Bio taken from: https://i-d.co/article/how-women-are-shaping-a-new-uk-sound-system-scene/
April Grant — of Rebel Rock sound system (Birmingham, founded 2014)
April “Rusty Rebel” Grant was a radio DJ for 30 years, and studied sound
engineering after leaving school. She was always been interested in the technical side of playing music and in the equipment, so operating her own sound was a natural next step: she founded Rebel Rock three years ago.
Rusty plays roots music, a tradition that’s important for her to push forward as a member of the new sound system generation. “I grew up with it [reggae], but didn’t pay attention to it back then. Now I’ve got older and I’ve kind of slowed down, I appreciate and listen, and really hear what’s going on,” she explains. “Hearing more and going digging for older stuff has really opened up my interest, and I do feel a real connection with the music.”
Being among the first, if not the first female sound system owner and operator in the UK, April is a key part of pushing forward greater gender diversity in the scene, encouraging and helping more women play out on their own sounds. She’s even had other women (including the operators of CAYA and Mousai sounds) play with her on Rebel Rock. “I think us females playing together creates a real feeling of camaraderie and team spirit.”
April thinks having more women on the scene is starting to challenge some of the long-held competitive elements of the culture. She says, for example, sound men often overrun their set times in contrast to women, who stick to them — “It’s an ego thing.” She also says that men create a different vibe to women at dances: “They say, ‘We’ve always done it this way, so we’ll carry on doing it that way’ — they feel it is their own space, no one else’s. It’s territorial for them. They have a different way.”
April says she hasn’t experienced any problems specifically due to her gender, but that men are often surprised to see her and the quality of records she brings along. At vinyl dances, men are taken aback by her skill and selection — always asking, “What are you doing with those records?” But this is something April relishes: shocking them like that, she says, feels fabulous.
