A love of bass has kept the scene alive in British Columbia's biggest city, and now things are looking as strong as they've ever been according to RA's Andrew Ryce.

Excellent article! Keep 4 on the floor . In Edmonton we are slowly building up the house and techno scene as well...but it will take some time to listener's tastes to mature. One step at a time. On another note...amazing to see top techno names rolling through Vancouver. Pumped to make the pilgrimage to Detroit this year!

sounds better than ottawa

hell yea vancouver! I just don't see how you didn't mention the local group Subversive whos recent events (Peter Van Hoesen, DVS1) have absolutely put to shame every other event I have gone to in this city, not to mention one of their main promoters who recently passed away

wow... and I was living there... gonna go cry in the corner. LOL

man, i'd love to go to vancouver...open studios looks like a top venue

No mention of Jay Tripwire, Subversive, Intimate, Nordic Trax or any of the underground house scene that's been thriving in Vancouver since the '90s.

Andi - who's been promoting events for about a year - gets a paragraph interview and coincidence, who's deejaying with him...the author.

Nice to see some love for Open Studios. Would be great to see you dig a little deeper.

It's true that I didn't get to mention everything I wanted to, but you can only go so deep in an article that's already 3500 words - had to cut a lot of stuff out. Despite Andi's relative nascency on the scene, he's been a major fixture in that time, and this article is focusing more on the present than anything else. I think his inclusion is justified. Subversive's bookings are mentioned. I had initially planned to include a much larger section on techno in Vancouver involving the BODY guys, Subversive, et al, but, alas, space constraints.

Imho with 3500 words you could have made room for other active groups in the local scene - sustainability is a good thing and should be celebrated.

Notwithstanding that, nice to see some love for the 'Couv on RA. About time!

Super agree with Sven . Subversive is killing it ! But great article

Yeah, lots of complaints over the lack of mention of Subversive and I'm just going to add one to that. Cool article, but huge miss on that front! Haven't lived in Vancouver for a number of years but I go back about twice a year and always hit up the techno events! Great shows with the DEEP guys and Subversive.

Obviously the article can't be perfect its great. But if i personally had to cut something out it wud be blueprint not subversive. lol why is Blueprint even there haha

Dissed by my own city again..what else is new.

No one was "dissed." Blueprint was included to have a mainstream perspective. It would be even more inaccurate to pretend like they're not a force in this city.

^fuck it Jay, real music fans here know and appreciate everything you do

"There's no douchebags, and if douchebags go to Fortune, they get converted—or they'll never come back, because they realize they're not welcome there."

oh, there are def douchebags at fortune

Open Studios is by far my favorite place to see EDM here. You Plus One has brought in some cool stuff lately (Lee Burridge... although I thought his set wasn't that great, and far too short) but Shine is a shitty place to see EDM

Michael Red needs a shout out!

Did anyone complaining actually read the article or did you just CTRL+F "Subversive" and your own name(s) and come here and bitch about it?

I've put tons of my free time into documenting the Vancouver music scene over the past year. It's not a matter of not appreciating the people doing good things in this city or not being a "real music" fan. I don't see very many people going to the same lengths that I have to get the word out elsewhere about what's going on in this city. You can't possibly expect every important name to get mentioned. This article in particular was about expressing a well-rounded view of the city: there's techno, there's "bass," and there's the mainstream stuff.

There were so many more people I wanted to interview but there's just not room. My apologies to anyone who feels left out, it's not on purpose and there's CERTAINLY no malicious intent here—out to everyone who's ever tried to do anything musically in Vancouver.

^i thought overall it was a good article, def appreciate your efforts man. find me on the dancefloor and ill buy ya a drink

In my experience the W2 and Open Studios have played host to the best electronic events in the city. Notably Prosumer and more recently DVS1. I've been to Ibiza, berlin, and Playa del Carmen for the BPM festival but those aforementioned shows have been some of the most inspirational and best i've ever encountered. When you go to a good show that has a lot of members from the community present, the vibe and atmosphere is as electric as anywhere in the world IMO.

For the record Shine is no venue for an electronic event. The sound destroy my ears, and although some of the residents play solid music, the main guy always drops tracks with cheesy vocals. Ruins it for me. Also the people aren't really in the scene and the night of lee burridge, a DJ i really respect, was terrible. Now I have a dilemma, Buttrich is playing this friday but i dont know if I can withstand that venue again. Respect to You Plus one Group for trying though (my 2 cents)

Good article! Andrew Ryce - dont know how I haven't met you out before seeing as you live in Vancouver and are an RA contributor. Lol maybe one day.

DJs and promoters are generally a bitchy/complainy lot. Much love to all the promoters/djs in this town, but you shouldn't take it so personally. This is a broad overview for someone who has maybe never been here before and want to get a general lay of the land.

Big ups to RA for even MENTIONING Vancouver, let alone having a banner story on it.

"Not everyone is so optimistic, and Ulis has a differing opinion: "I prefer to keep the underground underground. I don't think hiding it is the way to do it, but there are only so many people in Vancouver that are interested in music. Most people are interested in going out and getting wasted... [not] having a life changing evening because of some music.""

