The women of progressive house and melodic techno are a formidable bunch. Not only are they inspired, but they’re innovative, evocative, and impressively industrious. These women are from all over the world and come from a menagerie of influence and inspiration. If it were possible, we’d celebrate every single one of them.




The 11 women on our list are an inspiration to fellow females and all burgeoning young producers in the genre. Between the lot of them, they’ve graced the biggest festival stages in the world, released magnificent music on the industry’s biggest labels, and made a name for themselves doing what they love. Let’s hear it for the girls.




1. Miss Monique

The eclectic mix of techno, trance, and progressive house that Miss Monique creates has racked up a severe online fanbase. The producer turned to her YouTube channel through the pandemic to connect with fans and play music. There, her Livestream sets have racked up millions of hits. She also has a fan-favorite podcast, Mind Games, where listeners are treated to a fresh DJ set every month.




2. Gioli and Assia

As two multi-faceted, creative women, Giolì & Assia started as an artist/manager duo. Assia was the practical, get-it-done accomplice to Giolì’s burgeoning sound as a DJ and producer. After opening their label, Diesis Records, and finally landing on a clear direction forward as the melodic techno / electro-pop duo Giolì & Assia. Their music is often flavored with a bit of the Middle East, adding hand pans, steel drums, and other fun instruments.






3. Korolova

Born in Kyiv, Olga Korolova is a rising superstar in melodic techno. Her visually stunning YouTube videos and intimate performances have earned her a mass of dedicated fans and critical acclaim. Melodic techno is a somewhat new direction for Ukranian artist who started her career in EDM. She feels that she's truly found her dance music calling now, evidenced by her domination of the club charts and support from industry luminaries. She even recently went back to back with Gordo on one of her livestreams.




4. Maya Jane Coles

Maya Jane Coles is usually involved in every aspect of her work. From writing, production, engineering, mixing, and even cover design. She has a vision. The London-based producer / DJ has collected a staggering three million followers on Soundcloud, 20+ magazine covers, and countless worldwide fans thanks to her effortlessly chic take on house and techno.




5. Sinca

Sinca has a multicultural and vastly artistic background. The Montreal native is a fast-emerging DJ and producer whose already been named a rising star in her field. Her debut release, the instrumental progressive house track “Mancora,” was picked up by UK label and global tastemaker Anjunabeats.




6. Anfisa Letyago

Anfisa Letyago debuted on the iconic Dutch label Spinnin’ Records in 2016 with “Stop Talking.” Her style is a mix between hard-hitting melodic techno and deep house grooves. In 2021, she officially launched her label, N:S:DA. Toss in a BBC Radio 1 Residency, an official Moby remix, and a digital Mixmag cover, and it’s apparent Anfisa is here to stay.




7. Giorgia Angiuli

Giorgia Angiuli is a classically trained musician, composer, and multi-instrumentalist from Italy. Through her solo productions, she moves seamlessly between techno, house, and electro-pop. She’s also a big fan of toys. In addition to her dreamy vocals, during her live sets, she uses a theremin, toy flute, sax, trumpets, and just about any instrumental toy she can get her hands on.




8. Eli & Fur

This London-based duo created a truly mesmerizing sound. Eli & Fur marry mysteriously moody melodies with evocative vocals and cascading synths with a flair for dark, emotive dance anthems. With a steady stream of releases on their own NYX Music and seminal imprints like Anjunadeep and Sony RCA, they’ll undoubtedly continue to mesmerize dancefloors for years to come.




9. Dinka

Tamara Hunkeler, better known by her stage name Dinka, describes her sound as “Multicultural Dance Music.” The Swiss DJ taps influence from world music to add to her uplifting brand of progressive house. From 2007 - 2017 she couldn’t be stopped, snagging deals with both Anjunabeats and A State of Trance. Though we haven’t heard much from her since then, she’s still earned a well-deserved spot at the top.






10. Eleonora

The genre palette of Eleonora almost reads like a drink menu: dark pop, cold wave, downtempo, and trip-hop. And much like a good bartender, she blends it all seamlessly together. Her chill variety of techno lends itself well to her sultry voice, as apparent in tracks like “Awake.” Besides her experimental electro, she’s also fronted several inspired jazz projects.



10 Women of Progressive House and Melodic Techno


Gray Area makes another step in its mission to “unify and strengthen the House Music community around the world,” today by partnering with Spotify for an official editorial playlist on the streaming platform. Gray Area Guest List launched with over five hours of house and techno from the forward-thinking and creative voices that are defining the myriad sounds of underground dance. 



Spotify’s Guest List playlists allow noted brands and artists to take over an official editorial playlist curating it from top to bottom precisely to match that brand’s unique footprint. And the Gray Area list is lovingly selected to reflect the future of dance music.



Included are songs from Gray Area Spotlight featured artists QRTR, LP Giobbi, Vintage Culture, and Will Clarke. Alongside bonafide legends like Ricardo Villalobos, Miss Kittin, Maya Jane Coles, Anja Schneider, Guy Gerber, Steve Bug, The Martinez Brothers, Joseph Capriati, Jamie Jones, Louie Vega, Pig & Dan, Royksopp, and Maceo Plex. 2022 GRAMMY Award nominee Black Coffee, Repopulate Mars boss Lee Foss, Drumcode front-man Adam Beyer, and Godfather of House Frankie Knuckles are also featured.


The Gray Area Guest List is a great way to get familiar with the sweeping sonic footprint of house and techno. Too often, we get stuck in our own lane, and the beauty of dance music is that it encompasses an array of shifting moods and aural textures. So take yourself on a journey through the expanse of underground dance music, turn up the volume and Let There Be More House Music.




Gray Area Takes Over Spotify's Official Guest List Playlist

Maya Jane Coles is usually involved in every aspect of her work. From writing, production, engineering, mixing, and even cover design, she has a vision. The London-based producer / DJ has collected a staggering 3 million followers on Soundcloud, 20+ magazine covers, and countless worldwide fans thanks to her effortlessly chic take on house and techno.

As a kid, Maya was intrigued by a menagerie of musical stylings. Taking the most inspiration from rap and trip-hop, she began to pick up a few instruments and give songwriting a shot. By 16 she’d discovered the intoxicating music of underground clubs and warehouses around East London. All that inspiration culminated in her debut EP 

 on Dogmatik Records in 2008. Three years later, Maya’s track “What They Say” would prove to be a pivotal release. An instant house hit, the song would eventually be sampled into mega hits by modern pop divas Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry.

In 2013, five years after first breaking onto the scene, Maya released her debut album 

on her own imprint I/AM/ME. The album was produced, engineered and mixed entirely by Maya herself, and would go on to receive critical acclaim. As if one smashingly successful music moniker wasn’t enough, Maya gave herself another. Nocturnal Sunshine–her bass-driven alter ego–released an eponymous album in 2015. To introduce Nocturnal Sunshine to the world, she would debut the moniker on her own branded stage at Secret Garden Party in England, and later play a handful of special gigs alongside Jamie XX and Bonobo. The Nocturnal Sunshine album would later be featured in DJ Mag’s Top 10 Albums of 2015.

With such a wide variety of appeal, Maya has found herself in Vogue, Rolling Stone, GQ and the Wall Street Journal. Even her gigs are almost bizarrely diverse. From MOMA and fashion launches to cranes and car parks, she’s become a truly world-renown artist. Three more albums, a supporting slot on Depeche Mode’s European stadium tour, multiple awards, and a few acclaimed mixes later, and Maya Jane Coles has proved herself to be a mainstay in modern house music.

Maya Jane Coles

Articles

Sierra Vandervort

Alexander Dias