Vancouver, Canada, TwentyHz Music

Northern DJ Coverage:

DJ SODA Vancouver, Can

Record Label Affiliations: TwentyHz Music www.twentyHz.com

DJ SODA Interview April 2005
Interviewed by Somsay.

DJ Soda Profile

Age: 26

Height: 5'11

Weight: More then Terry Hooligan, way less then Klaus "Heavyweight" Hill
Average heart beat per minute: b4 or after a spliff?

Fingernail length: short

Bed time: depends

Colour of hair: ginger

Favourite Pop Song: The one with Ja Rule & Ashanti... the hook goes "Those hips... those eyes... I!.. Love the way you look at me baby!"
Amount of time spent on toilet bowl: what!? Sometimes too long cause my legs get that ginger ale feeling... that numbness. I get caught up reading snowboard mags.... hahaha.

All-time Favourite Breakbeat Chune: Eric B & Rakim "Juice (Know The Ledge)"

Favourite Band: Massive Attack (with all the original members!)

Favourite Models: the really hot ones

Favourite Monsters: Klaus Hill, Benny B


The Interview
 
How long have you been djing for and how did you get started?
DJ Soda= Been DJing for almost 10 years. My homeboy Rudy bought some technic 12s... so I started buying vinyl and it went from there.

Describe your taste in breakbeat?
DJ Soda= Man.... so hard to say. I like so many different elements of breaks.. I'm kind of jaded on breakbeat to tell you the truth. I've played the whole spectrum of the sound, and now have a hard time finding tunes that I really am stoked to play. I've been playing loads of liquid funk drum n bass at home and have done a few strictly DnB sets as of late. Its kept DJing fresh, good change from just mixing 90- 135bpm breaks.

Do you find people are supportive of you because you are a Vancouver
breakbeat star?
DJ Soda= I'm a breakbeat star?! hahaha. Yeah the people in Vancouver are so chill... egos aren't such a big thing here. The whole city is down with each other for the most part, especially the breaks and DnB heads. I play a lot of the top club nights in the city but nobody really stops me on the street or something like that.

What do other DJs think of you?
DJ Soda= They hate me! Naw... most DJs I meet are chill. I'm chill with people, DJ or not.

What do you think girls think of you?
DJ Soda= They love me!

Do you believe breaks can be big one day or it will always be an underground
form of music in Vancouver?
DJ Soda= If you mean big as in the Billboard charts ... no never. Its not that kind of music. Maybe one day a breakbeat tune that’s written more like a proper song may, for instance like Freelands "We Want Your Soul", but no, I can't see any breakbeat tunes making the North American charts anytime soon.

What are you future plans for breakbeat?
DJ Soda= Getting into the studio was my main goal of this year. I've hooked up with Vancouver DnB producer Pacific and are doing tunes under the alias Karma. We just finished the  remix of the first single off my new label twentyHz. The tracks called "Bun Dem" by DJ Wood. Wood’s mix is in the same vein as a Meat Katie style shuffle, but a little slower then your average breakbeat track. Its done at 128bpm and has a wicked ragga vocal hook that will get the dance skankin’. Our Karma remix is more on the rollin’ dark side of breaks. We’ve given the remix to some large cats namely DnB cats Pendulum, who have been playing loads of breaks in there sets lately, and they flipped over it. They just did a breaks track for their new album with The Freestylers, whom also have the remix on CDR.
I’m just focused on developing the label and our artists. I also throw a lot of shows here in Vancouver so I’m getting the summer events lined up.

So is what up with twentyHz? Are you gonna goto press soon?
The twentyHz label idea has been a long time in the works, but is launching this June with the DJ Wood “Bun Dem” being THz001. I'm really excited, cause our signature is "Full Spectrum Breakbeat", meaning we won't be your run of the mill breakbeat label. All tempos, all elements. We got some really good joints lined up from Wicked Lester, Czech, DJ Wood, Marlin and of course from Karma. Plus we got some tracks from a few UK cats in the pipeline. Keeping the releases on the DL for now. But you can get THz001 in stores for June, and THz002 in stores late July.

Who is your favourite breakbeat producer and why?
DJ Soda= So hard to say. I don't necessarily have a favorite. Everyone is so hit and miss these days. The Plumps & Stantons are really the only producers I consider to be consistent, but I don't play everything they put out. Myagi has been doing it right from the Canadian side of breaks. He’s got some phat joints in the pipeline. Atomic Hooligan is on fire right now too.
Can’t really pinpoint a favorite producer cause everyone can come out with something I feel, and then not feel the next release.

Can you describe your current DJ mix (the one for your interview)?
DJ Soda= I like the mix. Its basically what I'm playing at the moment. Starts off  with an exclusive twentyHz Intro Tipper and Priceless made for the label, then into some not so new tunes from Stanton Warriors and Circuit Breaker. The Circuit Breaker tune was the first release on Angus Robinson’s Money Shot label. I love the tune, and wanted to get as much Canadian content on the mix as I could. From there its basically all new tunes that have come out or are on the verge of coming out. Some exclusives on the mix too from Rennie Pilgrem, VIP mix of “Gladiator”, an exclusive boot of Mylo’s “Drop The Pressure” that was done by Poxy Music & Kid Kenobi, as well as the “Bun Dem” remix by Karma (Pacific & I).
The mix as a whole is the full spectrum of breakbeat. Electro, funky, rock, rollin… its all there.

You must have your own bunch of dude-dj-girl groupies...whats going on with
that?
DJ Soda= Yeah we have mass orgies nightly at my house. Hookers and blow like everyday. Ahhh the life of being a Vancouver breakbeat star!

Where is your favourite place to DJ so far?
DJ Soda= Shambhala Festival, Salmo BC. Just the craziest vibe, and one of the most unique festivals in the world.

