Area 709

In a noticeably hurried manner, another year has quickly come to a close. If I could describe it in no other way possible, 2012 in the electronic music scene was a journey full of experiences in an attempt to find that elusive, special place that initially drew me into all of it, a place I like to call Home.

Over the course of the year the divide between the commercial and underground sides of electronic music continued to grow in 2012. For every big new festival and club night there seemed to be an equally disturbing story of a legendary dj being kicked off the decks, or cringe-inducing videos of the likes of Paris Hilton popping up.

For a now, uh-hem, veteran of this scene, watching this evolution continue was a little painful to be honest. Like all good things in this world that become popular to the masses, the purity and essence of what that thing actually is seems to often get lost, and in our music scene, things are no different. Thankfully, the underground contingent continues to push back hard with new innovate concepts, sounds and talent - and one didn't have to go far to find Home again.

Home for me has always been found in the underground local parties I've always been a part of, as well as the club residencies in I've been luckily to be involved with in Calgary. There were plenty chances to come back Home over the course of the year, including the annual Bardo Halloween event, an opening slot for Banel, the FIVE event celebrating 5 years of 709Sessions and my bi-monthly Blueprint residency at Habitat.

When it came to finding that special Home beyond my own involvement and the local Calgary scene, I can look no further than our return to Ibiza in the summer. Although the island is struggling with the allure of commercial dollars and acts coming to other clubs, there was nothing like going to Space and hearing some of those cutting edge sounds from the true legends such as Digweed, Carl Cox and highlighted by techno-god Richie Hawtin - who's Enter night was eventually voted the best on the island at the end of the summer

Another unexpected visit to Home came in the not one, but twice - in the form of Sasha - first at Cafe Mambo sitting at a table about 20 feet away from the dj booth, then under the sunset at the beautiful outdoor club Ushuaia. After all these years, this guy is still number one in my books. Intelligent, forward-thinking and yet still in tune with the original progressive sounds that have set him apart. That was like coming Home with turkey dinner waiting on the table. Brilliant.

Apart from everything on the outside, Home was also found in my physical residence where I got to spend some quality time - although not enough time - in my studio. Over the second half of the year I took on a remix project using a beautiful vocal by Robyn Raymond, from a rock song by Calgary's own Forty Gun Flagship. It took many many nights, but the final track is now up for release in early 2013 on Glenn Morrison's label, so all that hard work at Home paid off in the end. We're all very excited to see where this one goes.

So as the sun sets on 2012 and a new year is ushered in, I think Home is where I'd like to stay for the next while. Home in the music I love, continuing to support labels such as Microcastle, Perspectives Digital, JOOF, Sudbeat, Morrison Recordings and more, as well as producers such as Darin Epsilon, Cid Inc., Luis Junior, Monaque and more. Home in the events I'm a part of and the ones I support in Calgary - both the underground all-nighters and the great small venue dj shows that land at Habitat from time to time. And finally Home in what I do as a dj and producer - always sticking to the progressive sounds I love in both original productions and my radio show.

I encourage all of you in 2013 to simply find or come back to your Home and discover what you're truly passionate about.

I've finally had a chance to sit down and write a new post after what was a September that celebrated a very big milestone for me as a dj - in the form of two major events.

Probably ingrained into more than a few of your brains was the two FIVE events (radio and live) that took place celebrating five years of my 709Sessions radio show - I apologize for the barrage of continuous promo across the internet. Both of these events turned out pretty spectacular and will be remembered for a long time (and not just for all the work that went into them!).

The first part of the FIVE celebrations was the 12 hour radio show on Digitally Imported. What a fun day that was to have 12 hours of non stop 709-style progressive playing from a group of incredible djs. It took awhile to bring all the content for the show together, but in the end it went off without a hitch, although being up and posting / responding to feedback for the entire time proved a little difficult. A big thanks to Johan at Digitally Imported for making it happen, and an equally big thanks to Ioan, Darvin, Rob, Henri (Cid Inc.), Rusty, Jason, Matthew, Laura, Jay and Chad for contributing amazing music.

Part two came a few days later in the form of the FIVE all-nighter event here in Calgary featuring an all 709 line-up - including Rusty Ezard - the best friend a guy can have. Even though we were busy driving around, setting up (and having way too many drinks in-between), every moment was great one sharing laughs the whole weekend through.

The event itself manifested everything I wanted it to be, from the decor (including set-up where a couple of new friends were made, you know who you are! to music to the bar, to Sarah's awesome shirt, and of course to the many friends that turned out for it and danced their collective asses off. Of course, there was that on CDJ that failed which meant Rusty's set got bumped until the end (which still rips me to this day!), but he made the best of it and ripped up the closing slot properly, even amongst a fog bath courtesy of Jay!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out, it made all the effort worthwhile. Not sure if and/or when I'll spearhead putting an event like that ever again, time will only tell.

After that big week things continued on with another stellar Blueprint night at Habitat with Nathan Hedley, someone who thankfully takes the charge when it comes to setting up these nights as I really didn't have much left over after the previous weeks for this latest instalment.

Also in that same week, and a little unexpectedly, my "Moments" E.P. on JOOF Recordings finally was released. I'm humbled again to be on such a legendary label and hopefully I can push more stuff their way soon.

So what now?

In the weeks following the FIVE events, I've had some very serious thoughts and contemplations about what to do next as a DJ and producer now that the milestone has passed. The want to produce more music is becoming greater and greater, but unfortunately the amount of time I can dedicate to it has not increased - so trying to finish even a single track (or the remix I've been working on for the past 4 months) has been a challenge.

So, along with cutting back a few other things in my life, I'm seriously considering taking a long break from doing the radio show every month starting in the new year and using that time to do production work.

Five years has been quite a run, and I've always been of the opinion that the right time to stop something is when you've felt you've accomplished all that you can with it - which is where I think I'm at. I'm really enjoying the small moments of time I do get to work on music, while doing the radio show is met decreasing enthusiasm. So, it might be time.

Gig-wise I'll just be focusing on the Blueprint nights and the odd other big show that comes up, all of which more than satisfy my appetite to DJ.

That's what's next. Nothing lasts forever and life is a continuous journey of change. It's time to embrace it and start speaking to people through my own creations versus how I mix those from others.