Ballarat hip hop artist Sarah Barclay wants to work towards releasing her own EP and collaborate with other artists, but her main mission is to mentor other musicians.
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She has faced many obstacles in getting started in the industry, including finding her sound and establishing contacts and networks.
But, since making her debut as an artist with stage name FLOC in 2017, Ballarat’s FReeZA committee Sonika has given Barclay a lot of opportunities including performing at venues such as Karova and events such as the Ballarat Youth Awards.
“I was studying bass at uni and then I joined a hip hop group in Melbourne that gave me a lot of direction,” Barclay said.
“I used to be worried about what people thought but now I just love it… it’s all about finding your audience, the people who enjoy your music will find you.
“I get most inspired by people my age doing awesome things and killing it… you start to think, maybe I could do that one day.”
Barclay will share her music journey, hopes for the future and perform at a free public screening of the critically-acclaimed documentary Her Sound Her Story.
The documentary explores the experiences of more than 40 women in the Australian music industry, celebrating their achievements and addressing the inequities.
The Sonika event will feature live music performances and talks from women and organisations involved in Ballarat’s music scene.
The initiative came from Lucy Timms, who has set up the Sonic Sisterhood Program with the aim of increasing the number of girls and women playing music.
The program covers all aspects of the music industry including recording, songwriting, performance and business, to help take away the fear of the unknown.
“I remember going to a battle of the bands (competition) and just thinking where are all the girls?” Timms said.
“I did some stat breakdowns of the Push Start Battle of the Bands competition and found in 2015 there were 40 participants and they were all boys.
“Since then it has kind of increased a little bit each year, but I felt that we really needed an extra push to get more diverse music happening in Ballarat.”
The talks and screening of the documentary will be held at the Ballarat Mechanics Institute on Saturday, December 1, from 2-5pm.