The Bonobo touch, ambient beats effortlessly mellow and clear, is best served live.

That subtle nature simmers through his set, a minimalist’s playdance. Bonobo has made comparisons often, in interviews, between the European and American aesthetic, as can be seen through UK house and garage and the ableton-fuelled phenomenon of EDM. The set he DJ’d in Vancouver last Friday at Celebrities suggests the hypnotic tempo and steady beats of that English electronica generally reserved and associated with 3 a.m. after hours parties in North America rather than the go-to cache of guaranteed club bangers.

To no surprise Bonobo drew out the expats and working holiday young’uns to the club, where everyone sounded just a bit British or perhaps Irish, to the undiscerning Canadian ear. For a local pipsqueak DJ in Vancouver who plays at weddings and some clubs on the strip, this would not be the night to play British-ish, or perhaps it was the ideal night. It was a sold-out show, and this speaks to the healthy career of Bonobo. A pioneer of downtempo in the early aughts, Bonobo has continued to evolve and sharpen his sound, to become lumped, in recent years, under the same colloquial breath as Mount Kimbie, Four Tet or even George Fitzgerald.

As an ambient artist, Bonobo is very accessible. Digging deeper, for those who are already fans of the dynamic combo of world and electronic sounds demonstrated by ODESZA, a similar gentle experimentation of “exotic” sounds permeate Bonobo’s works. For those that enjoy a dance floor with the rhythms of UK garage, attending a Bonobo show is not a bad idea. These were several of the instinctive sounds he’d return to in the atmospheric rises and lows to his set.

Captivating and complex, Bonobo played a set lit well into the night.

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Pomo has been gaining a steady profile since leaving Vancouver for Montreal, with the release of The Other Day, a fantastic debut EP via HW&W, and one of the factors to his growing popularity, besides the feel-good grooves, is his touring schedule. Pomo has been snagging favourable opening slots for himself, last year opening for Skylar Spence back when he was still called Saint Pepsi at Fortune Sound Club, and it’s great to see his music associated with similar up-and-coming artists that are beginning to reach wider audiences. Dropping tracks like “Start Again” as well as his AlunaGeorge remix, “Supernatural” into his set, Pomo worked towards upbeat momentum.

Although Spazzkid was not on support for Giraffage during this leg of the tour, local opener, James Deen, proved more than up for the part. Listening to Deen’s On Vacation EP that was released earlier this year, it’s a no-brainer why the Kelowna transplant whose work of trap bounce, similar to the happy style of Australian producers like Wave Racer and Cosmo’s Midnight, would start the night right. The jury’s out on whether Brennan Henderson will, like Saint Pepsi, also have to change his name to avoid legal action from the real James Deen, otherwise known as the American Porn Star Next Door.

Light vibes and gentle builds, Giraffage was sweet with a minimalistic attitude. Quickly incorporating new, original tracks like “Tell Me” and “Hello,” Giraffage exuded personable energy with his perpetually relaxed smile. Giraffage’s released recordings are often optimized for listening during sedate activities that do not require a lot of movement, so it is interesting to see an artist like him live. The entertainment factor would be there, what with his extensive touring history, on the road with established EDM idol, Porter Robinson, and  XXYYXX earlier on in his career. Delivering a futuristic set that was a blend of previous influences, PC trap, cloudy hip hop, downtown indie tempo, Giraffage was enjoyable, to say the least.

If last Wednesday was a showcase, it was bedroom artist talent. Innovative electronic beats collide with humourous pop culture references on the internet, a win-win situation with real world tremors. Return soon, Giraffage.

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Part of the Electric Input, an electronic collective of artists primarily based in Vancouver with members in Kamloops (Nouveau) and Seattle (Shorthand), Jimmy ExYouth (Jimmy Escobar) opened the evening. Connected to Diplo’s Mad Decent label through his work in Expendable Youth, ExYouth was a familiar choice for those who attended the after party to last year’s Seasons Festival, where Tchami rounded up Easter Long Weekend at Shine nightclub that sadly closed its doors last September. It was Sleepy Tom, a high-profile local, who began to fill the dance floor in earnest.

Like Sleepy Tom, Tchami (Martin Bresso), also released his debut EP through Fool’s Gold, the Brooklyn label founded by A-Trak. Promesses/Shot Caller tied this preacher’s sound neatly around syncopated bass lines, and soulful vocals. The danger of this was that an hour into Tchami’s set, it all began to turn into another club exercise of waiting for the drop, and formulas figured out are not exciting. Yet Future House, a name the Parisian producer tagged in jest on Soundcloud, has something undeniably primal to it that, when it gets its hands on the right track or beat, sets off the crazy in people.

As one of the engineers that worked on the Lil Jon/DJ Snake collaboration, “Turn Down for What”, Tchami’s got an intuitive feel for reinventing the wheel. When he played his remix of Oliver $ and Jimi Jules’s “Pushing On?” That bouncy drop! It hits the spot, and it keeps on going. Tchami, beloved on blogs, runs the small risk of backlash, but his intentions with music, as it was clear from the songs he chose to play that night, reminded everyone – don’t take things too seriously.

There were memorable slices from UK house such as Disclosure singles like “F for You” as well as the raunchy opening from Bodyrox’s 2006 hit “Yeah Yeah.” A one hit wonder from an electro-house duo that never captured North America’s ears as they did back in merry old England, “Yeah Yeah” was a pleasant surprise. It was reminiscent in mood to Tchami’s stand-out reworking of “You Know You Like It”, from future bass producer/singer duo, AlunaGeorge, another naughty tune with defiantly coy schoolgirl vocals.

Another rowdy crowd-pleaser was DJ Kool’s “Let Me Clear My Throat”, a not uncommon song on most club nights, Tchami nevertheless stirred up a collective frenzy like a resident DJ on a roll.

With strong supporting acts in Sleepy Tom and Jimmy ExYouth, Tchami live was a good time guaranteed.

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