Seini Denicaucau
Women in Massey Music
Interview by Georgie Levien
Kia ora! My name is Seini Denicaucau! I’ve been playing music of all sorts at all sorts of interesting places since my first year of uni in 2023. I host the Friday Flow with RadioActive.FM all alongside my study at Vic!
I’m a big fan of the Welly music scene, not just as a DJ but as a punter – I absolutely froth going to gigs of all kinds and I love to dance. I’ve played on support for some wicked international artists like Wolters, Prizefight, and Osmosis Jones, and have been trying my hand at producing music lately.
How have your experiences in Wellington shaped the kind of artist you’re becoming?
When I first got into electronic music, I definitely played and listened to a lot of popular, very commercial electronic music. Since becoming a regular gig-goer in Wellington, I’ve developed a massive love for the underground sound. Something especially in TWAT compared to everywhere else is the crazy vibes that come at every single gig, there’s such a mixed bag of music and just general jujus that has really helped me to discover and hone in what I want my music style to be.
Can you talk about a time where you felt supported—or unsupported—by the people around you in the scene?
I feel like being a wahine DJ can sometimes be scary – it’s not that I don’t feel supported by the other awesome people around me, but it’s just pretty intimidating walking into a greenroom before I play at a gig and it’s all filled with “the boys”. I’ve been asked if I was someone’s girlfriend once before when I was out the back once tho lol the disrespect is crazy.
Who or what has helped you find your footing in the music community here?
My damn heart goes out to RadioActive.FM, I can’t sing their praises high enough. Special shoutout goes to Nick Medder (Club Medder), who I begged to let me get involved in any way with the station. After that, he was kind enough to get me put onto heaps of gigs and has taught me so much about music!
Are there any barriers you’ve noticed (big or small) that affect how you participate in the scene?
Definitely. I feel like not having a dedicated club space in Wellington has really sucked since B-Space closed (RIP!!!!!), with the opening of Afters though I feel like we’re slowly coming back to how it was. Also its too expensive to hit multiple gigs in a night like I used to!
What would you want younger women or queer people coming into this scene to know?
There are heaps of great pockets in Wellington, and so many awesome collectives that want to boost the presence and experiences for femmes and wahine in Wellington – shoutout to my mate Selena, who’s been killing it with @nineohniners, getting more women into DJing with her Don’t Date the DJ series!! (her DJ workshops for beginners are effing awesome)
I’d also want them to know that all the wahine artists in the scene are super cool and are super keen on getting more femmes in the scene!!!! I would love to have more of the gyaldem behind the decks.
Follow Seini