I wouldn't say this is a pessimistic view, I would prefer to think of it as realistic. I would prefer that the pne rave crowd didn't ever find Open Studios. One of the reasons I stepped away from Dubstep (aside from the direction the music was taking) was because the parties went from being intimate vibey events to gnarly fluorescent over the top productions. I do want to have real moments connecting with music and for those moments to happen I need to be in the right environment. (my right environment just happens to be intimate and vibey)

I am also having this dilemma. Pretty sure I'm just gonna save $ and not go. save up for Dirtybird / Thugfucker weekend which will surely wreck my wallet.

Agree He who shall not be named- main guy at shine needs to stop with those cheezy vocals

Awareness from the whole world is great for Vancouver artists, however I wonder if writing an article like this helps the scene that much locally. The way it's presented I'm not sure if the article is about the quality of the local art & music scene or just any scene where there might be some "booze & party favors without top40" available. It's not bad just kinda confusing.

Secondly I speculate that mentioning things like running a business as a regular party spot that allows smoking and drinking till 6am (for which there is no permit or license available in the lower mainland) in a public magazine article is not a great idea for the longevity of said business. Especially when summer (hunting season for bored VPD) is just around the corner.

Just sayin.

Good to have an article on Vancouver on RA. Although it is quite strange Jay Tripwire was left out. He's probably one of the most active Dj/Producer from Vancouver on the international House music scene. Also quite a shame Subversive gets no mention.

Thanks for the article. Pretty informative as someone not from Vancouver but who pops in from time to time. Also considering how every other post is about Jay and Subversive I'm pretty a lot of readers will find out about them in the comments.

604!!

Very nice feature, Andrew. Well written and to the outsider it gives a good perspective on Vancouver. Very Cool City!!! Glad to see them get some positive attention.

Never been to Vancouver, but I really enjoyed this article, it sounds like a great scene with a substantial number of promoters and great venues. Thanks!

JAY TRIPWIRE, SUBVERSIVE, TJ HOOKER, NORDIC TRAX?! Subversive has been doing HITEK SOUL since 2009. Tripwire for more than a DECADE. At least the true heads know where the scene lies. VISIT is awesome Scott and Cedric are amazing dudes. Just need more love for everyone who deserve credit. TJ started booking and gave hope to everyone who is doing it now. Without him who would know where these hipsters would be at.

Andrew Rice is lives in Vancouver.

Respect @PL

LOL @ ALL THE SNIVELLING BITCHES THAT DIDN'T GET NAME DROPPED...SUCK IT UP BUTTERCUP

havnt been 'home' in years but looking forward to a visit next month...

very necessary to reiterate: respect to jay tripwire...tj... luke mckeehan /nordic trax...
...calamalka on the dub tip ...live p.a. scene ie. sequential circus

others gone inlclude the mole... circlesquare...

- what ever happened to the chic venue Aisle 45? The Woods?

r.i.p.
***********************
-sugar refinery
-bassix
-futuristic flavour
-jewel of india
-ms. t's
-your stolen bicycle
-youth culture etc. etc. etc.

.p.s...good to hear things looking up.

Amazing City


Proposed to my fiancée at the top of Grouse Mountain can't wait to go and play back there : )

Full disclosure: I work with almost all the venues listed in the article (including the Commodore, which also didn't make the cut). I feel it's a real mistake to try and identify one "cool" venue or crowd, as though that exists in abstract. There are too many variables in the scene: any party can be ruined by hipsters, kids, douchebags, gangsters, poor deejaying or a combination of all of the above - that is a fact.

On the upside, this thread has connected me with some long lost music family! I don't think a message board thread in Vancouver has had this much action since "the scene" on clubzone back in the middle of the last decade, so at least people are talking.

Don't you mean clubvibes

Hah I love that Andrew had to post a comment with this line of text:

"out to everyone who's ever tried to do anything musically in Vancouver."

Good fucking lord.

Big ups Andrew for repping Canada's West Coast on the global platform.

While it's nice to see a spotlight on Vancouver, overall I was disappointed with this article.

A bit long winded , a little short sighted and almost borderline disrespectful to those who've been paving the way in the Vancouver edm scene for over 20+ years and are still active.

The Waldorf is a great space (Hideaway is one of my favorites in the city), but the majority of the crowd is completely clueless as to who's playing. Not to mention rude and highly obnoxious at times. This has made for some uninspiring nights during some of my favorite acts. My sentiments are shared by many friends who've experienced edm culture around the world at many of the top clubs/parties.

On a site as influential as RA, you're going to have to dig much deeper into the scene in order to connect the dots to offer a broader perspective that;s more in tune with what RA offers and what I as a reader would expect.

Surprised there was no mention of the lotus, or the impact it's closing had on Vancouver's electronic scene in losing a weekly. But now there's YOU+ONE at shine, which is the only weekly house techno night. . Nor any mention of the current promoters (subversive, intimate, system) who had kept that place going for almost a decade and who are still throwing parties on a regular. These are the parties where you'll find your typical dance music heads, diverse crowds..etc.

