Enough with the labels! Let me just get on with making music

First and foremost, I think of myself as a musician, but I’m not offended by the title “female musician”. I’m both, after all. Music can be gendered, but in reality there are certain roles that you don’t often see filled by women in music, so it can lend itself to judgment.

I can’t say women in music have more to prove because, personally, I wouldn’t know. Ask me again in a year or two. So far all the people I’ve worked with have never shown any gender-based judgement of me or my music.

Once in the studio after struggling with a vocal take and battling with losing my voice, I cried. Jimmy Eadie, who was working with me on the album, said “Oh, I forgot you were a girl”.

I think that, initially, we are all judged on appearance, and of course this comes into play with music. I don’t think it’s isolated to women. I’ve never had comments about my appearance as a female musician. That’s good, isn’t it? I’m sure there are cases, but all the women I love in music are, I feel, accredited based on talent alone.

The only time I’ve heard anything gender-based about myself was once after a gig. Someone told a friend that I play the guitar like a man. My friend asked what he meant and he said that I dare to play more than I’m capable of. I suppose that relates to some idea of equating being female with playing it safe, rather than the primal, fearless male.

I'm the only female on my album, Slow Dynamo. I haven't worked with many female musicians. Not intentionally – I just haven't met as many. It's about finding the right person for the job. Sinéad Nic Gearailt, from the band Halfset, played harp with me for a while because she's a great harper.

I think gender will always be relevant, but polarising it in

terms of musicianship would be severe. As in, “women make better keyboard players” and “men better guitarists”. I feel relaxed about being female and a musician.

I worked as a live sound engineer and I didn’t come across many women in that profession. I’ve worked in a lot of venues where touring bands bring their own engineer. It would surprise me when they were female, but it never surprised me when they were great at their job.

I’ve had negative/sexist experiences as a sound engineer. Once, while working in a smaller venue, a touring engineer arrived with a band and asked where the house engineer was. I told him that I was the house engineer. His fear was almost audible, but over the years I’ve learned to ignore that stuff and also not to wonder where it’s coming from. I think it would be wrong of me to presume that someone is worried about my abilities because I’m female.

Anyway, by the end of this gig the guy in question patted me on the bum with a “good job!” Now if that’s not sexist I don’t know what is!

Much has been made of the fact that there are a lot of high-profile women in music at the moment, but I feel women have always been well represented in music. Growing up, a lot of the most influential artists for me were female, such as Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Mary Margaret O’Hara and Stina Nordenstam. Also bands such as Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, The Velvet Underground and Cocteau Twins.

These days, it’s obvious to me that someone like Joanna Newsom is an incredibly gifted songwriter and musician, regardless of gender (see CD of the Week, page 14). She can kick anyone’s ass. I think it would be demeaning to group her in with others based on gender alone. I’d rather put Joanna Newsom with other artists I highly regard – Bill Callahan, Owen Pallet, Grizzly Bear, Bon Iver. True artists who outlive fads in music.

At the moment, I’m writing songs for a second album, which I want to start recording soon. I also want to build on my live set-up. Get more folk in.

Slow Dynamo, Valerie Francis's Choice Music Prize- nominated album, is out now on VF Records. She plays the Scoop Foundation (charity) Launch at the Academy, Dublin on March 19th