Get To Know: Nuance

Get To Know: Nuance

Hi ladies, thanks for taking the time to chat with us! Please introduce yourselves... 

Averil: Hey, we’re Nuance! We’re a trio formed of Ellie who goes by Clouwds, Lex - L.E.X and me, Averil aka Averse. I’m the small one! 

Ellie: Hallo! I’m Ellie aka Clouwds

Lex: I’m Lex aka L.E.X. I won your DJ competition for the Shogun Leeds event 2 years ago.

How did the 3 of you meet? And what made you come together as a trio? 

Averil: So I met Lex about 3 years ago, and Ellie about 2 and a half years ago. I met both of them at drum and bass events, We all clicked instantly, and have been best friends since. 

In terms of DJing, Charli Brix put us down for a set at Motion playing for Shotgun Sessions where we all played back to back (or B3B as we like to call it!), for the first time. We had so much fun and decided we should do it more often. 

We then decided that rather than playing as individual artists B2B, it would be cool to make a new alias for us to go under. We came up with the name Nuance, mainly because it’s a cool word, and secondly because it means ‘a subtle distinction or variation.'

Photo: Giulia Spadafora / Soul Media

We can’t wait to have you join us at The Steel Yard on 6th March - what can the Shogun fans expect from your sets? 

Lex: ENERGY! That’s one thing I think we always strive to accomplish with our sets. From experience of being avid ravers ourselves, we love to see the DJ vibing along to their tracks, it definitely reflects on the crowd if you see the DJ having a good time. We generally bounce off each other quite well, if one of us drops a filthy double the other two will go nuts and jump around in a congratulatory manner. We’ve generally all got different styles of mixing and track selection so our audience gets to experience a multitude of sub-genres. I started mixing with a love for dancefloor-style DnB later graduating onto more tech-filled and moody liquid influenced tracks. So I now try to collaborate with the three. 

What DJ/Producers in D&B have influenced each of you and why? 

Averil: Kyrist is definitely one of them. She’s an incredible producer and amazing DJ, and to see her absolutely smashing it at the moment is inspiring to a lot of females in the scene. Kirsty and the other KCDC girls (Enada, Charli Brix and Collette Warren) have all been so supportive towards us as individual artists and collectively, so they definitely deserve a special mention here! 

Ellie: I’m predominantly influenced most by my absolute OG pals (whom I have endless admiration for) Averse, L.E.X, and Lunar. Coming down to watch their sets and playing out with them over the years has always sparked inspiration for me, and that sense of feeling so very proud of them is what makes me love DJing! Other DJs/producers that make me want to throw my shoes in the air are Camo & Krooked and Kyrist. 

Lex: Like many, my first introduction to DnB was through Pendulum when I was 15. I would also say Dimension, Culture Shock, Sub Focus and Wilkinson just because these were the artists I first listened to when I first fell in love with DnB. Others include Dawn Wall, Logistics and of course.. (I think all three of us might agree on this one) Technimatic. Their style of music is just very much my cup of tea. I love their euphoric introductions and samples of inspirational quotes. 

Describe your sets in 3 words... 

Energetic, Eclectic, Mischievous. 

You’ve done a mix for us! What tracks can we expect to hear? What's the vibe on the mix? 

Lex: We wanted to showcase a collaboration of our favourite Shogun tracks with a twist of other favourite tracks of ours at the moment. It’s great because we generally don’t get much of a cross-over of tunes when preparing for a set which means we play a wide variety. 

Ellie: The mix builds from some of our favourite liquid tracks, old and new through a nuanced journey (if you’ll pardon the pun..) to more heavy tech-infused tunes and even a bit of Neuro.  

How does it feel to be an all-female trio in a very male-dominated world? 

Ellie: I feel incredibly lucky and excited about it all! It can be quite an intimidating prospect to enter a scene as a minority, but that initial apprehension has now manifested as a strong determination to encourage more women into the scene and generate more variation. I’m a strong believer that diversity breeds more prosperous creativity. 

Lex: It’s great man! Although I try not to think of myself too much as a ‘female DJ’ and just more of a ‘DJ’ as I generally haven’t been treated any differently to a male one. I’ve maybe been underestimated or not taken seriously in the beginning and I used to get "yeah, of course, you’re gonna get gigs because you’re a girl" a lot which used to drive me nuts, but I tend to just laugh it off now. There have been some amazing female DnB acts emerging over the recent years which is really inspiring to see. 

Averil: I feel so empowered playing with these ladies, and I’m so glad that we get to share these experiences together. 

That being said, it can be daunting being a female artist in a male-dominated scene - there is more scrutiny on female artists and extra pressure to perform well - I feel that if I don’t perform well, then that will reflect badly on people’s perceptions of female DJ’s as a whole. 

Although there is a lot of female talent out there and a lot more pushing through recently, what actions do you think the D&B community should be taking to make it more balanced? 

Averil: Pragmatic solutions such as workshops, tutoring and mentoring are, in my opinion, the most effective way to get more females involved. Efforts to help women in the initial stages of learning how to mix and learning how to produce would go a long way in seeing greater female involvement - I’ve really benefited from an initiative in Bristol called 'Mix Nights', for example. Us Nuance gals might even have a little something up our sleeve for this year which we’re hoping will help... 

Ellie: It’s been great to see such improvements in DnB gender equality in recent years, but we still have a long way to go. The rationale for booking or signing a female artist or collective should be based upon the talent and suitability of that artist(s) to the event/label. 

Lex: There seem to be more female acts coming forward and getting onto big lineups which is awesome to see. There’s definitely more blogs and Facebook groups catered for females in the music industry now which is really helpful for networking.  

Top 3 Shogun tunes of all time: 

Lex: Technimatic - Anti-hero / Document One - Holy Moly / Icicle ft SP:MC - Dreadnaught 

Averil: Technimatic - Better Perspective / Alix Perez, Spectrasoul & Peven Everett - Forsaken / Icicle - Arrows 

Ellie: Alix Perez ft. Peven Everett & Spectrasoul - Forsaken Joe Ford - Here Comes The Sun Icicle - Anxious 

Thanks again ladies, see you on 6th March at The Steelyard for an epic night! 

All: We can’t wait! See you all there! 

 

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