709 in 2007 - A Year in Review
It’s that time of year again, where reflections of the year gone by and optimism for what the new year may bring collide. So in the spirit of this annual union, I thought I would take a moment to look back at all that was Area709 in 2007 as well as briefly squint into the organization’s future.
The Website
Although 709 was active throughout the year with events and its roster was playing a wide range of prominent bookings, one doesn’t have to look much further than the launch of the new website to see where the true point of reinvention for the group was realized. Launching to the world in May, the site would quickly live up to its long-awaited billing as a powerful tool for all of its roster members to promote themselves further as djs and artists.
What was not expected was the directions it would go beyond that core functionality. A short six months later and the site had evolved from those original roots to where it is today, encompassing a much broader scope within the global dance music community. Fuelling this expansion was the creation of a now rapidly growing Guest Mixes area featuring more and more high profile artists, completely integrated into the 709 radio station. A newsroom section was also developed featuring articles and interviews with some of the industry’s top players. An exclusive affiliation with Beatport--the world’s largest dance music retailer--was integrated soon after. Even a store selling custom-designed 709 clothing by none other than Inanna and others, as well as a comprehensive event ticketing system were built. When taking this into account it’s very easy to forget that the site was only launched in May!
Where does the site stand now? With almost 1,000 registered members with 5 to 10 new members registering each day and traffic that has been increasing consistently since the launch, the popularity of the site is growing exponentially. Our talent roster has also grown to a very diverse group of 15, contributing to the site in their own unique ways, and overall, the site is now recognized in local roster areas as well as globally as a top notch, professional entity consistently delivering high quality content to the masses.
As someone who has been around since the beginning seeing the website evolve over the years, this rendition is truly something to be proud of. And although there have been contributions to the site from everyone, if there’s one person in the back shadows that deserves to be mentioned, it is the person that has really made this project possible over the past year and continues to be at the forefront of its evolution. This person is Steve Thompson. Not a dj, not a promoter, and not involved in the dance music industry whatsoever, he’s just a great programmer and an even better person/business partner. Thank you Steve, and I’m sure that comes from many more people than just me!
We look forward to the directions the site will go in 2008 and all the possibilities that could potentially result from it.
The Events
2007 was also a big year for events put on by Area709 with an unprecedented seven; five taking place in Calgary and two in Vancouver. From Kultura II to kick off the year through to the springtime prog and psy events all the way to our most recent successes of the year with the double city feature that was Ecliptic. Although widely diverse in music, atmosphere and audience, every event thrown garnered the same overall impression of quality and professionalism, standards of which we are very proud to be recognized by. Thank you to all of you who’ve supported these events over the past year and we look forward to bringing more of them to you in 2008.
Apart from 709’s own events, 709 also broke massive ground forging into the club scene. 709’s Pure.Prog residency at the Amsterdam Rhino in Calgary continued to be wildly successful month after month and with no signs of letting up even today. The brand would soon also become a major sponsor for all of the major big dj club shows at Tantra Nightclub in Calgary, along with it opening act opportunities.
The Roster
In 2007, the 709 roster has evolved into a diverse group of individuals, all commonly united together by the 709 brand. With a few key changes, we’ve added Matthew Belleghem, Rob Curtis, Khan, Ben Rama, Anahata, Basilisk, and Cory Zaradur. We’ve even nabbed ourselves a talented Aussie, that being Andrew Campbell, and Rusty Ezard has also added his own future replacement, his new daughter Hana!
On an individual basis, 709 roster members played more shows, events and festivals this year than ever before all across Western North America and beyond. From Jay Michael and Sons of Aurora (Darvin and Nori) being booked almost every weekend of the summer at some of the biggest outdoor festivals around, to Matthew Belleghem lining up a number of gigs in Australia this Christmas, to even my humble self having the opportunity to play one of the biggest club nights of the year in Calgary, the presence of 709 has been seen and heard everywhere on a larger scale than ever before.
2007 also saw a crate of original releases from the likes of 709’ers Inanna, Rob Curtis, Rodrigo Espinoza, Ben Rama and Anahata aka Nystagmus, whom will be officially releasing an entire double CD of original material in 2008; incidentally the first release on the new Area709 record label.
The Outlook
With so much having happened in 2007, one would have to be dead inside to not be excited for what’s to come in 2008, because we truly only are getting started. A full scale record label, an upgraded store selling a complete 709 clothing line, comprehensive search optimization and advertising strategies, fully developed radio and a whole lot more is on the way. More events are also in the works, with a complete team now working in Vancouver as well as Calgary; and all 709 roster members in their own ways are looking ahead to 2008 as a massive break-out year for them individually.
The Conclusion
I cannot give enough praise to everyone within the organization that has invested their own energy and talent into Area709, it simply wouldn’t do it justice. Collectivelywe also cannot give enough thanks to our local and global audiences who’ve supported us throughout the past year and the years before that.
