MUMBAI: One-day pilot of Skills Development for Women to be launched in New Delhi on 2 December; to feature a music production master class with Macquarie University’s Julian Knowles.

November 2017 various worldwide studies have proved that women generally make up about 10 percent of electronic music line-ups. There is disproportionately low number of women on festival or club line-ups all over the world, including in India.

Music Industry: Skills Development for Woman is a Wild City initiative – with support from Absolut – that wants to equip women in India with basic skills that will make them more employable in the music industry and to further develop their passions into skills. The initiative kicks off with a one-day pilot – in partnership with Macquarie University and with support from the British Council and Native Instruments – and will feature a production master class with music and new technologies expert, Professor Julian Knowles for selected applicants on 2 December in New Delhi.

The essential idea behind this initiative is to give women more visibility in the music industry, key to dismantling stereotypes like the idea that there aren’t many women interested in electronic music.

“I’m incredibly excited to be launching this initiative with my team – we are all passionate about creating meaningful and impactful opportunities at a grass roots level, for women in India interested in the music industry. A combination of events, workshops, discussions, skills development and content will make up the first phase of the project, this is a long term initiative of Wild City,” says, Wild City and partner at Magnetic Fields festival founder Sarah Chawla .

The visual identity for the project – night-goddess who steals the moon for herself – has been designed by visual artist and musician Sandhya Visvanathan aka Pardafash, and reflects the need for public spaces where women can confidently pursue their creative pursuits.

“Sarah and I wanted to create an image that had a strong sense of feminine cosmic energy. We need the music industry to be more inclusive and have greater gender diversity. It’s important to create spaces where more women can feel confident in their creative pursuits. And when you’re just starting out it really helps to belong to a community,” Sandhya explains.

The one-day pilot programme on 2 December at the British Council will offer a group of selected applicants a production master class with professor Julian Knowles, who is a composer and performer, specialising in new and emerging technologies, and is the professor of music and media at Macquarie University. Nearly 50 per cent of the 307 respondents in a Wild City survey had expressed the wish to develop music production skills.

“I am very excited about working with Wild City on this important new initiative. As a long standing professional music producer and academic I am acutely aware of the issues that women face in gaining support and skills in a highly male dominated industry. Programs like these provide a safe and supportive environment to learn production skills that boost confidence and ability, empowering women to pursue their ambitions in music production. Macquarie University is deeply committed to engaging with community, not just in Australia, but around the globe and we are committed to impacting social issues. This is a great opportunity for us to work together on something very important for women in music in India,” professor Knowles commented.

The production master class will be accessible to those who in their application present a strong desire and interest to engage with the music industry and learn more about production. Professor Knowles will offer an introduction to working with loops and beats, the basic use of synthesizers, recording of vocals and instruments, among other things.

Last date for application is 24 November.