ANIME ABOUT HER CAREER AS A SUCCESSFUL FEMALE HARDCORE DJ

Barbara Palermo, aka DJ AniMe, is one of the most successful Hardcore DJs and performs at the biggest festivals in the scene. She can be found on major stages such as Dominator or Masters of Hardcore. But how does she experience this success as one of the few women in a scene full of men? We spoke to her extensively about her career, music, fellow female Hardcore DJs, and more.

AniMe is doing pretty well at the moment, especially with the good news that life is starting to become more normal again with more events and fewer restrictions. “I am however worried about the war going on in Ukraine, I hope that a solution will be found soon and that everybody will have the possibility to rebuild their lives, which were already made difficult by the long pandemic. We don’t need war.”

A FEMALE IN A MALE DOMINATED SCENE

AniMe is one of the few female DJs in a hard dance scene that is dominated by men. “I think there are some more male-dominated jobs in this world indeed, but us women are taking our space by committing ourselves to the utmost in what we do. “

“As a female DJ in the Hardcore scene, I’ve had to work very hard and overcome all criticism relating to my gender, body, and behavior, because women are always criticized more than men.“

The Hardcore DJ thinks jobs shouldn’t be based on genders but based on how much effort people are willing to put towards becoming what they want to be. “As a female DJ in the Hardcore scene, I’ve had to work very hard and overcome all criticism relating to my gender, body, and behavior, because women are always criticized more than men. I’ve had to work on my mindset to find peace with that and I have put a lot of hours into becoming who I am today. “ At this point in her career, she feels respected by everybody, both by colleagues and the general public.

When we ask AniMe if she has any tips for upcoming female artists, she told us that if you want to do this job, do your best, perfect yourself in every field, such as sets, music production, and social media. She finds it important that you learn new things and study everything that can be useful for the job. “Create something unique and recognizable, don’t be a copy of others, just be you. Do not listen to basic criticism, because it is not constructive.”, she says. “Haters are gonna hate because they would like to be in your place. If you work with dedication and passion, your efforts will be rewarded.”

SUCCESFULL FELLOW FEMALE DJS

That AniMe is a successful Hardcore DJ is one thing that is certain. But besides herself, there are a number of other successful female DJs in the scene. When we ask her about her favorite female DJ, she tells us that this is Miss K8, who is also incredibly successful. “We have recently gotten closer, and we will also work together on various occasions. “

The girls played their first b2b set at Reverze in Belgium in 2019: “I really enjoyed playing with another woman, I have always played b2b sets with men, as there are not many established women in the hard dance scene.” After that she had the pleasure of seeing Miss K8 again at the Masters of Hardcore Top 100 2021 awards ceremony where they both played a live set and kept in touch from there.

They actually discovered that they really have a lot in common. “We will soon play at a dedicated event named ‘Miss K8 & AniMe’ which will be held in Glasgow on April 1st, and we will play our second b2b set at Titanium Festival, which will take place in The Netherlands in May. I am sure that our connection will bring forward something interesting in our music as well.“

“For some big events, like Masters of Hardcore and Dominator I designed my outfits myself, which were then created by costume designers.“

AniMe always looks beautiful during her performances; we asked her if she styles herself for gigs “Aw that’s sweet, thanks for the compliment! Yes, I do my outfits and make up for every event.” She is playing for many years now, so she knows what kind of outfits, hairstyles and make-up make her feel most comfortable during her performance. “For some big events, like Masters of Hardcore and Dominator I designed my outfits myself, which were then created by costume designers. For those occasions my make-up and hair were also done by talented make-up artists.”

RETURN HER LIFESTYLE

We can finally start the festival season again, so AniMe is really looking forward to that; “I can’t wait to return to the lifestyle I have built on creating with dedication over the past 10 years.” This pandemic deprived her not only of her job, but of her identity as well, because playing and making music was her passion first, “it’s who I am, and became a job second.”

“My schedule for the festival season looks crazy, already starting in April I will be playing at 10 events around Europe in just one month! I thought the after covid re-start would have been slower, instead, my agenda is bursting. Therefore I know that I will have a lot of fun in the next months and I will have the chance to play my music all over the world, music that I’m preparing very carefully.” Traveling so much can be exhausting for the DJ, but she’s not even thinking of that, she is just looking forward to it so much.

A LOT OF ANIME MUSIC COMING UP

Barbara hasn’t sat still in terms of music. She just released a new track “Somebody Scream”. It’s a track with fast BPM and powerful kick drums, which she created to give another charge to the incoming electrifying period. Additionally, she recently finished a collaboration she really cares about. “This collaboration has a very emotional melody and a deep meaning. This one will be out in April and will be accompanied by an awesome video clip that we are currently working on in great detail.”

“Now, I am perfecting a track with the nice voice of a MC that I personally like a lot. I have already started testing this track in my sets and people are literally going crazy to it. ” She thinks the track, that will come with a sick video clip, will be a great success.

This is the year of musical exploration for AniMe.She wants to make hard dance music at 360 degrees, without limits and boundaries. “As you can see I am working on a lot of exciting projects, but I will put these on standby for a little while to create space and time to prepare my live set for the 25 Years’ celebration of Masters of Hardcore. I want to create and perform a very special set for the event, which consists of brand new tracks, all of my most famous tracks and I re-edit some of them for the occasion. “ She will prepare a unique outfit for the event as well, so there is a lot of work to do.

“I am sure that it will create a big buzz online and it will give new talent the opportunity to get noticed.”

In May, the DJ will also launch a very interesting project. This is a project she’s been working on with the help of a famous and talented MC, she tells us. The project will be announced in the Masters of Hardcore magazine at the end of March, so don’t forget to check that out! “I am very excited to work on this project because I am sure that it will create a big buzz online and it will give new talent the opportunity to get noticed.“

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM ANIME IN 2022?

We can expect a lot of new AniMe music and amazing video clips this year. In addition, she is also working on a new merchandise line which I will be launching soon on my website: www.djanime.com. “You will come across my name very often, expect the unexpected from me this year!”