In the ever-changing genre of electro-house, it is hard for the legion of different producers to stand out and make a name from themselves.

Sure, there are names that people recognize, such as Porter Robinson, Afrojack and Skrillex; but for every Afrojack there are a hundred talented artists who were never able to break through to the scene, let alone a national stage. It is not very different from any other genre of music, but consider this: Cascada was all the rage around 2006-2008, and when was the last time you heard one of her songs on the radio, let alone on your iTunes library? Electro-house and EDM in general produces enormous amounts of new music on a daily basis, and the collective memory of tracks that used to be popular seems to be much shorter than one would find in rock or rap music.

Thrust into this tough situation is relatively new artist Krewella. The three-member group, comprised of sisters Jahan and Yasmine Yousaf along with male Chicago producer “Rain Man,” has made a serious splash in the electro-house and general EDM scene recently. Not only has their magnificent “Play Hard” EP, released earlier this year, made waves but also a series of live shows and Krewella’s set on day three of New York City’s Electric Zoo music festival, which made the overflowingly full Riverside tent go ballistic. More notably, in a scene where many tracks have a similar feel and sound, Krewella stands apart from their contemporaries in a number of crucial ways — in part due to their electro-cubstep meshed with catchy female vocal sound, but moreso in what they represent.

First, the fact that there are two girls in the group. It is a shame that this is a major talking point, but women DJs are a severe rarity. Nervo, DJ Sarah and Krewella stand in a class of their own when it comes to women in EDM and that’s sad, but Krewella and their female contemporaries deserve respect for performing at the highest level without objectifying themselves in lieu of actual talent (unlike someone who considers herself a “DJ” these days: Paris Hilton). The Yousaf girls show great character and love for the music and are an inspiration for any aspiring female DJs or producers who are unsure if they are going to have to sexualize themselves in order for their immense talent to be given attention. The lyrics on tracks like “One Minute” and “Feel Me” do have overtly sexual lyrics, but in more of a badass kind of way.

Just as interesting as the gender make up of Krewella is where they are from, Chicago. Modern EDM in the United States has almost exclusively taken place along the coasts. It is easily forgotten that it was not New York or Los Angeles, but Chicago where the forefathers of what became known as “EDM” took root. To achieve such relative fame in the electro-house scene coming out the Midwest is quite an achievement, but the ramifications that Krewella’s rise in the electro-house scene may have for Chicago and the rest of the Midwest are immensely interesting.

If Krewella are able to follow up their initial EP with as much success as they are currently enjoying, they could very well help usher in two important changes in the EDM scene that need to happen. First, perhaps the rise of two talented female producer/DJs will help to turn the female DJ into less of a rarity. Second, Krewella could usher in an awakening of EDM in the city that is responsible for its very presence in the United States. If the rise of a Chicago EDM scene is to take place who knows where that could lead to next. Maybe EDM will be free to rise in places it has rarely been associated with in the middle of the U.S., and the prospect of amazing electro-house coming out of a place like North Dakota is a very curious one.

By Austin Paley