If you’re a New Yorker, chances are you’ve found yourself cutting a rug at MoMA PS1’s ultimate dance party, Warm Up. For the past 19 years (seriously!) the series has called on some of music’s most progressively minded beatmakers — from established artists like Jamie xx and Just Blaze to totally unknown talents — to soundtrack the city’s summer Saturdays. This year’s hotly anticipated lineup was just announced, and as usual, doesn’t disappoint. Hip-hop hit machine DJ Premier headlines the first Warm Up on June 11, and later in the summer, Joy Orbison returns to the decks with a little help from Ben UFO. But the lineup’s most exciting aspect? Its healthy number of super talented women.
Though the dearth of female producers is a frequent point of discussion in electronic music, it’s not like Warm Up has been guilty of further marginalizing them. Throughout its history, we’ve seen seriously heavy hitting sets from the likes of UNiiQU3, Kim Ann Foxman, NGUZUNGUZU’s Asma Maroof, and her Future Brown co-architect Fatima al Qadiri. Female vocalists have also consistently killed their Warm Up performances (think Junglepussy and Princess Nokia’s collaboration, or Kelela’s monster set).
But this year, the lineup seems to be extra stacked: Juliana Huxtable is on the bill, Flava D and Lena Willikens head across the pond from London and Cologne respectively, LCD Soundsystem’s Nancy Whang will take some time off her insane schedule of major festivals for a solo set, and Louisahhh joins her Bromance labelmates Brodinski. Plus, Brooklyn’s exciting Discwoman collective has two artists on the bill: BEARCAT and SHYBOI. Kamaiyah and Maluca Mala are both signed on for live sets. And there are still more women participating! We counted upwards of 15 female-identifying musicians on the lineup (not including surprise special guests) whose sounds range from UK Garage to Jersey club.
It’s largely thanks to Warm Up’s curatorial committee — which includes True Panther Sounds’ Dean Bein (who has been signing some fantastic young women recently), Pitchfork’s Brandon Stosuy, and Cool Managers’ Imogene Strauss — that its lineup is so globally, sonically, and gender diverse. Now if only more major festivals (looking at you, Coachella) would follow suit.
Credits
Text Emily Manning
Photography Charles Roussel