The shesaid.so mix series aims to spotlight the diverse artists within our community. We’re committed to championing underrepresented voices from around the world, focusing on female, non-binary, trans and queer individuals. Our monthly mix series allows our contributing selectors to showcase their unique backgrounds and inspirations by creating exclusive, 30-minute live recorded soundscapes.
This month, we have the Los Angeles-based DJ/producer Maude Vôs, a consummate experimentalist with a distinct musical voice that is brought to bear in both the studio and on dark underground dancefloors.
Maude Vôs has built a top reputation in the LA-underground electronic scene through Delusional Records, the record label founded with Marie Nyx to uplift underrepresented artists and create a community around change and visibility within the electronic music industry. The label has been nominated for Best Breakthrough Label by DJ Mag, and has released 35 different artists over 16 releases (85% identifying as LGBTQIA+) since 2021.
Maude Vôs was also recently featured in the book Patch and Tweak with Korg (a deep-dive into Korg synthesizers). Catch Maude giving educational workshops within their community, releasing music, and playing infectious DJ sets at festivals such as CRSSD Festival and Reform Festival, where a psychedelic techno sound is placed on display as rooted in atonal production and found sound experimentation.
What’s your top advice for young people wanting to become music producers/DJs/run a record label.
Know your vision and why you do what you do; ethos & intention go a long way. Integrity is everything in this industry! Know who you are aligning yourself with and decide if your values are similar.
How you communicate and represent yourself is so important, be professional, I’m not “your homie or bro.”
Do your homework, from the labels you reach out to, to the roots of the electronic music culture, to where you are choosing to take up space.
I don’t care how big you are, entitlement isn’t cute.
Stay humble, stay curious and stay sober when you're working, this is a job.
Collaborate, sit in the studio with fellow producers, keep creating. The reality is you’re going to make a ton of bad art, and it's 100% part of the process. The more you can create your toolbox the better you’re going to get at production.
Youtube University is my favorite!
How do you stay grounded and focused?
Personally: Believing in the work I'm doing is always a huge piece of the focus puzzle for me. At times, It’s actually quite hard for me to pull myself away from my work because my soul is so intertwined. On the other side of that coin, knowing you can’t do everything (gigs, interviews, remixes etc), it’s so important to know when to say no to things that don’t serve your bigger picture goals. That being said, feeding your soul and finding a balance. For me that looks like nature, nourishment, spa time, massage, reading, podcasts, yoga, ritual and therapy. I moved out of the city a year ago and my nervous system is the happiest it's been thus far. Living in the mountains is very grounding and connective for me.
Label wise, working as a team with Marie Nyx is extremely helpful. We have very defined roles so we do not have to take on the entire load of running a label, although the two of us do the jobs of a four person team at times. Lastly, remembering a career, making a record, starting a label, can not be built in a day; managing expectations and regulating oneself is really important.
And then the little things…papers calendar, setting alarms, lists & timeboxing tasks.
3 things you can't live without in your bag.
My Pucci sunnies, my AirPods, a roll on jasmine essential oil.
Your label, Delusional Records, has been making waves in the industry. How do you and Marie Nyx approach the curation process for your releases?
Artist wise we reach out to many of the artists we want to work with. It’s very intentional and we want to mindfully bring together artists that we feel our audience would appreciate. We really like curating remix EP’s or VA Comps that bring together an array of artists, all with a unique sound and story. Personally, making music can be extremely lonely so I revel in collaboration and creating community. As for our solo artist EP’s we have decided to do less solo EP's each year (like we did for the first year and a half) and release larger bodies of work that we find compelling and invest in marketing these projects. More specifically, I do creative direction for releases(art, assets, visual direction) and handle working with our mastering engineer, while Marie Nyx handles distribution and A&R, together we create the release and campaign timeline and do the socials.
Forthcoming in the fall, we have an EP by Seattle DJ and producer Mirin Doja. I have loved her sound for a few years now, so I reached out to her about potentially working together, and then signed her EP. All of us then worked together to curate an amazing remix compilation featuring QRTR, Bored Lord, Mars Kasai, Aria Bare, Trovarsi and myself.
What has been the most rewarding moment in your journey so far?
There were 2 poignant moments, one being going to audio school and being the only non-man in my graduating class. There I received two degrees, one in recording technology and one in media music. Next, quitting my 9-5 studio tech job in 2019 to pursue music full time after producing and DJing for over a decade at that point! This allowed me so much more time to hone my sound design techniques, conceptualize the label, and truly focus on my art. My world opened up after I took the initial jump. I’m also not nearly as tired and am much more present with my work.
Tracklist:
Terminal - Gilles Renneson
Diatoms - Jossy Mitsu
Temple - Bambounou
Sonar Chant - Neida
Sun Dog- Danny Goliger (unreleased)
Day One - Pilo & Duce Heart(Maude Vôs & Marie Nyx Remix) (unreleased)
Delirio - Bitter Babe & Nick Leon
Permutations- Alec Pace
AHE- Amor Satyr & Siu Mata
Maiden of the Matrix ft. Kita Komodo - Maude Vôs
Backwards - Swimful
Connect with Maude on Instagram