SYREETA, a UK-based DJ and producer, is at the vanguard of diversity and inclusion in the music scene. Her 2017 come-up is thanks in part to her friendship with Jaguar, who vouches for her technique—an expansive blend of soul, groove, flavorful house and techno blended perfectly and styled with flair in high-energy performances.



SYREETA's influences are rooted in a youth characterized by a love of reggae and rave music, and her taste has evolved with time. Her present-day style connects these underlying influences into a mosaic of classic house, techno, and garage. Each set showcases a rich repertoire that will take you on an exciting journey on the dancefloor.



She is a resident of HE.SHE.THEY, a creative collective promoting diversity and safe spaces free of judgment for people of all races, genders, and sexualities. One of its main objectives is to provide a podium for marginalized communities and artists, and it’s driving a powerful message about equality. She helps amplify their voice to encourage and challenge promoters to diversify their lineups and increase the representation of marginalized demographics. SYREETA works hard to raise awareness of the marginalization among dance music artists and what can be done to improve it.



It was inevitable that she would eventually connect with Jaguar, a prominent DJ and radio personality. Jaguar takes pride in giving first plays to many up-and-coming producers from around the United Kingdom, shining a spotlight and creating opportunities for POC, LGBTQIA+, women, and non-binary people in the dance music arena. SYREETA is arguably one of Jaguar's most celebrated discoveries.



The blossoming friendship between Jaguar and SYREETA started when they shared a mutual gig, changing the trajectory of SYREETA's career and sending it into hyperdrive. Taking pride in utilizing her platform to connect people, Jaguar pushed the mark further by fostering the relationship between SYREETA and HE.SHE.THEY's founders, Steven Braines and Sophia Kearney, paving the way for her celebrated residency with the collaborative. The genuinely inspiring relationship between Jaguar and SYREETA is an example of how tastemakers can encourage and connect artists in the electronic industry while moving the mark on diversity and equality.

How Jaguar Used Her Platform to Help Put SYREETA on the Map

UK DJ, journalist, and presenter Jaguar has a clearly defined knack for identifying up-and-coming talent. Her role as the host of BBC Radio 1 Presenting Dance has allowed her to catapult underplayed artists into the mainstream conversation on British radio, earning her praise for her expert curation. She's always got her finger on the pulse of the underground and is passionate about putting on the young artists driving the culture.




As a trusted and authentic voice in dance music, getting the nod from Jaguar has star making cultural cache. So, we asked her to give Gray Area her top five picks for Breakout Artists in 2022.




Here they are in her own words.



1. TAAHLIAH

TAAHLIAH is a massive talent that I've been supporting on my BBC Radio 1 show since 2021. Her debut Angellica EP blew me away, and she's since been gaining fans with her edits of Nicki Minaj and Kim Petras under her own 'teletech' genre. TAAHLIAH has already been named Scottish Artist of the year and is the first black trans woman to do so. I see her as an important figure in the queer scene and the next producer to change the landscape of dance and pop, blending elements of hyper pop, techno, trance, and rave, as seen by her unreal Boiler Room last month.


Her DJ sets brim with her productions that range from sugary sweet pop tunes to heavy club tracks. I named TAAHLIAH as a BBC Introducing Dance Graduate for 2022. She's someone I believe is about to break into the mainstream and impact the music industry in a way that no one else has before.




2. Nia Archives

Jungle is massive (again) in the UK. At the forefront of the resurgence of the UK-born genre that inspired grime and UK garage is Northern treasure, Nia Archives. Her Forbidden Feelingz EP truly changed the game, where she innovatively combines sharply placed amen breaks with traditional rave stabs and her own vocals. It brings me joy to see Nia, a Black woman, soundtracking an entire generation of new school junglists in their teens. She's only in her early 20s, yet Nia shows off an extensive knowledge of old-school 90s jungle in her DJ sets and sampled within her music. The EP catapulted her to be the DJ on everyone's lips and led her to win an NME Award for best producer this year and future artist of the month on BBC Radio 1.


