Louisahhh discusses “intimidating” pressure women face in music

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.

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.