Joaqopelli, a Native American Basque Gypsy, started Thursday off with a traditional flute performance at the Living Room stage, a beach stage with a casual feel beside the Salmo River.  The song called “Down spirits from the heaven to feel the power of the creator”.   The set was perfect for the 11:11am start, and set the tone for the Living Room stage for the rest of the festival.

The highlight of any music festival is discovering something new.  This year it was Big Gigantic.  The American Duo started in 2008, and combine live performance with “Djing”.  Funk, Dubstep, House, HipHop, Electro Soul, and Jazz all mixed with live drums, saxophone and keys.  The genres were all over the place, but each transitioned seamlessly to the next.  Some technical issues led to a late start, and the stage presence a little stiff at first, but that all became irrelevant as they got into the first song.  The dynamic between the two fits with the improv style that makes the live set so fluid with the audience.

Adam Shakih holds a special place in electronic music for me. He was the first DJ I saw almost a decade ago.  This year he played right after the opening ceremonies in the Grove.  A calming, lawn gnome covered venue in the woods.  The set was very relaxed and complimented the sunshine peeking through the trees.

DJ Anger is the embodiment of the mindset of the westcoast DJ.  The self taught, hip-hop influenced DJ plays a huge range, reggae, bass heavy, funk, breaks and more.  He calls Victoria home, and his influence is embedded in the Vancouver Island music scene.  Anger was the first DJ I photographed almost a decade ago, and has moved into producing, as well as helping aspiring DJs in the community.  He is involved in festivals, events, local sets, producing and DJing all over the place.  He is on one of the hardest working people I have come across.  Anger has helped build and shape the Victoria music scene, and it shows.

Dua & Generic also hail from my hometown of Victoria.  Generic has several DJ comp titles, a resident DJ, he teams up with DUA for big events like Shambles.  His sets are filled with glitch hop, drum and bass, dubstep, broken beats, while scratching and mixing his own tracks in.  This is an artist that is new to me, but after this performance I look forward to more.

Shambhala is more than music, it is a weird concoction of every genre of everything.  Morning yoga everyday, a unicorn parade, tourist guide tours, spirit hood gathering, potlucks, muay thai, tantric yoga, the rocket ship (you are placed between 6 gongs and they send you to outer space), aerial silk, and fashion.

Each year local vendors put on a fashion show, highlighting things for sale, as well as varied, unique creations by artists.  Previous years had outfits made from garbage, cleaning supplies like rubber gloves, and pieces that were not traditional clothing pieces (like rubber chickens).  This year saw a lot of sparkle and shine, with some avian influence.

A voice for independent music and an explosion onto the music scene over the past few years, Griz played a phenomenal set that got the crowd roaring.  I am biased, my two favorite performances this year had live saxophones in them.  Self-described Future Funk is ridiculously appropriate, combining electro-soul, funk and live saxophone is refreshing for those who miss the sax laden songs of the 80s, which apparently I do.  Griz is young, and extremely talented, but I do not think he has peeked yet.  He has come really far, really quickly, touring with big names, and even headlining on his own, but I predict the next couple years there will be major growth into a far more developed and multi-talented artist.  Big Gigantic was the highlight for me, but Griz is someone to watch.

Ill Gates & KJ Sawka are the backbone of bass. KJ Swaka is a member of both Pendulum and Destroid, also providing beats to a ridiculous amount of DJs, while Ill Gates makes production tools used by countless artists.  Ill Gates has collaborated with Bassnectar, Datsik, and more, and this shows in the body-vibrating Bass that exploded from their set.  Halfway through the set I stopped, and tried to separate myself from the music, and all I could feel was my internal organs buzzing.

Authenticity is the sound she strives for. Ill-esha pulls out turntables, vocal loopers, keytars, and more in her set to create a sound all her own.  Her initial foray into music was drum and bass, then into glitch-hop, but she strives to break out of being pinned down to any specific genre.

Scott Jackson was an unscheduled, high-energy suprise.  Either technical issues, or delay created a gap in performers and Jackson stepped up.  Jackson’s skills in beatboxing come from illness, being bed ridden he developed his skill.   “How many of you like Michael Jackson?” he yelled to the crowd before jumping into a medley of songs, followed by a ten minute solo, freestyle beatbox.  This is not an art I am intimately acquainted with, but the range in pitch, sound, a term I have no words for was astounding.  The speed in which he switched between singing and percussion sounds, and jumping from song to song was something I had only seen in YouTube videos, which has minimal impact compared to seeing it in real life.

I was born and raised in Victoria BC, and, in a tongue-in-cheek way, we have a love-hate relationship with Calgary.  This is where I set my holier-than-thou, hippy, west coast, surfer, tree-hugging, granola munching, yoga doing, fishing, snowboarding hat, and legitimately compliment Calgary on its ability to produce musicians. Subvert, from Calgary, has been on the scene almost 20 years, a founding member and lead designer of PK sound, as well as the Village stage director is all about “bass that works”.  Synths, bassline, strings, in glitch and drum and bass create a deep, dark, sexy sound that resonates from the toes to the head.

Fractal Forest.  In the age of technology, Shambhala wants a piece of it to remain mysterious and untouched by the ravages of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp.  As a result, photography is banned in the Forest, thought that did not stop wide-eyed, enthusiastic dancers from sneaking a cell phone pic. Skratch Bastid worked the crowd with ease, but was followed by an unfortunately disappointing set by DJ Jazzy Jeff.  It came off as pop laden, top 40, and when the crowd did not react, he did not change.  I was at his performance in Vancouver last year for Quip, and he read the crowd and brought it to a riotous clamour, playing it like a skilled fiddler. Mix Master Mike faired better, but had lost a lot of the crowd from the previous performance. Neon Steve and Vinyl Ritchie had energetic crowds, while the The Funk Hunters drew a huge, effervescent, excited crowd.

Zed’s Dead.  My very first Shambhala, almost a decade ago, put me in a car with a stranger on the 12-hour (we took two days) drive from Victoria to Salmo.  That ride introduced me to Karl, who had a love for electronic music more than anyone I knew.  We became close friends, and after Shambhala, I would receive a phone call whenever Zed’s Dead was in town.  “What are you doing tonight? It doesn’t matter, Zed’s Dead is here, we’re going”. Karl introduced me to them, among many others. He passed away a few years ago, and I have a special place in my heart, and my calendar whenever I see that they are performing.  I really enjoyed this set, but I will be the first to admit I am entirely biased. I saw Zed’s Dead for Karl, and I have no regrets.

Pretty Lights was surprisingly aggressive, and a little too loud. I enjoyed the set but was expecting a little more laid back from their previous performances, as well as being one of the last headliners on Sunday night.

Shambhala is a triathlon for music lovers.  A hugely varied artist list, and music running from noon-11am in some cases, it takes a dedicated and energetic person to fully appreciate the festival as a whole. Bonobo played his set late Sunday night, and I was barely standing by the time I arrived.  Hailing from Brighton, UK, Simon Green has been doing this for over 10 years and it shows.  I moved around the crowd as much as I could, and the most common phrase overheard was “I love this song” throughout the entire set.  It was a bit more relaxed than previous sets, but fit in with the late night last day crowd.  The set ranged his entire discography, and despite the fatigue of almost 4 straight days of dancing, the crowd refused to let this amazing performance be wasted.

Welcome home is a mantra that fits with Shambhala so well that it is almost comical.  There was not a single person I encountered who did not share the family, community, sharing vibe that the festival puts forward.  Walking from the campsite to the stages, you encounter hundreds of people shouting “Happy Shambhala” “Shappy Hambala” “Welcome home” or just an outrageous, coarsing roar that starts on one side of the farm and ends on the other.  Flags, balloons, costumes, stilts, juggling, instruments and any other skill you can think of is prevalent.  This is truly one of the few places where, no matter who you are, what you do, how you dress, you will be accepted and acknowledged.

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Delhi 2 Dublin is difficult to simply explain, a combination of dub reggae, Celtic fiddle, breakbeats, electronic fusion, folk-hop and generally up beat music with influences from many different parts of the world.  As a whole, the band is energetic with a huge stage presence.  Ravi, who was also celebrating his birthday during the show, plays the dhol, dholak.  This large two-headed drum hung off of him as he jumped, danced, bounced and sang, with an ecstatic ear-to-ear grin the entire set.  Sanjay Seran utilizes his entire body in each song.  Throwing his arms up he draws the crowd in, and jumps forward, leans in and connects with the audience.  His expression changes with each song, but the enjoyment of the crowd response is obvious.  Serena Eades plays a huge range of violin pieces, from haunting classical sounds that resonate in a solo piece, to high-energy Celtic over electronic beats.