As a vocalist, she has teamed up with jungle legends Watch The Ride for Mash Up The Dance (DJ Randall, DJ die, and Dismantle), one of the tunes of the summer in the UK. And Nia is not shy in her mission to educate audiences about the Black origins of electronic music, for the world to recognize that dance music is Black music.







3. SONIKKU



What do you get when you mix up bubblegum beats with plastic techno and pitched-up madonna-esque vocals? You get Sonikku. I am obsessed with him. Hailing from Derby, based in London, and regularly playing at Adonis nights, he has consistently impressed me. From his debut album in 2020, Joyful Death, and remixes for the late SOPHIE and Benny Bridges to his recent release on Steel City Dance Discs. His track "A Thousand Plateaus" is a never-ending roller coaster of crescendoing synths that has become a staple in my sets. I feel like he could do anything he puts his hand to, and I'm eagerly looking forward to what he does next.










4. Eliza Rose

In the UK, this summer has been all about BOTA. What is that, I hear you ask? It stands for "Baddest Of Them All," the biggest tune of 2022 from East London's Eliza Rose and Manchester's Interplanetary Criminal. Rose is a DJ, producer, and singer known for her blend of garage and soul. This summer, she was catapulted to megastar status. The video for BOTA is a fun insight into East London's queer scene and will leave you feeling fierce like a bad B. Released on her label, Rosebud, it started as an underground hit and has transcended into the mainstream, currently trending on TikTok and reaching Number 1 in the official charts. Massively respected by the underground community, Eliza has been on the circuit for years, cutting her teeth working at Flash Records. She's also the first female DJ to reach number 1 in the UK in 20 years since Sonique's "It Feels So Good" in 1998. 2022 is the year of Eliza Rose, and we love to see it!




5. Barry Can't Swim

Another artist breaking through is Barry Can't Swim. Whether that's his real name or not, we don't know, but we do know that he makes classically composed, cheerful, breakbeat bops that make him stand out above the rest. This Edinburgh-born happy chappy is much loved for an emotive sound that's landed him a release on Ninja Tune's Technicolour imprint. I'm in love with "More Content," it's one of the standout EPs for me in 2022, and I also made Barry a BBC Introducing on Radio 1 Dance Graduate. Scottish producers are having a moment right now, and I imagine Barry will reach the heights of heavyweights, Bonobo and Four Tet.



Jaguar's Top 5 Breakout Artists of 2022

Earlier in the month, The Jaguar Foundation published one of the most thorough studies on gender representation in U.K. dance music. While unprecedented, it is not new territory for DJ and radio host Jaguar (after whom the organization is named). Her work to level the dance music playing field for marginalized groups predates not only the report, but her tastemaking BBC program as well.








Jaguar Bingham herself identifies as queer and mixed race. Half Ghanaian and half English, she grew up on Alderney, one of the Channel Islands. Growing up around almost entirely white peers made her acutely aware that she was different. “I had a few Black friends at secondary school who I really appreciated, but in that white environment you really notice your otherness,” she said in a 2020 interview with Isabella Silvers.





Bingham was first exposed to dance music via raves organized in German bunkers on the island. She then attended university in Leeds, where she connected with the local scene and got her first taste of broadcast media hosting a show on the student radio station. 2014 saw her land an internship with BBC Radio 1, but it was her time with Reprezent Radio that saw her hone in on the curatorial style that has become her calling card.






The guests on Bingham’s show came from all walks of life. Among them were Syreeta, HAAi, Valerie Lee, and Star.One, capturing a cross section of dance music talent as diverse as it was stylistically eclectic. This experience served her well in February 2020 when BBC finally enlisted her as the new host of its long-running series, “BBC Music Introducing.”




Then, of course, came the pandemic, a reckoning that led many in dance music to reassess their commitment to social causes. This was of course already a focus for Bingham — but conversations around the Black Lives Matter movement and #MeToo resurgence gave her the perfect opportunity to make even bolder steps forward for equal representation in dance music.




