Charlotte de Witte Talks Industry Sexism: 'Things Are Moving In A Good Way'

Techno is back big time and Belgium's Charlotte de Witte is one of the movement's most buzzy new figures. The Ghent native has enjoyed a rapid – and smooth – ascendance in dance music since 2010, working intensively. Indeed, if de Witte has made mistakes, she has no regrets – or admissions. "I don't think I would change anything," de Witte says. "For what it's worth, I believe everything happens for a reason. We all need our time to grow, get to know ourselves, and evolve. There have been many eye-opening experiences that mainly had to with my own perception of things. Growing up, and being in this scene for over nine years now, has taught me a lot."

Her supportive father employed in EMI's sales department, de Witte was clubbing in her teens, discovering underground electro and techno. The aspiring DJ played her inaugural gig at a youth club. Honing her skills, she won a DJ competition, securing a slot at the Tomorrowland festival and the opportunity to broadcast on Studio Brussel. Inevitably, de Witte ventured into production. Initially, she assumed the handle 'Raving George' so as to obscure her gender because of industry sexism. And it was under that alias that she crossed over with 2015's banger You're Mine (featuring Oscar And The Wolf), a throwback to DJ Hell-mode electroclash. However, as her identity became known, de Witte determined that Raving George was superfluous and switched to her real name. Beguiled by the Berghain-affiliated Len Faki, she also gravitated towards a forceful, hard and dark style of minimal warehouse techno. 

Today, de Witte negates any genre distinctions between her alter egos. "I was already playing techno as Raving George, so that is something I continued doing when I started playing as Charlotte de Witte," she notes of her evolution. "[But] I think the reason why some people refer to my music as dark is because the underground culture isn't always easy to put down in words. My music is far from 'dark' and 'hard' if you compare it with artists such as Paula Temple or AnD." 

The Detroit techno pioneer Jeff Mills speaks of techno in terms of a nebulous futurist philosophy – which de Witte appreciates. "I don't think there's a strict definition of techno. Music is a very subjective thing. To me, techno is a very pure and stripped form of music – not related to BPM." Like the American Midwest and Germany, Belgium has an important legacy of electronic music, beginning in the '80s with the influential electro-pop outfit Telex as well as the industrial EBM (electronic body music) explosion. "I'm very proud to be Belgian and of what my country meant for electronic music back in the '80s. It's pretty cool to realise we have had such a big impact on electronic music on a worldwide scale. It's a never-ending source of inspiration to go digging in our history – and that's something we should cherish."

"There are definitely more female DJs around nowadays compared to when I started."

There has long been disquiet over a gender imbalance in the techno ranks. But de Witte belongs to a fresh wave of female techno DJs, together with Nina Kraviz and Nastia. She's optimistic about change in the culture. "There are definitely more female DJs around nowadays compared to when I started. Things are moving in a good way."

Having inducted 'Charlotte de Witte' with her Weltschmerz EP on Tiga's Turbo Recordings, the DJ has steadily issued music. Yet perhaps de Witte's greatest coup was to sign a deal to release EPs on the relaunched NovaMute Records, an offshoot of Daniel Miller's Mute. The label's catalogue encompasses seminal 'artist' albums from Plastikman (Richie Hawtin), Luke Slater and others. And de Witte herself is receptive to the idea of cutting an LP "someday". Meanwhile, she's just aired a hot remix of UK houser Eats Everything's Space Raiders on Kneaded Pains.

In March, de Witte will return to Australia for festival appearances. "I absolutely love Australia! I love the people, the vibe, the food and nature. Australia blew me away the first time I was touring there and has continued doing so. I've made friends for life there as well. Australia holds a very special place in my heart."

As for de Witte's techno predictions? "I feel that techno is still growing on a worldwide scale, which is a very cool thing to see. Continents like Asia and North America are also much more techno-focussed than they were a couple of years ago. As for Australia, they always had a couple of key markets with good music where techno is now definitely growing, too!"

Charlotte de Witte tours from 8 Mar.