This year has simply been amazing… it’s almost scary to think of what 2008 will bring.
Thank you.
The Website
Although 709 was active throughout the year with events and its roster was playing a wide range of prominent bookings, one doesn’t have to look much further than the launch of the new website to see where the true point of reinvention for the group was realized. Launching to the world in May, the site would quickly live up to its long-awaited billing as a powerful tool for all of its roster members to promote themselves further as djs and artists.
What was not expected was the directions it would go beyond that core functionality. A short six months later and the site had evolved from those original roots to where it is today, encompassing a much broader scope within the global dance music community. Fuelling this expansion was the creation of a now rapidly growing Guest Mixes area featuring more and more high profile artists, completely integrated into the 709 radio station. A newsroom section was also developed featuring articles and interviews with some of the industry’s top players. An exclusive affiliation with Beatport--the world’s largest dance music retailer--was integrated soon after. Even a store selling custom-designed 709 clothing by none other than Inanna and others, as well as a comprehensive event ticketing system were built. When taking this into account it’s very easy to forget that the site was only launched in May!
Where does the site stand now? With almost 1,000 registered members with 5 to 10 new members registering each day and traffic that has been increasing consistently since the launch, the popularity of the site is growing exponentially. Our talent roster has also grown to a very diverse group of 15, contributing to the site in their own unique ways, and overall, the site is now recognized in local roster areas as well as globally as a top notch, professional entity consistently delivering high quality content to the masses.
As someone who has been around since the beginning seeing the website evolve over the years, this rendition is truly something to be proud of. And although there have been contributions to the site from everyone, if there’s one person in the back shadows that deserves to be mentioned, it is the person that has really made this project possible over the past year and continues to be at the forefront of its evolution. This person is Steve Thompson. Not a dj, not a promoter, and not involved in the dance music industry whatsoever, he’s just a great programmer and an even better person/business partner. Thank you Steve, and I’m sure that comes from many more people than just me!
We look forward to the directions the site will go in 2008 and all the possibilities that could potentially result from it.
The Events
2007 was also a big year for events put on by Area709 with an unprecedented seven; five taking place in Calgary and two in Vancouver. From Kultura II to kick off the year through to the springtime prog and psy events all the way to our most recent successes of the year with the double city feature that was Ecliptic. Although widely diverse in music, atmosphere and audience, every event thrown garnered the same overall impression of quality and professionalism, standards of which we are very proud to be recognized by. Thank you to all of you who’ve supported these events over the past year and we look forward to bringing more of them to you in 2008.
Apart from 709’s own events, 709 also broke massive ground forging into the club scene. 709’s Pure.Prog residency at the Amsterdam Rhino in Calgary continued to be wildly successful month after month and with no signs of letting up even today. The brand would soon also become a major sponsor for all of the major big dj club shows at Tantra Nightclub in Calgary, along with it opening act opportunities.
The Roster
In 2007, the 709 roster has evolved into a diverse group of individuals, all commonly united together by the 709 brand. With a few key changes, we’ve added Matthew Belleghem, Rob Curtis, Khan, Ben Rama, Anahata, Basilisk, and Cory Zaradur. We’ve even nabbed ourselves a talented Aussie, that being Andrew Campbell, and Rusty Ezard has also added his own future replacement, his new daughter Hana!
On an individual basis, 709 roster members played more shows, events and festivals this year than ever before all across Western North America and beyond. From Jay Michael and Sons of Aurora (Darvin and Nori) being booked almost every weekend of the summer at some of the biggest outdoor festivals around, to Matthew Belleghem lining up a number of gigs in Australia this Christmas, to even my humble self having the opportunity to play one of the biggest club nights of the year in Calgary, the presence of 709 has been seen and heard everywhere on a larger scale than ever before.
2007 also saw a crate of original releases from the likes of 709’ers Inanna, Rob Curtis, Rodrigo Espinoza, Ben Rama and Anahata aka Nystagmus, whom will be officially releasing an entire double CD of original material in 2008; incidentally the first release on the new Area709 record label.
The Outlook
With so much having happened in 2007, one would have to be dead inside to not be excited for what’s to come in 2008, because we truly only are getting started. A full scale record label, an upgraded store selling a complete 709 clothing line, comprehensive search optimization and advertising strategies, fully developed radio and a whole lot more is on the way. More events are also in the works, with a complete team now working in Vancouver as well as Calgary; and all 709 roster members in their own ways are looking ahead to 2008 as a massive break-out year for them individually.
The Conclusion
I cannot give enough praise to everyone within the organization that has invested their own energy and talent into Area709, it simply wouldn’t do it justice. Collectivelywe also cannot give enough thanks to our local and global audiences who’ve supported us throughout the past year and the years before that.
This year has simply been amazing… it’s almost scary to think of what 2008 will bring.
Thank you.