Deeply powerful, evocative, sounds. Poignant and almost haunting presence. There are many ways to perceive the nature of Gabrielle Watson’s (she/her) persona, A Hundred Drums. We sat down the day of her newest EP’s release to find out how she would describe the epic face behind the mysterious force that is her dubstep. Discover the motivations behind Enough is Enough, Gabrielle’s thoughts on western EDM politics, and gain insight into her journey to Denver, CO.
We know you’re based in Denver. Where are you from?
I’m from Los Angeles. Pretty much born and raised in California.
Your DJ career started then, I’m assuming, when you were in LA- and you recently moved to Denver?
Yeah. My whole life is Los Angeles, California. Denver is only the last two years. I grew up in Los Angeles and I spent a lot of time in Northern California where I was a farmer — a cannabis cultivator. As my music project started to progress I needed to have more availability to, you know, tour and play shows. When you’re a cannabis cultivator on a commercial scale, you are married to the farm 10 months out of the year. It’s really hard to get away or find someone to take care of the land while you’re gone. I had to make a choice — either really dig into my music project and go all in or kind of be in a rut with the farm. On top of that, I had gone through a really big breakup with my partner. At the time we were together for six years, we were engaged. We were going to get married, have children and all that. That didn’t work out — and he hurt me really bad. When I was in the process of deciding what to do with my music career, I was going through that breakup. My farm had just got busted — I didn’t go to jail or anything. I had to cut everything down. I was just really like, you know what, I’m ready to get outta here.
I then decided to come to Denver because my agent at the time was based out of here and flights out of Denver are a good score.
It’s a place where I can have a little bit more job opportunity. A place where I can afford to live on my own. I came out here to Denver in 2019, in September and got myself a really good job. Got my own apartment. Started to dig in with music. My bookings for 2020 were pouring in, it was going to be a big year and then COVID took everything away, unfortunately.
It’s kind of like starting all over. But, when I was in Los Angeles, before I moved to Northern California, I joined B-Side Los Angeles. B-Side Los Angeles, I think had about two shows, their first two shows. I went and fell in love and joined the street team.
We want to hear more about B-Side Los Angeles. You know you love a project when you want to be a promoter- is it something that you believe in?
Yeah. I really believe in it. I really believe in B-Side and what they are about. In the UK, way back in the day, these parties used to be in one room with sound system stacks from floor to ceiling. With one red light. They are known as eyes down events because it’s so dark. Nobody gives a f*ck, everybody’s in their own vibe, super chilling. That’s back in the day dubstep. With B-Side that’s what we want to bring. We want to bring that old school tradition back and we’re doing it in LA going on seven years old now. We’re doing pretty well.
Once I got more involved with them I became a part of the team. I moved to the Bay Area to start a project. I was turning a shipping container into a tiny house. We started doing B-Side events in Los Angeles and in Oakland, in an old-school warehouse. That’s where we really got to get traditional, in a really dark industrial part of Oakland. Super dungeon style.
The reason why we had to stop was because of the Ghost Ship warehouse fire. Ghost Ship was a legendary warehouse — it was an artist collective where people were illegally living. It made world news and was a big situation. It changed a lot for the Bay Area. Lots of artists that were very well known died. People were trapped and they suffered. It was really dark.
Because of that, warehouses shut down. We couldn’t find another venue.
I am very behind the scenes with BSI. I work with logistics, coordinating, talent buying — mostly the back end stuff. My partner, Murad, who is the original founder of B-side handles all the front-facing stuff. I became a founder when I started B-Side Bay Area. We had our fifth year anniversary booked and planned. Then we had to cancel because of COVID. We took all of our sixth year off. That’s a little bit of a back story on B-Side Los Angeles.
Do you feel like being a part of B-Side has influenced your music?
I’ve only played a couple of shows, which I was kind of against.
I’m not crazy about playing at our shows because they aren’t exactly meant for me to play. I admit, they’re selfishly to see the artists that we and the people we’re very familiar with really want to see. We love this music as so many other people do. I wouldn’t exactly say there’s been any really any influence towards me in my music with that. They’re very separate for me. It is nice having B-Side because it’s a passion of mine. I get to book artists that I look up to that I absolutely love.
I am going to be playing a lot more B-Side shows now going forward, my partner Murad is really adamant that I do. We’ll definitely be seeing how that goes.
Post pandemic, are you hungry for gigs? Are you happy to be back? Do you feel like it’s time?
Yeah, I’m really happy that things are returning- playing shows and everything is what I moved down here to do. It’s something that I decided to change my whole life around to do. Things are coming back at a steady pace for me. I’m not in any rush.
