Artist Spotlight: Charlotte de Witte

Female techno DJs. Although not rare, are vastly underrepresented in the community. However, over the last few years, women have become more preeminent within the scene. Strong female leads like Nina Kraviz and Nicole Moudaber are staple performers in the underground, and garner a large following wherever they perform. Headlining multiple festivals, shows, and venues, it’s clear that female artists are starting to make their mark in this industry.

Charlotte de Witte is a rising DJ that has first-hand experience of how intimidating the scene can be on female DJs. Charlotte, who has been around for a few years, recently gave up her former stage name “Raving George” after realizing she no longer needed the male identity to play the music she wants. She reported to MixMag and XLR8R that she was apprehensive to go by a female name due to wanting to avoid stereotypes of being a female DJ. She reports that her concerns were somewhat valid, stating that people even made hate groups on Facebook bashing her when she first began to gain notoriety. However, she now states that she relinquished Raving George and went back to her birth name because, “everyone knows I’m a woman. It was a stupid idea anyway.”

When Charlotte first began to DJ, she reports that she started due to falling in love with techno around 17, after hearing artists like Len Faki. “What is this music, it’s so unbelievably good!” she told herself. And from there, it was history. She finally worked up the courage to submit a mix to a competition landing her a spot at Tomorrowland in 2011. Charlotte doesn’t only headline major festivals like Tomorrowland. Like most artists, she’s also intimate with her music, recording sets on a smaller scale. She has a weekly radio show on KNTXT, as well as a Saturday night radio show, ‘Playground Charlotte de Witte’ on Studio Brussels. Both are posted on her SoundCloud, with many other productions by her that are available for streaming for her fans around the world.

For Charlotte, this is only the beginning. Since her name change, she has not only gained more popularity, but she has shown that women have a space in this industry. Charlotte is artistic, cunning, empowering, and most importantly, she loves the music. There’s no denying that she is quickly on her way to being a staple in the techno community if she isn’t already. Catch her at Shady Park on November 11, at Shady Park’s “Treehouse Sundays.” You won’t regret it. Grab tickets here!

Connect with Charlotte de Witte: Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud