Gallery – David Starfire & Govinda

WHAT A NIGHT!! To have the pleasure of seeing David Starfire OR Govinda play a show is a unique and dance-frenzied treat. But to see them BOTH on the same bill in an intimate space like Sunset? WHOA. We knew they wouldn’t hold anything back – and neither did we! We brought in a complete additional sound system; flipped the whole room’s orientation and had everyone play from the new live stages; added superstar Kytami to the lineup.. and sold out the show of course. We might be hard pressed to top that one anytime soon… unless of course Lynx, Tarran the Tailor & Buckman Coe go on tour together anytime soon. ;)

Big props to Eye of the Mind Photography for these amazing captures!

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Gallery: Ill Esha

Our big night hosting Ill Esha and crew at Sunset Room pushed all the boundaries – the sound was thumping, the walls were heated, the room was packed – and it was SOOOOOO worth it! The ever-consistent party grinder Space Age got things bumping early, then we were treated to Vespers and his new glitchtastic styles, Ill Esha just destroyed the place and RnD sapped out every last ounce of dance energy we had left!! Big thanks to Dodds Eye Media for the great captures!

We had a chance to debut our collaborative new music video for Ill Esha’s new ‘Imaginary Friends’ single. Big props to ever-visionary Labs artist Aaron Geeraert for the techlectic interpretation! Check it here!

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Gallery: Tunes for Tibet 08

We reach into the archives to share with you some images from this amazing night. Born of my participation in a course I was taking that focused on self expression & leadership, Tunes for Tibet was a fundraiser & awareness event I created for the ‘Students For a Free Tibet’ organization. Delhi 2 Dublin, Adham Shaikh and all the other performers all played for free or nearly free, and we raised many hundreds of dollars (I dont recall anymore!) and really shone the spotlight on their efforts in Tibet. Small steps…

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Gallery: On The Cusp 2012

Once a year we have the distinct pleasure of hosting On The Cusp, the Aquarian/Capricorn celebration and a longstanding gathering of some of the most amazing people around here. Also happens to be a shared birthday celebration for yours truly, Cloud Dancer, Kaminanda, Mythril, Dust, Natron… and a few other equally marvelous folk! It has forever been a tradition that this night is amazing – and certainly our 2012 installment of On The Cusp was no exception. Victoria newcomer & ultra-generous cat Steve Velocity stopped by and offered Tarot readings, his brilliant partner Sierra Choquette once again gifted an amazing dance performance (you may remember her moves from The Glitch That Stole Christmas!), Kristin Grant of Urbanheart was onsite face & bodypainting all the lovelies, and visual masters Photon & Ja Azura were both onhand to offer up some digital eye candy like only they could.

While these pics courtesy of resident photographer Evan Boyd & guest lens Erik Clark are AWESOME – it was another thing altogether to be there :) If you missed it, you missed it! Perhaps we can share the next CUSP magic with you & yours! Til then, enjoy the pics…

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DJ Rowan – Solstice Devotion

A heart opening bhakti journey, compiled and mixed by DJ Rowan

See Rowan’s artist page.
A musical journey of traditional indian inspired electronic music. The songs were selected for their heart opening vocals or instrumentation that represents devotion and love of the great mysteries of life.
This mix has been a long process of creative cultivation. Over the last year i have been deeply moved to hold space for- and participate in- weekly Kirtan events at our local Yoga venue called Base Lounge. Having regular access to this musical form of Yoga that involves call and response chanting has inspired me to find electronic and dance music that holds this sense of devotion and mystery to it. I hope you enjoy this mix. There are links for you to hear more from the artist/album. Please buy more of what you like and follow these artists!

DJ Rowan – Solstice Devotion Full Mix

Alternate download:

Download

Tracklist

01 Anoushka Shankar and Karshe Kale – Reprise 1:16 Buy Music
02 Cheb I Sabbah – Morey Pya Bassey 2:14 Buy Music
03 Cheb I Sabbah – Morey Pya Bassey (Arch Cupcake Remix) 2:12 Buy Music
04 Adham Shaikh – Crossroads Part 1 2:16 Buy Music
05 David Starfire – Waffler (with Shelia Chandra) 1:27 Buy Music
06 Cheb I Sabbah – Jai Bhavani 4:43 Buy Music
07 MC Yogi – Be The Change (EarthRise SoundSystem’s Bollywood Dub Remix) 5:22 Buy Music
08 MC Yogi – Om Namah Shivaya (Omstrumental) 3:19 Buy Music
09 Apache Indian – Om Numah Shivaya 4:23 Buy Music
10 Prem Joshua – Cosmo-Bali-Tan 4:17 Buy Music
11 Dreamtree – Rising Up 3:50 Buy Music
12 Kaya Project – When Only Sand Remains (Tripswitch Remix) 4:54 Buy Music
13 Dub Kirtan All Stars – Sita Ram 4:13 Buy Music
14 Liquid Stranger – Overlord 3:19 Buy Music
15 EarthRise SoundSystem – Marom (feat Basya Schechter) 4:52 Buy Music
16 Gaudi + Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – Bethe Bethe Kese Kese 3:20 Buy Music
17 Mirabai Ceiba – Gobinday (Drumspyder Remix) 4:52 Buy Music
18 Adham Shaikh – Krishna Raga 6:51 Buy Music
19 The Mayapuris – Gopinath (Feat. Benjy Wertheimer) 5:19 Buy Music
20 Liquid Stranger – Unfold feat Razza 2:30 Buy Music

Artwork courtesy of Autumn Skye Morrison. “Beloved”.
http://autumnskyemorrison.com/

Poster – Bird of Prey

Gallery: November @ Sunset

Here’s another awesome slew of pics from Sunset Photographer Evan Boyd! These include pics from House Insurance, Grime Machine, CRUSH & Riptide! Big ups to Kristin Grant & the Urbanheart team for all their artistic contributions to these nights!

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Poster – CRUSH v12

DJ Rowan – eLEXtronic Signals (Oct 2011)

“A dj mix of deep tech-house. Some of my most recent favorites. Lots of organic flavours, and driving funky beats & bass lines. Hope you enjoy!” – Rowan

Digital Chemistry Album

Welcome to Digital Chemistry, the very first compilation album of Victoria-based collaborative Sunset Labs! When our team first came together and began planning what sort of projects we might take on together, we decided we needed a new website. Then we decided we should have a launch party for the website. Then we decided the missing ingredient was music – and SO WAS PLANTED the seed which has become this first Labs compilation album, and we very much hope you love it! Given the diversity of our artists it’s likely some genres speak to you more than others, so we hope you’ll check out the whole album – and specifically explore those artists whose music really speaks to you. Thanks for the time & interest!