DJ/producer/radiohost is bringing girl power to the dancefloors.
B.Traits’ purple hair can be seen everywhere: if she’s not hosting her weekly BBC Radio 1 show, then she’s most likely spinning some of the hottest and freshest dance music at the world’s coolest festivals or promoting her own releases. We called the Canadian-turned-British musician to wish her happy birthday and also discuss raves, drugs and (politely) telling rude boys where to go.
She Picked London Over Marriage
It’s a common story: a British act becomes a worldwide sensation. But sometimes a foreigner finds a new home in the electronic heaven of the UK. Case in point: Canadian DJ/producer Brianna Price aka B.Traits, who moved from British Columbia, Canada, to ever-buzzing London to pursue her DJing aspirations and eventually became a part of the BBC Radio 1 trendsetting family.
“I started to DJ when I was 15. As soon as I graduated from high school I moved to Vancouver and continued to DJ there, making a career out of it and getting gigs every weekend. Then I started producing music and around 23-24 finally realized that I had two options: I could either settle down with my boyfriend, move to the countryside and have babies or I could pick up everything and move to London. And I decided to move to London. Moving was definitely one of the highlights of my career. I had to basically start over again when I moved. But it was a necessary step to take to get to where I am now.”
You Can (Kinda) Call Her Baby
“My DJ name comes from a nickname given to me when I was 13 years old. A couple of my friends would always tell me that I look younger and have baby features, baby traits. So “B” stands for baby. So being a DJ on a rather male-dominated scene I decided to abbreviate “Baby. ‘cause if I had baby in my name you could tell right away that I was female. And I liked the idea that you wouldn’t know if I was a boy or a girl if you saw my name on the line-up.
"But everybody I know calls me Baby T." Does she still have to fight a lot of stereotypes as a female DJ/radio host? “Not as much, no. Now we have so many female DJs and producers and just female presence in the dance music industry. There’s always a sound engineer once in a while who you meet when you come for the soundcheck in a club and he’d be like ‘There’s no way that you’re a DJ.’ And I very politely tell him where to go. It’s all good.”
She’s A Great Dancer
Being an expert in dance music makes her obligated to be able to bust a couple of moves herself, right? “Yes, of course. Dance is my background, that’s how I fell in love with music. I’ve always been dancing since I was very young. I did street dancing and breakdancing and stuff like that. I was competing all around Canada. That was my introduction to dance music,” she says. Does she still get the chance to hit a dance class? “I do still go to dance classes once in a while. It’s something that I really enjoy doing. I’d love to do more of it. I feel like I dance completely differently when I’m just in a club rather than when I DJ.”
She’s Got Purple Hair
One of her traits is B’s shock of purple hair. But she didn’t explore that many colors of the spectrum yet. “It’s only been my natural color, then I got a bit blonder when I moved to England. Then I went purple three years ago and it stayed. But it changes hue all the time. Sometimes it’s a little more pink and sometimes it’s a little more blue.”
She Just Turned 30
B.Traits had an extra festive weekend last week as she turned 30. So we had to inquire what she had planned for the next decade of her life. “It’s really nice for me right now. I’m in a really good place. Musically I’m doing exactly what I wanted to do and I feel like the music that I’m producing, playing and representing at my show is perfectly aligning. And everything in my personal life is going well. I hope to keep building the radio show and keep on expanding. I’m not sure I want to be DJing when I’m 40, so I hope to pull back on the club gigs and maybe start a family one day, that would be nice. I haven’t even thought about it that much. I guess I should have!”
She’s Not Afraid of Any Fever
B.Traits’ debut single in 2012 was called “Fever” and it was pretty infectious both musically and commercially, as it did well in the charts. But how does she make sure to stay away from actual fevers and stay healthy on the road? “Trying to get sleep is a big one. And I try to eat healthy on the road. Lots of vegetables and no wheat or grain. Also a lot of water.”
Her Favorite Festival Is Hideout
Speaking of water, she’s going to see lots of it in Croatia this month, as she’s playing beach-side festival Hideout. “It’s such a magical festival. The site where Hideout is located is literally on the beach, it’s a series of open air clubs and it’s right next to the water. It’s unlike any other festival that I’ve ever been to. One of my favorite memories was playing the sunrising set. The sun was just coming up over the water as I was finishing my set. And by the end I managed to convince everyone to take off their clothes and jump into ocean, in the morning. It was great.”
She Listens To Other DJ Mixes
B.Traits has to be on the lookout for the next hot track 24/7. How does she stay up-to-date with all the new releases? “I do a lot of surfing on the internet. A lot of music is sent to me. And I listen to a lot of other DJs’ mixes, that’s a really big one for me. It’s really important to know what other people are playing, because a lot of times they’re playing very fresh releases from themselves and that’s how I find all of the exclusive stuff.”
She Did a Documentary On Drug Culture
Given B.Traits’ fascination with the rave culture, it’s no wonder she was a presenter on BBC’s 2014 documentary How Safe Are My Drugs? about the connection between drugs (legal and illegal) and dance music. What was the craziest thing she discovered while doing her research? “The craziest thing that I discovered was that the legal drugs that they sell on the market are way more lethal than illegal drugs.”
Does she have a recipe for a perfect rave? “It would be somewhere in the forest with really great stage production and decorations, so it would be a proper experience for the patrons. The sound system has to be amazing. No housing nearby so no there would be no sound restrictions. There has to be an element of security and safety. And having drug testing on site is very important. Oh, and great line-up, please.”
She’s Got New Music Coming This Year
She always has a busy schedule on and off air, but should we expect any more releases from B.Traits any time soon? “I’ve got new releases that will be out this year. It’s very exciting ‘cause I haven’t released any music for quite some time. And I plan to release it on my own label.”
