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2009 Performers
Adham Shaikh
A fusion of sounds from around the world A blend of styles and traditions, From Electro, Breaks, Dub, Psychedelic Trance, Downtempo, Funk, Bhangra, Latin+Brazilian, Afrobeat, to the original compositions Adham blends and remixes into his sets. Transmitting tribal grooves from ancient traditions! Over the years Shaikh has had the pleasure to work and record with many talented musicians playing instruments from India, Bali, Africa, Slovakia, Scandinavia, Turkey, America and Canada. Shaikh weaves soundscapes carried by the tribal dub groove. His renowned sets bridge the gap between organic and electronic. Inner and outer space. He has been heard live at festivals and gatherings in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, Saltspring Island, Nelson (Canada) and Internationally at Glastonbury UK, London UK. Samothraki (Greece)and Tokyo (Japan).
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Shamik
Shamik hears music in his head and uses beatboxing to bring it to life. His crushing basslines, crisp rhythms, and a’cappella DJ sets have captivated audiences in 13 countries and every major Canadian city from coast to coast. In the past 2 years Shamik toured with Method Man & Redman, Q-Bert, Bassnectar, Sub Swara, Tanya Tagaq, Kentaro, Mike Relm, Beats Antique, and Lexie Lee. He has also performed with various bands including Thievery Corporation, Delhi 2 Dublin, Oka, Ganga Giri, Pacific Curls, and Enter the Haggis. Festival highlights include Rothbury (USA), Shambhala, Vancouver Island Musicfest (Canada), Sunburn (India), Colours of Ostrava (Czech Republic), and Dubplate (Philippines). 2009 marks the busiest year in his career after performing all over North America, Asia, and Australia… alongside international talent such as Marky, Benga, N-Type, Fort Knox Five, Mat The Alien, Lighta!, Mihirangi, Nickodemus, Excision, Greenlaw, and Maestro Fresh Wes. As Shamik continues to spread the artform of his vocal percussion, he looks forward to recording more music, touring, and working with artists along the way.
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Boris Sichon
A Graduate of the Academy of Music St. Petersburg & Jerusalem Academy of Music & Dance, Ukrainian World Instrumentalist Boris Sichon will be performing from his selection of rare and unique world instruments with electronic fusionist Adham Shaikh! Boris and Adham met and performed together at the Vancouver Folk Festival a few years ago and have began a musical relationship that has seen boris contribute to a number of Adham film scores and inspired live performances, most recently at the Mission Folk Festival. Representing ancient musical influences along with traditional instruments from the middle east, Tibet, Australia and Africa, the two weave together lush tapestries of pulsing sound. This provides for a rich journey through time and sacred vibration. Featuring works from Shaikh’s’ forthcoming album and inspired by the sounds of eastern europe, prepare to be taken on a musical journey like no other.
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Akhentek
Akhentek is an Entheos co-founder and regularly performs at Shambhala, the largest outdoor festival in the Pacific Northwest. Aside from his solo production work, Akhentek is also involved in the collaborative Pharoelidae project, an exploration of cyber-organic audio architectures alongside multi-instrumentalist Margonaut.
Akhentek has been extensively documented in a variety of online locales including h+ Magazine, Michael Garfield, and Psychic Gibbons. This testimonial by Michelle Winegar sums it up:
“When I close my eyes, Akhentek’s landscape appears: three-dimensional, architectural, organic, and I become a character inside that landscape. Like Alice after an innocent drink, I open my eyes to a wonder-filled land, and my body has transformed into a ball bearing, slowly circling a large metal funnel in a meditation that moves me towards the event horizon. At the apex, I lose myself and get launched into the middle of an intelligent, orchestral machine, not unlike George Rhoad’s musical sculpture in front of the Vancouver Science World. Both are intelligent, playful organizations of sound, mental floss at its best.”
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Orkestar Slivovica
Balkan Brass band turns anything they cross paths with into a gypsy-style wedding dance party!
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Luciterra
The women of Luciterra have united with the intention of achieving grounded clarity through dance. Through performing, teaching and eternally learning they strive to grow skyward while maintaining firm roots. These women dance a fusion of bellydance that is elusive, powerful and compelling. They have shaken the Vancouver scene at events such as The Workless Party PARTY, In The House Festival, Dollhouse Studios and Shambhala.
At Earthdance, Luciterra will be performing synchronized improvisation alongside Balkan Brass band Orkestar Slivovica.
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KarmetiK::Bhutan
Bhutan is an experimental morphing entity made up of two to four to six to more musicians who come together to spontaeously create and musically sculpt a sound inspired by the moment. From Yoga studios to dance clubs, to forested valley-scapes in the mountains of Britsh Columbia, a Bhutan sound journey may take various forms on the spectrum between electronic and acoustic.
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Masala
From the streets of Victoria, Masala came together as a diverse source of musical energy, accompanying demonstrations and lighting up Victoria and Vancouver community festivals with rhythms from around the world, from Samba to Haitian and African grooves.
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Joshua James
Joshua has been djing and promoting conscious events for ten years across western Canada. His dedication to the art of djing has allowed his musical collection to grow into many genres of sound that has opened the doorway for Joshua’s business as a music consultant. Designing playlists for 22 lounges, spa’s and restaurants across western Canada. His dj sets can include an array of sacred worldbeat, inspirational house, organic funk and tribal breakbeats. Joshua loves to bring a sense of spirituality into his dj sets by layering chants and conscious vocals from around the globe. He has developed a continuity with crossing over genre’s into one storybook of sound for your dancing pleasure. Joshua has performed with some of the most successful electronic dj’s and bands across western Canada, performing at festivals such as Shambhala, Diversity, Harvest Castles, Intention and The Big Time Out to name a few.
