Matriarch Muses 001 -International Women's Day 2025

This International Women’s Day, we are celebrating and announcing our resident artists. Mama Mk, Snuggs, Chvnny Mvy, and Cellenight. These Denver artists have been putting work into their craft and are taking over dance floors around the city. To help introduce these artists, we did some Q&A to hear about where they find inspiration. Learn more about our artists and how they got started below. Leave your femme inspirations in the comments! Happy International Women’s Day!

Mama Mk

Q: When did you start getting into electronic music? 

A:  I started listening to electronic music in middle school. I’d come home from school and blast Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites by Skrillex on the family computer. In high school, I started getting into funkier stuff like Griz, Gramatik, and Pretty Lights. My first electronic music show was Opiuo at Cervantes when I was 16, and the obsession only grew from there. 

Q: What inspired you to start DJing?

A: I’ve always been interested in playing instruments (not very well, but I try), and I started to dabble with virtual DJing and throwing samples together to make songs in late high school/early college. I continued attending electronic shows and festivals and was really intrigued by how DJs could mix songs so fluidly. After college, I was re-introduced to DJing through my friend Frankie and learned how to DJ properly. Shortly after learning the basics, I started performing. 

Q: Who are your biggest femme inspirations in electronic music? 

A: Clozee, Allison Wonderland, and Rezz are my holy trinity. However, I’ve recently been inspired by more underground artists like Mia Koden, Nia Archives, and Mary Droppinz. LP Giobbi is also a huge inspiration for me. Not only is she an insanely talented musician she also co-founded Femme House, which provided a lot of perspective for me when creating Matriarch Music. 

Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of music?

A: I love to spend time with my friends and family and be outside as much as I can. Before music consumed my life, I was an avid cyclist. I still enjoy cruising on bike rides and snowboarding in the winter. 

Q: What is a social cause that is important to you?

A: Women's and trans rights to healthcare are very important to me. Limiting access to healthcare is oppression, and all humans deserve essential healthcare. This is a cause I continue to advocate for amongst many important social issues. 

Upcoming Mama Mk Sets: 

3/28 - Black Box Lounge

4/25 Skate and Flow Jam - Rollercity Lakewood

Cellenight

Q: When did you start getting into electronic music?

A: It all kinda started when Skrillex, Zeds Dead, and RL Grime popped up on my SoundCloud in middle school— def an integral part of my teenage development. Around the same time, I snuck out of the house to go to a festival in downtown Los Angeles, where I saw Flume for the first time, and my love and passion for electronic music has been constant since.

Q: What inspired you to start DJing?

A: Music has always been important to me and moved me from a young age. Both my parents were Deadheads, I began singing early on, and later taught myself piano. I’ve always been curious about how and why sounds are the way they are, and that curiosity grew when I discovered electronic music. In my senior year of college, during COVID, I got my first DJ board. It became a way of exploring my creativity and creating light in a really dark time. When the world began to heal, I threw intimate parties with friends to nurture warmth and connection. So I guess in a way, I was inspired by the opportunity to share light through self-exploration. That sentiment carries with me and is a big part of why I continue to do it today.

Q: Who are your biggest femme inspirations in electronic music? 

A: Rezz and Alison Wonderland were the first shows I ever went to and will always hold a special place in my heart. Watching their music evolve and seeing them pave the way for other femme artists has been incredibly inspiring. Similarly, artists like CloZee, Maddy O’Neal, MCWavy, and Zen Selekta have had a big impact on me. On a more personal level, I continue to be inspired by my friends in matriarch everyday :,) 

Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of music?

A: I love dancing—hip-hop and tap, but really any chance I get to move. I also spend a lot of time studying and reflecting on my dreams, and turning those reflections into doodles. Seasonally, I’m an avid knitter and sewer. Time with friends, making space for laughter, and being outdoors also fill my cup. 

Q: What is a social cause that is important to you?

A: Women’s rights to education, especially in music, art, and dance, are incredibly important to me. Being a Dance teacher in Denver Public Schools, I see how creative spaces can nurture healthy self-trust and serve as a healing source of authentic expression. Continuing to make 

these spaces accessible is something I continue to build and protect. 

Upcoming Cellenight Sets: 

3/28 - Black Box Lounge

Chvnny Mvy

Q: When did you start getting into electronic music?

A: My first introduction to electronic music was at a very surface level in my late high school/ college days. I would workout to Skrillex, Tiesto, Zedd, the typical bigger names.  Then in 2015, I came across RL Grime, Porter Robinson, Odesza and I didn’t realize music could sound this way and I knew I had to hear more. In 2016, I went to my first festival, Shaky Beats, in ATL Georgia - and saw Porter Robinson, Odesza, Marshmello (hey… that era of future bass was really cool then!!) and some other artists that awakened a part of me that I didn’t know existed. I felt I was in a space where I was safe to 100% be myself. I went to Sunset Music Festival in Tampa a few weeks later - and the rest is history! 

Q: What inspired you to start DJing?

