Louisahhh says the electronic music scene can be “intimidating” for female artists

Louisa Pillot, solo artist and one part of the electronic duo Maelstrom & Louisahhh, has discussed the pressure she felt when starting her career, suggesting that the industry can feel “intimidating” for female musicians.

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The electronic artist was speaking in an interview with the band’s co-founder, Joan-Mael Péneau when she reflected upon her time in the industry.

“At the beginning, I felt pretty anxious and stupid around technology – it’s only now that I’m getting my production chops in line in a way that enables the music to feel like me,” she told Music Radar.

“As a woman in a male-dominated industry, especially electronic music, the pressure to show up and be really fucking good was intimidating,” she added. “At first, I was hesitant to be a woman in dance music … If I was going to use lyrics and my voice then it would have to have integrity.”

Elsewhere in the discussion, Pillot went on to explain how her collaboration with Joan-Mael Péneau – better known as Maelstrom – helped her improve her confidence in the field.

This, she explains, was because it allowed her to release as part of a collaborative duo, rather than as an independent artist. Maelstrom & Louisahhh’s first release debuted in 2013 – an EP entitled Translations.

“My secret dream was to be a front woman in a band, but it felt very scary to live that dream until I started writing and performing vocals on other people’s tracks,” she said, explaining the circumstances that led to their first release.

“I didn’t have a lot of confidence in my production skills so I started releasing my own music collaboratively, and Mael played a big part in that.”

Maelstrom & Louisahhh’s first full-length album, Sustained Resistance, comes out on 10 February. Check it out on Bandcamp.