We chat with Sara and Mike who anchor the Living Room stage at Shambhala Music Festival in the Kootenay Mountains here in beautiful BC. These two are legends and the Living Room is a truly wonderful zone next to the river. They're both dj's of long standing - Sara as Lion-S and Mike as Hoola. They select, book and plan the flow of the stage and do it beautifully. Some of my best sets have been at the Living Room on a hot sunny afternoon, and if you're an Interchill fan then here and the Grove stage is probably where you'd gravitate to. If you've not yet been to Shambhala then make the journey... and do a proper road trip and discover what makes this place, the people and BC so awesome...
1/ Sara and Mike - Tell us when and how you first got involved with Shambhala Music Festival ?
Sara:
Having had deep roots in the West coast rave scene, I was definitely involved with the cultivating the scene in Nelson in the early days.....but my official involvement with shambhala started year 2 (1999)....I had an opportunity to play in the Fractal Forest that year after arriving back from a 1.5 year stint on the East coast. Jimmy invited us to take over line up bookings and programming for year 4 and I was able to invite some friends out to play and made it a tribute to the west coast underground. I was the Talent Manager / music programmer for all 5-6 stages until the end of year 10. We continued on with curating the Living room ever since although I took a 3 year sabbatical and Mike did all the work. Happy to say I came back on board to do this year's line up on the LR and i'm pretty excited about it!
Mike:
well a bunch of our friends decided to throw a big annual party at the end of summer in 98 and wanted me to play at it but we had planned to move to Halifax a week before the party. So we played the 2nd year for the first time and by the 3rd year I took the reigns on scheduling the dj's and by the 4th year Sara and were doing the bookings and scheduling for all the stages, and that continued up until year 10.
2/ You are both dj’s with a long track record - what sounds are featuring in your sets these days ?
Sara:
Well I always feel challenged with answering this question as it all depends on where and when I am playing. I am not genre specific. I continue to be inspired by global sounds especially of the tropical variety.......Zouk, kuduro, moombahton, blending in some deep and minimal house, ambient, slow and grindy down tempo, and some good bass weaved into all of it. I love the tear jerker morning stuff with a hint of bad ass. I am humbled to be able to play my talented friends music, shining the light on those artists is a passion of mine.
Mike:
Well I have always loved the funkier side of dance music but have slowed down a lot in tempo . I guess it all depends on the mood and type of crowd and what time of the night it is. I try to be prepared for any situation. I have been digging the more minimal sounds these days.
3/ For those who haven’t been to Shambhala give us a quick rundown on the festival as it is now.
Sara:
Well....... It has gone in a direction that is pretty different from my personal vision / tastes to be totally honest......... A lot of the headliners are now the ones who have the most "Likes" on soundcloud etc. They are catering to the masses who will help the festival sell out quickly. I guess that's a smart strategy for selling tickets. If I may digress a bit: I'm proud to say we do our best to balance that out with what we do in the Living Room, being taste makers...We love to showcase new talent, breaking them into the Canadian market and beyond. We also bring a lot of eclectic headliners based on our music tastes. We are nostalgic and bring our favourite old schoolers once in a while. We also do our best to support our local Canadian scene....particularly west coast and Kootenays.....In general you can expect your first Shambhala to be a wild experience. The over all production is amazing and you are guaranteed an "out of this world" experience. It's pretty much a full power party in the woods experience 24/7. Bring your earplugs if you want to get sleep:) After all these years I still get excited to check out certain artists at all the stages over the weekend and love the pockets of magic that seem to still be preserved for those who remain open to it.
Mike
Well my honest opinion is that it has turned into a bit of an "edm" fest as far as the artists that get booked there nowadays. I guess because of the competition they have to get the big names to stay relevant and keep the masses coming year after year. There is a lot of magic that still happens out there and that is what keeps me interested in doing it year after year.
4/ What was your intention musically and with the stage location when you both started the Living Room ?
Sara:
We needed a chill stage. I wanted to co-create a space that everyone could come to unplug from the full power vibes at the other stages. A place to find pockets of quiet, get grounded and come back down to earth.......A place to enjoy the softer, textures of ambient music, and experience the downtempo side of music. We even had a BPM rule back in the day you may remember. 110 BPM or less..........I also wanted it to be a more relaxed environment for the Djs,.....that they would have an outlet to play more laid back and experimental grooves, and not take things so seriously.....
Mike:
Well originally it was Sara's ambient/downtempo stage kinda like how the raves of the 90's always had a chill room that would play ambient music i think we were trying to recreate that type of vibe but with an outdoor setting. A place where people could get away from the party and chillout a bit
5/ I have had some awesome times playing at the Living Room and also witnessed magic moments like a Tipper downtempo set, Hamsa Lila live in the sun, Ott on Sunday afternoon, El Papachango... - what for you have been the standout epic sets that shine ?
