B.Traits

Brianna Price is known for her ability to make connections. This, after all, is the girl from – of all places – rural Canada who managed to plug in to the heart of the fiercely protective UK bass music scene, and then into the cultural behemoth that is BBC Radio 1. But don't for one second think that she's got where she is simply by networking, nor by altering what she does to fit into other people's scenes. You only need to meet Bri briefly, whether in person or via her radio show, to know that her vision is hers alone – and the more you hear of her story so far, the more you realise that far from fighting to be accepted by tight-knit creative circles, she'stended to be welcomed in with open arms as people become aware of her unique abilities.
 
Even at that age, she was a “music selector and mixtape creator” for all her friends, and by 14 she was going to Nelson's homegrown raves, where “from the first moment I saw a DJ I knew that's what I wanted to do”. Already a skilled breakdancer, she gave a friend dance lessons in exchange for DJ lessons, began to collect speed garage, trip hop and especially jungle and drum'n'bass – and at 16 she moved into a shared house where another friend had decks “and mixed every single free moment of every day.” It's a measure of her drive that she not only graduated high school in this time, but developed her DJ skills to the point where her roommate eventually gave her the decks, saying “this is you now!”
 
In 2004, at 18, Bri moved to Vancouver. It was only natural – the nearest big city actually had a drum'n'bass scene which she dove into as a clubber, then DJ. Her first job was located opposite thebest record store in town, and she quickly impressed the local DJs with herknowledge and gradually became accepted into the scene. She began to study music production, and also spent a lot of time in Whistler, a ski resort a couple of hours away in the mountains, where a boyfriend lived. Whistler had a big, young international crowd but very little club scene – so when foundational DJs like Goldie and Shy FX would come to Vancouver on North American tours, Bri and her boyfriend would persuade them out to play there.
 
One visitor was another Brit originator, DJ SS, who was so impressed by Bri's DJ skills he invited her onto the North American leg of the World Drum'n'Bass tour as a warm-up DJ. At this stage she'd never even been outside Canada, but soon she was even travelling to Estonia to play, then finally to London – the homeland of the music she loved so much. She was pretty much living her dream at this point – but bigger was to come in 2007 when the legendary Shy FX approached her on the World Drum'n'Bass tour. Her own productions were rudimentary at this stage but he saw something in them and asked if she would come to London to be part of his Digital Soundboy crew.
 
It was a wrench, and it took her a while to make the decision – but it was also her biggest dream come true, and London didn't disappoint when she arrived. “For months,” she says, “I went out every single night, and every day I'd be in the studio with Shy FX and Breakage, just learning and seeing what was possible.” As it turned out, at a time when bass music had exploded into myriad forms, the possibilities were endless – her 2012 UK garage revival track 'Fever' broke out big, reaching the UK top 40 and attracting the attention of Radio 1's In New DJs We Trust team. Production took a back seat for a while, while a guest slot turned into a residency, then into deputising for the mighty Annie Mac – and finally to the undreamed-of honour of three hours every Friday night.
 
Bri hadn't even thought of doing radio when she was paying her DJ dues back in Canada but as with her club DJing and production, she accepted help and mentorship from the very best – this time from Annie Mac's team – and took every lesson on board.
 
The fierceness with which Bri has always done exactly that – maintained her own individuality, even while absorbing the knowledge and help of the best around her – has served her well. With her radio platform, she is uniquely positioned now to “represent the underground”, and all the days spent in the studio mean she's ready to surprise people with her music. The reason it's taken so long to follow up 'Fever' is not a lack of tracks: quite the opposite, it's about trying to find some focus in the torrent of creativity. In the end, she decided that her next release should be a dark and underground in dramatic contrast to 'Fever', "so that people can't predict what'll come next”, she smiles.  It was the right decision: you should certainly expect the unexpected where B.Traits is concerned – but if there's something you can predict, it's that whatever comes next will be unique, and it will be big.