We recently got in touch with old friends and former Edmonton party-rockers turned Toronto disco beat-makers DVAS for an interview. DVAS recently released their sophomore LP “Society” (available via the itunes store) which has been making waves internationally. They were also featured on the “Valerie & Friends Compilation” last year. For more info visit DVAS on MySpace or their website.
How would you describe your music to someone who had never heard your stuff?
Melodic pop music with forward-thinking production. A mix of old and new. Dance music for people who don’t necessarily do a lot of drugs. And pop music for people who do a ton of them.
It seems like forever ago that you guys were rockin parties in Edmonton alongside Shout Out Out Out Out, and building your crowd to the point where you were headlining at the Starlite Room. Refresh our memories: when did Dietzche V. and the Abominable Snowman form, when did you release your first album MACHO, and when did you make the move out to eastern Canada?
DVAS began in February 2003, and we released a 5-track EP in November of that year. We released two more singles in 2004 and then 2006. We decided to cram a bunch of that stuff with some new things onto Macho, which was basically a greatest hits LP. Macho came out in September of 2007 and allowed DVAS to hit the reset button. Since then it’s been full sail. I actually moved to Toronto in 2001 for the first time, but I was back and forth for a while. I came out here permanently in 2005 for school.
Dietzche V. and the Abominable Snowman was a pretty badass name; I understand at this point you guys prefer to be referred to as the abbreviated DVAS. Why the switch?
Basically I wanted to shorten the name because everyone was getting it wrong and spelling it wrong. It was also a way to show that the project was more amorphous than simply the original two-man lineup. Ironically, everyone calls us “DeeVas” now, so it kinda backfired. But hey, that’s life in the big city, right?
How would you compare Toronto’s electronic/dance music scene to Edmonton’s?
Edmonton is really tight-knit and everyone supports each other and knows each other. It’s very fertile. Toronto is like a bigger version of that. There have been so many successes in both cities recently. Toronto has been off the hook. I remember living in Toronto in 2001 and thinking that with the exception of Hatiras and DJ Sneak, there weren’t really any big names in town. Now, Deadmau5 and MSTRKRFT and their ilk are everywhere.
The nu-disco and french touch genres have come a long way since you guys started jamming and rocking parties; what artists do you feel have been pushing the genre in recent years, and who influenced you guys when you first started?
When we started it was so different. There was no MySpace or anything. So getting new music required patience, money and a turntable. Back then, old stuff like New Order, Moroder and Patrick Cowley were big influences. Contemporary stuff like Matthew Dear, Luomo and the early DFA stuff were also hype. Lately, Breakbot and Shazam really blew everyone’s minds. My buddy Hemingway who lives down the street is amazing, too. In fact, I’d put his stuff up against Shazam any day of the week. He’ll send me something new and I’ll feel like Salieri in the Mozart movie.
The DJ’s and producers will be interested in knowing what equipment you guys use for your live setup, and what equipment/software you use to produce?
At home it’s mostly Juno-106, Oberheim Matrix-6, Yamaha TX7, Ensoniq ESQ-1 and a few other bits and pieces. The record was done on Live, but I mixed it with my homeboy Roger Leavens and we did some touch ups with his insane mic collection and his ridic synths. We used Pro-Tools to mix because Live has a weird sound.
Anyway, he has Arps and Moogs and CS-series Yamahas. Crazy. Live, it’s the Juno and the Ensoniq, with a few drum tracks coming from Live. I also use a Lexicon looper pedal which gets MIDI code, so I can loop lines on the fly and layer them and they stay on time with the drum tracks. Lately we’ve been stripping it down, since we have bass and drums live, too. Half the set now is fully live with no backing beats.
A lot of your Edmonton fans are very excited about the new album “Society”. Any plans to tour in support of the new album?
Yeah I’d love to get back to Edmonton for a show. It’s been two years and I think we’re ready. There are some dates coming up, so with luck we can make it back to town. The project has really changed in the last few years and I’ll be interested to see how the old fans dig the newer, poppier stuff. Our old shows were so shambolic and crazy. Now it’s slightly more structured and vocal.
If I started a petition to get you guys to move back to Edmonton, how many names would I have to get down to convince you?
Well, my long-term woman lives in Edmonton, so probably just her parents’ names would do it.
What are you looking forward to most in 2010?
I can’t wait to play more, write more and push our new LP. I’m also looking forward to winter, so I can skate outside and go skiing. It’s been a hot summer here and a bit of cool air will be nice.
Any closing words for your Edmonton fans?
Yeah, you know, I never even considered people in Edmonton fans. I always considered them friends. So, hopefully we still have a few friends in Edmonton and I hope we can party with them soon!
