NEWS
EVENTS
An Interview with Dutty Girl
House | Wednesday 23rd October 2013 | Beth
Dutty Girl have swept through Bristol's music scene for the last decade, spanning across multiple genres, talents and outputs - from radio shows to club nights, to their own clothing store.
We decided that everyone who isn't already in the know should hear just what this crew is all about.
How did Dutty Girl begin?
Diss Miss: The first Dutty Girl club night was actually back in 2003. At the time I wanted to create a night that celebrated the females in the hip hop scene. So I went about bringing some of the UK's best hip hop ladies down to Bristol. Eventually, a few years later Dutty Girl as a collective came together through doing that club night. They all kind of found me by coming along to the nights and telling me they wanted to get involved. Eventually the name of the night became our crew name, and for the last 6 years or so there has been the core 6 of us - Safe Soul, Kash Honey, Dazee, Sarah B Klair and myself.
Where did the name come from?
Diss Miss: I had been working in a Jamaican pub in Bristol and the landlord there is known as 'Dutty Ken', it stemmed from that. My friend and I started calling ourselves his Dutty Girls for a laugh, but it had a ring to it and it stuck so I used it for the club night name. I also really liked the concept of taking a word that didn't have a positive meaning and turning it on it's head, using it for a really positive reason instead.
Sarah B: The name was definitely shocking to a few people in the beginning, and it still does take a few people by surprise, but we like it, it just seems right for us.
Can you tell us a little more about what you each do individually?
Kash Honey: Well, within the crew there are 3 DJs (Dazee, Diss Miss and Safesoul) and 3 MCs/vocalists (Sarah B, Klair and I). Dazee and Diss Miss produce the beats for us vocalists.
SafeSoul: Diss Miss and I both started out as hip hop DJs, and still do love hip hop as do the others, that will always be a strong part of Dutty Girl's roots. To be honest we play deep house more than anything right now. We also have the Radio show every Saturday on Ujima. That keeps us pretty busy!
Diss Miss: We love and listen to so many different genres between us and you can hear that through our radio show and our live sets, but we all essentially have very similar musical tastes which ultimately makes it all work I guess.
Klair: My role is the diva! As in a singer, I don't request new carpets on my rider or anything though!
Dazee: I'm a Junglist at heart and I’ve been part of Bristol's club scene since the early nineties, originally building a music career as resident and producer for Ruffneck Ting (Drum and Bass club night and label). I recently started promoting the night again and have just relaunched Ruffneck Ting Records. Being a part of Dutty Girl is something different for me, and through it I've opened myself up to a lot more genres. Diss Miss and I produce just about anything we feel like, and we try and make the right thing for whatever the vocalists are feeling at that time, we’ve all worked hard to create an identity and sound together. It’s paying off, as it's definitely become a well-recognised name in the Bristol clubbing scene.
You've been running successful club nights in Bristol for the past 8 years, how would you describe the experience to someone who's never been before?
SafeSoul: We like to think we are taking people on a journey, does that sound cheesy? It's just that we like to get people on the dance floor! Then we gradually take them through the genres.
Diss Miss: I try to be guided mostly by the crowd - you can never really plan everything, so I tend to decide a lot of what I'm playing there and then, but maybe I'm just a bit of a spontaneity junkie!
Dazee: We like to keep it moving and not play one genre for too long before we switch it up. The MCs and singers keep it lively too.
Kash Honey: During one of our sets you'll basically hear all the biggest tunes of the moment, all mixed in and around our own tracks, plus maybe some older tracks or some 90s garage or something, no cheesy chart stuff, just damn good music.
You've recently played at Love Saves The Day, St Paul's Carnival and Glastonbury. What were the reactions like from the crowds and what's been your favourite set to date?
Dazee: Glastonbury was a fantastic experience! We were amazed to be given a prime time spot on the Thursday night on the BBC Introducing Stage from 10-11pm. It wasn’t possible to bring our vocalists for this one so it was just gonna be a DJ set from Diss Miss and I. A friend of ours, MC Carasel offered to join us on stage - he was already performing elsewhere at the festival, and it really worked well. People seemed to love the whole thing. It was a massive opportunity and we're really grateful to BBC Introducing for making it happen!
Diss Miss: Yeah, we had an amazing response, so many people turned up! As it was Thursday night everything was just getting underway at the festival and people were lively to say the least! We also loved playing at Love Saves The Day and St Paul's Carnival. We love performing live in general, but it's especially good to have the full crew together.
If you could introduce another member to the group (anyone in the world) who would you choose and why?
Diss Miss: Ha ha! That's too hard. We have honestly been very open to the idea of having new members, but no one has come along that seemed to click with us yet. It's just got to feel right, you know? It may have been easier to ask who we would like to work with, but then that list is endless! Off the top of my head I think we'd all probably welcome Ms Dynamite in to the crew though! Legend.
Sarah B: Yeah she's allowed!
Kash Honey: Yeah or Angel Haze, she's sick.
How do you feel about the lack of female DJs/producers/etc in the music industry?
SafeSoul: There's a lot of great female DJs and producers coming up right now; Eclair Fifi, Hannah Wants, Moxie, Monki, Annie Mac, B Traits, Maya Jane Coles, Queenie, Barely Legal, Madam X, it's really looking good for women right now.
Diss Miss: I suppose this issue is why Dutty Girl even exists in the first place. I noticed a distinct lack of women on big line-ups and that was one of the main reasons for me to start the club night, to make a difference to that. It was always about bringing women together as a force to be reckoned with! It can be hard for girls who don't necessarily feel comfortable about starting up DJing around so many guys, and there are a lot of us who need to have the support of other women. But it's certainly looking good for women at the moment, it's a sign of the times. If Dutty Girl happens to inspire any other girls to get involved, then that's basically my dream fulfilled!
Do you feel gender makes considerable difference to your music careers?
Sarah B: Yeah in some ways, we've definitely experienced all kinds - from people booking us just because we're girls, to people not booking us because we're girls. I think at the end of the day, perhaps we do have to strive a bit harder as women, but we can't take that as a negative. We just have to be the best we can be, and just keep on keeping on.
Klair: I think it's different being a singer compared to being a DJ. A DJ is likely to be a man 9 times out of 10, so it's often just more of a shock to people.
Diss Miss: Sometimes I've had the funniest comments, sometimes people are just over-excited to see a girl on the decks, it can be really sweet and also sometimes it's just patronising – I’m not just talking about the guys there either!
If you could send out a message to all women interested in becoming a part of the music world, what would you say to them?
Dazee: You have to be prepared to work for it: hunting down the music, gaining mixing skills, scratching skills, learning about equipment, music production - its not an overnight thing. But if you really want it, stick at it even if it doesn’t seem to come naturally to you.
Diss Miss: It is something you have to be passionate about but don’t take yourself so seriously that you forget that you are there to play music so that people can have fun and shake their asses!
Kash Honey: Just do it!
What does the future hold for Dutty Girl?
Dazee: We have the luxury of an amazing music scene in Bristol, but perhaps we can be guilty of forgetting sometimes that there is a whole world out there!
Diss Miss: It's time to get the Dutty name out in all forms, via the clothing and music. We have new Dutty t-shirts coming soon and lots more one off designs available on the website too. Right now we're busy rehearsing and writing new beats for exciting up coming shows and really looking forward to playing at Annie Mac Presents at In:Motion in November.
Beth Hallatt
@bethhallatt
altummusic.com