Sara:
It was an honour to bring you on board as well as showcase other Interchill artists over the years. I have much respect and love and appreciation for your Label. Some of the sets that stand out for me in the Living Room over the years:
Random Rab's first LR set, Tipper's sunset set for sure, Crying over Pros was epic (Edit's live set) and all of Brother's sets......
and it goes without saying that El Papachango's morning sets are always hot!!! and I love Sweet Anomaly's sets. Also i'll never forget Michael Red's first morning set in the LR back in the day.......I'm sure i'm forgetting some......
Mike:
Tipper was one to remember for sure. I loved Edit from Glitch Mob's live set . Every time Vinyl Ritchie plays funk in the day and of course Lion-S morning sets are always really good
6/ On a hot afternoon how many people congregate at the Living Room ?
Sara:
It's hard to say! I would imaging at least 3000 on a hot sunny day? And people really spread out down along the river....
Mike:
My guess would be a few thousand if you include all the people all the way up and down the river. And most of the people who aren’t sleeping and are too hot so they need to be in the water
7/ Can you tell us about any plans or bookings you are excited for this year ?
Sara:
I am super excited to have Tipper back for a sunset set.....
Also Dj Harvey will be a highlight for sure. I am personally most looking forward to El Buho's set. El Buho is from the Netherlands, I discovered him on soundcloud and he makes beautiful Zouk and Owl bass, and the kind of tropical that I love.....Thornato will be great too. I also look forward to Barisone....and my friend Joaqopelli will be doing an opening and closing flute ceremony:) oh and HANNAH on the violin is amazing.
Mike:
Well the return of Tipper is really exciting and I've finally after 4 or 5 yrs of trying to lock down one of my fave dj's the disco/house/re edit don DJ Harvey. El Buho and Thornato are really cool acts that Sara made sure to get on the bill this year that I am really looking forward to as well.
8/ What projects are you working on ? Mike - I know you’re involved in the new Shambhala nightclub in Nelson… Tell us what you both have going on...
Sara:
I run another full time business that takes most of my focus and is not music related. Although it does support music artists and festival culture with regenerative nutrition and healthy aging as the focus. My passion is in helping people to be at optimal health and create strong residual incomes to support their bigger life's visions. The Music bizz continues to be a labour of love for me, keeping me tapped into my creative juices. Being an entrepreneur, I do love to put on events once in a while. We started a monthly event in Vancouver called HOME "a Kootenay time in the city" ..... Showcasing Kootenay artists as well as artists who have played in the Living room over the years. We are taking a pause on that for the summer and will resume with Home #11 sometime next fall. I should also put a plug in for my ladies of Meow Mix. We are an all female dj crew that have been playing together for 17 years. If you happen to catch us it's always a good time.
Mike:
Well as of right now I am working full time on the new club and it is scheduled to be open soon. Its really cool because i started djing in this building in 1997 and have seen 5 different clubs come and go through it. This is where we lived Shambhala year round for over ten years bringing all sorts of acts throughout the years to play. And now its come full circle around to the next chapter. And ya, still playing music whenever i have time.
9/ Outside of Shambhala what has been your most memorable location or event to perform at ?
Sara:
I would say on the big island of Hawaii, and Maui, were pretty magical as well as playing in Osaka Japan.....and some trippy vinyl melting morning sets at Burning Man many years ago. I have some fun memories of renegade parties in the kootenays as well:)
Mike:
I really liked Drewry point beach out on the Kootenay Lake. Its a beautiful remote location boat access only, so it made for really intimate gatherings that were really fun and quaint. The one time i went to Burning Man was pretty fun too.
10/ We recently lost Shambhala legend Buffalo Bob Borecky - what do you remember him most for ?
Sara:
Oh Bob. He is greatly missed. He and I shared a strong connection in the world of energy healing modalities. I will always remember him as being so passionate with bridging many different indigenous culture and shamanism with the music and festival scene. Fundamentally with his dedication to preserving the sacred space and honouring of the land and our elders. Creating that magic in the Inna Sanctum that evolved over the years to the Labyrinth, the Portal and now the Grove today. . ….I’ll always remember his passion for his visual art that always put me in a psychedelic trance. We used to spend countless hours at his place checking out what he was working on and mapping out the future of what Shambhala could look like for many years to come....... A true committed visionary remaining true to his path.
Mike:
Bob was a Kootenay mystic and a pioneer /bricklayer for the electronic scene here . He was a part of throwing some of the first parties in the Nelson area. They were acid/goa trance parties and that is the roots of our scene. And of course he was a part of Shambhala since the beginning running the trance stage the Labyrinth. It is a pretty huge loss to the community for sure .