Polka Dot Disco Club: The inclusive club night you need to go to

Picture this: you’re in the club. You have a drink in hand. You’re wearing your best going-out top. Hair is mussed. A light sheen of sweat on your skin. You’re dancing, you’re jumping, you’re swaying. The music is good. Great, even. You look to the decks and the DJ is a man.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with the DJ being a man. He’s great, you’re having the time of your life, you’ll (vaguely) remember this night for months. But what if every club you visit only ever has men behind the decks? For a very long time, DJing has been a male-dominated industry, but in 2024 things are changing.

DJing is becoming a more inclusive space, and it’s in part due to groups like Polka Dot Disco Club (PDDC): a Glasgow based female and non-binary DJ collective turned event series. Looking to diversify Scotland’s nightlife scene and create visibility and inclusion for DJs of all backgrounds, PDDC was started by twin sisters Frankie and Jozette who have shared a passion for music their whole lives.

We got the chance to visit the sisters up in Glasgow, attend one of their magical club nights, and catch up about their love of DJing and why they started Polka Dot Disco Club.

Hi Frankie & Jozette! Please can you describe what Polka Dot Disco Club is? Why did is start?

Frankie starts, enthusiastically: “PDDC is an event series in Glasgow, and we empower and champion women, trans, and nonbinary DJs. We’re trying to equalise the music scene a little bit, but it’s also just a really fun night.”

During Frankie’s time working at the Dundee Student Union, she was asked to host a club night and to bring a DJ friend with her. 

“I thought ‘brilliant’,” Frankie continues, “and I started to look through social media to see if I could find any other women DJs in Dundee but there weren’t many to choose from at all. This concerned me because in Glasgow and Edinburgh there were women collectives sort of growing and making their stamp on the city, but there wasn’t any of that in Dundee. And I wanted to do something about that.”

“I got in touch with Dundee Union after the gig and asked to set up DJ workshops to get more people involved in electronic music. We ran them for 4 weeks, and at the end of that we had an International Women’s Day party where all the DJs got to play. Afterwards I just wanted to keep the initiative going, and that’s how Polka Dot Disco Club was born.”

Where did the name come from?

“Honestly I don’t really know! I like the sound and the syllables of it – Polka Dot Disco Club just has such a good rhythm to it which is quite apt,” explains Frankie.

“I think it sounds quite cute and it’s nice to say and look at. ‘Disco Club’ definitely came from influences like classic club culture, Studio 54, the disco movement, and then the general ethos behind all that: creating a space for people to feel free. I liked the history of that, and club also means collective, which is what we are, so that fits.”

“We came up with a few different variants, but Polka Dot Disco Club is what we ended up sticking with.”

Why are club nights such a good space to empower marginalised genders?

Frankie begins: “The culture of electronic music and nightclubs is based in Queer culture and Queer movements, so it’s just about going back to those roots and remembering where this scene comes from, who the people are that built and crafted it. We want to remember and honour that pre-existing space in the culture.”

“I also think the reason why nightclubs are good for empowering marginalised genders and communities is because people will come into a nightclub and see someone that represents them, that they can identify with, behind the decks and it will make them feel empowered and welcomed. It’s that idea of “that person looks like me and sounds like me, up there doing their thing – I can do that too”. That’s really important.”

Jozette agrees, and adds the following: “Clubbing is about letting your hair down, forgetting your worries of the week, just being yourself, and making sure people of all backgrounds are included in that is really important, and it’s what makes club space so special.”

When did you start DJing and what initially drew you to it?

Frankie started DJing in 2017 as part of her role in Student Radio during her University studies. 

“I really just wanted to throw myself completely into it – I put myself on a DJ course and properly dedicated myself and my time to it. And I just found that I really enjoyed it and I wanted to actually get good. So, after I graduated, I did a course with a company called Point Blank in Ibiza, and after that I had the confidence to go out and get gigs for myself – and the rest is history!” 

What was the club scene like when you initially started?

“Seven years ago when I started teaching there were a lot less women DJs and DJs of marginalised genders in the spaces that I was playing in. It was something I sort of struggled with at the time just because it sort of felt like being a woman DJ was a novelty, and in that way it was daunting,” says Frankie.

“It didn’t feel like there was loads of space for me, like I didn’t belong, and I think maybe if there had been more women that I could have identified with at the time I would have felt more welcomed, which in turn would have given me more confidence.”

“So, representation is important, and things have gotten better for women DJs since I’ve started, but there’s always work to be done.”

Since starting PDDC, what progress have you seen in the DJ and nightlife industries?

Frankie explains that: “When we started PDDC it was about bringing more women DJs into the scene, and that’s definitely gotten better since we started. There are a lot more women DJs in the electronic music industry, but now the fight has shifted towards the inclusion of nonbinary DJs and trans DJs and making space for them and empowering them.”

“Things have definitely improved, but things can still get better and hopefully we can continue to grow and expand as a community. We just want everyone to feel welcome. It doesn’t matter if you’re a marginalised gender or if you’re a heterosexual white male, we want everyone to be welcomed into our space.”

What are your hopes for PDDC in the future?

“Definitely expansion.” Frankie says, thrilled. “I think we’ve done quite a lot in Glasgow which we’re really proud of, and now we’d like to spread out more. Day parties, a bigger venue, I’d love to do a festival even. I’d love to expand to different cities and countries even.”

