#hoe_mies

Beats by Dr.Dre teamed up with Highsnobiety to catch up with DJ duo Hoe_mies in the second of a three-part series about Germany’s rising, experimental musicians and culture makers. We caught up with Hoe_mies over Facetime to talk about creating safe spaces for marginalized communities in hip hop, why they started their podcast Realitäter*innen, and how they kept their community together during lockdown.

Hoe_mies is the moniker that Berlin-based DJs Gizem Adiyaman and Lucia Luciano have gone by since they threw their first party in 2017. Their friendship goes back much further – they met in high school and bonded over a shared love of music, “She was the one with the aux cable at birthday parties,” laughs Luciano, “I was the one hanging out with other DJs and producers thinking, “I want to do this one day”, but never had the confidence to start.” Many with a passion for DJing get swept up in Berlin’s legendary club scene without ever stepping behind the decks, but what pushed Luciano and Adiyaman to start their own night was a combination of creative need and frustration. “We started DJing out of socially driven motivation to change something in society,” explains Luciano. “The music industry is male-dominated and we wanted to protest against it by saying, "We are women. We organize the party. We let only womxn, nonbinary, trans people, and all those who are not in the mainstream be part of the party," meaning that they are in the lineup, the audience, and the selection we play.”

“The music industry is male-dominated and we wanted to protest against it.”

- Luciano

The club spaces representing marginalized identities are few and far between. In Berlin, there are significantly more than in most cities, and the LGBTQIA+ community has played a large part in establishing the inclusive, safe, and respectful culture that sets the city’s club culture apart. But the music industry as a whole remains heavily male-dominated and hip hop, in particular, is still notorious for its prolific sexualization of women and misogynistic lyrics. Adiyaman and Lucianono founded Hoe_mies to change that.

From day one their parties were a success. “We didn't expect it to be so well received,” says Adiyaman. “The first night that we organized was in protest against a very male-dominated hip hop party scene and we had to stop letting people in three times because so many people came. We were super overwhelmed, and it made us realize that this was really needed. We knew we needed to keep this going.”

The journey since then hasn’t been all smooth sailing. Between the bigoted promoters telling them that a night without male DJs is bound to fail, the patronizing club owners asking if they prepare their own sets, and the male stragglers hanging in front of the DJ booth at four AM “watching you in a really weird way that has nothing to do with how you are playing”, it’s a wonder that they persevered. But, as a duo, they’ve lifted each other up through the harder times and used these early incidents to fuel their ambition of making spaces where womxn DJs are welcomed and celebrated.

Hoe_mies has gone from strength to strength, evolving into a popular party series that’s taken over clubs across Germany. In parallel, Luciano and Adiyaman have overcome their own personal challenges that mirror those faced by the identities they advocate for, “It almost feels like you can't be mediocre as a female in whatever you do, especially when you're in a male-dominated area like DJing. You have to really prove yourself. But we’ve learned that you don’t have to be perfect.” They are influential advocates for gender equality in the club scene, called on to work on a number of projects from party curation to modeling. By the end of last year, they were playing three to four sets a week on average, with little downtime in between, which pushed them to the brink. “Everything was really fast-paced, and if you don't take care of yourself, then you might burn out really quickly,” says Adiyaman.

Since COVID-19 hit, Luciano and Adiyaman have stayed home and tried to take advantage of the downtime to seek out new artists and produce, while supporting their community. As Luciano explains, “It's really important for us to show people we're still here for them and to entertain, even while there's a lockdown. For some people, going to the club is really something that they need to forget about all the stress they had in their daily lives, and also for the sense of community. We tried to recreate that by doing live streams and having our community online come together.”

“It's really important for us to show people we're still here for them and to entertain, even while there's a lockdown”

- Luciano

Performing to a screen in your bedroom is a far cry from a packed out Berlin dancefloor, but they’ve done their best to recreate the same energy before a stream. Actually getting dressed up, cranking the volume, and “a little bit of chardonnay” helps. Although the energy of the crowd is missing for them and their viewers, they’ve received an overwhelmingly positive response. Alongside live stream sets, they continue to amplify their message of inclusivity which remains a priority through a series of Instagram talks called Home not Alone. With the goal of empowering aspiring DJs, particularly womxn, the series gives a greater insight into how Luciano and Adiyaman got to where they are today and offers advice on negotiating rates, self-promotion, and equipment.

Shortly before the lockdown was enforced, Hoe_mies kicked off a podcast, Realitäter*innen, where they discuss social issues, such as racism, body positivity, masculinity, with those affected, giving them a platform to share their stories. With no club time on the schedule, during the last few months they’ve doubled down on the podcast, recording it from their apartment. “In Germany, these are subjects that are talked about, but these people are never let to talk for themselves. For example, we had an episode on the prison system and whether it's still appropriate. We talked with someone who's actually imprisoned right now, then with a former prison director who decided to opt-out of the whole prison system because he doesn't believe in it anymore and doesn't believe the way prisons are now is supposed to re-socialize people.”

Another of their podcasts focused on sex work and feminism, and another on dating in 2020. At first glance, these topics may not seem to have much to do with DJing. But they started the podcasts off the back of conversations they’d had with people that came to their parties, and with such a strong moral resolve for equality driving them, they seized the opportunity and used their reach as DJs to amplify their message and the voices of those marginalized.

“In the end, we want to see an equal share of womxn and queer people to cis-hetero males doing music”

- Adiyaman