My Shambhala 2015 Wishlist - Part 1

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My first Shambhala was in 2013 and it couldn’t have been a more positive experience musically. I went into it completely unaware, “Open heart and open mind” was the motto, and definitely found the entry point into the world of DJs there. In that time I’ve become a pretty big fan, though my heart still lies elsewhere. So, you, expert EDM person, might find my wishes and tastes rudimentary and lacking in things like DnB and aggressive dubstep and whatever the hell else y’all kids listen to these days. I’m like Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon (TOFTS) and just want tasty hip-hop and funk-heavy grooves. Some of these are realistic wishes and some of them are just completely Shambs-dreaming. Whatever. It’s a fun exercise either way.

The Polish Ambassador

Ideal Stage: The Grove

How perfect would the Polish Ambassador, “the World’s Funkiest Diplomat,” be for the Grove? His masterpiece record from last year, Pushing Through the Pavement, is taylor-made for the hippie, world-beat loving audience of the Grove. It’s laid-back, groovy hip-hop weirdness at its finest and all those tribal drumbeats would sound too fine blasting out of those lovely PK speakers (As most things do, admittedly). Sometimes I think the good homey PA is too laid back for a some of my EDM-loving friends, but he’d fit perfectly here and provide me with enough tasty funks to appease me if for some reason Opiuo doesn’t make the trip. I can’t stress how good of a fit this is. The Ambassador’s Permaculture Tour campaign is a fucking fascinating inspiration and makes me happy that someone with a voice is trying so hard to fuse his love of and care for the Earth with his hip-hop art. That’s a Victory.

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5 Questions with Rags #11 - Dane Roberts (Victoria Ska Society)

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Dane is a fixture here at homebase in Victoria. He's responsible for bringing some of the most consistently fun, diverse concerts we get every year, and that's not even taking into consideration the annual Victoria Ska Fest, hands down the best week of music in the city every year. I've managed to catch him for a couple conversations here and there but never talked as long as we talked here. Brother is completely delightful and came through with thoughtful responses to my silly little questions. Much respect.

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1. What was the first album that you went out to buy with your own money?

It wasn’t my first album but I do remember one I liked in particular…we used to get tapes…I’m trying to remember…When I was 13 and 12…Jeez, that’s a really tough question. I do remember one significant purchase that even though I had bought albums far before that I can’t remember…I had a tape deck in my car with subs in high school and was always listening to cool music. I had a Datsun P210, ’77 Orange Datsun I used to drive to Cedar Hill Junior Secondary. I used to have a booster cushion because I was pretty short. My mom would say, “Sweetheart, remember your booster cushion.”

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5 Questions with Rags #10 - Chuck Robertson (of the Mad Caddies)

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Confession: Second-wave ska music kind of makes me insane. I want to like it, I really do. Everyone involved with it seems pretty cool and people in the crowds are always jovial and peaceful, but man, something about it makes me want to punch someone in the face. And as a guy who’ll have a big puff and listen to Run the Jewels with no inclination to punch another face, this is really saying something. A couple of years ago the Mad Caddies, a band with 20 years under their belts and a total of zero listens from your truly, headlined the Victoria Ska Fest (the greatest music week on the Victoria calendar) and I was more than pleasantly surprised with what I saw. These cats rock and burn, throwing every genre scrap they can into their “ska” and making something honest and uniquely theirs. The good homey and frontman Chuck was super cool to oblige me with some time while he was waiting for his California hotel room to be ready.

1. What was the first album you went to buy with your own money?

It was at a place called Records, Etc. I think by the time I started shopping there at age 7 or 8 they still had records, but they definitely mostly had cassettes, rock ‘n’ roll posters and posters of Ferraris and stuff. The first tape I bought was Billy Idol’s Vital Idol, if you can believe it. <laugh> That was the first tape I bought with my own lawn-mowing money. After that it was all Guns ‘n’ Roses, Metallica, Poison, lots of glam rock.

Do you still listen to any of that stuff?

Well, a lot of that glam rock didn’t really stand up to the test of time except for Guns ‘n’ Roses and a few Motley Crue tunes.

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5 Questions with Rags #9 - DJ Dubconscious

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If you've been around electronic music in BC for any length of time or if you've made the trek to the EDM-mecca that is Shambhala, you're probably at least passingly familiar with the name Dubconscious. Dude makes some tasty, reggae-based music that never fails to energize and dose the listener with positivity. He's a fixture on the Living Room Stage at Shambhala, the chillest zone at the festival. He had been on my radar for the 5 Questions for a little while now and when he got me confused on ye olde Facebook with another person who goes by "Rags" (WTF?!), I took the opportunity to test his interest and BOOM! It happened.

Catch the good homey Dubconscious playing with Moontricks in Vancouver on Friday, Jan.23 at the Electric Owl at the monthly "Kootenay Time" show. Check the FB page for the show info.

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1. If the world was about to end and you go to anywhere in the world and grab one piece of culture what would you grab? And you can’t say the Internet, because a couple people have done that and I’ve closed that loophole…

I would say soundsystem culture and Jamaican reggae heritage. Soundclashes, vintage reggae, 45s, deejaying and toasting and roots reggae. That’s kind of the one thing that comes to mind.

If you could only take one guy’s Soundsystem who would you poach it from?

If I was going to cover all my bases and it was only going to be one it would be David Rodigan. He’s been huge in reggae/dancehall  for a long time but now he’s kind of adjusted with the times and keep himself updated, rolling with Chase Status and Shy FX and that stuff. So I think that would be my #1.

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Top Songs of 2014 (Subconciously ranked.)

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I guess I’m supposed to do some sort of year-end round-up thing. These things always feel kind of forced and I really, really loathe pitting art against art in some kind of relative combat. This isn’t a competition. So, in the spirit of that, he is a short list of songs from this year that had a lasting effect on me. They are in no order except the order that they appeared in my head. I suppose that might be a gauge of how much I loved them, so maybe that’s my subconscious ranking them as such. There you go.

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Sturgill Simpson – Turtles All The Way Down

Remember when the Highwaymen released “The Highwayman?” That was some real bad-ass mystical reincarnation shit. Maybe the titular Highwayman has found his way back in the form of Sturgill Simpson. It’s entirely possible, right? Who else has the balls to making such traditional country music singing about the positive elements of psychedelics? This isn’t about drinking beer down at the fishin’ hole shit, this is some serious expand-your-mind-and-learn-yourself-and-you’ll-love-your-brothersandsisters stuff here. Obviously all of this is just shtick if it’s not being delivered by an incredibly talented performer and writer, both of which Simpson most assuredly is. (Listen to “Just Let Go.” Fuck) His album Metamodern Sounds in Country Music is pretty much great across the board and worth your $10 on bandcamp. It’s amazing watching this guy gain so much steam with no radio support whatsoever. Thanks Joe Rogan for using your mighty reach to bring the good Sturgill to the people. (Props to Rob Porter for the cover photo.)

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