Artist Profile: Mat The Alien

He's a West Coast DJ legend, and come August 1, Mat the Alien will be headlining The Nest stage at Electric Love Music Festival. We had a chance to chat with Mat: check out what he has to say about his techniques, his current projects, and of course, what he feels about festivals.

image from: www.matthealien.ca

 Electric Love: What are your previous festival experiences?

Mat The Alien: Every summer, I play a bunch of festivals like Shambhala, Bass Coast and Soundwave, which used to be on the island. I’ve played Motion Notion, a lot of the BC ones actually; I go and do a bunch in the states as well. I’ve done Sonic Bloom, this year I'm doing “what the festival” and I’ve done Decibal also. Festivals are pretty much my favorite thing to play because people have to be committed to going for a few few days and everyone is hearing new music. People are going to get drunk or high and they know they’re going to have a good time.

Electric Love: Can you share a wild tour or show experience?

Mat The Alien: I’ve done some crazy shows, it can be great because of the sound system or the crowd like Shambhala. I got to go to the Philipines and play with a bunch of people I look up to. Sometimes you have to pinch yourself and think “what a crazy job”.

Electric Love: What do you bring to the table, musically?

Mat The Alien: Music for me is always evolving, I like to keep it fresh, last night I did a radio show and I played music I downloaded all that day and people sent me thinking “oh I like that”. I like the idea of playing records and digging through crates and me being excited about it. Some people want to do a set that’s all planned out but each festival has its own vibe and I like to change it up and play some some old bits and some new bits. Really try and contrast the set and play some upbeat stuff or some chill stuff and really try and take people through a journey with all kinds of different sounds. All festivals are different vibes and I usually go with a bunch of different genres and start out 125/130 bpm and move up to 170 bpm as the set progresses and try and throw in some scratches and turntable stuff. 

Electric Love: What type of setup do you have?

Mat The Alien: I use traditional technique turn tables and I use Serato and the Serato mixer so I don’t have to touch a laptop and I can just pick the tracks out with the mixer. I usually have 3 turntables if possible and use one for scratching. I use the silver technique 1200’s, I like how you can incorporate things like Serato with it but the tables still have that old school feel to it.

Electric Love: What are you currently working on?

Mat The Alien: I’ve got an album that’s going to be coming out this summer that’s a remix album, it's all  the  people  that have remixed tracks off my album that I put out last year. People like 6blocc , Pigeon Hole and a bunch of other people coming in. I’ve been in transition in the last year setting up my studio and I’m starting to work on more mixes now, I’m always trying to work on stuff.

Electric Love: What are you looking forward to most about Electric Love Music Festival? 

Mat The Alien: The best thing is going to check out all of the other sets and people I want to see. Hanging out with friends and having a few beers and seeing friends from all over. I can’t complain, it’s always a fun time playing festivals.

Check out Mat on:

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/matthealien

Twitter: www.twitter.com/matthealien

Instagram: @MatTheAlien

Artist Profile: sunkid

Our latest artist profile explores the world of sunkid, a DJ veteran who will be gracing our Zen Den stage on August 1. Read a little about sunkid then check his tunes!

Electric Love: How long have you been making music? 

sunkid: The short answer is my whole life.  

I became a radio DJ in 1995, which is around the same time that I joined an experimental electro-acoustic band, and learned to make dance music with an obscure DOS-based program called Scream Tracker 3.  Only a few years later I started DJing at raves in Halifax and all over Eastern Canada. 

My career as a DJ has really taken off since moving to Vancouver in 2007 and discovering the psytrance community (my big family) here.  Since 2009 I've started producing psytrance using Ableton as well as touring Australia and Canada playing as a psytrance DJ.

Electric Love: What is your specific area of expertise?

sunkid: As someone who has been a DJ for 20 years now, absolutely my area of expertise lies in finding the right track for the right crowd at just the right moment.  Perhaps that goes without saying, but I really do feel like that is, ultimately, what makes a DJ.  Whether it's constructing a journey for the dancefloor which sets up the perfect context for an obscure blast from the past to blow up all over again, or just having the perfect balance of darkness and light, melodic and hypnotic tracks to keep the crowd going off again and again.

It's not just picking the right tracks and the right moment though.  Because of my experience and deep crates, I've managed to carve out a niche as a transition DJ. Psytrance promoters know that they can count on me to create a smooth flow between radically different styles of music, to help their events feel like a journey for the dancers.  If they need somebody to take their party from breaks to psytrance, I'm the perfect DJ to call.  Drum and Bass to techno?  No problem.   

Electric Love: What are some of the accomplishments you've achieved in your field?

sunkid: I've really had an amazing past few years.  Just last summer I got to play psytrance at the incredible Bike Rave 2014.  This was the seventh annual Bike Rave and the first with guest DJs.  I was thrilled to hear my set played on literally hundreds of sound systems all around the Vancouver Sea Wall with an estimated 7000 atendees.

Last year also saw the release of my official psytrance remix of The Something Experience's German Sparkle Party track which has a huge following among psytrancers and other sparkley people around the world.

The affiliation that I co-founded in 2009, Spectral Kitty Collective (formerly Irken Kitties) has also had great success. We have had very well attended and reviewed parties in Vancouver and Victoria.  I'm proud to be able to say that our parties have an excellent reputation.

Another accomplishment for me last year was when I was thrilled and honoured to be invited to open for Space Tribe when he played in Vancouver. I was even more thrilled to be invited back to play again at his return this May.  Space Tribe has been a huge influence on me for over 10 years; getting to share the stage with one of my heros is just amazing.

https://facebook.com/officialsunkid

https://mixcloud.com/djsunkid

https://soundcloud.com/djsunkid

ARTIST PROFILE: SWOLLEN MEMBERS

The Canadian hip-hop group from Vancouver - consisting of artists Mad Child, Prevail, and producer Rob The Viking - is prominently known for putting their city on the map as well as its underground style. Since the group formed in 1992, the Swollen Members sound has swept through Canada and gained the following of fans all over the globe. 

With noted albums such as Bad Dreams, Black Magic, and Armed To the Teeth, Swollen Members has perfected the gritty, street-style rap and has taken it to a whole new level. What started out as an album has quickly become its own genre listened to by tons of dedicated fans waiting for Swollen Members to come perform live in their city. 

After years of building up a following, the group realized that their fans were a dedicated family fully supporting the “Battle-Axe movement” and with this, Swollen Members was able to create the “Battle-Axe Warriors," a clan of loving Swollen supporters all around the world. This type of extended family that they have created brings the music community closer together and is one of the only of its kind. 

The legendary group continues to impact the Canadian hip-hop scene and always will. The powerful movement they have created has built up a high demand to see them perform live, and their global tours are consistently anticipated. Swollen Members has always showed love to the fans, and we are happy to announce that they will be joining us for the Electric Love Music Festival in Chilliwack, BC on August 1st! 

https://www.youtube.com/user/SWOLLENMEMBERS

https://twitter.com/swollenmembers

https://soundcloud.com/swollenmembers

https://www.facebook.com/official.swollenmembers?fref=ts