A: I am a classically trained pianist and I played clarinet from middle school until my sophomore year of college - so I have always been around music and felt inspired by many types of music. When Covid hit - I needed a creative outlet to keep me sane. My husband (boyfriend at the time) taught me the basics of DJing on a beginner controller (DDJ-400) - and I just fell in love with it. I used the music theory I learned from my clarinet and piano days, along with my love for several genres of music and used that knowledge to develop my own personal style and curation process - and I started posting mixes on SoundCloud for fun.  

 I was encouraged by my husband and friends to play in front of people. I didn’t want to at first…it was a hobby for me to help with my mental health, and I didn’t think anyone would care about me DJing or how I thought about music. Over time, I decided to play in front of people in Spring 2023 - and after I saw how strangers reacted, I won open deck competitions, and I was asked by Headstash Music Collective to do a guest mix - I decided that pursuing DJing outside of my bedroom was something worth exploring further - and in 2024 I decided to be ALL IN. I am so happy I made the leap because I have had some of the best experiences and met some amazing people that I wouldn’t have otherwise. I have developed a true passion for the craft and for being involved within the community - especially with the badass women at Matriarch!!  

I am still on my producing journey, but I realized over time that producing and DJing are very different skills and  the DJs that I have learned from are the ones that are passionate about the technical side of DJing-   blending songs I would never think that go together- whether it be a live mash up, a creative transition - in a way that made me realize that DJs are more than just a “human jukebox”. DJing can truly be an art and can evoke emotion - and that is my intention when I DJ - I am truly letting you all see a part of me!

Q: Who are your biggest femme inspirations in electronic music? 

A: Anyone that knows me knows that Alison Wonderland inspires me in so many ways - and has had a big part in how I think about set curation and really refining my personal style and technique. She has really paved the way for women - especially in bass music - and is one of the very few women playing/producing trap and how she has held her own and developed her career in such a male dominated sub genre is truly iconic. I recommend watching her Mixmag 2015 set if you haven’t seen it - it is a fully improvised set and how she seamlessly blends genres, uses hot cues and is very particular about her EQs is something I learned so much from and go back to regularly for inspiration. And who can forget these other incredible women - Clozee, A Hundred Drums, Flava D, Canabliss, Canvas, Zen Selekta…so many others, but these women bring me so much inspiration in how I think about music and being confident in myself when it comes to my DJing journey & developing my brand. 

Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of music?

A: Spending time with my husband and our cats. Hanging out with friends. Working out. Trying new restaurants - especially brunch!! Traveling - will be in Thailand and Australia in a few weeks :) Self improvement - so journaling, reading articles, and reading books (I fell off of the book train a little bit - currently hopping back on!)  

Q: What is a social cause that is important to you?

A: I have really developed a passion for wanting to uplift women DJs and producers in Denver - especially in the bass subgenre where there is a huge gender gap. I also want to bring attention to DJs/producers in other marginalized groups and have them brought to the forefront in spaces where they usually would be overlooked - to have the confidence to be themselves and feel safe expressing their art in a way that is true to who they are - without judgement. 

I am so thankful to be a part of Matriarch and as soon as I joined the team -  I know I was part of a collective that aligns with my values. 

Upcoming Chvnny Mvy Sets:

4/25 Skate and Flow Jam - Rollercity Lakewood

Snuggs 

Q: When did you start getting into electronic music?

A: 2009, I remember walking around the high school halls with my iPod bumpin, I was a huge EDM kid. Snuck out of my parent's house to see Pretty Lights and was also into Deadmau5, Skrillex, Pendulum, and Emancipator. Camp Bisco was a big festival introduction to me circa 2010 and on, and Electric Forest in 2012 was transformative. Then, moving to Colorado in Fall 2012, the Red Rocks shows and scene here had me hooked ever since.

Q: What inspired you to start DJing?

A: Pressure from good friends in the music scene not taking no for an answer :) In early 2023 my friends said we were officially founding an arts collective so if I wanted to start mixing, that was the time. I bought my deck and was able to start testing my skills at local house parties and camping trips, and the platform and opportunities kept growing. Now, it's known as Wildflower Arts Collective. 

Q: Who are your biggest femme inspirations in electronic music? A: Clozee, Entangled Mind, The Librarian, OKO, Mantra Sounds, Zen Selekta, Mary Droppinz, Veil, Yoko, Shosh, DirrtyStarr, Mama MK, Piri of Piri and Tommy, Krewella once upon a time :) 

Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of music?

A: Family, friends, travel, painting, marketing, entrepreneurship, yoga, skiing, hiking, camping, Muay Thai, scuba diving, reading, film, and volunteering.

Q: What is a social cause that is important to you?

A: Humanitarianism, DEI, civil rights, women's rights and reproductive health, LGBTQA rights, access to education, environmental causes, ecocentrism, and getting involved in local animal shelters/adoption events. Love is love.

Upcoming Snuggs Sets:

3/21 Black Box Lounge

4/10 Black Box Main Room