and HAIM to Coldplay and the Foo Fighters. Much like TOKiMONSTA, Emily Lazar has earned herself GRAMMY nominations in her creative space, being the first woman to have received a nomination for the ‘Mastering Record of the Year’ award. Sharing her experience as a songwriter, she said:
“There were certainly no other women on the technical side. I did have a female bass player in my band finally, at one point. I did have a little girl power. It wasn’t enough to go against the entire sea of (men). It was rough. It was a lot of interesting behavior. It only inspired me to work harder to figure it all out.”
With growing dissatisfaction with the way things were being run, Lazar was able to figure it all out, launching her own mastering company, The Lodge, at age 25. Now, Lazar has mastered over 4,000 albums throughout her career, with key names under her belt including releases by Wu-Tang Clan and the Dolly Parton.
While some may argue that the sound industry is still a ‘boy’s club’ and that gender parity is a world away, it’s clear that women are continually on the rise and very capable to prove their seat at the turntable. There’s great strength in celebrating the huge power moves these women have undertaken in their positions and it’s clear things are going in the right direction. Here’s to a more equal future.