May 2021 saw Bingham launch Future1000, an initiative to kickstart the electronic music careers of 1,000 female, trans, and non-binary applicants. U.K. students between the ages of 12-18 could enroll to take a free, 12-part video course on the basics of DJing, production, and radio hosting, among other things.




Then, in August, Bingham filled in as guest editor of Beatportal, leveraging the publication’s influence to platform artists like Toya Delazy, Bklava, Jess Bays, TAAHLIAH, Cici, and Meg Ward. “I firmly believe that representation is the route to reaching equality,” she wrote in a feature introducing her mission. “There’s a plethora of women, trans, and non-binary talent out there, and a lack of diversity is not acceptable anymore. We have the power to change the world. A cultural shift is happening, as we head from fearfully accepting societal ‘norms’ to questioning their very existence.”






And while she was always conscious of representation in dance music, she’s refined her curation of “BBC Music Introducing” down to a science. “There’s still a huge gap in percentage of men, women, non-binary producers, so I have to use the non-male produced tracks wisely, and spread them out between shows,” she told DJ Mag last year. “Hopefully it’s making a difference, and marginalized music can feel that this show is for them, and that their place in society is heard and cherished.”




With the recent launch of The Jaguar Foundation, it appears that Bingham’s efforts to build a more equitable dance music ecosystem are only just beginning. If the ground she’s covered thus far is any indication, though, her life work will leave a monumental impact.




How Jaguar is Breaking Gender and Racial Boundaries in Dance Music

From its roots in gay, Black and Latino U.S. communities to the U.K. acid house revolution to post-reunification techno clubs in Berlin, electronic music has long instilled egalitarian feelings in its participants. Jaguar is committed to giving this ethos a life beyond fleeting moments on the dance floor, and she’s doing so under the fitting banner UTOPIA.







UTOPIA started out as a post-pandemic party series, the first installment of which took place at Venue MOT in July 2021. Artwork around the event brand derived inspiration from West African Moon Masks that Jaguar fell in love with during a family trip to Ghana. 



“UTOPIA is unity, UTOPIA is the future,” reads an event description. “Let’s move into the light together. You ready?”



Artists billed to perform at UTOPIA events have included Bklava, Cici, Jacana People, Kessler, Groovy D, and Jaguar herself. Each lineup speaks to an extension of Jaguar’s curatorial style as presenter of “BBC Music Introducing” — and before that, her own Reprezent Radio program. Her approach has historically placed women, non-binary, and POC musicians front and center with an emphasis on breaking new talent.




UTOPIA is not confined to parties. In June 2021, Jaguar announced a podcast series called “UTOPIA Talks” based on a conference of its namesake in which she speaks with guests from all across the dance music spectrum about issues pertaining to the scene as well as society at large. Among the figures to join her on the podcast are The Blessed Madonna, Sama’ Abdulhadi, Fat Tony, Sherelle, and Avtomat.








“My generation is passionate about creating change and breaking boundaries, and this podcast is a space for in-depth, meaty conversations about issues in dance music culture and the wider world," said Jaguar of the series. “I’m excited about having a platform to give my generation a voice, and I hope it becomes a cornerstone to young music lovers and artists.”




What lies ahead for Jaguar’s multifaceted UTOPIA brand? The possibilities are seemingly endless. At least one common thread will likely continue to weave through every manifestation of the concept: an inclusive sensibility that evokes dance music’s rich origins.




How Jaguar is Bringing Her Vision of UTOPIA to life

There’s a reason Mixmag named Jaguar “DJ Broadcaster of the Year” at the end of 2021. Her natural ear for talent — coupled with her unyielding drive to foster a more equitable dance music ecosystem — has made her a noteworthy disruptor in the industry.




“As a mixed race, queer woman in music, my mission is to lend a hand to other minorities and help them thrive,” Jaguar Bingham wrote in a feature announcing that she would serve as Beatportal’s guest editor for the month of August 2021. “I naturally came to this conclusion after experiencing the unjust imbalance of male-dominated society. And throughout my early 20s, I realized the importance of using my identity and my platform for good.”