The Boom Booms are East Van raised indie soul, with a dedicated fan base.  I had seen them perform at an outdoor event without a stage, interacting with the crowd on a physical level.  Despite the stage separating them from the audience, they maintained a surprisingly intimate presence.  The guitar pieces were tightly played, with funky undertones that add to the soulful feel.  The lead singer is smooth, and a connection between the entire band is evident.  The group grew up together which may explain the ease in which each member plays off each other.  Previous shows had a funkier feel, the Tall Tree set showcased their newer sexy, smooth, soulful sound.

The summer music scene on the west coast would not be complete without Vince Vaccaro.  Born in Montreal, Vaccaro moved to Victoria in his youth, and his music reflects the coast life.  His songs have a story-telling feel influenced by the abundance of nature and beauty that surrounds Vancouver Island.  Standing atop a mountain, surrounded by expansive forest, overlooking the ocean during his performance gives the feeling of being in one of the island inspired songs.

The Valley Stage was quite a bit smaller and completely open.  Situated at the edge of the valley it also was part way between the main stage and the larger campsite area.

DJ Boitano is a Victoria based DJ and radio host with infectious energy, a charming grin and a sense of humour to his set.  Classic songs mixed with others smash into raucous remixes and dance.  Boitano warmed up the audience quickly, and appealed to everyone with a wide array of songs, clips, and 80s and 90s pop-culture references all mixed with modern beats.  His set, although varied, flowed with the precision of someone who revels in the music he plays.

As a whole, Tall Tree has a little bit of everything.  There were only two stages active at anytime, allowing easy access to the full lineup.  Although getting larger every year, Tall Tree maintains a small festival feel that resonates with the west coast.

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Thursday was the night that Otis Jackson Jr. AKA Madlib AKA Quasimoto AKA the headliner, was forced to cancel due to unexpected issues of a personal nature. It was a shame that the versatile, innovative, hip-hop producer had to cancel since it was a highly anticipated show, but the promise of a TBA make-up performance at a later date, as well as Stones Throw providing another one of their artists, DaM-FunK, in Madlib’s stead, made Thursday a win for lovers of groove.

DaM-FunK spun smooth, cool beats that simmered with a fine heat, a steady, constant that never intensified or burned itself out. DaM-FunK would regularly take the mic to talk about the racial use of the N word, which added a provocative, spoken element to the soulful drums and funky guitar riffs. Before Dam-FunK took the floor, Young Braised was on, a local rapper who had his back towards the audience the entire time. Thanks to Soledad Muñoz, twin stacks of televisions framed Jaymes Bowman as they shone out a live feed of him rapping about Haruki Murakami, among other things. Braised and Muñoz explored authenticity and separation in life through screens, with Braised’s face turned to the wall and Muñoz manipulating his image to look straight at us.

Sandwiched between an American and a European, Young Braised was a burst of local flavour. Positioning local artists within a global context is what makes NFF stand out as a festival, and it was the same on Friday with Jesse Bru and Cloudface taking the stage early. Bru, the Montreal transplant from BC, was on the first floor, where the stage was set up in a cosy space created by the winding staircase that led up to the second floor. In comparison to the upstairs stage that carried a dense and heavy atmosphere conducive to the dark techno that would be a familiar sound heard through the night, the stage on the first floor was positively brightened by upbeat house.

While German producer, Jacob Korn, delivered an hour of fun house, irresistible to move to, another German, Helena Hauff, would be working on a badass set that took its dancers for an absolute pounding. Like Alina Astrova, who performed Thursday under the moniker Inga Copeland, Hauff dropped a combative set that was intensely demanding and delightfully troubling.

Projection-based video art like Wallpapers by a collective of artists (Nicolas Sassoon, Sylvain Sailly, Krist Wood, Laura Brothers, Brenna Murphy, Rollin Leonard, Lorna Mills, Rick Silva, and Sara Ludy) was displayed upstairs, where psychedelic prints, gif loops, and vegetative patterns rotated at intervals. Tucked around the corner, hidden just behind fabric curtains, was Light Bar, an installation bar created by Instant Coffee to explore light therapy by mixing tiny mojitos for the depressed.

