During weekdays Maressa Surrett is a Web site designer for a Eugene company, but on evenings and weekends she’s Jade Bassix – an electronic-dance music artist who has performed in far away places such as Hong Kong.
As the owner of So Broken Recordings, a Eugene-based electronic
dance label, she is trying to attract Pacific Northwest and female
musicians, once regarded as the industry’s underrepresented artists, she said.
“Ever since I first started DJ-ing, I knew there was a serious lack of women, but I never let that become an issue or get me down in any way,” she said. “Perhaps this was some sort of motivation for me to push myself to success. I hope to be a good role model for other truly talented young women to follow.”
Surrett, who grew up in Salem as “one of the guys,” said she didn’t feel intimated at the absence of female DJs.
“I will say that at times when I first started DJ-ing, I did encounter jeers or guys staring over my shoulder during my DJ sets – almost waiting for me to mess up,” she said. “But there were hardly any women at that time DJ-ing in the Northwest, and
I think guys were surprised that a female could do this. Or perhaps they were afraid that a woman could possibly do it better.”
Since then, attitudes toward female DJs have changed, and more female DJs are emerging across Oregon, she said.
Surrett and her record label, which carries artists handpicked by Surrett, reaches fans across the world.
“They are all unique and talented and all have a special place on So Broken Recordings,” she said.
Her ear for musical talent was developed at Salem-based indie rock and punk label Schizophonic Records, where she started interning when she was only 15. In 2004, she started producing
her own music, remixing tracks, releasing DJ mixes and traveling the world to play at different clubs.
“I felt there was a major lack of representation for Northwest electronic artists within the industry but still an enormous amount of talent here,” Surrett said.
With the contacts she made at various shows, she started her
record label, which now distributes music via MP3s and an Internet radio station (www.sobroken.com) rather than traditional vinyl records. The label plans to release music from Jay Cynik,
Suff-x and Kontagious during the summer.
Surrett, who grew-up listening to hip-hop and punk-rock and was classically trained on the viola and clarinet, became interested in electronic dance music in high school.
“I really loved what drum and bass sounded like; I was drawn to its intensity and speed. I wanted to hear more of it in a live setting and meet the people who were behind these rave events and music,” she said.
After attending various rave events, Surrett started DJ-ing – “a
natural progression” for most rave-goers, she said. Surrett, whose influences include Björk, John B, Ming & FS and Richie Hawtin, favors darker sounds.
“Whatever music I make or play is definitely based on emotion and passion. I put a lot of feeling and thought into what I do
– some days could be funky, some days dark. There isn’t
necessarily a message I try to get across, but my emotions definitely show through in the end result,” she said.
For aspiring female artists, she recommends: “Follow your dreams. I know that saying has been said time and time again, but it’s true. Never let gender be a factor in anything you do. If you have the love, drive, passion, you can do anything you set
your mind to.”
Surrett will host a re-launch party celebrating the two-year anniversary of So Broken Recordings at the Indigo District, 1290 Oak St. in Eugene, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. tonight. Music artists performing at the event include Surrett, Kontagious, Wikk!d,
Zita and Silpher. Surrett will also be playing at The Grove restaurant, 1033 N.W. Bond St., in Bend on June 24.
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