Turning away from the musical milieu and confronting the politics of the industry, one cannot help but wonder why the DJ community is still a relatively difficult one for women to break into. With things like dj finance for the best DJ equipment, it is becoming a more popular and competitive field in music. However, society’s outdated perception of gender in the workplace – among many other things – derives from the belief that men are better at pretty much everything than women are. It’s not a secret that women are generally seen as unequal to men, far beyond entertainment sphere. So, the question is, why is it so much harder for female DJs to professionalize their career and break through to music star status? Is their success less meaningful? We’re acutely aware of the facts, yet the percentage of women who actually reach stardom is mediocre at best in comparison to their male counterparts.
Fortunately for our ears, you’re about to meet one women who decided to keep it pushin’ and overcome whatever myriad adversities arose along the way. She has subsequently gone on to sell out shows and become the entrepreneurial boss we all aim to be. She is sweet and cordial when speaking with anyone and her music makes her relatable and the life of the party, but when it comes to working on her music, she is professional, smart and all business.
Meet New York native, DJ Shlizk, who brings the party with her everywhere she plays in her high- energy, tropi-cool progressive house sets infused with a healthy dose of pop throwbacks. Her infectious positive energy manifests itself in every aspect of her production, aesthetic and performance – 24 year old Ashley Haenel adopted a childhood nickname as her DJ moniker 6 years ago and started channeling her own brand of sass and class into music. Last year she took the leap every true artist must take, leaving behind her position as CFO of a digital media company to pursue her music career full time.
Since then she’s been popping up all over the NYC club circuit playing at legendary clubs like Lavo and Marquee. Shlizk’s background playing piano, guitar, singing and going to rock shows have given her the foundation on which she’s built her performance training. She has proven her knowledge on how to put on a show and pack any dance-floor, but next frontier for Shlizk is original productions, which she’s currently amassing an arsenal of for release early next year.
For SHLIZK, it hasn’t been an easy road to get to where she is today. “Being a female DJ in a field that is pretty much dominated by males has been a pretty interesting experience for me,” said the New York native. “A lot of times, people think that since I am a woman I can’t do the job as well as a man. I always knew that music was my life and when this field emerged as I was coming into young adulthood, I started to encounter different roadblocks that not many other young females may have faced when pursuing their dream. As each show and event passed, my confidence rose. I was good, better than a lot of the guys I was playing a show with. Dealing with others who thought they were better than me was a challenge, showing them up was easy.”
When she’s not working on music or playing shows, Ashley is very involved in local philanthropy including volunteering at a nursing home and managing an initiative focused on childhood education in low income areas. Expect the continued spread of positive vibes both in her daily life and in the club as Shlizk.
check out her mixes here www.soundcloud.com/shlizk and follow @Shlizk on Instagram.
