Miss B's childhood musical makeup of classical music, grunge, brit-pop and classic rock started to be infiltrated by electronic beats from the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Orbital, The Prodigy and Leftfield and Salmonella Dub. A fateful first night in London saw her see a sharp left turn and a trip to see Faithless at Wembley, resulting in the next 6 years working to fund gigs and festival tickets.
It was only a matter of time before the turntables were approached and her DJ journey began. In her own words "I played my first 'set' aged 12 on a bright yellow and black double cassette deck at a class party. 'Give Me Hope Johanna' by Eddy Grant was a hit until someone spilt juice all over the floor and ended the event."
Life in the UK introduced me to warehouse raves, clubs like Fabric and The End, festivals and the possibility that you don’t have to be famous or an exceptionally skilled instrumentalist to be able to share music with people. A friend taught me the basics of mixing on vinyl, helped me buy some turntables, introduced me to the dangers of crate digging in London and gave me a few gigs, and, here we are.
On her influences and career highlights... "The Chemical Brothers were one of the first (2000) and last (2020) international electronic artists I saw live. I’ve seen them several times and they never disappoint. Andrew Weatherall used to play regularly at a tiny working men's club near my house. I wore out Adam Freeland's FabricLive and DJ Philippa's Welcome to a New Zealand House Compilation album. Now my biggest influences are my many talented friends — the silver lining of lockdown was that so many local producers and DJs got more opportunities to play.
I love that my music “family” now includes artists that I used to admire from afar. Heylady, Amandamania, Murry Sweetpants, OCDJ, Sanoi, Jake Rattler, Becky, Nick Munday, Marcos Alonso, The Dastardly Bounder, Mamadafunk, Sigmund, DylanC, Facettes, Out of Sorts (I don’t want to miss anyone out!). I am influenced in some way by every DJ I ever see play - no matter who they are. I have been lucky enough to go to many festivals and events all over the world, but some of my favourite events have been here in NZ.
Watching people fascinates me - I have seen people go absolutely nuts to the most random of tracks, so that has definitely shaped the way I construct my sets. There is something truly magical about watching people get lost in the music, and helping them get lost in the music with you is even better. It’s rare that I play a set without a Beat&Path release in it. I always try and work in something of my own.
A left of centre career highlight was being Grandmaster Flash’s emergency dentist before his Bay Dreams show! I don’t know who was more nervous! Afterwards he signed a few records sleeves for me and I got to watch him play up close. He has great chat, a bit of a dark side, and I freely admit I LOVED it when he greeted me like a long lost friend in a green room full of famous international artists.
In the last 18 months, I have played with and to some of my dearest friends at intimate gatherings in the forest, at Splore with my children and my mum watching, and at other festivals and venues I never dreamed I would play at five years ago. I am booked for R&A, Splore and Relish for 2022 so far, so am crossing everything that this summer goes ahead!
Sarah also has notable skills in the studio with her own productions peppering her sets, an EP release and more releases in the coming months', Miss B is a rising star in the production world.
The mix she has turned in for LO-FI is a trip through melodic soundscapes. walking the ropes of moody and deep, and traversing the steps to uplifting and emotional. It's a listen that makes 2 hours slide away.
Thanks Miss B and welcome to LO-FI