In the years since Bingham began hosting her first radio show in 2017, she’s brought attention to innumerable artists. The full list of names is too long to count, but below are five standouts from throughout her broadcasting career.




1. HAAi

HAAi was one of the very first guests on Jaguar’s Reprezent Radio show in 2017. In recent years she has gone on to release music through electronic music monolith Mute Records in addition to collaborations with artists like Jon Hopkins, Alexis Taylor, and Obi Franky.




2. DJ Boring

Towards the end of her time with Reprezent Radio, Jaguar brought on DJ Boring as a guest. The Australian producer’s career milestones now include releases on labels such as !K7 Records, Technicolour, and Adeen.




3. TAAHLIAH

“Yup TAAHLIAH is the future,” Jaguar declared in a July 2021 tweet. Her support didn’t end there. She shouted out the Glasgow artist in her aforementioned Beatportal feature, and did so once again in the interview coinciding with Mixmag’s “DJ Broadcaster of the Year” special.




4. Elkka

Elkka is one of the founders of a London-based label and collective called femme culture that has given a home to releases by the likes of Caribou, Moxie, and Tom Ravenscroft. Since Jaguar supported her on “BBC Music Introducing,” she has gone on to land her own BBC Radio 1 “Essential Mix.”




5. Junior Simba

Jaguar first featured Junior Simba on “BBC Music Introducing” in the fall of 2020. BBC Radio 1 DJs Danny Howard and Huw Stephens have supported his music in the time since, and Ben Malone of KISS FM declared him one of his “Future Five” for 2021.



5 Artists Jaguar has Helped Break in Her Career as a Radio Presenter

The vivacious host of BBC’s Introducing on Radio 1 Dance is an inimitable talent. Oft advocating for — and representing — a new generation of dance music artists, Jaguar is quickly on her way to cementing her place as a future house heavyweight.




Hailing from the Channel Islands, the young tastemaker began her career in the industry as an intern for Radio 1, which would eventually lead the producer-journalist to be noticed as a dynamic selector with incredible taste. Since launching her show on Radio 1, she’s catapulted a plethora of rising acts to the international stage including Prospa, TSHA, Blueprint, India Jordan, Effy, and James Organ.




There’s nothing this multihyphenate DJ-party promoter can’t do, so watch closely! We’ve handpicked five of Jaguar’s most engaging sets for your enjoyment — indulge below.






1. Boiler Room x FLY Open Air 2022


Jaguar kicked off the first day of Boiler Room’s FLY Open Air session with dynamic flair. After taking the decks over from FLY’s favorite resident, Kilimanjaro​, the enthusiastic selector dropped a blazing hot tech house edit, immediately elevating the festivities several tiers. This Boiler Room session is her latest, and beautifully showcases her impeccable mixing and penchant for merging the best of pop culture and emerging artists in her live sets.







2. Keep Hush DJ Set


An underground dance music platform that showcases underground dance music around the globe, Keep Hush brought on the journalist-DJ for an exclusive warehouse set. This mix is undoubtedly one of Jaguar’s best — it’s a slow burner that spans a variety of genres, heady remixes and unreleased edits from techno, house and many of its subgenres.







3. Circoloco Radio Set


A mix for Circoloco Radio, this set is chock full of Jaguar’s musical influences, current favorites, and records she’s played while touring. The mix is essential listening for fans of the artist.







4. UTOPIA @ Night Tales Set



Jaguar is a permanent staple at UTOPIA — and for good reason, as it’s her event brand. This was originally an unheard mix from her last show prior to COVID closures. Highlighting the best in techno, house, and even disco, this set is one of Jaguar’s hottest.







5. Jaguar B2B Prospa @ IMS Dalt Vila in Ibiza Spain for Beatport Live

Filmed in Ibiza, one of the most internationally revered music and culture hubs in Spain, this specially curated B2B features selections from Prospa, an artist who Jaguar showed her support for very early on in their career. The IMS Dalt Vila crowd is engaged from start to finish. It’s no surprise as the two artists’ tastes merge well together, providing a seamless soundscape from start to finish.

