Sugar and Spice, and Everything Nice
Sugar and Spice, and Everything Nice. If these are the ingredients chosen to create the perfect electronic music scene in Christchurch, then Beccie B is Chemical X. Over the last two years, Ōtautahi has played host to a systematic rewiring of the electronic scene, resulting in a flurry of female disc jockeys frequenting a raft of your favourite venues. As I sit down for an evening coffee with the change’s key exponent I am reminded that these girls are anything but the “Token 10pm”.
Photos by Rosa Nevison and Flynn Robson
Becca Barclay is a pretty cool customer, not least because she agreed to meet for a mid-week, after-work, coffee. I had never met Becca before, but had heard the name. She for sure hadn’t heard mine but didn’t seem the least phased when I asked if she had some time to chat music with me. Being pale, male and stale, without an ounce of mixing potential in me, I start off by asking Becca the simplest question - “How did it all start?”
“Throwback to the first lockdown two years ago, I was kinda mixing at Winton Street.” Winton Street, for the non-initiated, is the location of a flat in central Christchurch that acted as the sounding stage for a plethora of Ōtautahi talent. “It was really my original group of friends, who introduced me to the industry. That’s Michael Duggan (Rothman Reds), James Inwood and Finn McCall (of Notion Touring), Harry King (Eastern Run), Jordan Mcstay (Stain), William Wallace (Ultraviolet) (the list goes on…)” The line-up at Winton Street alone would rival most Saturday nights in town, so it comes as no surprise that Becca got her debut on the decks at Notion Touring’s: Discopolis, not long after. “It was my first show, and after lockdown I really only had a week to learn to play a set.”. She explains that all of her mates were super supportive. “Ultraviolet and Rothy definitely sat me down and taught me stuff, but after that they mostly told me not to worry and just have fun.”
Becca is a multifaceted creative in her own right, and the evolution of Sugar and Spice definitely encapsulates that. “So I’m a graphic designer, and I had started doing a heap of work for promoters like Notion Touring, Boom Candy, Roots Fire, and Cream.” It seems only fitting that Becca would find a way to meld her passions together. “I love house music, I've been a Notion groupie from the get go. I didn't want to throw a house show because I didn't want to step on their toes. So I was in a little bit of a weird position where I didn’t want to upset anyone I had been working for.” The birth of Sugar and Spice was really the opportunity to facilitate a space for people in the same position as Becca to get their opportunity to get up on decks and play to an audience. “I knew there had been a couple all female shows in Christchurch, but I hadn’t really gone to them, and I don’t know if they were executed how I had envisioned them. So the first one was just really me and my mates, which was fucking cool - Rosa, Mr Meaty Boy, Dream.r, Texture and myself.
From what Becca had told me, I could get a real sense of how Becca's immediate circle facilitated her transition from passion to profession, but what were the ways these wāhine cultivated this creative community? “It's all been natural. I guess I got to know them going to the same parties, for sure. I knew Shannon from Winnies and Hide and Texture and I were friends on Facebook. It's all something we all wanted to do, and had the people around us who wanted us to play.” Becca tells me how it's more about the opportunities that they have been able to provide than the actual slots they have played. “Just before the second show, USCA (Twice the hype, Momentum and MONO) ran a women DJ comp - and MJ won!” MJ is MJ Creswick - another name you might have heard if you are in any proximity to the Christchurch DJ scene. As a sidebar, just after I interviewed Becca I headed (last minute) south to Mardi Gras Queenstown. My late involvement meant I was on the first bus into the festival - and to my surprise but absolute delight, I got to watch MJ throw down for the first half hour with no interruptions. Safe to say I gained some serious respect for these girls’ mahi - But I digress. “So MJ opened the next Sugar and Spice at 6pm and just threw down DnB to like no one. Not long after this me and MJ became pretty good friends and we started a facebook group called Wāhine Chch DJs (now it's femme and nonbinary). It's got like 200 members now, it's huge! So all of a sudden we were in one big community.
