With Role Models, we learn more about today’s most exciting acts — and the artists who inspired them. This time, the dynamic duo Black Girl / White Girl explains how Paranoid London’s “no-nonsense attitude” has helped drive their musical growth.
Amsterdam-based duo Black Girl / White Girl (AKA Karin and Ty) keep turning heads as the hype builds around their raw, stripped-down, acidic, jackin’ techno sound. With eight years of experience cooking up heat in the studio together, this production couple’s dance floor concoctions are finding support amongst some of the scene’s most revered producers.
Karin and Ty’s musical output has jumped into hyperdrive over the past three years, touting releases on Food Music, Of Unsound Mind, EI8HT, Super Rhythm Trax, HE.SHE.THEY, System-Records.
Most recently, the duo dropped the high-powered Fluid Humanism EP, which is out now on Ben Sims’ Hardgroove.
As their studio experiments continue to develop and astound, we wanted to find the source of sonic inspiration that has fed their unrelenting club arrangements. Their answer: Paranoid London.
Who has most inspired you on your journey to becoming a DJ/producer?
Although we’ve been inspired by dozens of people both inside of music and beyond, the only ones who have had an impact on us on an artistic level are Paranoid London.
How did you first discover them?
Finding new music is one of our favorite things to do; we can really dive down the rabbit hole in our hunt for new music, artists, and labels. That said, we are blessed to live in a time when we can do all of this online.
We discovered Paranoid London’s self-titled album online somewhere in 2018, and upon hearing it, we both stopped and looked at each other, like we were just both thinking, what in the world is this amazing music? Here we are in 2022, still fascinated with their music’s uniqueness and quality, as well as their no-nonsense attitude in general. Paranoid London stand out for the best of reasons. They’ve created this mesmerizing sonic universe while staying true to themselves, and it’s something that still resonates with us today on so many different levels.
What made them someone you wanted to emulate?
Having started our careers labeled “tech house” artists, we have never felt completely at home in that scene. Between 2016 and 2019 we began feeling increasingly constrained, and frankly, a little jaded by the lack of creativity and innovation in what was being released at the time. We didn’t see our music going down that route; we wanted a safe zone to experiment, evolve, and expand our realm of sound. And despite having spent countless hours building a name for ourselves throughout those years, we realized that the only way to truly express ourselves while also feeling appreciated for our art was to switch gears and move forward.
We had no idea who Paranoid London were when we first heard their music; we just felt an immediate draw to the stripped-down rawness of their sound, the absolute fluidity with which the tracks seemed to have been made. The sheer power of their music completely blew us away at a time when we were just beginning to lay the foundation for our own sound.
Have you ever met them in person? Or worked with them?
We haven’t had the opportunity to meet them yet, but we hope to do so someday. We’ve been exchanging music with Quinn and supporting their work since 2018. They seem to be really kind, down-to-earth folks, and we really connect with that.
Did you have any other mentors along the way?
Along the way, we’ve come across so many incredible artists whose music has struck a chord with us. People like Lauren Flax, Noncompliant, Ariel Zetina, DJ Deeon, and Lester Fitzpatrick, just to name a few. In case it wasn’t completely obvious yet, we love it when people do their own thing. However, we first and foremost connect with energies. Even though we haven’t met most of these people — except Lauren, who’s a total sweetheart, by the way — we can feel their wonderful energy bursting through their music.
Why is representation so important in the music industry?
It was difficult for us to feel at home in the music industry as queer women and people of color at the start of our careers. Seeing others who look like you being successful is a huge part of feeling like you can achieve greatness. It’s definitely encouraging to see small changes happening right now. Looking at event lineups and media coverage, it may appear like we’re on the right track since there is a bit more inclusion of the traditionally underrepresented. Only time will tell if we will ever achieve equality, but for the time being, we hope that our visibility can inspire even one person to believe they can make their dreams come true.
Do you hope to one day serve as an example for the next generation?
Absolutely, it’s one of our main goals as artists. Our heritage, our parents’ love and selfless sacrifice, and the LGBTQ+ community will always inspire us.
In music production, we are deeply influenced by the sounds we grew up with in the Middle East and the Caribbean, respectively, with Karin being of Portuguese-Moroccan descent and Ty, an Afro-Curacaoan. The thread that ties our productions together is all of the expressive, percussive music we grew up with, which is the lifeblood and primary inspiration behind our music.
We’ll always treasure the lessons our parents taught us, such as always delivering our best efforts in whatever we do and actively looking for ways to improve our skills and grow as individuals.
We’ve started making preparations to launch our label in the coming year, but we also plan to run club nights and other community activities in the future. We’re proud queer women, and we’ve learned that self-love and being authentically yourself is key to success. DJing regularly across the world and connecting with all these amazing communities has always been a dream of ours. Our community is so fierce, visible, and proud. Ultimately, nothing would make us happier than to be able to inspire and encourage the next generation to follow their dreams.
Lastly, tell us about the chart you created.
Our Beatport Link chart features twenty of the hottest tracks we’ve been digging lately by Nova Cheq, Guchon, Lauren Flax & Lazy Ants, DJ D ReDD, and, of course, our Fluid Humanism EP, which is out now on Hardgroove.
Black Girl / White Girl’s Fluid Humanism EP is out now via Hardgroove. Check it out on Beatport.
