MarcExciting times ahead for a group of powerful women who took measures in their own hand and established a DJ collective called FLUX/X. Sunday November 27th is the official launch date and we’re honored to host it with a special 7 hour long drum and bass livestream session.
Recently we’ve been talking with a few of their residents to learn what Flux/x is all about and what future projects they’ve got in store. Let’s get into it!
Hi everyone, hope you’re doing well. Thank you for taking a bit of your time to do this interview. First of all, congrats on the launch of this new collective! Exciting times, I reckon. Can you please introduce yourselves: who are you and what’s your role within FLUX/X?
VOXI: “Thank you, we are very excited for the upcoming livestream as well. And thanks for giving us a platform to talk about our brand new collective. Basically, we are 7 DJ’s who work together next to our jobs or studies. We work in small project groups and have bi-weekly status meetings where we divide the tasks amongst ourselves based on how much we can do.”
Rayven Lux: “That’s right, some of us are amazing at organizing and others are good at designing or project management, so we divide tasks according to what we like to do and what we’re good at. Our roles in the collective happened very naturally.”
Vicebylara: “Thanks for having us, a great honor to celebrate the launch this way. Indeed, we started this project besides our daily obligations and everyone plays their part. From organizing and designing to project management and social media. There is something for everyone and we really complement each other nicely. If you want to learn more about our specific roles within FLUX/X and about the other residents; Operator21, Lazlo, Rakc and Flexusz, check out the resident bios on our social media.”
What’s the reason you’re launching this new initiative and what’s your mission?
VOXI: “The reason why we started this collective is because we all felt like it would be super powerful if female DJ’ s would join forces and collaborate. By connecting with each other we instantly created a safe space which we didn’t know before was something that we missed within the drum and bass community. Sure, we all have many friends in the scene but there’s nothing like sharing your experiences with other women who instantly get you.
From the first moment we met online, this was in August, we started talking about our personal goals and how we could achieve them. We did a photo shoot together and got to know each other better. At the same time we worked closely together in creating our concept, name, vision and social media content. Now that we are officially live, it’s time to start working on our mission: Encouraging inclusive stages in drum and bass.”
Rayven Lux: “As women, we want to support each other in a way that we can learn from each other and be ourselves. That there is a place to grow, instead of having to be in the scene with a certain status. Just play together. We believe that a wide range of perspectives has the power to inspire and fuel growth in the community as well as in individuals.
While the main reason was the lack of our own community, or a more inclusive community rather, the support is really important and I feel like it’s unconditional within FLUX/X. It is nice to have a community or group to which you can reside to for support, workshops, questions, opportunities.
But also to have fun, share our passion for drum and bass and create the music we love. Simultaneously, we are seeking to build a larger network of people within the scene that want to embark with us on our journey, and I’m sure there are a lot, to eventually improve the community for everyone for the better regardless of external factors beyond a person’s control.”
ViceByLara: “The bigger picture of us being together is not necessarily about making a bold statement or being activists. We share the same love and passion for drum and bass music and we would like to share that with everyone, so everyone is welcomed. We value quality as much as having fun and sharing the love for drum and bass. We strive to be inclusive and not diverse, the difference is that one unites us all and the other divides and we don’t want to divide the already awesome drum and bass scene.”
There seems to be a misconception amongst some people, at least that’s what I often read in online comments and such, that things like racism, sexism or trans- and homophobia is not a (big) issue in drum and bass. Can you explain why that isn’t true?
VOXI: “Those are big issues that are happening everywhere in the world. So, it’s really naive to think that those issues are non-existent within drum and bass. I’m not saying that these issues are not important to us, but we believe it’s not very effective to focus on the negative parts and instead focus on what we can do to create positivity.”
Vicebylara: “These issues of racism, sexism, trans- and homophobia are not something we can fundamentally address. What we can do is stand for inclusion. That regardless of gender, race or sexuality everyone gets a chance to show their talent. These are the external factors I talked about earlier.”
Rayven Lux: “We like to believe that more can be reached within the community with positive energy and supporting each other. We focus on uniting instead of dividing.”
So, more inclusivity within drum and bass, that’s something I can definitely get behind. How can we reach this?
VOXI: “This is a very complex topic. I feel like everyone within the community is responsible for their contribution to achieve more inclusivity. Whether you’re a raver, DJ, producer or an organizer. It’s also up to you what you can do within your power. If you are very influential, imagine the impact you can make. We are with just 7 of us and we already feel like we radiate a lot of positivity because the feedback so far has been really well received.”