“In 2025 we’re actually hoping to expand into a record label. It feels like the most organic step forward and we’ve been working with amazing DJs and producers that we’d love to sign and uplift even more. So, that’s on the horizon.”

What does it mean to you both to showcase Glasgow as a welcoming space for anyone visiting?

“Definitely very proud,” Frankie says.

“Glasgow actually has a motto which you can see written on some of the buildings around the city: ‘people make Glasgow’. We’re not from Glasgow, we’re from Dundee, and when we first came here the Glaswegian people’s friendliness and open arms was noticeable. The people here really are quite special, and I think that’s very quickly apparent to anyone visiting.”

Jozette adds: “I mean, Glasgow is the biggest city in Scotland, so it does represent quite a large proportion of the country. So I think somebody coming here, if they feel welcome, then that’s testament to Scotland in general and definitely gives me a sense of pride.”

On top of PDDC, you both also created Kintra. Can you tell us a little bit about what that is?

According to Frankie: “Kintra is a DJ and violin duo and we predominantly play techno music that takes influences from our Scottish and Celtic background. We merge the two together with melodic elements of electronic music and bring a stomping beat.”

“The name actually comes from a beach on the Isle of Mull [off the west coast of Scotland], which we both have yet to visit. But we wanted a Scottish name which could give homage to our culture and where we’re from, and because of the Scottish influence in our sound. I opened Google Maps and found the name and we both really liked it. It’s short, it sounds nice.”

“I’ve ascribed it my own cheesy meaning,” Jozette says. “‘Kinship’ seeing as we’re twins. That just seems to fit us.”

She continues: “Frankie had already been DJing for a while, and I thought it would be fun to get involved. We’ve both had a passion for music from a young age, we always knew we’d make music together one day, and somehow the idea of Kintra just came about. Neither of us really remembers the conversation, but before I knew it I was buying an electric violin and jamming along with Frankie’s DJ set.”

How do you feel that Kintra combines both your talents and musical styles?

“We both are always looking for new tunes that we think would work well, you know, I’m always crate-digging in record shops, listening to new sounds, and then we come together and go through the music that we’ve found,” explains Frankie.

“Jozette is very talented in creating melodies – she’ll just whip out her violin and do it, creating tunes on the spot. Recently, we’ve started adding my vocals as well, especially to our live acts, and it’s just a really good collaboration between the two of us.”

What does it mean for you guys to be able to work together as sisters and share this?

For Frankie, it just makes sense. “It’s kind of hard to explain, I mean, I just wouldn’t expect it to be any other way. We’re twins, we’ve been together our whole lives and we’ve shared everything, especially music.”

“We sang in musical theatre groups together, we went to our first gigs together, we’ve always said we’d have a career in music together. I remember in 2012 or 2013; we were watching Bastille play at a festival, and Jozette turned to me and pointed at the stage and she said “we’re going to be on a stage like that one day”, and we both just intrinsically trusted that it would happen. And it did.”

“So, yeah, it means everything, really.”

We also chatted to two DJs, Emma and Corran, who have both been involved with PDDC in different ways. We asked about each of their DJ journeys, and what PDDC means to them.

How did you first hear about Polka Dot Disco Club?

Emma, who has been DJing since she was 14, has known Jozette and Frankie for quite a long time. “I was actually DJing before PDDC started, I was good friends with both Frankie and Jozette then, and Frankie told me about her wanting to make DJing more accessible and I just was part of it with her from the start basically.”

Corran heard about PDDC through a friend: “I was actually tagged in a Facebook post at the time by one of my friends, and it was a sign up sheet for Polka Dot. Before that, I’d never actually considered becoming a DJ, but the opportunity was for women, trans, and nonbinary people and that sort of drew me to the collective and to trying it out.”

Do you feel that, as a women DJ, it’s been harder to break into the industry?

“Absolutely,” says Emma. “For me there’s also an element of intersectionality because I’m a female DJ, but I’m also mixed race being Pakistani, so there’s that cultural element added to it. There have definitely been barriers, but I’ve seen a lot of change in the last 2 years, and PDDC has really come at a perfect time to help combat the barriers, specifically in the Scottish scene.”

Corran agrees. “It did definitely feel hard, but working with Polka Dot and all the girls within gave me enough of a confidence boost and comfort to go out into these spaces and find opportunities for myself. But being with Polka Dot, surrounded by that support, and then going out in the world alone really does make you realise how much work there is still left to do.”

What does it mean to you to be a part of PDDC? 

For Corran, “it means so much to be part of PDDC. It’s been such an amazing journey with the collective and I’ve been able to get so many opportunities thanks to them. Women and marginalised genders being given the same opportunities as men in the music industry is something that I feel very strongly about, so it’s been so rewarding to see not only what I’ve been able to achieve, but what all the other DJs in the collective have been able to achieve as well.”

“It means a lot,” echoes Emma, “largely because of my personal relationship with the girls, and my own struggles being a woman DJ. But PDDC provides something that was really needed in Scotland, especially Dundee, and it’s so nice to see the collective grow and become an even bigger thing – it’s been very inspirational to watch.”

“They’ve really helped me grow in my own career as well. Before I joined I was much more of a commercial DJ which just meant I didn’t really get to play the things I wanted to play. But I’ve been able to develop so much more as a DJ, and in turn be proud of my background as a Queer Pakistani woman in the UK, which I get to bring into my tracks. It’s just allowed me to be who I am.”