'Do what you are passionate about, the rest follows' - Sarah McBriar Interview

The idea of launching a music festival can seem a little daunting. A full-time job for an annual occasion, planning a festival comes with its challenges. For Sarah McBriar, a clear vision and dogged determination were the two things that led her to launch one of the most relevant platforms in today's electronic music industry, Audio Visual Arts (AVA) Festival.

Launched in 2015, McBriar spotted a huge gap in the market for an avenue to showcase burgeoning talent in her home of Belfast, a city that's known for its relentless energy and fervour for electronic music. Since AVA started, the festival has become an internationally renowned brand and with the help of Boiler Room, it's now one of the most significant events this side of the globe which artfully showcases established and up-and-coming talent from Ireland & the UK's music and art worlds for three intense days of conferences, workshops and DJ sets.

AVA has brought us some of the most memorable Boiler Rooms over the last five years, from the ridiculously rowdy crowd at Or:la's set in 2017 to Phil Kieran's crowd surf mid-set back in 2016. Now expanding to London with a huge all-day rave in the cavernous surrounds of Printworks, the festival will bring a touch of Ireland's relentless energy to Canada Water before the main three-day festival kicks off on 31st May in Belfast.

But before all that, we chatted to Sarah ahead of these events to find out how AVA first came about, how the festival's clientele has evolved, her family's role during the extensive weekend and what's next on the horizon for AVA...

Hi Sarah, thanks for chatting with us ahead of the AVA showcases in Belfast and Printworks here in London later this year. You must be extremely busy at the moment, what are you currently planning in the lead up to these events?

For the Festival we have a lot in planning the lead up. We have our Rinse FM monthly shows, three parties to be announced soon, our Emerging Producer, DJ & Visual Artist programmes, installation submissions, workshops at a few different conferences.

We are buzzing from our Festival announcement. It’s been 5-6 months in the booking & programming phase, so really glad to get it out there and announce acts that we can’t wait to bring to Belfast, and similarly acts we can’t wait to shine a light on from across Northern & Southern Ireland.

Similarly, we are over-the-moon with our AVA London announcement, which is taking place on Friday 15th March, and have announced a full free conference with Bicep, Octave One, Amy Lamé, Ninja, Warp, Abbey Road Studios plus more, followed by a multi-stage evening gig with Mall Grab, Joy O, Job Jobse and a sick lineup of emerging Irish acts.

What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learnt about running such an event since you launched the first AVA weekend back in 2015?

To really value and nurture your relationships with your team and crew, the artists you book, and your audience. You are all in it together, and you need to have as much fun with it as possible.

How has the clientele of AVA changed since the first AVA in 2015?

I would say it has evolved in size, and male to female split is getting close which is great.

I am also extremely happy to say our LGBT audience is really growing in Belfast and that makes me ecstatic. We are an extremely inclusive event, and want to celebrate all walks of life, and give everyone the best possible dance floor.

Regarding the London date at Printworks, how did you curate this particular show compared to the usual Belfast-based affair, is the ethos still the same or did you curate it slightly differently?

We approached the London Programme with the same determination to promote some of the most exciting emerging talent from Ireland, and book some of the most exciting and upcoming International talent. We have a style to our bookings, and we want to ensure to maintain this across all events.

With the conference, we wanted to evolve our relationships with existing partners such as Ninja Tune, Believe & Sentric, and develop new partnerships, including a great new one with Abbey Road Recording Studios.

In an ideal world, where else would you like to take AVA in the future? Berlin perhaps?

Yes, for sure. Our focus for 2019 has definitely been UK & Ireland and really developing this, but we are keen to explore Berlin, Amsterdam, Barcelona and beyond in the future.

We have previously done AVA events in Amsterdam and Mumbai, and this is something we hope to return too.

Why do you think Irish people are especially hungry for the harder, more ravier side of techno which we saw via Sunil Sharpe’s AVA Boiler Room last year? It seems the healthy attitude Irish ravers have towards this kind of sound has remained consistent, despite the many sub-genres of techno which have developed over the years. Why do you think that is?

I think it’s what Belfast is about. The heavy sound has always resonated here, along with house music as well. Belfast crowds are FULL of energy, they give you everything, from when the doors open to when the close (and at the after party). I think also the weather, and the industrial landscape, all lends itself to locking yourself away and have a seriously good deep rave.

We’re hugely interested in what AVA is about outside of the electronic music workshops and DJ sets. Who is behind the visual and production aspect of the festival?

The AVA team is really passionate about design, art, visuals, production and of course music. AVA was founded with the vision to merge Audio, Visual, Arts, so that is always at the forefront of our minds.

Everyone we bring into the inner team is driven by the desire to create a different kind of world across industrial spaces, brought to life by the production and visual aesthetic, from Collie and his sound crew, to Dave and his production team, to Kevin, who is the genius behind our artwork, videos and visuals, and Oisin (of DSNT) who is behind our lighting design, installations and AV as well.

You’re from a creative family, do they lend a hand with the organising etc. on the weekend of the festival?

Yes it’s been a family affair for sure....my dad always lends a hand with driving, my mum in year 1 was running around in a pair of Marigolds (she has swapped that now for a pure techno all black outfit!) and Matt and Andy (Bicep) have played the last few years too! It always has a family vibe backstage, as the whole team and artists are really close. It’s got a special feel.

Is there a significant moment which you remember fondly from one of the AVA’s over the last few years?

Yes - standing on the main stage - during the last set of the night in Year 1 and everyone going nuts and having fun. Looking out over the crowd, I felt elated. That was me hooked. That was the most significant moment, along with the first Boiler Room too, just knowing that we had pulled it off, and the atmosphere was insane. Was momentous.

What advice would you give to someone who’s eager to start their own platform to showcase up-and-coming talent in their area?

Do what you are passionate about, the rest follows. Believe in it, be genuine, and respectful, and give back as much as you can. Life is short, so always have fun in the process.

Finally, leave us with an artist(s) who’s on the bill this year in London and Belfast who we should look out for and why?

JASSS, Palms Trax, Horse Meat Disco, Special Request, Randomer, MCDE, Saoirse and Haai.

AVA London takes place on Paddy's Weekend at Printworks, tickets available here.

AVA's Castle Weekend takes place in Newry on 20th April, tickets available here.

AVA Festival in Belfast takes place on the weekend of 31st May, tickets available here.