Becca is a big believer of doing your time, but highlights how important it is to provide those opportunities to younger, or less experienced acts. “My thing with Sugar is that it's always been multi-genre and multi-level. The gig that I threw last weekend was one of the first I’ve never had a baby on open, but I’m happy to put them closing if thats their style - you can’t open with Jungle, so fuck it, throw them in the deep end!” From the way Becca speaks about the scene, you get a real sense about how ingrained the kaupapa of Sugar and Spice is for everything Becca does. Becca constantly refers to those younger DJs as her babies, and it is totally unironic and in no way condescending. You get a sense with Becca that she doesn’t want to parent these acts, but she does want to foster opportunities for them, and see them succeed on the stages they deserve. “So at this point I'd have a line up and I'd have one or two who I know would headline, but I’d need a house or a DnB slot. So I would just post on this page we had and be like, “who would be keen?””.
It's super inspiring to hear from Becca how much change she feels has been made, and what that means for the scene as a whole. “Because most of my peers have had 2 years experience, we are no longer just the token wahine in the opening slot, and thats so fucking sick. I think there has been a growth of females, because the females who want it, have just been practising and been going and going and just not stopping. But that's also on the promoters for giving them opportunities, so shout out to them.” It’s interesting how positively Becca views the promoters and established industry figures, who are almost all males. Roll back three years ago and it was the people in these positions who were under heavy criticism for the amount of lineups without females. Since then there had definitely been an emphasis to improve and kick into gear some all female lineups, but the instigators of change definitely feel like they have been banging on the door from the outside. Becca presents a very different experience, one that has come from a grassroots place, but one in which men in these positions have been hugely supportive.
I was really keen to ask Becca how she reconciles her experience with what has been happening over the last couple of years. “We started 2 years ago and now the shows have helped me be a point of contact for local promoters for Wahine talent. Because of that, Christchurch is ahead of the game. I didn't realise the beast it would become but I'm honoured.” I was interested to know if Becca thought that this was part of a larger change, something that was reflected across the country. We talked about some of the glass ceilings that have been broken, Sin on George FM, Hurricane Emily and Filth, but ultimately Becca does feel it's quite there yet. “I have thought of taking Sugar and Spice to other places, but it came from such an organic place on its own merits. If I did it in Auckland I feel it would seem like virtue signalling”.
Our conversation continued to bounce around as we delved into the nitty gritty of the Aotearoa electronic scene. We talked about what was working, what wasn’t, people we thought killin’ it, and what we thought was overrated, but ultimately I landed on asking Becca, what was next for her in the Future. “I'm launching this new brand parallel to sugar but inclusive of all genders -Everything Nice.” I found this to be an intriguing pivot from Becca, after hearing how influential the kaupapa of Sugar had been to her story. But as every straight white male before me, I wasn’t really understanding the whole story. “I'm always going to focus on Sugar and Spice but it has a life expectancy. Once I realised that Sugar is this powerhouse it really became apparent that we were not fighting for 50-50 lineups, we were looking for a 50-50 even pool of talent.” It’s now that Becca's innate love for the scene as a whole, and determination to get the best out of everyone shines through. “People should book the best people for their shows but that's where the whole 10pm female act is bullshit. Christchurch is at a point now where we can do it. All it took was opening up the playing field.”
I felt an immense sense of pride emanating from Becca as she passionately develged where the scene she has devoted so much time to is at.” I used to be so on the game with all the babies but now I'm not because I can't keep up with them there are so many of them. The fact that the pool is growing and growing. I pray to god a promoter can have a big international act and just pick who the best person is to open, regardless of gender, knowing that their scene has some depth to it.” But Becca reminds me that it's the result of so many hard working wāhine that has broken down barriers and it’s not something she will take for granted, not for a second. “Paige Julia winning the Aotearoa Music Award made me cry. She stayed so true to her music and now she has finally got what she deserves. But even after she won that award I’ve still seen her play really early time slots.. Lots of wahine still gets booked for opening sets when they’re fucking awesome.”
This isn’t the end of Becca Barclay’s story, far from it, it really is just the beginning. As our interview starts to wind down, Becca begins to form a list of people she insists I talk to, to hear the rest of the story. There are DJs she’s mentioned earlier, but also bar owners, music promoters, label managers, the list goes on. It’s clear to me that my “hour and a half deep dive” has merely touched the tips of a sprawling ecosystem that encompasses so many people. I ask Becca what she hopes to see at the end of all this. “What I really want is the right people playing at the right time, and if the girls are the best, they should be there.”
So many thanks to Becca for the interview. Check out her links below!
Instagram:
@sugarandspiceaotearoa
@everythingnice.nz
@beccie_barclay
This article first appeared in Newzician Magazine Issue Two