Sarah Story leads from the front. A broadcaster and DJ, she blends her contagious effervescence with impeccable taste. Building her rep with Capital’s ever-essential Weekender show, the host then switched to Radio 1, helming their vital Future Dance platform.
Since then, her profile has exploded, with Sarah Story now widely regarded as one of the most influential tastemakers in UK dance music. Coupled to this, her DJ sets are a potent cross-section of electronic flavours, continually switching it up to surprise fans.
Bringing down the curtain on a typically hectic summer, Sarah Story hits MiNT Festival this coming weekend. Running between September 16th to 17th, this fresh boutique event brings a heavenly host of dance fans to Newsam Green Farm in Yorkshire.
Sarah takes pride of place on the carefully curated line-up, which also finds room for VTSS, Jayda G, Chaos in the CBD, Absolute, Hector Oaks, Archie Hamilton, Ben Hemsley and Enzo Siragusa.
Ahead of this, Clash sat down with Sarah Story to discuss her defining dance anthems from this glorious summer.
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Wallace – ‘Ayo!’
This is my tune of the summer, it’s all about the piano! Blondish played it at Brunch in Barcelona and I immediately needed a copy. Everyone from Moxie to Luke Unabomber have been supporting and it finally came out on digital at the end of August.
The piano drop is such a moment and it always get’s an amazing reaction whenever I’ve played it out at either Pikes, Hi or Fabric. So many DJs have asked me for a copy, even Pete Tong asked for the Track ID! I also made it my Future Dance Track ID on my BBC Radio 1 show. I will be playing this out for a very long time!
Relax My Eyes – ‘ANTOR‘
I played this on my show back in November 2022 but over the last nine months it’s really grown into a summer anthem. Whenever I’ve played it out, nearly every person in the crowd knows the words. That’s when you know a record is massive.
ANTOR release such classy records and haven’t given in to making super fast music which I rate as it’s such a trend. They’re keeping it classy. All hail ANTOR!
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Borai & Denham Audio – ‘Make Me‘
This edit has been around for a few years but finally at the start of 2023 the sample got cleared and it went turbo! La La played it in her Lab London set and after going viral became an instant club hit.
I love the 90s trend at the moment which I think has evolved from lockdown. People just want to hear happy music which is why so many DJs are dropping big club classics at the end of their sets.
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Peggy Gou – ‘(It Goes Like) Nanana’
You can’t escape this record. You have kids singing it on the school run to people dancing to it in DC10, the power of Peggy Gou! A Top 10 hit in the UK and globally a massive chart success with DJs across the board playing it out. Not many artists have ever been able to balance between underground and mainstream but Peggy does it incredibly well. Love it or hate it, it’s a massive hit!
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Marlon Hoffstadt – ‘It’s That Time‘
I’ve been supporting both Marlon Hoffstadt and his alias Daddy Trance (what a name) over the last year and love how fun his productions are. This track has really taken off over the last month since he dropped it in his Boiler Room. It’s a chaotic, brilliant dance track that the crowd love!
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‘You’re In My System’ (Faster Horses Remix)
@sarahstory One of the greatest tracks! 🐐 So buzzing with the reaction so far to my @Boiler Room from @FLY 🥹 Get it on at the afters this weekend! #youreinmysystem #fasterhorses #boilerrooom #sarahstory #flyedinburgh #flyopenair #kerrichandler #flyfestival #electronicmusic #djstream #femaleproducer #newmusic #ravetok #rave #womenoftiktok #scotland ♬ original sound – Sarah Story
I’ve always been a massive fan of the original but struggled to play it out as it’s quite slow. When I discovered this Faster Horses remix on Soundcloud I couldn’t wait to play it out. The track went viral on TikTok from my Boiler Room and it made me realise that people still love classy house music. It needs an official release!
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Chris Stussy – ‘All Night Long’
This blew up on Tiktok after he played it in his in Lab London set and it’s been a firm favourite in the clubs all summer. It always gets a massive reaction when I play it out. Even though the drop isn’t huge I think because the first half of track (three and half minutes) feels like one big build, the drop feels more dramatic and people just go mad to it.
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Sarah Story plays MiNT Festival on September 16th – grab your ticket now, https://www.mintfestival.co.uk/tickets.
