DJ Rose Bonica finds her groove in a male-dominated electro world

The name Rose Bonica was only a murmur among electronic music scenesters a year ago, but that's changing big time as the DJ and producer drops her EP The Rosy Disposition. (The title is a play on her name, Natalie-Rose Perel.)

"A few months ago I was feeling totally defeated," says Bonica. "I'd been turned inside out and exposed. I didn't want to cry anymore, so I sat down and tried to make music so I could stop my mind from over-thinking. I made the first two tracks of the EP, which then helped me form a better idea of what I wanted it to be."

The result is a dark and emotional journey through tracks like I Was Trying to be Sincere, Please Don't Tell Me To Relax, I Just Need A Moment, and the less angsty No One Will Love You Like Your Parents Do.

She admits to still trying to find her feet with her creative process.

"I think at one point I was using a word a day from the dictionary, and trying to make a track around the word. Other times, I'll start working on something because someone's just sent me an amazing track and I feel inspired."

Like most aspects of the industry, electronic music is male-dominated, and Bonica says she finds it a bit funny that it's often assumed that she is a singer when she tells people that she makes music.

She's not only involved on the technical side of things, but is also co-runner of a label, Wet Dreams Recordings, through which The Rosy Disposition was released.

"It's been a challenge because it has involved a lot of admin," she says of being both an artist and label boss.

LISTEN to Rose Bonica's track I was trying to be sincere

"Without the foundation that Wet Dreams Recordings had already built before I joined I don't think I would have had the connections I do now with some amazing artists around the world.

"With my first release as a label manager, the Work Not Hype compilation, and this release as Rose Bonica, I got to work alongside globally renowned artists like Altered Natives, Jumping Back Slash, Flex Blur, Lost Lover, VGRRR and Big Space. Any sleepless nights have been worth the opportunities it all brings to the table.

"Inspiration is a key element and so is community, both of which I'm seeing happening more," she says.

• 'The Rosy Disposition' is now streaming on Soundcloud.com.

• This article was originally published in The Times