Coming back after 2020, how do you feel when you see these lineups where you might be the only woman (probably the only woman of color) playing these shows? We saw a peak in racial tension across America, and pressure was definitely put on electronic music. The veil was torn off of a lot of cultural appropriation and it was very obvious that there was a lack of representation. Is that something you notice?
Yeah. This has been an issue for decades. This has been an issue since the beginning of electronic music. A lot of music today was originated by black people. House music, dance music was written by black folk. Yet, it’s currently so heavily dominated by white males. You know — that’s great, that’s dandy and I don’t have any problem with that, but I don’t like the way it is dominating.
There’s a lack of diversity in the EDM scene in a big way. I do believe that the EDM scene in this country is a very progressive culture — that’s for sure — but politics within EDM are bullsh*t. Nowadays it’s not about what you do and how good you are or how good you are at it. It’s about who you know and how much money you have. Typically the guys that are at the very top are white males. I feel like a lot of promoters want to do shows but also want to make money.
I feel promoters are taking less chances on lesser known artists. The whole point is to to lift up lesser known artists so that they have that opportunity to get to that spot where they could then be more known. I feel if promoters took more time to utilize their tools and resources, to discover talent, more people of color — men and women — would be discovered. I feel that would help change a lot and would really help bring more diversity into the scene because yeah, a lot of the events that I participate in I’m one of the very few females and oftentimes the only black female.
Not just on the lineup, but a lot of times at the event entirely — I’m always the token black girl, or, I stick out like a sore thumb. Again, I’m used to it. I grew up in Redondo Beach, California, which is a predominantly white neighborhood. I went to a really good school, predominantly white and all of my friends have all been white.
I’m used to it, but I’m getting tired of it. I would love to see a little more diversity. I don’t want to just be the only one all the time.
That brings us to Enough is Enough, the title of the EP — that frustration definitely comes out in the music. I was listening to it earlier today and your song Stop — it made me think of this interview today. You’re tired, black women are tired of having to educate people on social justice issues; which kind of feels ironic in a way, because you’re choosing to be an activist and use this platform to speak about it. Do you feel like your community empowers you to do those things or do you feel like it’s something that puts you out on a limb?
I want to go ahead and mention this now that I am not an activist. I am not trying to be a leader. That’s not a place that I feel comfortable being in. It’s not the title that I want to hold by any means.
It’s a lot of responsibility and that’s just not a place where I am at. However, I want to participate in the mission. I want to be a participant in change. Utilizing my platform to continue to push the message is my intention and my primary goal. Enough is Enough encompasses the BLM movement, not the organization.
This has absolutely nothing to do with the Black Lives Matter organization. This has everything to do with the statement. Black Lives Matter. Those three words are what this is about. Black Lives Matter — all lives matter, but all lives can’t matter because black lives don’t matter. We need to get on an equal platform here.
I am tired of sometimes having to have these conversations over and over, but I’m also tired of seeing threads of white people trying to say what black people need and don’t need. I appreciate the sentiment, but instead of trying to argue about what needs to happen, be the change, be a living example.
Treat everybody equally, book your talent keeping in mind that you want to diversify. I think that’s a really healthy mindset because it keeps diversity alive. It shows the intention that you want to bring everyone together. I want to utilize my platform to push a bigger message. While I have the audience I might as well do something good with it because it’s not all about me. That’s not why I’m A Hundred Drums.
I do want to get myself in a good place and be successful in my music, but I feel like in order to get there, I need to be a part of change and do something well with my platform. Some of the best legends of all time utilize their platforms to write music about their current history. That’s essentially what I’m doing with Enough is Enough. As a victim of a racial attack myself, it would be silly for me to not.
What would you say to women of color or to generally anyone who feels discouraged by the lack of representation? Do you feel like it’s a safe space for people to grow and that they should go for it?
For a while I felt intimidated to continue on this path because of the lack of diversity- not knowing too many people of color in this scene. My art is so much more than my own insecurities. To any person of color, male or female, but particularly women of color or those that identify as non-binary and want to pursue this, don’t let the lack of that discourage you. That is what keeps perpetuating the cycle that we need to break.
I’m hoping that this helps others to feel empowered and to feel safe, to continue their journey because they see me doing it.
I’ve never done anything like this before. Never. I stay away from conflict. I stay away from drama. I stay away from political and religious conversations. I don’t get involved. I definitely have discussions with my friends and this is the first time that I’ve been very out publicly about my story. This is the very first time I’ve been very out about my own vulnerability. The very first time that I’ve been out about my personal life. It’s been very well received and it’s why I do believe that this culture within EDM is very progressive.
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