DJ Leslie

DJ Leslie (aka Leslie Hodge) is a Canadian DJ who has played at events all over North America. She also played both the pre-party and closing of annual 3 day industrial/power electronics festival Maschinenfestheld in a bunker in Aachen, Germany. Her name can be seen in the credits and dedications of dozens of releases, and she has worked with a number of alternative festivals, including C.O.M.A., Ozzfest, and Lollapalooza.

History

She was an activist punk when she was introduced to industrial music at a Skinny Puppy show at the age of 14. Interested in the raw element of the music as well as the politics that seemed to flow over from punk to industrial, she soon became a fan of the music and a regular club attendee. In 1988, Louis Ducharme (Ottawa's prime industrial DJ of the time) taught her to DJ, and she later joined him for guest sets throughout Ottawa and Hull at Zinc, Le Bistro, Café Deluxe, GiGi's and other underground hotspots.

She began promoting with Zykotik K9. Her first show took place in 1995, and was a showcase of underground acts from Montreal. Since then, she has worked to build Ottawa's industrial community.

Her approach to DJing underground music includes a commitment to playing new and challenging music, while taking steps to avoid pigeon-holing that is common within electronic musicPOV-statement|date=December 2007. This has been well-received, and allowed DJ leslie to crossover into the techno, experimental, and noise scenes.

As of 2007, her weekly Industrial night at Zaphod Beeblebrox is the longest-lived in North America (at 15 years), having brought acts to the city such as Juno Reactor, Alex Paterson, Download, Imminent, Scorn, Gridlock, Haujoss, and many others.