FEATURE:
Saluting the Queens
PHOTO CREDIT: Rowena Alice
contemporary D.J. sisters, I am really invested in the work of Rowena Alice. I admire her hugely. The London-based (via Brum) D.J. has a C.V. that includes radio entertainment reporter, Boogaloo Radio presenter, and host of the Mixcloud Global No.1 show Incoming on Islington Radio. She is definitely someone everyone should know about! I will try to include as many links to her work as possible. You can follow Rowena Alice on Twitter and Instagram. You can listen to her previous Islington Radio shows. I think that she is someone who has a long future as a presenter, broadcaster and D.J. So many different projects I can see her attached to. Such an incredibly passionate and inspiring person, I will direct you here; where you can discover more about Rowena Alice and her professional background. I really do hope to interview her soon and find out more about her career and musical tastes. She had a busy end to 2023 and has had an exciting and packed year so far. Without doubt one of our finest D.J.s. Someone that you need to know about:
“Rowena is a prolific broadcaster, presenter and DJ. Her current exploits include a slot on BBC Three Counties Radio, indie DJ duties at Propaganda and her own Riot Diet show on London’s Boogaloo Radio, the latter requiring that all bands have at least one female member to qualify for coverage.
Alongside her broadcasting, Rowena holds residencies throughout London at various venues including Queen of Hoxton, The Book Club, The Blues Kitchen, The Lock Tavern, The Metropolitan, and The Boogaloo. She headlined the Boogaloo tent at Standon Calling Festival in 2019, and has played sets in Europe, LA and at London Fashion Week.
Rowena has had brand partnerships with Fred Perry, New Look, Tatty Devine, Motel Rocks, L’Oréal Professionnel, Kappa, K-Swiss, Bulldog Gin, and Stylist Magazine.
She has been described as a “brilliant broadcaster” and a “trendsetter” by Lock Magazine, a “prolific broadcaster, presenter and DJ” by Fred Perry Subculture, and a person who “expresses their individuality through fashion” by Stylist Magazine”.
One only needs to look at that page to see a great many fantastic women D.J.s who are quite new to me. I recently - well, last year - included Rowena Alice in a feature that discussed how there is still a bias and imbalance when it came to female D.J.s. Women have to work twice as hard to get the same opportunities as men. It is appalling and unforgivable given how amazing female D.J.s are and what they bring. It is saddening that we are in a situation where inequality reigns. Things are slowly improving, though it is not happening fast enough. With Rowena Alice standing alongside fellow queens like Peggy Gou, Carly Wilford, Annie Macmanus, and Honey Dijon, there is so much amazing talent out there. One need only look at amazing broadcasters on stations such as Soho Radio. Naturally brilliant D.J.s like queen Iraina Mancini. I think too many people focus on the mainstream stations. Look deeper and further afield and there are so many women adding their own stamp on some incredible sets.
PHOTO CREDIT: Rowena Alice
I hope that they get the focus and opportunities this year that they deserve. There are a few bits I want to drop in before I wrap things up. I would urge any music magazine and website to seek out Rowena Alice. Someone who, in the interviews we can read and hear already, is compelling, inspiring, passionate, thought-provoking and engaging. I am going to drop in a few interviews with Rowena Alice from a few years back. It is good to hear her talk about her journey into broadcasting and presenting. How she started out as a D.J. Whilst she might modestly think she is an unknown or underground D.J. (her Twitter bio reads: “Your favourite ginger DJ you’ve never heard of”)., this is someone I genuinely believe is going to be a huge name very soon! With her experience and desire, you know that she will go far. Such a natural and brilliant interviewer, I can see T.V. work, presenting across the BBC, and maybe a slot on a major station very soon. Someone a little too good to keep a secret!
We are firmly in the new year. No doubt, Rowena Alice will be thinking of her plans for the summer and what she hopes to achieve. Maybe international D.J. work. A new radio path and ventures beyond what she has done before. She may not look back at old interviews. I think it is important to see how far she has come. In 2016, Rowena Alice spoke with Giana Spiteri. Even then, this phenomenal talent had already achieved so much! Less than eight years later, she has taken further big steps. It is exciting to see just where she will head:
“Hi Rowena! Thanks for chatting with me. I’m very impressed with everything you’ve managed to achieve at the ripe age of 26. truly inspirational. Whilst working on documentaries, presenting for the BBC3CR and writing for Kettle Magazine - what would say have been some of the highlights of your career so far?
The biggest highlights of my career have to be the people I’ve met whilst working on the documentaries and for BBC3CR. In 2013, I flew to LA and got to work in a group with just five others on an interview with Steven Spielberg in his personal screening room at Amblin Entertainment, Universal Studios – I still have to remind myself that it was not a dream! Another memorable interview was with the delightful Simon Pegg, who has been a hero of mine since I was a teenager watching ‘Spaced’. Working for BBC3CR has given me the opportunity to attend film screening and press events, with my favourite being ‘Spotlight’ in January, followed by a Q&A with Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo. All I kept thinking was, “BATMAN AND THE HULK, BATMAN AND THE HULK!”. One of the questions I asked Keaton led to his response being in national Newspapers, which was extremely cool. Kettle Magazine is also a fabulous opportunity for me to speak my mind and voice my opinions, so writing for them is always fun!
Wow that sounds incredible, I bet no two days are alike! What would be a typical week at work for you?
Being self-employed and doing a lot of freelance work means that my workdays can be very up in the air and change weekly. Currently, I attend the cinema on Mondays to catch up on the new film releases from over the previous weekend, and then start work on my reviews; they are then typed up and posted on Tuesdays. I have recently started as the co-host for the Fashion Show on Hoxton Radio in London, and so I am in the studio in Hackney on Wednesdays recording that. Whilst in London, I also meet up with my personal manager Hayley to catch up on new writing work that has come through or events that I want to attend. She’s my hero as she ensures I’m keeping on track – it’s easy to become disorganised and become lost with what is going on when you don’t have a regular working day! I try to use Thursday to catch up on articles I need to write up and interviews that I have sent to me, which I love to do whilst I binge on television series and movies at home or listening to music at my favourite local café. Friday evenings are when I am on BBC3CR, so I use the morning for research into the week’s top entertainment news and gossip that I might have missed before heading to the studio in Dunstable. We’re never given a set itinerary for what we’ll be chatting about, so it’s best to dip into as much as you can throughout the week as well. When I have a bit of free time and I’m not keeping up with social networking, I try to squeeze in some drawing too – it’s a wonderful break from staring at screens a lot!
“That is some great advice - and it's definitely an industry where you have to work hard to get what you want. Thanks for your time Rowena, what would you say is next for you?
My pleasure! Thank you for your great questions. My plan is to carry on doing what I love for as long as I can! I’m hoping to develop my career on radio on the side of writing, whilst hopefully becoming an ambassador for some charities that I hold very close to my heart”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Rowena Alice
There were a lot of highlights that Rowena Alice can reflect back on from last year. Not only did she play at the Club NME relaunch. She also ensured that her end of year was packed with an itinerant and varied diary. Looking at some of her Instagram posts gives you an idea of how busy she was last year! I can only imagine how hectic and fun this summer is going to be. The reason I am highlighting Rowena Alice is that she and so many of her female peers are such tremendous, hard-working and brilliant D.J.s. Are they getting all the credit they deserve?! There is plenty of passion and admiration for them in the club, though one wonders whether they will get salute and recognising from the wider industry. Seeing polls where magazines and websites rank the best D.J.s and them including mostly men. It is frustrating to see! I am going to come to my interview to wrap up. Before that, Fred Perry spoke with Rowena Alice a while back and asked her about music that means the most to her:
“Where are you from?
London (via Birmingham)
Describe your style in three words?
Grunge Powerpuff Girl
What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
The Bronx at the Cambridge Junction in 2010. They were their own support band with their alter ego group Mariachi El Bronx. They went from performing glorious Latin-inspired tracks whilst dressed in matching uniforms, to smashing an energetic punk set in their usual incarnation as The Bronx – starting the set with their formidable track, ‘Knifeman’.
If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?
Sonic Youth and Nirvana during their European Tour together in 1991. Two of my favourite bands combining their raucous energy and insanely great noise-rock night after night in different European cities – it’s my idea of heaven. Plus, getting to hear Sonic Youth play ‘Kool Thing’ and Nirvana play ‘Aneurysm’ each evening, you could never get bored!
Which Subcultures have influenced you?
Riot Grrrl. It encouraged women to be outspoken, political, and to power their way into the male-dominated punk scene. It showed the importance of women being angry about the state of things and highlighted the fact women should be able to express their views in a safe environment. We have incredible bands currently continuing and evolving the ethos of Riot Grrrl, such as The Tuts, who are fighting for intersectional feminism whilst making extraordinary music. I’m obsessed with their song ‘Always Hear the Same Shit’.
If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
It would have to be Dolly Parton because she’s the ultimate boss woman! I love that she has complete control over her work, her image, and her legacy. I can imagine it would be a fascinating hour chatting to such a talented woman who is clearly very witty and candid about her life and experiences. I’d also try to encourage her to sing ‘Jolene’ for me because that song and her vocals touch my soul whenever I hear it.
Of all the venues you’ve been to, which is your favourite?
The Buffalo Bar in Islington. I was heartbroken when they had to close it down because it did so much for rock subcultures and emerging bands. It was a small basement venue that was just pure punk. They also provided audiences with intimate experiences with their favourite artists – you were so close to the bands you were practically rocking out on the stage with them. I also have fond memories of my partner Billy Lunn playing tracks from his band The Subways’ second album live for the first time after they’d just got back from L.A. recording with Butch Vig. The crowd’s response to tracks like ‘I Won’t Let You Down’ is unforgettable.
Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
Sister Rosetta Tharpe. A queer woman of colour who had a stunning gospel voice and could shred on her gorgeous Gibson guitar – what’s not to love! She was an icon and doesn’t get anywhere near enough credit for her influence and impact on rock ‘n’ roll. Her song ‘Jericho’ is still one of my all-time favourites!
Rowena Alice is a prolific broadcaster, presenter and DJ. Her current exploits include a slot on BBC Three Counties Radio, indie DJ duties at Propaganda and her own Riot Diet show on London's Boogaloo Radio, the latter requiring that all bands have at least one female member to qualify for coverage.
The first track you played on repeat?
Black Sabbath’s ‘Paranoid’. I first heard it as a kid when my mum was teaching me how to use her record player after she found me rummaging through the vinyl collection she had from her teens. I was hooked after hearing the opening riff, so had to go back for more!
A song that defines the teenage you?
Pretty much the whole of The Distillers’ Coral Fang record. It was released whilst I was at secondary school, and I was obsessed with it because it perfectly sound-tracked my angsty teen years. I’d probably pick ‘The Gallow is God’ off the album because I sang it onstage at The Square in Harlow as a teenager. My voice did not do justice to Brody Dalle’s sultry and snarling vocals.
One record you would keep forever?
Mclusky Do Dallas - an album that is as bold as it is brutal! When my partner and I first got to know each other, we bonded over our mutual love of Mclusky. I somehow managed to get the inimitable Falco and his other band Future of the Left to play a local venue for my fella’s birthday in 2009, and the band gave us a copy of Mclusky Do Dallas on vinyl. We will treasure the record forever! If you haven’t screeched along with their song ‘To Hell with Good Intentions’ at the top of your lungs during a long car drive, you’re missing out.
A song lyric that has inspired you?
“Two fingers up at those who won’t miss us when we pass away” from The Rakes’ ‘We Danced Together’.
It’s a great reminder that life is short, so do whatever makes you happy and don’t waste your precious time on people who won’t be fussed when you’re gone.
A song you wished you had written?
Carly Simon’s ‘You’re So Vain’. A sublime song with brilliant vocals and lyrics. Who wouldn’t want to be known for having written the ultimate “screw you” anthem to egotistical guys!”.
I have a lot of love and respect for D.J.s like Rowena Alice. They work in an industry that still is patriarchal and needs to be improved and tackled. At the end of 2022, for an INJECTION feature called Women in Nightlife: The Patriarchal Setbacks of Being a Female, DJ, Rowena Alice - alongside some of her female peers - shared her experiences of being a D.J. It makes for eye-opening and moving reading:
“Rowena Alice is a DJ and broadcaster based mainly around Shoreditch, specialising in rock and indie music. The first thing she mentioned was how difficult it was to start out as a female DJ and actually be recognised for her talent.
Rowena started her career as a model and has ‘dabbled’ in various industries. The similarities in both the modelling and music industries gave her more of an idea as to how women are generally treated by those of higher authority, and how her identity exacerbates the problem, even when it comes to trying to get booked in the first place.
“It’s an ongoing battle,” explains Rowena. Men with less experience will be booked without trouble, whereas women have to prove they’ve worked at gigs, broadcasted, and have a plethora of accolades just to get in the same position.
Rowena shares what a promoter’s thought process might be for booking a DJ, “it’s just easier to get a man in; they feel safer,” - as men are significantly less likely to be sexually harassed and in danger than women. As a freelancer without an HR team, Rowena looks to other groups, such as the Sound Girls Facebook group, for moral support and advice on getting booked.
PHOTO CREDIT: Rowena Alice
As I say, there will be more (I hope) with Rowena Alice at a later date. She is a phenomenal, D.J. who has kicked this year off in style. Go and follow her on social media. Playing at amazing London venues like Oslo Hackney and Queen of Hoxton, this amazing talent is enlivening and uniting crowds around the capital. I do predict that she will get gigs and residencies further afield. I am not sure whether she has America in her sights, though I can see Rowena Alice crossing the water in years to come and going down a storm there. I am excited to see what the summer holds for her. Without doubt one of the finest young D.J.s around, it casts my mind back to the gender imbalance and misogyny that still can be found in the industry. How female D.J.s have to play twice as many gigs as their male counterparts to get the same credit. Having to graft harder to get noticed. When you look at the talent out there, we should still not be having this discussion! There are so many phenomenal women out there showing they are among the best D.J.s in the world. We should be saluting the queens. Rowena Alice is someone I have been keen to feature for a long time. I hope that a showreel or trailer of her D.J. work alongside a link to where you can book her is posted to her Instagram account. That someone films and interview with her, as so many people would love to see it. It would also be amazing to see Rowena Alice and her fellow sisters interview one another about their experiences as a D.J. on the modern scene. I am going to spotlight some other amazing D.J. queens. Showing what strength there is. How the industry needs to recognise their talent. It leaves me to salute and send respect to…
PHOTO CREDIT: Rowena Alice
THE wonderful Rowena Alice.