Scenes from Shambhala 2014

by Blake Morneau | Sep 9, 2014 | Culture, Music

At one point during his Saturday night highlight-reel set (one that included an unforgettable re-imagining of the theme from “Bill Nye the Science Guy”) in the Fractal Forest at the Shambhala Music Festival, future-funk DJ Kill Paris declared, “This is probably the...

Victoria Ska Fest: a love story

by Blake Morneau | Jul 15, 2014 | Culture, Music

On the third night of the 15th annual Victoria Ska Fest, there was a moment that crystallized and reflected everything I’ve come to love about the festival. Ska legend Lynval Golding – supported by one of the finest live acts in music today, the Aggrolites...

Shambha-Lessons Vol.2 – “General Foundations of EDM” with Featurecast

by Blake Morneau | Jul 2, 2014 | Culture, Music

EDM is, by its very nature, an incestuous genre of music created from the interbreeding of genre after genre and propagated by a generation with little to no musical allegiances. Few of the genre’s champions embody this idea better than Lee Mintram, better known as...

Shambha-Lessons Vol.1 – the hip hop history of EDM with DJ Nu-Mark

by Blake Morneau | Jun 26, 2014 | Culture, Music

    Before my first trip to Shambhala last year, I was leery. Not of the EDM mecca itself — legendary in music-loving circles all over B.C. and beyond — but of the music. I was repeatedly assured that the roots of electronic music lay in the genre closest to...

Music rags: An awkward date with a teen pop idol

by Blake Morneau | Jun 12, 2014 | Culture, Music

When my associates discovered the impending Aaron Carter show at 9one9 here in Victoria, I was inundated with requests to try to arrange an interview. How could I pass up the chance to talk the precocious youngster who spent the late 90s winning over the hearts of...