Pikelet: Male-Biased Line-Ups Make Me Feel 'That I'm Not Even A Real Musician'

27 March 2015 | 5:33 pm | Staff Writer

Local artist Pikelet elaborates on the issues with the Vivid LIVE line-up

The controversy over the Vivid LIVE line-up blew up again late this week in the wake of local activist group the LISTEN Collective's charges that the 2015 artist roster is egregiously male-heavy, with critics of the movement claiming that the issues raised by the group were, essentially, little more than a good old-fashioned whinge.

In recent correspondence with theMusic.com.au, however, collective founder and spokesperson Evelyn Morris — better known by her stage name, Pikelet — elaborated on LISTEN's original statement of disappointment with the annual event, offering her thoughts on the root causes of, and potential solutions for, the existing endemic imbalance that seems to plague not just Vivid LIVE but wider festival line-ups throughout the artistic community.

Conceding that a single reason for the state of affairs is "difficult to pin down because just like any social structures, patriarchy is multifaceted", Morris believes that responsibility can at least partially be placed upon a systemic "willingness to disregard the feminist narrative as being 'done' or at times irrelevant to begin with".

"The mind of a woman or other-gendered person in music is far more full of restrictions, questions and boundaries than that of men," she told theMusic.com.au.

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

"It's hard to even begin explaining all of this when you're often belittled and overlooked every day of your career. This has happened to me so much that at very regular intervals, I'm quite convinced that I'm not even a 'real' musician.

"Sometimes this also causes us to undersell ourselves. Men just get kinda… born into their confidence and generally have it reaffirmed. Therefore, it's often hard for men to even imagine this feeling of being overlooked. It's not even considered."

If that were something that had been done with consistency ... we would be having far less trouble at present. 

Despite the dire circumstances — which, as LISTEN points out, amounts to two bands featuring female members and one female solo act on a line-up featuring more than 50 male acts — and some uninformed sledges to the contrary, Morris has spent a lot of time thinking about how the industry and artistic community can take real steps towards genuine and lasting change… just don't expect it to be easy.

"I think normalising is a slow process," Morris said. "It involves educating men, and also ourselves, about the historical context of feminist issues. If that were something that had been done with consistency since the '70s, we would be having far less trouble at present because we would be heard when we suggest that female visibility is indeed an important issue.

"Given the current violent deaths of women at the hands of men for this first quarter of 2015 is up to 24 already, it is most certainly an urgent and important issue! Each organisation presenting events could be liaising with a group like LISTEN or something similar, to ensure they don't embarrass themselves and alienate women further.

"This consideration should also be taken in relation to other marginalised communities," she continues. "There should be more indigenous involvement, more people from all kinds of backgrounds included, and more LGBTQ consultation.

"Unless you want to present yourself as being incredibly conservative and unaware, you really need to make an effort to be representing various communities, especially those that are working with the intention of creating change."


Read our original story on the controversy here.