Dj Saffron Mash is providing the sounds for Backyard Opera’s Carpark Cocktails.
Providing throwback lo-fi vibes and funk beats, Samuel Withers also known as SignBit and Saffron Mash will be one of the DJ’s providing the music at Backyard Opera’s Carpark Cocktail Party. Come down on Sunday the 29th of April from 3pm to have a cocktail and listen to Samuel do his thing.
BYO: Who are you and what is your Artist Name?
SAMUEL: So my name is Samuel Withers, I produce music under the moniker SignBit https://soundcloud.com/signbit and DJ under the name Saffron Mash https://www.mixcloud.com/saffron-mash/
BYO: When did you start DJing for and How did you get into it?
SAMUEL: I started DJing as part of an artist's collective called.’The Throwaways.’ We were a group of designers, film-makers, photographers, writers, artists and musicians who threw regular events all over the inner west of Sydney, mostly for fun but also for self-promotion. Some of our luminaries alongside myself include the artists Robby Bennett (@rowdyunderscore) and Tom Malek(@tjmalek), the film-maker and designer Ada Reinthal (ey.duh), the film and documentary maker Phroi Kovalevsky (@phroj) the musicians and producers OSTINATO https://soundcloud.com/ostinato, SPIRALS https://soundcloud.com/spiralssydney, LowKey Austin https://soundcloud.com/lachlanding and the producer/rapper Crooked Letter, and the writer Laurence Barratt-Manning, plus many others. Currently I'm on the roster of WithMe Music http://www.withmemusic.com/
BYO: What style of music do you like to play the most and what do you have planned for us on Sunday?
SAMUEL: As a DJ I'm particularly influenced by the DJs Joe Kay, Gilles Peterson, Beat Pete and DJ Screw. My favourite styles to play are hip-hop (particularly lo-fi), R'n'B, future beats, dub, contemporary jazz, baile funk and garage so I'll be playing a selection of forward-thinking music from across those genres, with some (hopefully!) surprising throwbacks chucked in for good measure.
BYO: Where has been the best place that you've played?
SAMUEL: Mmm, this is a tricky question. In terms of venue size Oxford Arts is probably the biggest place I've played at (and it was particularly fun), otherwise (the now sadly closed) Play Bar was fun, but I think the best gigs I've had have been ones where I and some friends have organised ourselves, either at warehouses or in friend's backyards.
BYO: If people want to keep track of what you're up to, how could they do that?
SAMUEL: Probs the easiest way is to check out my Mixcloud: https://www.mixcloud.com/saffron-mash/. I release a semi-regular mix called Tea Leaf Dancing which is a good chilldown, Sunday arvo pottering about the house with a cuppa type vibe. Otherwise my Soundcloud https://soundcloud.com/signbit where I am releasing my debut single one the 1st of June though, so watch this space.
