With a sound that folds in ragga jungle, DnB, UKG, and whatever the occasion calls for, Christchurch-based junglist Little Bird and bass addict Baddie have reaped quite a standing as the magnetic duo Bad Birds, barraging numerous concerts and festivals since their formation in 2022.
When we first interacted with Bridie Sinclair aka Little Bird, it was the artist’s second time at the hallowed Rolling Meadows extravaganza. Now a regular of the festival and a staple of the Kiwi music scene, we delved further into the foundations of Little Bird, Baddie, their set at Rolling Meadows, and how lauded queens of vibe Bad Birds came to be.
Fresh off their hour-long performance at the Canopy stage at Rolling Meadows, melding in an assortment of heavy rollers, funk, and techy drum & bass, DJ Little Bird shares with us, “I’m starting to feel like a veteran! This one was incredible because I got to bring my bestie Baddie and perform as Bad Birds. We were on at the same time as some pretty big acts but still pulled a great crowd.”
Georgia Lacey, under the alias Baddie, also pitched in about her experience at Rolling Meadows, saying: “I still can’t believe it honestly as we had so much fun on that stage! Our set was an hour-long mixer of heavy rollers, neuro, dancefloor, and a little bit of jump-up. The vibes we great, the crowd sang along to a couple of tunes and loved it!”
“Bad Birds started off as a joke.”
Knowing that Bad Birds’ inception began as a joke leans toward a jaw-dropper of a comment, however, as with most ventures in life with your closest pals, it is often the witty moments that lead to momentous milestones. “Bad Birds (BB) started off as a joke. We moved in together in January 2022 and we started jamming daily. We realized quite fast we had amazing musical chemistry and BB’s was our daily creative outlet,” said Little Bird, tracing back the origins of the DJ duo.
The pair were then asked to play a b2b set and stirred up quite a few names for their collaborative project, with Little Bird commenting, “We made up some names and had a good laugh about Bad Birds but chose it anyway and it stuck and then before we knew it, everyone loved it and it was a thing and the thing stuck. We’ve been besties ever since.”
“It’s everything I’ve ever wanted. I used to dream about playing music to people and watching them lose themselves in the music.”
– Little Bird
Going in-depth with Little Bird, she turns back the clock on her musical origins, pointing out moments in her life wherein she learned to mix trance and hard-house on vinyl at the age of 14, was a guiding hand at under-18 dance parties, took a break due to illness and then recovered and self-learned to mix digitally to eventually christen her moniker of Little Bird.
“The name Little Bird comes from my childhood nickname,” she says. “My first name is Bridie and everyone would transpose the R and the I and call me Birdie. So I played around with a few variations but since I’m quite short (5’3) I settled on Little Bird.”
“It’s everything I’ve ever wanted. I used to dream about playing music to people and watching them lose themselves in the music. Creating that experience for people no matter the genre is beautiful!” Little Bird’s early influences include Bob Marley, Salmonella Dub, Fat Freddys Drop, and Tahuna Breaks, and she is also a fan of artists Congo Natty, Aries, and Aphrodite, DJ Hybrid, Conrad Subs, Euphonique, and MCs like Navigator and General Levy.
“I’m from the UK originally where garage and DnB are huge, so I was exposed to music from an early age”
– Baddie
Thriving under the moniker Baddie, Georgia Lacey dipped into her roots in the UK, which propelled her career in DJing. “I’m from the UK originally where garage and DnB are huge, so I was exposed to music from an early age. My stepdad is a DJ so I’ve been around DJing since I was a teen.” Baddie took her DJing skills live for the first time at a gig called Shift in 2022, and she now recalls the fun and support of “an incredible first experience.”
“2023 was definitely a great year for Bad Birds as well as solo artists too. We are so grateful for all the support we have gotten along the way, and are very excited to see what 2024 has in store for us!”
– Baddie
Darting ahead to a promising 2024, Bad Birds jot down music festivals they have set their sights on. Little Bird notes that worldwide, there are an ample number of stages she’d like to grace. “Your Paradise in Fiji also looks right up my alley! Internationally – Hospitality on the Beach or Boomtown and Locus in Tulum! I love Mexico and was lucky enough to spend some time in Tulum a few years back so would jump at the chance to go back and play music there.”
Closer to home on the Bad Birds’ checklist boast Shipwrecked, Snow Machine, Northern Bass, and No Trace Events. Georgia chimed in, manifesting, “Northern Bass would be so awesome! Also Boomtown or Let it Roll of course.”
To conclude our effervescent conversation, we probed the duo into sharing their best moments onstage to date. Unanimously, the response was their rousing performance at the Solidarity Festival 2023. “My favorite festival experience was Solidarity, and not because of the performing aspect but for what it is. I love being a part of the crew and seeing the festival go from a blank canvas to full swing. It is bringing together a great community of people. I can’t wait to see what we create this year!” says Bridie while Georgia notes, “Performing as Bad Birds at Solidarity 2023 will definitely be up there with one of my favorite performances.”
Discover BadBirds on: Soundcloud | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Find DJ Little Bird on: Soundcloud | Instagram | Facebook
Baddie on: Soundcloud | Instagram
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