REFUGE WORLDWIDE

WORKSHOP TOUR

Each workshop on the tour will be accompanied by a club night, following the workshop. One of the DJs playing at the club night will host the DJ workshop and give a tutorial, before participants have time to try out playing on a club setup for the first time.

A continuation of our partnership with Refuge Worldwide on the Zaatari Radio workshops in Amman, and our bi-monthly Freedom To Create talk show on Refuge Worldwide, these DJ workshops are aimed at empowering a new generation of DJs, creating free access to DJ equipment, removing barriers to entry and striving for greater diversity in the DJ community.

Artists booked for the 11 dates include Mark Ernestus, THC, Bradley Zero, Yen Sung, Charisse C, PLO Man, Konduku, Shannen SP, Roska, DJ Fart In The Club, Stella Zekri, Laura BCR, plus station residents such as Sarah Farina, CCL, Gramrcy, Ophélie, Sally C, O.N.A, YUI and Refuge co-founders No Plastic and Richard Akingbehin.

Can you tell us a bit about Ampfeminine - who are you and what do you do? 

AMPFEMININE is a DJ Collective that stands for diversity in every sense, be that color, gender, or genre. We aim to add more variety on the decks as well as on the dancefloor by creating safe spaces for everyone to feel comfortable. We are made up of five members (Bella Hall, Camgurl, DEBORAH X, Nala Brown, Soft Break) and based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 

We throw events with primarily female/non-binary DJs in the line-up, as well as occasionally throw a workshop to help share our knowledge and empower new artists. We also made a documentary, called EQ the Industry, that put the spotlight on four female/non-binary music producers in Rotterdam that gives an insight into the minds and studios of these young artists.

You recently joined us for a DJ workshop at Garage Noord in Amsterdam, how do you feel it went? 

We really enjoyed the workshop! It was beautiful to see a group of womxn coming together to share their insecurities and challenges with DJing, and to share the knowledge that we have learned so far. I think the most interesting–and comforting–part about it is that we have all had similar struggles and to come together in such an open setting can really be reassuring in such a competitive industry.

What were the main topics you covered on the night? 

As most of the participants had some knowledge in DJing, we actually opened the workshop up to the participants for the most part because we wanted to make sure that they came out of the workshop feeling that they learned something new. We explained what we do to prepare our sets, what to do when arriving at your gig, and what you can do in case something goes wrong. But most importantly, we stressed that confidence and having fun is probably the most important part of performing.

Earlier this year, we teamed up with Zaatari Radio and Refuge Worldwide to build a studio and deliver four weeks of workshops and talks at the 7Hills skatepark in the Jordanian capital.

At the Al-Raseef urban education space at the 7Hills skatepark in Amman, Zaatari Radio has been collaboratively working alongside Refuge Worldwide, the local community, and other partners to build a recording studio in the heart of downtown Amman.

Four weeks of workshops and talks were delivered by musicians, artists, and industry experts, aimed at young people from marginalised communities in Amman. Participants had the opportunity to create radio shows to be broadcast throughout Jordan and on Refuge Worldwide, which resulted in subsequent radio residencies on the station.

Now that the project is over, the pop-up studio and all donated equipment remains in place at 7Hills, to become a lasting resource for the local community.

We caught up with Zaatari Radio founder Tom Critchley and three local participants to find out how the project went, their future goals and ambitions, the music scene over in Amman, and more.