Her Jazz Noise Collective

Originally created as an attempt to expand the inclusivity of Vancouver’s Experimental/Noise scene, Her Jazz Noise Collective functioned as a community, social practice project, and intervention. It created space for female-identified people to experiment with sound, share skills and build relationships.

HJNC hosted weekly open jams, workshops, performed locally, and co-produced a 10-part performance series with VIVO Media Arts Centre which featured “mostly women making mostly noise” and debuted over 20 different all-female sound projects. Their most recent performance was at the Vancouver Art Gallery in 2010.

HJNC was founded by Aja Rose Bond (In Flux, Diadem) and Erin Ward (In Flux, Shearing Pinx, Les Beyond) in 2007 and organized by many different women over the years it was active, including prOphecy sun, Aleigh Forsyth, Sidria Fancy Pony, Anju Singh (Ahna, Bleeder), Ella Collier, Larissa Loyva (Kellarissa, Fake Tears, Leviathans), Arlie Lax (Burrow Owl), Rachel Wadham (Attn. Diamond Shoppers), Aili Meutzner, Brady Marks (Furious Green Cloud, Therapy), Mel Mundell (Bush Tit), Jennifer Jones (Bush Tit), Sarah Buchanan (Therapy) and many others to varying degrees.

The collective organized using a model of 3 concentric circles, with members placing themselves where they wanted to be at any given time: the core group organizing using consensus-based decision making, the 2nd circle showing up for jams and to perform, the 3rd ring supporting and participating in other ways. Any female-identified person could show up to any open jam, play, join the group, help conceptualize a piece, rehearse and perform it. Occasionally a performance would be the concept of a single member and the other players would support their idea and perform it with them.