On the final night, the space on the second floor was repurposed into one big room that remained impenetrably black. British DJs, Visionist and Wen, made use of it with Visionist’s hard, thundering bass vibrating the ribcage, and Wen playing dirty with twisted, strong beats.

While NFF wrapped up at Science World officially on Saturday, free outdoor performances as well as after-parties made it hard to tell when it actually ended. DJs Sotofett and Fett Burger, Norwegian brothers who started up the techno label Sex Tags Mania, scored the afternoon away with sounds like reggae, R&B, and garage, to name a few, to a chilled-out crowd on an unnaturally sunny day.

It was a dreamy send-off for a popular and challenging arts and music festival. It’ll be a worthwhile wait to see NFF top themselves again next year.

The post The dome of electronic phenomena: New Forms Festival 2014 appeared first on Quip Magazine.

What is normally a hyped-up festival began with chaotic guesswork; it was difficult to know which of the multitude of bands to catch without hours of listening beforehand. This year, the four-day music festival in Victoria, BC, took on an outer space theme, and the tagline “A weekend of discovery,” a statement which has never been more true.

Thankfully, on the flipside, what the festival does best is unify the city and its residents over four nights of spontaneity, all in the name of the unexpected. What makes Rifflandia, or Riff, so unique in the first place is its multi-venue approach, in addition to two main stages located at Royal Athletic Park, better known as the “Park”, Riff 2014 managed to book over 150 artists at 15 venues located around Victoria – no small feat for the size of the city.

Highlights included a flashy lights show to Tiger and Woods and a retro performance by Cool that can only be described as “rad.” (They sold tapes instead of records or CDs – I’d call that pretty Cool.)

But the real cherry on top was Pickwick’s performance at the gorgeous Alix Goolden Hall church on Friday night. After crowds had listened to hours of mediocre electronica, they offered up incredible energy, spirit, and unexpected beauty. The six-piece indie rock band from Seattle invoked a sense of realness, not to mention flawless acoustics that amounted to the perfect Rifflandia moment.

Half Moon Run also delivered tight performances on both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, in what were, perhaps, the most current and highly anticipated shows the festival had to offer this year.

Alternatively, Born Ruffians delivered a lukewarm performance at the Park on Friday, followed by the adorable Dragonette, who, despite being somewhat of a has-been, literally appeared out of dry ice, getting the audience’s hands high in the air with old favourites.

Over the course of the weekend, the Park boasted the usual array of food trucks, mini shops and merch, including Rifflandia t-shirts with “September Forever” in caps across the front. In typical festival fashion, hipsters with floral crowns spent long afternoons soaking up the last of the summer sun. Rifflandia is a festival that captures the spirit of summer and holds it in its palm for one last time.

To conclude a weekend full of surprises, an actual meteor streamed across the sky during Death Cab for Cutie, eerily matching this year’s galactic theme. It’s moments like this that make Riff just so damn magical. It’s quite simply hard not to love Rifflandia.

While the initial release of the lineup suffered from a little bit of backlash, as always, fans of the much-loved festival (or rather, everyone in Victoria) came crawling back and it was no less out of this world than it has been in the past. Cheers, Rifflandia. And here’s to next year.

See more photos from the festival here.

The post A weekend of discovery at Rifflandia music festival appeared first on Quip Magazine.

The band is a reaction against the seriousness with which many bands take themselves and their music. It is also a concept that bleeds into their aesthetic: performing at Vancouver’s Media Club Tuesday night, Marlon Magnée (vocals, keys) wore a bubblegum pink leather jacket, while Clémence Quélennec (vocals, keys) brought out her best Egyptian vogue moves. Without sacrificing that certain je ne sais quois charm, the six members of La Femme played a fun-filled kitsch set.

The opening act, Mesa Luna, affectionately named after the defunct local music hub on West Broadway, was called in last minute as special guests, and it was, as Justice McLellan mused, their first show together as a band. Having formed only six months ago, Mesa Luna is McLellan and Alex Cooper, who are currently signed to Tim Clapp’s DIY label, Kingfisher Bluez. Their first show was an experience similar to watching friends do karaoke in the bedroom, which is to say it was intimate and endearing. Still experimenting with their sound and live line-up, Mesa Luna performed songs off their 7-inch record, where the electro synth number “Shutting Down” made for an enchanting closer.

