User:Aabang/DJ Empress

Empress (born Christina Ingram, June 27, 1980) is a North American DJ, artist, producer, songwriter, musician, vocalist, bandleader, songwriter, and label owner. She began her DJ career in the American northeast in 1996. Empress was the first American DJ to perform in London’s elite drum and bass scene, and the first drum and bass DJ booked in Macedonia and Tahiti.

Empress relentlessly pursued a career as an international DJ until the end of 2008. In 2009, she went on hiatus to compose material for a dance metal album and assemble her band Empress & Empower. The band’s first tour, The Expansion Tour, begins in March 2010.

Early Life

Christina Ingram was born at New York Hospital in New York City, New York. Her father, Dan Ingram, is an American Top 40 radio disc jockey and one of the first famous radio personalities. Christina is the eighth of her father’s nine children. Her parents separated in 1986, and Christina temporarily moved to Greenwich, Connecticut with her mother and sisters in 1994.

Christina’s mother forbade her from playing instruments and took her out of chorus when she began to show promise. She habitually ran away from home between the ages of 10 and 14. She discovered the rave scene at age 13 when she attended a Morbid Angel concert followed by a rave at which Superstar DJ Keoki was the headlining act.

Christina’s relationship with her mother became increasingly tense, and after six years without contact, she reached out to her father and arranged to move in with he and his fourth wife, Maureen Donnelly (National Board Member, SAG) in Manhattan, New York. While attending high school there, she worked as a buyer at Connecticut’s only electronic music store for two years.

Education

Christina attended elementary school at Rye Country Day School, middle school at Louis M. Klein, and went to high school at Greenwich High. At age 16, Christina was accepted to Bard College at Simon’s Rock. She graduated in 1998 with an associate of science degree in psychology, minoring in sculpture and acting. Rather than pursue another degree at the behest of her father and stepmother, she ended her educational career and became a full-time DJ.

Career

From 1996-2008, Empress led a dazzlingly ambitious career as an international DJ, making appearances all across North America, Europe, and Asia. She performed at Winter Music Conference and the Ultra Music Festival from 2000-2008, and holds an impressive residency history. Since 1998, she has intermittently isolated herself in her studio, determined to perfect her skills as a producer and songwriter. Empress is now the bandleader, vocalist, producer, engineer, and songwriter for Empress & Empower. She founded Empower Recordings in 2010.

Chronology

1994-1999

Christina worked at Joey D’s Records, then the only electronic music store in Connecticut, from 1994-1996. She began to develop her DJ skills there, and continued to practice daily in college. In 1996, she received her first rave bookings in New England.

In 1998, Christina gained employment at New York City’s Satellite Records as an in-house drum and bass specialist. As Satellite’s drum and bass buyer for New York City, Atlanta, Boston, and the online store, she tripled store sales in less than a month. She worked long hours, attended and performed at events, and taught herself to produce electronic music in her spare time.

Christina attended Winter Music Conference for the first time in 1999. That year, while performing at a 1999 event in Toronto, Empress met Jumping Jack Frost, who invited her to play at V Recordings’ club night Movement in London. She accepted the offer, which coincided with a previously scheduled UK trip. This made her the first American DJ to play in London’s elite drum and bass scene.

2000-2003

Empress made US west coast appearances in 2000, where she toured with drum and bass DJ/producers UFO! and Sage. She collaborated with the two as Triadd for Hydroxy, which was released on Skunkrock Recordings in 2000, and toured Europe that year as well.

Empress broke her neck on tour in Seattle in 2001. She eventually went on a one-month hiatus to recover, resuming her performance schedule in 2001 at Liquid Room in Tokyo, Japan. That year, she and roommate Jinsoo Kim – then Blondie’s keyboard tech – remixed the theme from New York, New York for a New Year’s Eve performance by The Rockettes. The two also produced a drum and bass remix of For the Love of Money by the band Sonny Boy.

In 2003, Empress recorded Stateside Sessions: Drum & Bass Vol. 2 for Topaz Recordings and embarked on a three-month promotional tour in North America and Puerto Rico. Also in 2003, Blondie hired Christina and Jinsoo to produce and mix four songs, including Paint Your Face and Songs of Love, for The Curse of Blondie.