Any funny stories to tell about a past gig?
DJ Soda= Any set that Priceless and I do together has been pretty funny as of late. We've been really wasted a few times playing 2x4 sets. I'm yapping on the mic, Pricless is encouraging me to make an ass out of myself (I usually don't need much encouragement to do that).... too funny. We take the piss in the mix most of the time. Have fun with it. Plus promoters keep putting us on at like 4 am! By 4 am I'm usually pretty drunk... I mean what are they thinking?!

How did you hook up with Jay Cunning?--I heard you on the Menu Music show.
DJ Soda= Jay tried to hook up with me, but I had to pass. Not my style. I'm not against gays or anything like that, just not my style.
I think him and Terry Hooligan have a thing going on. Deekline told me their known as "The Bum Boys". Not sure what that means?

What did you think about the UK--is it all that?
DJ Soda= UK was super cool. I played some really good shows there, met a bunch of cool people, partied hard some nights.... good times.
Fabric is the shit too! If you go to London and like breaks or DnB, GO TO FABRIC!! Fridays are like a breakbeat heads dream.... 3 rooms of the top acts in the full spectrum of breakbeat.

What does your DJ studio consist of?
DJ Soda= I work out of Pacific’s studio. He has a Mac Powerbook running Logic. Also a Ikai drum machine, but we use mostly software for synths and such. At home we just have the standard, 2 Tech 12s, 2 Pioneer CDJ 800s, Ecler mixer.

How many breakbeat records you have now in you personal collection?
DJ Soda= Lots. Have never counted, nor do I want too.

Do you drink allot?
DJ Soda= More then I should at times yes..

Ever have to puke while djing drunk?
DJ Soda= Never while DJing no.

What’s your favourite brew?
DJ Soda= At the club its Stella. At home it varies. I like a lot of the local breweries from British Columbia. Granville Island Lager is one of my favs.

Where do you think breakbeat is going?
DJ Soda= I have no idea. Hopefully into more peoples ears... but breakbeat is such a broad term. I think a lot people that are into "breakbeat" miss that. Breaks are everywhere. Rock, hip hop, Electro, Drum n Bass all are breakbeat. Too many breakbeat purist miss that point. They think breaks is only Rennie Pilgrem or Plump DJs, but have no idea who Kurtis Blow is.

What was your favourite DJ gig and why?
DJ Soda= Shambhala Music Festival last summer. Priceless and I for 4 hours on this stage called "The Fractal Forest". Insane! The DJ booth is in a huge tree. The tree was hit by lightning years ago, and they've created a stage out if it. Priceless and I had so much fun... of course we were wasted and by the end of the 4 hours BOMBED (damn vodka), but it was a wicked set. The people and energy of that party is the same year in and year out. If it was up to me I'd play every summer.

What other types of music do you listen to?
DJ Soda= Everything. I work at Boomtown Records in Vancouver, so I hear it all when it comes to electronic music.
When I'm just chillin' it varies. Might be in the mood for some old Sonic Youth, or maybe some classic ska from Madness, a mix DJ tape, whatever really. A good liquid funk DnB mix is a constant listen for me though. DnB and snowboarding go hand in hand.

Did you ever go to a music school?
DJ Soda= No.

What advice can you offer to other aspiring DJs?
DJ Soda= Work hard. Be true to the music. There aren’t many rock stars in this profession, so do it for you and not the fame. Even if you get a taste, it won't last long... but the music will last forever. Bloody hell, I sound like a hippie. Peace and love dudes!.... hahahaha.

How long did it take you to learn to beat-match?
DJ Soda= Still working on that one. Hahaha... it took a little while. Even when you get it, then you have to progress and do it in front of people,so that takes practice in itself.

Are you ever nervous while djing?
DJ Soda= Not really. I have in the past for sure. Not such a big thing now a days.

What projects are you currently working on?
DJ Soda= twentyHz is my project. We are a label and promotions company, so I do events in Vancouver as well as am the A&R for the label. My partners Josh Rudner and Kevin "Priceless" Price and I do it all together. Josh runs the business end of the label and Priceless runs the events with me.

What do you think of Canada?
DJ Soda= I love it. Its home. The best country in the world.

What do you think of the US?
DJ Soda= I like it. There are some great people in the US. Now there government on the other hand, they scare the shit out of me.

What’s up with your tour this summer? Everything good to go?
Tour is booked and sorted. Touching down across Canada late May into early Junee starting in Calgary, then to Saskatoon, Toronto, down to the the east coast of the US to Atlanta and then to Charlotte where I’ll be opening for Meat Katie for 2 shows. Then I fly home and play one last one in Whistler.
Super excited for the shows. Never played in south east of the states so totally stoked for those ones.

How’s the new club night on Fridays @ Sonar… Break "Yo!" Self?
Break “Yo!” Self is a super fresh night. Just started in March. It basically came out of the old Fridays at Sonar called Vivid Sessions. Myself and Vancouver locals Priceless, OJ & Shakes were the residents in the upstairs room at Sonar, with the main room being the who’s who of international DJs. We’d be rocking the upstairs room every week, and downstairs would be like Felix The Housecat, or James Lavelle, Lee Burridge even Boy George and Perry Farrell played there. Anyways the club decided to bring in new promoters and asked the 4 of us to be the main room residents. So now Fridays at one of Vancouver’s top clubs is strictly breaks, with hip hop upstairs. We’re also doing hip hop and  drum n bass showcases once a month or so in the main room. We just had Adam F and Kid Kenobi play the night and have Big League Chu and Mr Lif upcoming in the next few weeks.

What happened to the old Fridays @ Sonar?
Sonar ownership wanted a change. They thought the high priced door fees each week were hurting them from keeping regulars each week.
 

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