Being the only female DJ to be nominated twice for a MOBO award and named the UK’s First lady of Hip-Hop, International DJing sensation Sarah Love has taken no rest since leaving BBC and MTV last year. StreetsOnDemand sent Cheyenne to have a talk with DJ Sarah Love about her love for Music, her take on females in the DJing scene and how travel can take it toll.
Could you explain to us who Sarah Love, The one woman worldwide wrecking machine is?
Sarah :: She’s an Aunty, A Daughter, A Sister! No that’s just me. But, I mean I’m a solo operation. Everything I’ve done in my career I’ve done on my own two feet. I spend so much time travelling and my aim is to ‘wreck’ parties (Laughs) so really that description encapsulates quite a lot of what goes on in my life!
Other than DJing do you have any other musical background?
Sarah :: Yeah, I do. I come from a musical family, both my parents are musicians and I’ve been playing in bands since I was about eight/nine years old. My first instrument was drums, when I was eight and I started composing my own music on piano from about eleven years old and I did a music degree but I do more singing nowadays. So yeah my musical background starts in Jazz and drumming and live music and later evolved into dabbling in DJing, which ended up taking over a lot of my time.
What’s your take on the amount of female DJ’s there are on the scene in the U.K and worldwide?
Sarah :: It’s hard for me to even fill one hand with credible female DJ’s in the UK. There are people out there who think that they can just put two letters in front of their name, wear a bikini and play tunes off their iPod or press play on a CD or something. That’s not DJing to me. And it’s not all about scratching at 100 miles per hour ether, but you’ve got to be a connoisseur and have respect for the craft. Being a DJ means you’re a connoisseur of music. There are too few females out there that do a similar thing to me and that’s no good. We’re totally outnumbered on the scene and in the music industry as a whole.
Has it been hard at any time for you being in a field that is male dominated?
Sarah :: Not for me personally. My parents have always encouraged my sisters and me to be independent people and not to be pushovers, plus I’m a Leo too! (Laughs) I’ve never found any obstacles in that sense or that it’s been challenging for me. I just get on with what I have to accomplish and make things happen and stay away from negativity. I have goals in my mind of what I want, and a vision of how I’m going to achieve them and I just focus on that. But there are other women out there who have felt like they’ve been discriminated against in some way, but for me it’s never been a problem. All I get from people is love and respect.
You were named 1xtra’s first lady of Hip-Hop. Do you play/listen to any other genres of music?
Sarah :: No! (Laughs) Just kidding. For me there are only two kinds of music in the world. Good music and bad music. So I listen to Classical music, Latin, Soul, Rock. My musical foundation is in African music and Jazz. I used to be a Jungle head when I was a little kid and I love Reggae too. I want to absorb as much good music as I can and I’m excited about music that challenges me. I listen to all styles, anything that’s good, and block out as much bad music as I can.
What have you been up to since leaving BBC and MTV last year?
Sarah :: I’ve had my life back! It’s been wonderful! I’ve done a crazy amount of travel and touring mainly, which has been great. Gosh, I’ve been Australasia, Scandanavia, Europe, Africa, America so I love the freedom and flexibility that I now have and I’ve really enjoyed getting control of my own life and being my own boss again. It’s nice to be free!
Doing the radio really restricted a lot of the other things I used to do so its been good to be able to get back to some of that. Like, I wouldn’t have been able to take the tour with Aloe Blacc for example and like I said before about how grueling my life can get, there was a lot of occasions where I was finishing radio shows at four in the morning and going straight from the studio to the airport then flying, power napping and DJing again. It wasn’t a healthy time and my health is very important to me.
Does the traveling around the world take its toll on you? How do you cope with it?
Sarah :: Aww that’s such a sweet question to ask! I’m touched! The hardest thing is, it takes me away from friends and family so I miss all the cool occasions in their lives. What I’ve recently realised is that the consistency in my life is extremity, to the point where its become normality. Imagine doing a full week of work in London, then getting on a plane for twelve hours, landing, changing time zones and climates, eating dinner at what your body thinks is 4am, performing that night, few hours sleep, coming back home and operating in office hours in the UK the following day.
I’ve been accused of taking on too much and because I’m a driven person and physically tough I can hack it, but if your not careful it all catches up with you. So yeah sometimes my body is like, ‘where am I? Who am I?’. As human beings we like routine. We like to sleep at the same time, eat at the same time etc. but I don’t always get that consistently in my life. It can be quite a demanding, pressured and extreme lifestyle but I’m used to it. I don’t know how I would cope at a desk everyday.
Any advice for any budding female DJ’s out there?
Sarah :: Well, it’s the same for any DJ not just the ladies: Make sure that you’re on point with your skills. The most important thing is putting time into your skills, learning your craft and doing your homework, musically. Make sure you develop a good ear and good taste in music and that you know your stuff, because we don’t need any more reasons for people to think females on turntables are just a gimmick.
Where can we find out more about you?
Sarah :: The website is a good place to go www.djsarahlove.com and I’m on twitter (@DJSarahLove), Facebook etc. and make sure you can catch me from December as the official tour DJ for Aloe Blacc coming to a town near you!
Thank you for having me and we wish you all the best!
Sarah :: Thank you for having me!
Tags: Aloe Blacc, bbc, bbc 1xtra, DJ Sarah Love, Djing, hip-hop, interview, jazz, Mobo Awards, MTV, OnTalk, Radio, uk interview