2004-2008

Feeling the need to branch out as a DJ, Empress began playing eclectic sets in New York City in 2004. The same year, she sampled Roy Ayers’ We Live In Brooklyn for Brooklyn Baby (released on New Identity Records UK’s Jazz & Bass Sessions IV LP), which was licensed for the HBO film Life Support. From 2005 to 2007, she held a residency at The Park in NYC’s Chelsea district, performing weekly 8-hour sets and at special events, such as the Tribeca Film Festival, Condé Nast mixers, a My Super Sweet 16 party featuring Lupe Fiasco (and other MTV events), and a variety of events for Victoria’s Secret, Godiva, Food Network, and international art and charity functions. During this time, she realized she wanted to broaden her performance repertoire. She began taking vocal lessons in 2006, completing her first vocal production, Only Love (aka Clarity), the following year. Empress spent 2007 in the United Kingdom, staying in London, Brighton, and Bristol, and performing throughout Europe and England. To date, her October 2007 podcast for the Dogs On Acid online forum has been downloaded over 100,000 times.

Empress booked an extensive five-month drum and bass / hip hop tour in London in 2008. She worked with )EI3(‘s Maldini on the drum and bass song Faithful (made available on SoundCloud), and spent considerable time visiting the studios of veteran drum and bass producers.

After returning to the US in late 2008, she attended a Nine Inch Nails concert in Connecticut, which inspired to return to her industrial / metal roots, and began to conceptualize a live act.

Since April 2008, Empress has intermittently released Empowercast, a popular podcast available through the iTunes Store.

2009-Present

Drained from perpetual touring and lack of a personal life, Christina went on hiatus again in 2009, accepting only a handful of bookings. Inspired to form a band and put her vocal and songwriting talent to work, she isolated herself in her studio and began developing material for a dance metal album. A chance meeting online with guitarist/producer Rob Cruz (aka “Blackey”) sparked the formation of Empress & Empower.

By summer 2009, the lineup for Empower was finalized. Empress launched her Empower blog at the end of May 2009 to offer production tips and chronicle the making of her album, which she completed at the end of 2009. Empress wrote, played, recorded, mixed, produced and mastered it in its entirety.

Empress founded Empower Recordings in 2010. Empress & Empower are scheduled to begin The Expansion Tour to promote the album on March 17th, 2010 at Arlene’s Grocery in New York’s Lower Eastside.

Residency History

Years	Event	Venue	Location
1997-Present	Konkrete Jungle	Coney Island High, Wetlands, Pyramid Club	New York City, NY
1999-2002	Movement	Bar Rhumba	London (UK)
1999-2003	Prohibited Beats	Club Shine	New York City
1999-2008	Ultra Music Festival	Winter Music Conference	Miami, FL
2000-2004	Ignite	Liquids	New York City, NY
2000-2005	Eklectic	79 Minna Street	San Francisco, CA
2001-2006	Testpress Sundays	Drinkland	New York City, NY
2006-2007	n/a	The Park	New York City, NY
2008-Present	Torque	Crooked Bayou	Orlando, FL

Discography

Release	Label	Year		Description / Format
Hydroxy / Digital & Spirit Remix	Skunkrock Recordings	2000		12” vinyl
Stateside Sessions: Drum & Bass Vol. 2	Topaz Recordings	2003		Mix CD
The Curse of Blondie (mixing / production)	Sony UK	2003		LP
For The Love of Money Remix (original by Sonny Boy)	n/a	2004		?
Brooklyn Baby	Licensed and sold to Life Support	2004		n/a
Clarity	n/a	2007		n/a
I Hope	n/a	2007		n/a
Dogs On Acid podcast	n/a	2007		Podcast
Live from Seattle Podcast	n/a	2008		Podcast
Faithful (with Maldini)	n/a	2008		n/a
Distraction	n/a	2008		n/a
Empowercast Podcast	n/a	2009		Podcast
Radiobomb Podcast	n/a	2009		Podcast

External Links

DJ Empress’ Official Website
Empress’ Empower Blog

Sources

Abang, A. (February 17, 2010). Telephone interview.