La Femme began their set shortly after and it became clear, if it wasn’t so before, that the French speakers gathered in the room rivaled the English ones. But, like the set La Femme played, though the words were in French, nothing got lost in the translation.

“Sur la planche 2013”, a song appropriately enough about surfing, got the crowd moving with its steady waves of intensity built upon by Quélennec’s soft vocals. “Packshot” and “Amour dans le motu” were just as high-spirited, but with an added Halloween kick. The theremin, the electronic instrument that gave these tracks their haunting bite, was played by Sacha Got, who toyed a little with telekinetic prowess.

Continuing the spooky thrills, “La femme” rang with ye-ye joy brought to life with Quélennec’s chic and chilly voice. Quélennec was riveting to watch, largely due to her dancing. With the poker face of Margot Tenenbaum, Quélennec executed flawless moves like a young Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction.

Magnée, as lead male vocal counterpart, was as magnetic to watch, what with his dyed blonde hair and his jumping into the middle of the crowd midway through the set. Some of La Femme’s catchiest songs involved Magnée and Quélennec sharing a duet of sorts, such as on “Hypsoline” and “Antitaxi”, a powerful anthem about taking the bus.

All things said and considered, La Femme pulled off a show that was as captivatingly eccentric as it was musically eclectic.

The post Spooky surf: La Femme live at The Media Club appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Rifflandia takes place over four days at venues around downtown Victoria (Vancouver Island’s largest and most populated city), with two main stages at Royal Athletic Park. It’s kind of like a choose-your-own-adventure. Plus, Victoria is so small that you see everyone you know, making it one of those magical, all-nighter adventures you talk about for months afterwards.

A strange mix of old school electro, indie rock, and Canadian talent, this year’s festival also turned out to be pleasantly hip-hop heavy and a little bit nostalgic.

Hot Hot Heat played on Saturday afternoon and sounded exactly like they did on the radio, circa 2004. Stars, Hawksley Workman and Souls of Mischief also graced the festival with their old school ways. (Souls are getting a bit old by the way – wasn’t ‘93, like, twenty years ago?)

But that’s not to say Rifflandia is for the uncool. Oozing West Coast everything – from trendy food trucks to colourful hippie fashions – there were a ton of great acts and, unfortunately, not enough time to see them all, even when running from venue to venue. Kid Koala, Mykki Blanco, and Bosnian Rainbows (Omar Rodríguez-López’s new project) were a few of the standout performances.

St. Lucia was also a breath of fresh air. They were so good live, in fact, they could have converted many a nonfan into die-hard supporters. Despite some technical difficulties, their set ended on a high note with the much-loved hit “September,” which was probably the highlight of the festival, as well-dressed West Coasters swayed in the afternoon sun.

Wintersleep was another highlight, drawing in a more wholesome crowd. They played a tight set, appropriately timed during nice weather, “You guys are fun. This is awesome!” they shouted, after playing their gorgeous new single, “Nothing Is Anything”.

In true festival fashion, rain poured during the headliners on the final night, making the whole experience a little more authentic, if not hardcore. The rain cast a spell on people drunkenly grooving to the last of the live music. Big Boi stole the show as he sat on a throne and pumped out his famous rhymes, including a few OutKast hits, obviously.

Matt & Kim also gave an outstanding performance that could have been hit or miss. Their fun energy in songs such as the brilliant “Let’s Go” and “Block After Block” remixed with hip hop beats, made up for the cold, blustery rain. Finally, it felt like a badass West Coastin’ festival.

Despite seamless vocals by Jade Castrinos, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros delivered an extremely lacklustre close to the weekend, especially in comparison to last year’s performance by Mother Mother, who topped off the festival with an epic, upbeat show.

The rain finally stopped, and crowds tiredly yawned their way home to recoup from four days of hearty fun.

Rifflandia, while still figuring out its direction as a festival, is most definitely the magical, mystery kind, with a little love and nostalgia, too.

The post All the magical moments at Rifflandia Music Festival appeared first on Quip Magazine.