Malakut - And a Farewell of Sorts...
Posted on Aug 17, 2009
Hey Folks,
So, we have one last kick at things before the outdoor festival season comes to a close.
But before I go on to talk about this upcoming weekend's festival, a large round of applause for everyone that came out to Trancemission 12 on August 8th. Preparation and set-up seemed especially stressful this year, but as usual, we managed to pull it off! The crew was amazed to find a packed, full dance floor by midnight and we had a good showing throughout the course of the evening, with an especially strong finish at noon the next day. We had a number of photographers running around at the party, so I hope to have some photos to share in the coming weeks.
This weekend, the Behestho crew will be having their annual summer party, out in the Sea-to-Sky corridor. Details on location will be announced just prior to the event, at http://www.beheshto.ca/. The crew's event will be held as a second stage for the Karma party, which is something we've successfully done in the past. On a personal note, the last Karma party was held almost 4 years ago, and this was the first real party I ever got to DJ at. I ended up playing several hours earlier than planned, and unexpectedly right after one of my mentors, James Fillman from Soundproof. This was a pretty spectacular way to play my first gig.
Sadly enough, James passed the torch at our last Soundproof party and has effectively retired and hung up his headphones. I've had pretty mixed feelings about this, as I would about any of my mentors stepping down. While I totally appreciate his reasoning - wanting some more years enjoying, as opposed to organizing parties - there's a small but very stubborn, childlike part of me that's sitting cross-armed, kicking the sand and sulking.
James was instrumental in me learning how to DJ. I can safely say I wouldn't have become involved with Soundproof, Beheshto, or even started DJing if it wasn't for him. Not only did he pass on some very important technical skills to me, but he really impressed upon me the importance of having a special kind of integrity when it came to playing and putting on events. James really put his whole heart and soul into Soundproof events, and our parties were all the much better as a result. I'm still kind of figuring out the dimensions of the gap he's left, and a huge part of me is still hopeful that we'll coax him back for a show or two.
The first large bulk of time I spent with James happened right after I moved to Vancouver. Following a summer of outdoor parties, and after I indicated my interest learning how to play, James volunteered his equipment and spare time to show me the ropes. I can't tally the number of hours I spent at his place after work that Fall, but it was significant and he wholeheartedly supported my efforts, no questions asked. This is a pattern I'd see, many times over with various other people with other pursuits, over the next couple of years. He's always been willing to back up your efforts to learn and grow with whatever spare time and energy he can find.
Well, perhaps I'm over-romanticizing this. Most of the time I was over there, James would be sitting on his couch, drinking beer, eating a chicken dinner and watching the news. On occasion he'd absently point to whatever record was drifting out of time with a drum stick. He'd mutter something along the lines of "You should probably fix that," before snickering as my mix went further off the rails. To give credit where it's due, to this day I still have no idea how the hell he put up with several hours of what must of sounded like a pair of shoes being tossed around a clothes dryer.
I could go on and on about this for pages, but I think I'll stop here. James, while you have neatly detached yourself from Chris Singer and I on the Soundproof front, you're still going to be subjected to our child-like antics on every one of your climbing trips for the rest of eternity.
So, while I won't be playing after James at this year's Karma event, I thought it was fitting that I'm getting to share my time slot with another close mentor, Andy (DJ Drew David). Andy - alongside John Tennant and Ricardo Almeida - have been my underground techno heroes in Vancouver over the last couple of years. I'll just take a cue from Andy's normally soft-spoken nature, say that we're both looking forward to the opportunity to tag team at a party, and leave it at that...
all the best,
Jones
So, we have one last kick at things before the outdoor festival season comes to a close.
But before I go on to talk about this upcoming weekend's festival, a large round of applause for everyone that came out to Trancemission 12 on August 8th. Preparation and set-up seemed especially stressful this year, but as usual, we managed to pull it off! The crew was amazed to find a packed, full dance floor by midnight and we had a good showing throughout the course of the evening, with an especially strong finish at noon the next day. We had a number of photographers running around at the party, so I hope to have some photos to share in the coming weeks.
This weekend, the Behestho crew will be having their annual summer party, out in the Sea-to-Sky corridor. Details on location will be announced just prior to the event, at http://www.beheshto.ca/. The crew's event will be held as a second stage for the Karma party, which is something we've successfully done in the past. On a personal note, the last Karma party was held almost 4 years ago, and this was the first real party I ever got to DJ at. I ended up playing several hours earlier than planned, and unexpectedly right after one of my mentors, James Fillman from Soundproof. This was a pretty spectacular way to play my first gig.
Sadly enough, James passed the torch at our last Soundproof party and has effectively retired and hung up his headphones. I've had pretty mixed feelings about this, as I would about any of my mentors stepping down. While I totally appreciate his reasoning - wanting some more years enjoying, as opposed to organizing parties - there's a small but very stubborn, childlike part of me that's sitting cross-armed, kicking the sand and sulking.
James was instrumental in me learning how to DJ. I can safely say I wouldn't have become involved with Soundproof, Beheshto, or even started DJing if it wasn't for him. Not only did he pass on some very important technical skills to me, but he really impressed upon me the importance of having a special kind of integrity when it came to playing and putting on events. James really put his whole heart and soul into Soundproof events, and our parties were all the much better as a result. I'm still kind of figuring out the dimensions of the gap he's left, and a huge part of me is still hopeful that we'll coax him back for a show or two.
The first large bulk of time I spent with James happened right after I moved to Vancouver. Following a summer of outdoor parties, and after I indicated my interest learning how to play, James volunteered his equipment and spare time to show me the ropes. I can't tally the number of hours I spent at his place after work that Fall, but it was significant and he wholeheartedly supported my efforts, no questions asked. This is a pattern I'd see, many times over with various other people with other pursuits, over the next couple of years. He's always been willing to back up your efforts to learn and grow with whatever spare time and energy he can find.
Well, perhaps I'm over-romanticizing this. Most of the time I was over there, James would be sitting on his couch, drinking beer, eating a chicken dinner and watching the news. On occasion he'd absently point to whatever record was drifting out of time with a drum stick. He'd mutter something along the lines of "You should probably fix that," before snickering as my mix went further off the rails. To give credit where it's due, to this day I still have no idea how the hell he put up with several hours of what must of sounded like a pair of shoes being tossed around a clothes dryer.
I could go on and on about this for pages, but I think I'll stop here. James, while you have neatly detached yourself from Chris Singer and I on the Soundproof front, you're still going to be subjected to our child-like antics on every one of your climbing trips for the rest of eternity.
So, while I won't be playing after James at this year's Karma event, I thought it was fitting that I'm getting to share my time slot with another close mentor, Andy (DJ Drew David). Andy - alongside John Tennant and Ricardo Almeida - have been my underground techno heroes in Vancouver over the last couple of years. I'll just take a cue from Andy's normally soft-spoken nature, say that we're both looking forward to the opportunity to tag team at a party, and leave it at that...
all the best,
Jones