Every major city in the Northwest has a reputation for a certain kind of music. Portland has indie rock. Seattle’s got grunge. Olympia boasts its own style of “Cascadian metal.” Now Vancouver, British Columbia has its own unique brand of house music. Bolstered by the young dance labels Mood Hut and 1080p, Vancouver house music mixes classic deep house and techno sounds with the mellow vibes of chillwave and instrumental hip hop. It’s as great for dancing as it is for staring at your Dark Side Of The Moon poster.
Though it hasn’t broken big yet, it may strike a chord with the electronic mainstream very soon. Here are four of the best examples of what Vancouver’s DJs and producers are capable of.
Hashman Deejay – Sandopolis (2014, Future Times). Hashman Deejay is a Mood Hut alumnus who has graduated to the larger label Future Times. Sandopolis is his debut, and it’s one of the best dance albums of last year. Though the comparison may be blasphemous, Sandopolis is almost Illmatic-like in how it packs an absurd amount of content into a head-slappingly short run time – and in how confident a debut it is.
Jack J – MH007 (2014, Mood Hut). MH007 only consists of three tracks, but every one of them is stunning. Though they’re eight, six and ten minutes long respectively, they maintain their momentum throughout. The concluding “Something (On My Mind)” is incredible in how it stays consistently exciting through its run time despite never altering its rhythm. MH007 is unavailable to stream, but it’s honestly worth converting each individual track on YouTube to mp3, as I’ve done.
LNRDCROY – Much Less Normal (2014, 1080p). If you find house music too repetitive, LNRDCROY probably won’t change your opinion; the 1080p signee’s tracks tend to groove for a while and then disappear. But his style of submerging skittering techno beats in vast, aquatic chords makes for some great ambient listening, and Much Less Normal is best for chilling out by yourself in a room filled with incense (and perhaps another kind of smoke as well).
Pender Street Steppers – Life In The Zone (2013, Mood Hut). Pender Street Steppers is Mood Hut’s flagship group, and the ninety-minute epic Life In The Zone is by far the most ambitious product of Vancouver’s house scene. Split into the more ambient “Street” side and the funkier “Stepper” side, Life In The Zone has a bit of everything for house fans–and each side is a solid listening experience on its own.
