"Undercurrents" - An Ambient Set by Fo

The percentage of womxn DJs is estimated to be around 10-15%, with womxn DJs in line-ups reaching only 17% to 25%. Flinta DJs and producers are still a rarity, and showcasing new talent is a demanding, endless quest.

#HER is a music project that was established in 2018 in Greece to showcase, support, introduce, and celebrate womxn DJs and producers in the electronic music scene. Quality surpasses and undercuts gender, age, nationality, and solely focuses on the talent and inspiration that characterize these women.

The idea and concept belong to Fofi Tsesmeli aka Fo, one of the most beloved and renowned DJs, with a long and respected trajectory in the dance music scene and the media.

The project was launched by organizing several successful events in Athens. International DJs such as Kim Ann Foxman, VONDA7, and Skin of Skunk Anansie teamed up with local talent. HER was also a co-organizer of the event “Women in Techno_logy”, a unique audiovisual show, which took place in the Athens Concert Hall (Megaron). It was the first time techno was played in the premises, and only by women.

Virginia (aka VRGN) joined Fofi in HER Project, with a mutual passion and eagerness to grow HER, raise the current issues of inequality, and provide womxn with a sustainable and safe space to connect, learn, and grow.

Some of their highlights as HER were a B2B performance at the first edition of Sónar Athens festival, several collaborations with Athens Pride, World Pride, Stavros Niarchos Cultural Centre, and Volos Festival. HER curated and organized a 24-hour takeover of Cannibal Radio, featuring 24 local DJs for International Women’s Day, a two-day takeover of Selina Hotel with workshops, panels, an art exhibition, party, and organized and participated in several discussions and workshops for the visibility of femininities and underrepresented groups in the music industry.

In 2020, they established the Athenian chapter of shesaid.so, a global network of women in the music industry fighting for equality. The long-term plan for this project is to evolve into a collective promoting womxn and gender minorities in music through knowledge exchange, international collaborations, showcase events, and more.

Fofi Tsemeli aka Fo is a DJ, music editor, curator, and consultant with a long trajectory and an expertise in electronic music. She has collaborated with major festivals, producers, cultural venues, and renowned international DJs. She is professionally active in the field of media (digital & print) and has also worked in radio, television, music royalties’ management, various record labels, as a consultant and A&R. Since 2014, she maintains an electronic music column in LiFO, and she holds the longest-living residency at a club in the country, as the resident of Sodade BackStage for the last 25 years.

Fofi is the founder of the HER project, a platform for the empowerment of womxn and underrepresented groups in the music industry, which led to the creation of the Athenian chapter of shesaid.so, the independent and important global community of women and gender nonconforming people in music, to which she is the co-director. She is the co-founder of Matterz, a digital ecosystem that promotes safety, education, and equity.

She has collaborated with Megaron, SNFCC, Athens Pride, Sonar Athens, Athens Music Week, World Pride, HE.SHE.THEY, Volos Festival, Eleusis European Cultural Capital 2023, The National Museum of Modern Art, etc., in events that promoted visibility, inclusion, and equality in music. In 2021, she was nominated for a GIWA award (Greek International Women Awards) in the Arts & Culture category.

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