Having recently visited the beautiful blue-glassed city of Vancouver, with its towering buildings, wide tree lined avenues and sandy beaches, it was not long before I needed a good bass fix just to finish off my holiday in style.

Now Vancouver is not exactly renowned for being a hot spot for D&B... or so I thought. Walking round the streets you hear old '70s rock blaring out of trucks, kids with long hair walking round with faded Metallica tees; no kicks, snares and New Era caps in sight!

But, keeping the 140 - 180 bpm fire burning, are Canadian collective, the SHAH DJs. Standing for 'Smooth Hard Aggressively Happy' the acronym for the seven-piece group of DJs, promoters and designers represents their prerogative: to cover a wide spectrum of eclectic underground sounds and put on the best parties.

Not just limited to D&B, they also showcase dubstep, house 'n' breaks, glitch hop and hip-hop at their club nights, and in the past have hosted such luminaries as: Calibre, Dirtyphonics, Mat the Alien, Bassline Smith, Ewun, Datsik, Pendulum, Aphrodite, Shimon, Spor, Excision, Blu Mar Ten, LTJ Bukem.

I managed to catch up with Jon and Willis from the SHAH DJs, in advance of their Calibre show to find out what the SHAH DJs are all about and find out more about the D&B scene in Vancouver...

Who are the SHAH DJs?

The SHAH DJs are collective of artists, producers, DJs and promoters, supporting bass culture as a whole from Vancouver BC Canada.  Our key members are Eradik, J.F.Killah, Decibel Point, Kir Mokum and Vasho, with JoeAve and Holistic at the helm.
 
When did you set up the collective?

In 2006 the seven of us were regulars at an open decks night at the ANZA club, and throughout 2007 we got organized and threw our first event to a whopping 35 people. Three years later we find ourselves front and centre in Vancouver's D&B scene, own our own venue and have now jumped into the venture full time.
 
What's the ethos of the music you play and the nights you run?

We have a strong passion for drum & bass, but right from the start our focus has been to bring multiple genres of new, exciting, and bass heavy music together.  Focusing more on flow and the vibe of the night rather than a particular sound. The right music in the right order makes a fantastic night that appeals to a more diverse audience.  It's about bringing people together with good music.

Do you have any preference to genre/style of D&B?

As a group, we take pride in presenting the full spectrum of D&B, from the soft and melodic vibe of liquid, smoothly rising to the energetic dub rock sound into the harder rhythms of neuro funk and back to the minimal half step and drum step. SHAH stands for Smooth Hard Aggressively Happy, and we encompass all aspects of bass culture.
 
What's the D&B scene like in Vancouver and how have you contributed to its growth?

The scene in Vancouver has come a long way over the last four years. There was definitely a peak back in the late 90s/early 2000s with the Automatic crew, but when we started off things were pretty slow, and most shows were predominantly jump-up and wobble.  

Our turnouts have grown steadily over the last few years, with a combination of smaller local shows, UK headliners at bigger venues, and some pretty crazy costume themed parties now and then (see Halloween in April, aka False-o-Ween).  Spor and Excision drew over 500 people, as did the last Pendulum show, which for Vancouver is fantastic.  

We also started at a pretty exciting time for Vancouver's underground.  There were a few different crews that all got started around the same time (Lighta, Perception, I.G.U., Suave), growing the glitch hop and dubstep scenes in parallel, and thus the bass culture scene as a whole.  Numerous outdoor festivals (Shambhalla, Soundwave, Basscoast etc) have also helped nurture the scene.
 
Anything else you would like to mention?

Vancouver is gaining ground to becoming a major player in electronic music.  A lot of people here have been producing tunes for a few years, and releases are popping up on charts all over the interwebs in numerous genres.  Add the big festivals drawing major acts to BC, and a consistent talent pool of new up and comers and the coming years look really exciting.

Upcoming SHAH DJs shows include The Insiders on 30th July and Futurebound on 27th August.

 

Words: Belinda Rowse

 

Related Links:

• Spectrum's Decade Of Dropping Beats
• Mixcloud Aims To Re-think Radio
• Video: Jeff Spec - On My Feet
• Japanese Dubstep: Harikiri
• London's First Graffiti Book

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