Chris Lake Inspired J. Worra to Shift Her Perspective
Common, infuriating comments women DJ/producers often get are something like "a man actually produced their music" or "they're only popular because they're hot." Thus, women producers are often forced into the defensive, giving studio tours and slogging away at every aspect of making a track on their own.
Of course, men are not held up to these same standards.
As Femme House co-founder and piano house queen LP Giobbi pointed out in a poignant 2021 conversation with rising tech house star J. Worra, most men at the top do not do everything alone. And having tracks mixed and engineered by someone else is standard across all genres of music. Also, no one is going to be stellar at every part of the process. Collaborating with a skilled instrumentalist or songwriter, for example, can offer a new perspective, nuance, and sonic diversity to music that you wouldn't get working solo.
"I think there's a lot of value for you as an artist working through it and figuring it out on your own, but I've been producing for eight years now, [sigh] and it almost hit a point where I just need some help," J. Worra said.
The "Check Out" producer revealed that it was an impactful conversation with tech house king Chris Lake that made her reconsider her commitment to doing everything by herself. While sitting next to Lake at Sound nightclub in Los Angeles, she told him she was doing everything independently.
"He was like, 'Why are you doing this to yourself? That's great and all, but why are you trying to do every single thing on your own? I've had instances where I've had full years where I've sent tracks to Marco Lys to mix down or Chris Lorenzo to fix something,' she said of the advice Lake gave her.
"That made me shift my perspective, because for the longest time I thought if I didn't do everything on my own, I'm not going to be a real artist and people aren't going to consider me. So, it takes a while to kinda let go of all of the control."
It's only fair that all artists have access to the tools that can help them and their music thrive and grow, including being able to collaborate and ask for help.
