Reintroducing herself as Baby T, Canadian selector Brianna Price makes an exclusive mix for Notion and speaks about her upcoming show at Printworks in March.

Starting out DJing in Canada back in 2002, Brianna Price relocated to the UK and has been a fixture on the dance club and festival circuit ever since. Under the name B.Traits, B embraced spinning a spectrum of genres that cemented her status as a respected DJ, producer and radio presenter.

 

As a teen, B got a taste for jungle raves and drum n’ bass nights. With a focus on upturning the buoyancy of B.Traits and honing in on the visceral, dark energy that inspired her in the first place, B introduces us to Baby T. “B.Traits is more the front-facing ego, and Baby T is what’s been sitting in the shadows”, explains Price.

 

With two releases under her belt as Baby T, her debut EP ‘Portra’ and her ‘I Against I’ EP, B has two more EPs ready to go. She will also be playing RE-TEXTURED at Printworks in March, in the Inkwells room – a more intimate, cave-like setting that aptly matches Baby T’s more stormy disposition.

 

Zeroing in on breakneck tempos and the hardcore principles she learnt as a young DJ, Baby T is an opportunity to bring back the focus to the music. “I played faster back then and that’s where I’m going back to with Baby T – but this time I’m not 18, and I have zero fucks to give.”

  • Photo Credit Frankie Casillo

Could you talk us through your musical journey? How did you get into DJing and producing?

I first started DJing back home in Canada in 2002. I was heavily influenced by UK dance culture so was playing mainly Jungle, Drum n Bass, and a bit of Breaks. I started playing out at actual gigs in 2004 and began promoting my own night in Whistler in 2005. This is how I met a lot of other UK DJ’s, I would book them to play my night in Whistler. I worked with DJ SS and his World of Drum n Bass tours for North America. I met Shy FX and signed to his label Digital Soundboy in 2007. I learned to produce from T Power who was based in Canada at the time, and once I moved to London in 2010, learned under the wing of Shy and Breakage and other artists in our communal studio building.

How did Baby T evolve from B.Traits? What inspired the shift?

My original nickname way back, in the beginning, was Baby Traits ( ‘baby features’ – I have always looked very young) but back when I first began to break into the DJ community, it was very heavily male dominated, and I found that my name was automatically attaching a stereo type to my presence.. if that makes sense? I decided to abbreviate Baby to B and used the more androgynous B.Traits for the years that followed. It worked well for me, but in celebration of the community being much more open-minded, I wanted to breathe new life into my other half and old style. Baby T is me getting back to that energy I had when it was all about fun and experimenting, and playing faster and at times more aggressive music. B.Traits has been around for a long time, people know me mainly as a radio presenter too, so it’s been nice to have an alias where I can just focus on the music.

If you could describe what Baby T represents in three words, what would they be?

Hardcore, Junglist, Punk

In some ways Baby T is about bringing it back to where you started. Who were some big influences that inspired you when first starting out as a DJ?

My main influences were Kemistry & Storm.  They represented raw female talent as DJ’s and were respected by everyone.

What vibe are you hoping to achieve with your Notion mix?

I start the mix off with the slower side of things for Baby T, more electro and some breaks. The second half is where I let loose. I have quite a lot of music that is waiting to be released and I haven’t really had the chance to play most of the tracks out yet so I wanted to share some teasers in this mix.

What’s next for you?

I am looking forward to playing at RE-TEXTURED at Printworks in March,  I’ll be playing in the new room 2 – ‘Inkwells’ It’s literally where the old inkwells were stored way back when it was a printing press. It’s located in the heart of the building, directly beneath the dancefloors of the Press Halls. The Press Halls room is great, but it’s so giant that it feels much less intimate for me, Inkwells has lower ceilings, it feels darker and closer, much more Baby T. 

 

I also have a number of releases coming out this year, 2 x EP’s are ready to go but are awaiting vinyl pressing… you can hear some of these tracks in my mix. I’ve also got a new remix coming for Presha on Samurai music sometime this summer.