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

A Quick Guide To Programming A Roland TR-09

Tutorial | Oct 13, 2017 by Sara Simms

Roland's TR-09 is a great-sounding drum machine, but if you're not familiar with old school programming styles it can be confusing at first. Sara Simms shortcuts you to some great beats.

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Review: Allen and Heath XONE:K2

Review | Oct 03, 2017 by Sara Simms

The XONE:K2 is portable, durable and features X:LINK to enable you to connect two mixers together. Sara Simms added it to her DJ rig to find if it could do the business.

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Review: Allen and Heath XONE:PX5

Review | Sep 01, 2017 by Sara Simms

Designed to bridge the worlds of digital and analog DJing, Allen and Heath's latest club mixer is loaded with features. Sara Simms was eager to put it through its paces.

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Review: MODEL 1 Mixer

Review | Aug 11, 2017 by Sara Simms

This fully analog 8-channel mixer designed by Richie Hawtin is intended to be a true DJ's performance instrument. Sara Simms took in on the road to find out if it fits the bill.

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How to Setup Traktor with the Rane 62/64 DJ Mixer

Tutorial | Jul 15, 2017 by Sara Simms

Do you love Rane mixers but prefer to DJ with Traktor? Would you like to use Rane's custom Traktor mappings for Rane 62/64 mixers, but aren't quite sure how to start? You're in the right place.

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Review: Blackstar ID:Core BEAM Amplifier

Review | Jul 14, 2017 by Sara Simms

Affordable, highly portable and it even has Bluetooth built in. Sara Simms finds there's much to like about the Blackstar ID:Core BEAM Amplifier. She even took it out for a jam...

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How to Create a Richie Hawtin Style Delay

Tutorial | Jul 12, 2017 by Sara Simms

If you love the sound of Richie Hawtin's signature delay effect, you'll want to read this detailed guide on how to replicate the effect for yourself. Sara Simms reveals all.

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How to Use NI Traktor Ramp Delay & Reverb T3

Tutorial | Jul 07, 2017 by Sara Simms

Do you listen to DJs like Richie Hawtin and Dubfire play techno sets and wonder how they create spacious sounding effects? Sara Simms lets you in on an industry secret...

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How to Create a DJ Routine for a Battle

Tutorial | Jun 30, 2017 by Sara Simms

Competing in DJ battles can be exhilarating - especially if you win! Here are Sara Simms' top tips for how best to prepare and make your performance the standout of the event.

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Movement: History of Detroit's Electronic Music Festival

News | Jun 17, 2017 by Sara Simms

Detroit is world famous for its electronic music scene, notably the fact that it was the birthplace of the techno movement. Here, Sara Simms delves into the history of Movement, its flagship festival.

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Review: Pioneer DJ DJM-250MK2

Review | Jun 13, 2017 by Sara Simms

An affordable and portable 2-channel DJ mixer with Magvel Pro faders and USB I/O - what's not to like? Sara Simms road tests the Pioneer DJ DJM-250MK2.

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Skratch Combos and Sessions

Tutorial | Jun 10, 2017 by Sara Simms

Mastering skratches is essential if you want to improve your DJ skills. In this quick tutorial, Sara Simms shows you how to combine multiple skratches into combos for even better results.

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The Belleville Three & How Techno Was Born

Tutorial | Jun 03, 2017 by Sara Simms

Three friends from a small town changed the face of electronic music across the world. But how did it happen? Here's Sara Simms to tell the story.

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Five Ideas on Using Hardware to Start Tracks

Tutorial | May 19, 2017 by Sara Simms

Don't just drag a loop from your desktop to your DAW - find inspiring ways of using hardware to kick off ideas for new tracks with these top tips!

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Review: Pioneer DJ TORAIZ AS-1 Analog Monophonic Synthesizer

Review | May 11, 2017 by Sara Simms

When the engineering might of Pioneer meets the creative powerhouse of Dave Smith Instruments, the results are sure to be intriguing. Sara Simms road tests the DJ TORAIZ AS-1 Analog Synth

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