Michele Sainte is an American drum and bass DJ and former

techno Techno is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally music production, produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central Drum beat, rhythm is typ ...

DJ.

Clubs and raves

Sainte is a former

breakbeat hardcore Breakbeat hardcore (also referred to as hardcore rave or oldskool hardcore) is a music genre of the very early 1990s that spawned from the UK rave scene. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from hip hop. In ad ...

and

DJ that is also "widely regarded as one of the States' premiere female drumandbass DJs" according to

Dieselboy Damian Higgins (born 1972) better known by his stage name Dieselboy, is an American drum and bass DJ and music producer. Early life Dieselboy was born Damian Higgins in Tarpon Springs, Florida in 1972. At the age of six he moved to Colora ...

. She is known for mixing the

techstep Techstep is a dark subgenre of drum and bass that was created in the mid-1990s. Style It is characterized by a dark, sci-fi mood, near-exclusive use of synthesised or sampled sound sources, 2-step kicks and snares and influences from industri ...

subgenre of drum and bass. She has DJed throughout North America at clubs and raves as a breakbeat and techno DJ on a regular basis beginning in 1990, dedicating herself exclusively to the Drum&Bass genre by 1995 and performing alongside artists such as 808 State,

Joey Beltram Joey Beltram (born 6 September 1971) is an American DJ and music producer, best known for his pioneering singles "Energy Flash" and "Mentasm" and for remixing Human Resource's " Dominator". Rave recordings "Mentasm", co-produced with Mundo Muzi ...

Meat Beat Manifesto Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened as Meat Beat, Manifesto or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens that was formed in 1987 in Swindon, United Kingdom. The band, fronted by Dangers (the only ...

. She became a frequent guest DJ at music venues including City Gardens in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Save the Robots Save the Robots was an underground after hours club in New York City's East Village neighborhood. "Robots," as the venue was popularly known, operated illegally from a nondescript storefront and basement at 25 Avenue B, between East 2nd and 3rd St ...

) in Manhattan,

The Shelter (New York City) The Shelter, also known as Club Shelter, was a New York City house music and techno nightclub in the 1990s/2000s. The club was at multiple locations including 6 Hubert Street, 157 Hudson Street, 150 Varick Street in Manhattan depending on the date. ...

, and

The Stone Pony The Stone Pony is a New Jersey music venue in Asbury Park, New Jersey known for launching the careers of many New Jersey music legends, including Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes.Asbury Park, New Jersey. Also, she was asked to be a resident DJ at Club Zadar in

New Hope, Pennsylvania New Hope is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,612 at the 2020 census. New Hope is located approximately north of Philadelphia, and lies on the west bank of the Delaware River at its confluence with Aquetong Creek. ...

, in January 1990, introducing techno to the new wave venue. In addition, she became a resident DJ at several venues in Philadelphia including Evolution and Skyline. She is considered one of the first female techno DJs from North America and has been cited as "the original East Coast female drum and bass DJ".

Radio

Sainte became licensed by the

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdictio ...

in 1986, whilst still a high school student. She has worked at

WFMU WFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station, licensed to East Orange, New Jersey. Since 1998 its studios and operating facilities have been headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. It broadcasts locally at 91.1 Mhz FM, i ...

(named the “best radio station in the nation” by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine from 1991 through 1994
WFMU in Fund-Raising Drive
'', Pristin, Terry. The New York Times. March 13, 1996.) and

WPRB WPRB (103.3 MHz) is an FM radio station licensed to Princeton, New Jersey, and owned by Princeton Broadcasting Service, Inc. It broadcasts a freeform radio format, including shoegaze, slowcore, noise music, harsh noise wall, plunderphonics, ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. In 1995, she created and DJed on a program with live mixing at WPRB that she called Bassquake. Bassquake aired every Friday for five years. It was the United States's first drum and bass/jungle program to air on a commercial FM radio station.

Discography

DJ mixes

* ''Fluid Sessions'' - at Fluid nightclub in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, Bioforce Recordings, 1998

Dubplate A dubplate is an acetate disc usually of 10 inches diameter, traditionally used by Recording studio, studios to test recordings prior to Audio mastering, mastering for the subsequent pressing of a vinyl record, but pioneered by reggae Reggae sound ...
s

* ''Badlands'' (1996) * ''Pitch Black'' (1996) * ''The Unseen'' (1997) * ''Retribution'' with

1.8.7 Jordana LeSesne, formerly known as 1.8.7, is an American musician and producer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She now produces and performs as Jordana. She became known in the mid-1990s as a drum and bass producer. Vibe magazine called her "on ...

(1999) * ''Dreammaker'' with Rhys Fulber (2008) * ''Diamonds from Your Eyes'' (2021)

Personal life

Sainte is a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

, regularly advocating for veganism on her social media. She is also straight edge. Sainte has acknowledged the support of DJ Lenny Dee.

has also been known to support her and she is known as Rhys Fulber’s

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

since meeting her during the early 1990s when she was a Techno DJ. She ultimately convinced Fulber to produce Techno and use his German name as opposed to using an alias.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainte, Michelle Living people American women in electronic music Electronic dance music DJs Club DJs American drum and bass musicians American techno musicians American women DJs 20th-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)