Women Turning Knobs

Venus Radio

There's been a lot of media chat lately about women producers. But it all centred around the women who drive the desk and take control of the final sound direction of albums created by other people, but what about women who are visibly producing their own tracks and standing at the decks? Surely they're taking on more than one role and deserve a shout.

Looking back over Free Lab Radio playlists from the past three years, it is mostly men who've their names attached to the tracks we've loved. So we've put the effort in (it is not easy at first to remember or unearth good women producers, because normally you don't have it in mind whether the musics coming from a man or woman, but this time we've put our minds to it) and also must thank Free Lab Radio Facebook followers who've suggested/reminded us of a few of tonight's playlist.

Catch the show 11pm-midnight GMT and podcasts later on www.MIXCLOUD.com/fari

Iranian Electronica - Weird, Quirky, Lovely

Tonight a salute to electronic producers hailing from Iran and scattered across the diaspora.

We navigate between experimental glitch-core-neopolka, dance, sax and funk with even a little rap permitted. Producers on tonight's show work as far afield as Israel, Netherlands, Iran, New York, UK and more.

Sometimes the music is angry, other times doleful, sometimes poetic, always reaching out. It does a listener well to remember that western music was banned in Iran in 1979 at the time of the Islamic 'revolution' and that playing this music is still punishable by harsh prison sentences. However not everyone producing music in the diaspora would say these facts affect their music directly, removed as they are from the realities of everyday Iranian life.

Art work: Taravat Talepasand- 'Modest'