Sara Simms

Sara Simms

Sara Simms captivates the world as an innovative musician, DJ, turntablist and electronic music producer. She's a multi-instrumentalist who's known for her love of music technology. Sara makes her mark in the music community by crafting diverse sets with styles ranging from pulsating techno to house. She balances technical skills with a refined musical sensibility and her approach to DJing focuses on improvisation through multi-deck mixing. Her passion for music has led her to tour through North America, Japan and Europe. Recently, she's played sets for Allen and Heath's live broadcast at the Amsterdam Dance Event, on Detroit's 313.FM and on Toronto's CTRL Room. Sara has an intriguing background as a jazz guitarist turned turntablist. She's competed in DJ battles in both Canada and the US, and was a runner in up the 'Scratch' – The Ultimate DJ Contest. Sara's DJ career began in Toronto with residencies at venues like This Is London, The Courthouse and The Ritz-Carlton. She's now focused on studio work and has founded her own label, Simmetry Sounds to release productions and collaborations. As an artist who stays on the cutting edge of new technologies, Sara has worked together with brands like Arturia, Casio, Fender, Genelec, Pioneer DJ, Mixed in Key, Moog Music Inc, Native Instruments and Roland. As a DJ, Sara has played events for legendary brands like Dior, Guess, M.A.C. Cosmetics, Victoria's Secret and Volvo. Sara's career highlights include: playing at Ultra Music Festival in Miami, opening for the Friendly Fires in Cannes, France, appearing on DJ QBert's 'Skratch University', a US tour with Melleefresh (Play Records), judging the Canadian DMC Championships, playing at AIR (Tokyo), W Hotel (Miami and Seattle) and performing at Pride Toronto.

Articles by Sara Simms

/ 163 Articles

Review: iMPC for iPad

Review | Sep 10, 2013 by Sara Simms

Seems like more than ever everyone wants to gets their hands on an Akai MPC! No surprises there. And unsurprisingly the iMPC app for iPad has been very successful too. Sara Simms gets hands on.

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Review: Akai MPC Studio

Review | Aug 27, 2013 by Sara Simms

Sleek, shiny and silver: the Akai MPC Studio looks every bit as good as its brethren. How does it perform? Is it the perfect tool for creative, mobile beat-makers looking for Akai's legendary pads?

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Creative Mixing with Traktor: Building Your Own Musical Journey

Tutorial | Aug 14, 2013 by Sara Simms

It's time to go beyond just setting up Traktor... it's time to get creative and take your audience on a musical journey they'll never forget. Sara Simms shows you how.

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Review: Traktor Kontrol Z2 Mixer

Review | Jul 31, 2013 by Sara Simms

Native Instruments have a 2+2 channel DJ mixer? Yup! And as you'd expect it's designed for Traktor, but can be used as a standalone DJ mixer too. Sara Simms pushes and pulls in our full review.

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Review: Meet the MoogerFoogers

Review | Jul 23, 2013 by Sara Simms

Do you feel like you've been in a studio rut lately? Have you been using the same pedal boxes and effects for what seems like a lifetime? We checked out the MoogerFooger pedals and were impressed.

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Review: Moog Sub Phatty

Review | Jul 01, 2013 by Sara Simms

The latest of the Moog synthesisers, the gritty Sub Phatty has caused quite a stir since its release. In this in depth review, Sara Simms finds it great for both classic/retro and futuristic sounds.

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How to Create Two Advanced Mappings in Traktor Pro

Tutorial | Apr 09, 2013 by Sara Simms

Sara Simms is here to take you beyond the techniques in her recent article on creating MIDI mappings in Traktor Pro. Learn how to create 2 advanced mappings in NIs Traktor Pro.

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Review: iMashup for iOS

Review | Apr 06, 2013 by Sara Simms

Mixed in Key's iMashup for iOS is designed to make making mashups much more manageable! Sara Simms takes it for spin in this feature review for MPV Hub.

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Review: Livid CNTRL:R

Review | Mar 26, 2013 by Sara Simms

Designed by Richie Hawtin and Livid Instruments, is CNTRL:R the next evolutionary step for music production controllers? DJ and producer Sara Simms investigates.

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Building a Custom FX Chain in Traktor

Tutorial | Jan 29, 2013 by Sara Simms

Sara Simms shows how you can take your DJing to the next level by building your own FX chains in Native Instruments' Traktor.

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Getting Started with MIDI Mappings in Traktor

Tutorial | Jan 16, 2013 by Sara Simms

Take a tour of Native Instruments' Traktor with DJ Sara Simms as she shows you how to get started with MIDI mappings for your own customised controllers.

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Review: Pioneer CDJ-2000nexus

Review | Jan 11, 2013 by Sara Simms

With the recent launch of the CDJ-2000nexus, has Pioneer has once again jumped ahead of the DJ industry crowd? Sara Simms puts it to the test in this in-depth review.

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Review: Pioneer RMX-1000

Review | Sep 19, 2012 by Sara Simms

Pioneer's RMX-1000 has caught the eye and ear since its release. Sara Simms puts it through its paces and discovers it's not just for live performance DJs.

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