Big ups to blueprint and their crew, but they shouldn't have been mentioned in this article. This is RA, not ION magazine or discobelle. The space could have been spent better showcasing promoters who actually book acts that are recognized on RA's top dj chart, or just RA in general.

You did scratch the surface by bringing up places like Open, and guys like Scott, Derek, Max, and that whole circle. Could have used less talk about venue politics, more talk about the music and where to find it.

Thankfully the comments section should help anyone who's interested in experiencing another side of the house/techno/dnb/dub/ etc. scene, that's been happening way before the W2 opened.


Just my two cents.

has You Plus One actually brought in any techno? they keep saying "we want more house and techno" but every event of theirs ive been to has been straight house

Venting your frustration at the exclusion of some people in this article by insinuating that other people mentioned in this article are not into "real music" or are "hipsters" is some low brow ish. Every promoter mentioned in this article has gone out on a limb and booked people because they dug their music and often paid the price financially, they didn't do it to be "cool". Do your research before lashing out at people you think you know, because obviously you have not, isn't that what you are mad at the interviewer for in the first place?

double post

Much respect for RA for covering the Vancouver Electronic scene. But I must say I am very disappointed. I know it must be hard to cover everything but what made the cut and what/who was given more words in this article does not truly represent Vancouver. I'm not one to complain but RA is influential and this article is trying to be a guide to Vancouver EDM state... therefore I think it is justified if our community is critical of what has been said. Outsiders are potentially going to be misguided. This is no disrespect to the author, your efforts are appreciated. I just also wished there was more researched put into this.

Everyone that was mentioned deserved to be mentioned, but dedicating paragraphs to Andi and Blueprint? And not mentioning Michael Red, Jay Tripwire, Subversive, Intimate, Nordic Trax, or even Love Dancing? no lotus? 360 glen but no redgate, the woods/no tofu, box studios, peanut gallery, secret location, goody, and many other legendary warehouses. I mean, Glen and its 16-19 year old crowd could be the least credible venue in the city, and certainly does not represent the underground. I'm not mad. This type of open dialog is healthy for the community. I glad people care enough to comment.

Theres absolutely no need to bash on any promotion companies for bringing class acts to vancouver, with out each and every company giving us a variety of massives to choose from there would be much of a club night here in vancouver, i think sub, youplus, and everyone else is doing a great job in bringing in shows regaurdless of the venue or anything, What we are trying to do is bring good music to the people of vancouver and educate them on music other than dubstep and top 40.... respect for all groups and keep up the great work! for a new vancouver, also considering that youplus is a company that basically popped out of no where...bookings like lee burridge, and martin buttrich are pretty big accomplishments. Much repsect, and good luck to you guys in the future

There was a paragraph about Red Gate in my original draft, but it had to go for space constraints. That's an unfortunate exclusion, I agree, but I'd rather focus on what actually exists right now.

Thanks for the article andrew. I live in Chicago and am coming out to Vancouver next weekend - looks like I might be hitting up W2 for this residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?357197
thoughts?

Good article but I'm surprised no mention of the Sequential Circus events that have occured for the past several years...

Interesting read. The underground scene is almost solely Dubstep and "bass music" as the writer says. So, if you don't like top 40 or Dubstep, Vancouver can be very sparse.

@Brotzky That is not even close to being true..

haha wow!... someone just pointed this article out to me... and recommended the comments as "suggested further reading"... I don't think any of the Subversive crew sheds tears about flying below the radar... I know Tom and i could give a rat's ass about being mentioned anywhere... though we've always loved it when those who love what they experience spread the word to others they feel might also enjoy it. Much respect for the many many crews in the Vancouver underground who keep it real, and bring the quality (and the many who have come before the current crop of DJs /promoters... and who provided such AMAZING times over the years) The best music mostly works in the margins in most cities in North America... sometimes that's in the clubs who "get it" but often its not. I am always grateful for venues like Open Studios, W2, and Waldorf... and the spaces that dare not speak their address ; ) Feeling the love of the always fierce subversive tribe in these comments : ) looking forward to many good times this fall!

A very well written article. Yes, I agree some things were left out that maybe shouldn't have been but that's my opinion. One can only write from their own views and If I wrote this article, I'm sure I would have missed out a few key elements and contributors to the city as well.

As for the more "underground" participants (Subversive, ND, Intimate, Lotus etc), yes they have easily shaped Vancouver's scene into what it is now and yes they deserve recognition for their efforts. However, as Daniel mentioned (and Tom would concur), the recognition is through the support, the smiles, the dancing... not a published artice. They have provided us with YEARS of forward thinking music, events and community away from the general masses and a place where we can all celebrate with our chosen family and friends. We call it the underground for a reason don't we?

Overall, I think if someone were to read this article from out of town, it portrays a fairly healthy and diverse scene and isn't that the whole point? Good job Andrew.