Rayven Lux: “The reactions have been really heartwarming so far, with just 7 DJ’s sharing the love for drum and bass we’d never thought it could have made this much impact already. It shows that people are open for change.”
Vicebylara: “Everyone can play their part in achieving more inclusivity within drum and bass. I think it is about an open conversation within the community in which everyone can participate whether you’re indeed a raver, DJ, producer or promoter. Talk about it and look out for each other.
I do think we are moving in the right direction, but we’re not quite there yet. Organizers and promoters try to actively pursue more inclusive lineups and some DJ’s even have an inclusivity rider, like Alix Perez, stating that a certain percentage of the lineup has to be filled with DJ’s coming from a minority.”
I guess your main focus is on the Dutch drum and bass scene, or isn’t that the case?
VOXI: “Not necessarily, the drum and bass scene is very international and extends beyond the Dutch borders. We all have friends from other countries that we met through drum and bass. On the FLUX/X socials we write everything in English so it speaks to everyone.”
Rayven Lux: “We like to keep in touch with people from outside the Dutch scene as well and to possibly collaborate in the future and create possibilities along the line of inclusivity in the drum and bass scene. What an international topic is anyway. We do have a lot to explore within the Dutch scene, so we will focus on that first.”
Vicebylara: “It is true that we are based in The Netherlands, but it doesn’t necessarily mean we are focused on the Dutch drum and bass scene only. We do have many friends within the scene here, but we already established multiple connections abroad and we want to appeal to everyone in the scene to make all the difference we can and to reach as many people as we can.”
What kind of activities are you planning to work towards your mission?
Rayven Lux: “Our FLUX/X meetings are always about sharing thoughts and ideas and figuring out what we can realize. The last couple months were all about building FLUX/X and in 2023 we will focus more on the projects we have in mind.”
Vicebylara: “One of the things that we are realizing right now, is an event called IMPAKT. We are very happy to be given the chance to curate the first drum and bass night in Kiki Club in Leiden which takes place on 28 December. Of course, it will be an inclusive lineup and we have an international headliner.”
VOXI: “We are launching another concept soon where we select upcoming and established artists within the scene and talk about their experiences and insights. If you want to join our personal journeys and see what we’re working on with FLUX/X, I would say: follow us on social media.”
What would be a good starting point for anyone wanting to bring more inclusivity to their scene/environment as well?
VOXI: “I think it starts with realizing what kind of power you already have and that there are many ways to add value to the community. Think about what you can do and just go for it. Connect with likeminded people and join forces. You don’t have to do it alone.”
Rayven Lux: “Be curious. Be open. Be humble.
VicebyLara:” I really agree with both VOXI and Rayven Lux. Also, for anyone wanting to bring more inclusivity to their environment it is all about respect. We are all human and we all deserve respect. One is not better than the other based on race, gender or sexuality. I am convinced that it all comes down to respect for one another.”
Are you looking for other people to join your collective and take an active role within it as well? If so, how can they contact you?
ViceByLara: “We are always looking for new talent and we are always open for collaborations. I think right now we are going to really build a community and give back to it through workshops, Q&A’s, contests, mixtapes, etc. Now that we are launched we can work towards this. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you want to talk to us, have questions or if you want to work with us.”
What’s the best way to stay up-to-date with all things FLUX/X related?
VOXI: “Make sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook. We update it regularly with whatever we are working on and give updates on all of our bookings.”
On Sunday November 27th you are taking over the DrumandBassNL Live stream for a 7-hour (!) drum and bass session which we are looking very much forward to. What may our viewers expect for this event?
ViceByLara: “Crazy new talent.”
Rayven Lux: “Fun and chaos.”
VOXI: “7 female DJ’s in 1 day playing their favorite tunes in your living room!”
What are your next steps?
VOXI: “We just launched FLUX/X and we are currently exploring what more we can do. Our first event is just around the corner and we have bookings in the next months and next year. Super excited!”
Rayven Lux: “Our main goal is to have fun and to connect, so that will be the focus of the coming months.”
Vicebylara: “As much as we are a collective, we also have our personal goals and events to prepare for, so our next step is to really grow individually, grow the collective, expand our network and most importantly: have fun making awesome music!”
Any last words?
VOXI: “Drum and bass forever.”
Rayven Lux: “Amen.”
ViceByLara: “Let’s do this.”
Visit https://linktr.ee/fluxx_djcollective to stay up-to-date with all things related to FLUX/X and give them a well-deserved like on their socials.
Add comment