5 DJ Sets that Show Jaguar is More than a Radio Presenter

It is no secret that gender representation is skewed in electronic music. The Jaguar Foundation set out to determine just how underrepresented women and other marginalized genders truly are in the U.K. industry. The organization founded by British artist Jaguar has published its findings in a comprehensive report.




Progressing Gender Representation in U.K. Dance Music, as it’s titled, presents quantitative and qualitative data. Artists and industry professionals from the live events, radio, and streaming sectors helped with the research. Among them are DJ Paulette, Annie Mac, Jamz Supernova, and TSHA. The resulting report “uncovers evidence supporting long-held beliefs about gender disparity in dance music,” according to a description.




Below are three notable findings from the Progressing Gender Representation in U.K. Dance Music. The 84-page report covers numerous other topics, though. Download it in its entirety on The Jaguar Foundation website.




1. Safety is Still a Major Issue




The #MeToo movement of 2017 triggered a reckoning for sexual abusers that certainly made an impact in dance music. Nightlife environments nonetheless remain dangerous for women, nonbinary, and trans people, according to artists interviewed for the report.




“We’re dealing with people who are putting on the night who get too drunk and act inappropriately towards you,” said U.K. DJ Riva. “It’s not something you have to deal with as a male or face the same risks. So it becomes so hard to feel secure and feel like you’re going to work but rather you become scared.”




“It’s about being in an environment where there are men who will undoubtedly touch you up or approach unwantedly,” said Amy Wheatley. “It’s all of that stuff that comes along with going clubbing.”




2. Event Lineups are Largely Male (but Improving)




Using data provided by Viberate, the authors of the report compiled the gender breakdown of 22 festivals from 2018-2021 (and the 14 that have announced their lineups thus far in 2022) to give a snapshot of booking trends in the broader dance music live events industry.




2018 saw average male representation of 86% across the events analyzed, and the figure increased to 87% in 2019. Then, in 2021, male billings fell to 79%, only to fall even further to 72% in 2022. In all aforementioned cases, the remaining proportion was split between women and non-binary artists.




The report notes that these figures fall close to those published from the FACTS 2022 survey conducted by female:pressure, which found that 20.3% of acts were female only, 9.3% were mixed, and 0.5% were nonbinary. A BBC Shared Data Unit report found that 13% of event lineups were solo female artists or all-female groups.




3. Less Than 1% of Top 200 Airplay Dance Tracks are Female/Nonbinary




According to perhaps the most telling figure published in the report, less than 1% of the 467 dance/electronic tracks to reach the top 200 airplay charts of U.K. radio stations over 2020-2021 were credited to entirely female or nonbinary artists.




44% of the songs featured female artists, to be sure. Of those, however, 76% credited a male as the primary artist, while the remaining 26% named female or nonbinary artists first in their credits.




The data could be skewed by how many old tracks find their way onto the airwaves, according to the report, which found that 69% were released in 2019 or earlier. “This would go some way to explain the imbalance, given the weighting of the sample,” it explains.




It might surprise some that commercial stations played more tracks featuring female or nonbinary talent than their counterparts. Commercial stations averaged 49%, whereas the average for all stations was 40%.


Learn more about The Jaguar Foundation by visiting their official website.



3 Takeaways from The Jaguar Foundation’s Report on Gender Disparity in U.K. Dance Music

United Kingdom

Jaguar

Cityfox Transcend Festival

United States

Avant Gardner

Circoloco

Spain

DC-10

IMS Dalt Vila

Dalt Vila

Jaguar B2B Prospa @ IMS Dalt Vila for Beatport Live

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Jaguar DJ Set | Keep Hush Live: Helena Star Presents

Jaguar | Boiler Room x FLY Open Air 2022

And we're back! Day 1 of Boiler Room x FLY Open Air 2022 kicks off with tastemaker Jaguar taking over from staple FLY resident, Kilimanjaro.

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