SoundSisters Morocco is a women-led music initiative based in Marrakech, created in 2022 to support women in DJing and electronic music production through hands-on education, mentorship, and community-building.
Over the past decade, Morocco has seen a growing electronic music ecosystem, with cities like Marrakech and Casablanca hosting international festivals and local DJ communities. Events such as MOGA Festival and Oasis Festival have helped connect Moroccan artists with global audiences, while grassroots initiatives and collectives are creating new opportunities for learning and collaboration. Within this landscape, SoundSisters Morocco are opening new entry points for women to access DJing and music production.
Since launching, SoundSisters Morocco has delivered workshops across multiple cities, and also in other countries as Brazil, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and developed a growing ecosystem of artists, students, and collaborators.
With support from the Ballantine’s True Music Fund and shesaid.so they are expanding their impact through a dedicated production studio and new learning programs that connect local musical heritage with contemporary electronic expression.
Why did you start SoundSisters? What gap were you determined to fill?
I learned in women-led spaces and I’ve always been close to initiatives that create real entry points for women in electronic music.
Before SoundSisters Morocco existed, I was shaped by a chain of women who were already doing that work in different places. In Brazil, I learned in an environment led by women, and I think it’s worth mentioning DJ Flavya, who ran a DJ and production school for women. Later, I met DJ Fátima from Sisters in Sound in Mexico. In Barcelona, I also took classes with Pity Vacari through Fiesta Wacha and her project for women and gender-diverse people. Along the way, I connected with other women doing similar work, like Nina Jacarandá from Sin Sync. I kept gravitating toward these spaces because they felt like both learning and belonging, at the same time.
At a certain point, I felt it was time to continue the chain. I began gathering women interested in DJing and production first in Panamá, when I was living in Bocas del Toro, and later in Morocco when I arrived in Taghazout/Tamraght to surf. It started in a very natural, intuitive way, simply bringing people together to practice, share knowledge, and support each other, without a name, project or organization.
The industry still has a real gender imbalance, and the best way we knew to respond was to create practical opportunities. We felt the same gap we’ve seen everywhere: fewer opportunities, fewer safe spaces to learn, and fewer pathways to grow. So we moved to create a room, a community, and a consistent invitation: come learn, make mistakes, grow, and support each other and SoundSisters became our way of creating those pathways for ourselves and for any women who want to build alongside us.
SoundSisters started in 2022. What has that growth looked like in practice, and what have you learned along the way?
The growth has been very hands-on and step-by-step. It looks like workshops, practice sessions, mentoring, and a lot of behind-the-scenes work to build something stable enough that we can trust it. Over time, it also became about creating continuity: not just one workshop, but pathways. Not just a moment, but a community people can return to.
One of the biggest lessons has been that confidence grows through repetition and real access. We just keep going, keep doing what we believe.
When someone touches the equipment, understands the basics, and then comes back again, something changes. Another lesson is that community is built through care and consistency, not hype. We’ve tried to keep the project grounded, welcoming, and real.
What role does the studio play in your overall mission?
For us, the studio is a place where learning becomes regular, where experimentation is possible, and where women can take their time developing skills that usually require access, patience, and support. It is the place to make mistakes without being judged, our safe place.
It also helps us shift from “first steps” to “next steps”. DJing can be the entry point, but production opens another door: creating your own music, shaping your own sound, collaborating, and building longer-term artistic independence. The studio is where that becomes more realistic, because the access is shared and structured.
How has the True Music Fund supported your development and impact?
From our very first meetings, when we started talking about turning this initiative into something real, we kept coming back to one dream: having our own space. A home where the equipment could be stored safely, where everyone in the group could have access, and where women outside the group could also come to learn, practise, and feel welcome.
But building that is not simple. Having equipment is expensive, keeping it safe requires structure, and having a physical space takes planning, money, and people who are genuinely committed to taking care of it. The True Music Fund and shesaid.so made that dream possible. It helped us invest in the foundations: a stable setup, a dedicated space, and the conditions to plan with continuity instead of always relying on temporary or borrowed solutions.
It also allowed us to go deeper in our educational work. With this support, we were able to run a 45-hour music production course and hire Moroccan mentors to share their knowledge with us. That created access for women who wanted to learn production but couldn’t afford paid courses, and it connected learning to practice in a real way.
Because there’s a big difference between learning alone online at home and learning in a fully equipped studio where you can test, listen, experiment, make mistakes, and exchange with others. That shared space changes everything: it turns curiosity into practice, and practice into real growth.
What’s the most meaningful change you’ve seen since SoundSisters began?
The most meaningful change has been seeing women take up space with less hesitation, including ourselves. We’ve watched beginners move from “I’m not sure I can do this” to practising regularly, experimenting, playing their first sets, collaborating, and feeling genuinely proud of their progress.
And it hasn’t been only about DJing. We’ve also seen growth in event production, partnerships, organisation, and creative direction. Women started making their own music, recording, sharing their work, and stepping into new projects they might not have imagined for themselves before. We see each person progressing artistically, but also in leadership, professionally, and even in other parts of life where confidence and structure matter.
At the same time, we’ve seen SoundSisters become more solid as an initiative. Over time, it has grown into something with clearer goals, stronger values, and more collective strength. And maybe most importantly, we’ve seen what happens when we decide to go after something together: when we plan, ask, learn, work, and insist. It reminds us that dreams can become real, not magically, but through commitment, care, and consistency.