East London Diggers, the monthly record sale and open decks social hosted by music matriarch Auntie Maureen, is running a 4-week beginners course in vinyl DJing during early 2025, for FLINTA participants only.
The course will run as a supportive, safe and shame free learning environment. It is FLINTA-centric because of inherent bias in the club industry. Budding DJs who identify as female, lesbian, intersex, non-binary, trans and a-gender age 18+ are welcome. Please reach out if you want to discuss this.
The course is taught by Auntie Maureen. It will take place over 4 weeks on Tuesday 21 & 28 January and 04 & 11 February 2025 between 6:30pm - 8:45pm at Higham Hill Taproom in E17. Doors & bar are open from 6pm plus there is an informal short open decks practice afterwards, from 8:45pm - 9pm, with soft drinks, craft beer & cider bar throughout.
- DJ skills are shared in a supportive feminist environment where we uplift each other to learn through demonstrations and hands-on practice on the decks.
- Each weekly workshop outlines particular aspects of DJing, building upon the previous week’s lesson.
- The Professional DJ equipment includes 2 x Stanton STR8.150 turntables, Pioneer DJM600 mixer, all connected to the in-house amplifier & speakers plus Sennheiser SH25 headphones, Shure M44-7 cartridges & a crate of vinyl records. You can use your own DJ headphones and records if you prefer.
- No question is too small!
- No experience necessary. We will work at the pace of absolute beginners.
- After 4 weeks you will have a working understanding to help you start to DJ with vinyl independently.
- From March 2025, East London Diggers Open Deck monthly socials return to Hackney Brewery as a dedicated platform where students from the course can showcase their DJ sets.
- If you have particular access needs please contact the course tutor on eastlondondiggers@gmail.com so we can discuss how to support your participation. The venue is accessible, with a disabled toilet.
Code of conduct
We want to make sure that participants' experiences are positive and productive. Please respect names and pronouns. We will not tolerate harassment or bullying in any form.
About the tutor:
Auntie Maureen has been a jobbing queer DJ (shellac, vinyl & digital) since 1988. They / She holds a Post Graduate Diploma, as a turntablist, in Creative Leadership from the Royal College of Music. They / She has worked as a tutor for Camden Music Services, the Roundhouse, East London Dance & Stratford Circus. They / She DJs across East London Clubs, at institutes such as Kew Gardens and Museum of the Home plus festivals such as Happy Valley Pride. They / She is DBS checked.