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Mike Sheehan
Mike Sheehan is a youth engagement specialist, performance artist and subversive peace educator. Mike owns an operates BeatBoard Education And Training. BeatBoard is a youth leadership, new media and contemporary arts education social enterprise based in Victoria, BC Canada. BeatBoard is committed to affecting positive change in communities through delivering leading-edge experiential education programs that value diversity, inclusion and solutions for healthy living. Mike has visited over 50,000 youth in non formal educational settings in 2008. He has represented Earth Charter International at the The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, and co-developed an international online digital media arts and sustainability leadership training called e-GLO (Earth Charter Global Learning Opportunity). Mike remains committed to local action and volunteers his time with several youth serving initiatives in Victoria.
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Wontanara Drum & Dance
Wontanara Drum & Dance is a performance troupe and school based out of Victoria, BC, that specializes in sharing and teaching traditional dances, rhythms and songs mainly originating from Guinea, West Africa. Wontanara’s artistic director is Master Dancer Mohamed Andre Duranteau from Guinea. Wontanara, which means “We are United” or “Come Together” in the Susu language of Guinea is a true definition of the spirit of West African Drum & Dance culture and the driving force that makes this group an unforgettable experience!
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Nils
Nils has been connecting with and guiding Dance Floors in BC and around the world since the early 90’s. In that time he has played at hundreds of events and has been on the same bill with such DJ luminaries as Cheb i Sabbah, Toby Marks, Adham Shaikh, Shakatura, and Bluetech. Never predictable, he has an uncanny ability to read the mood of a room and give it just what it needs.
In his capacity as a customer service specialist at Vancouvers HighLife Records he has had oppurtunity to get to know so called “World Music” very well, and to build up his incredible music collection in the process.The size and variety of his collection allows him to tailor a set to whatever the night (or day) calls for. He’s as happy playing Reggae at Sunset as he is playing Deep Ethno-ambient at Sunrise.
Aside from being a DJ he is also an event organizer, with the legendary “Faeries & Fools” Costume Carnival on the Sunshine Coast being his signature event. He is a Sagitarius, a mystic raconteur, and a founding member of the Beats Without Borders Collective.
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Briden
Briden has been on the decks for about 10 years now, playing clubs, raves, underground venues, and outdoor events. Over the last 5 years, he’s fostered the Stereoshift Collective and collaborated to produce a host of exciting events. the last 6 months on the island have seen Briden take crowds by storm and become a local underground favorite, by playing a diverse array of sets suited to the particular night.
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Mythril
*Mythril, a multi-instrumentalist and visionary artist form Vancouver BC, who has been mixing and making music for over 2 decades, is known for his inspirational musical vision throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Performing at many underground gatherings and international festivals, he has brought cutting edge music to dancefloors across North America.
From high-powered launches to graceful landings - progressive psy, downtempo, breaks and dub flavour his musical journeys. Some of his favorite producers have shared the stage with him such as Protoculture, Jaia, Antix, Pixel, Koxbox, Deedrah, Shadow FX, Human Blue, Species, Solar Fields, Ott - and many more from international and local rosters as well as visionary art showings.*
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Sparkle and Sweezy
Lyn Jackson, a mother and grandmother, has been entertaining crowds for 20 plus years as “Sparkle the Clown” and enjoying every minute.
With a background in Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, and Recreation Therapy, she combines her life experience and wacky perceptions into her character and music. Her business “Clowns and Company” makes all this entertainment possible.
Along with her friend Kenan Sweezie, the musical clown partner, the team of Sparkle and Sweezie have written many of their own songs. These songs can be heard during their performances or on their tapes and CD.
Sweezie has many interests as demonstrated by his educational background: travel agent training; courses in the sciences; theatrical instruction; and musical studies at educational facilities and privately. Performing music, however, is one of his favorite activities! His motto is, “be only as old as the situation requires” - a motto which serves him well as he enjoys performing music for children, adults, and seniors!
Together with Sparkle since 1990, Sweezie has a great time performing original music for the young and the young at heart. So, as he says in one of his original songs, “come on over, have fun!”
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Ndidi Cascade
Ndidi Cascade is a Hip Hop vocalist, songwriter and workshop facilitator from Vancouver B.C. Since her first show in 1996, Ndidi Cascade has managed to showcase her powerfully conscious lyrics across North America, blessing stages alongside greats such as Femi Kuti, Digable Planets, and De La Soul. http://www.myspace.com/ndidicascadedeanna
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Vibestreet Dance
VSD is Hiphop at its finest. We are not only dance teachers, we are hiphop specialists.
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DJ Rowan
Striving to bring people together through fusion of cultures and sounds, this promoter/dj/producer is frequently found rocking dance floors alongside heavyweights such as Adham Shaikh, Gaudi, David Starfire, Liquid Stranger, Ganga Giri and Jef Stott to name a few. With his broad range of influences and keen mixing skills, Rowan deftly navigates through meditative & inspiring downtempo/Hip Hop, glitchy acid breaks, and bumpin’ deep tribal/ethnic techno. Rowan has played many major BC festivals including Soundwave, Lasqueti Escape, Entheos and Diversity. Rowan’s talent and love for music will continue to bring him in front of amazing, inspired and intentional dancefloors again and again.
Having just launched a new Fitness, Yoga & Dance studio in Victoria, BC dedicated to the power of sound & movement to heal and evolve humanity. Rowan and his wife, Alice, will open the Base Lounge doors to the Earthdance community for an after-party this year and you can check out this beautiful downtown sanctuary for yourself!
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Desunos
Throwing down dynamic dance music since the summer of 2006, DJ Desunos (aka Laughlin Meagher) finds his roots in dub, reggae and world ethno electronic music, and now finds his home in electro/progressive house with a dash of breaks and tastefull trance. With 17 years experience on stage Laughlin knows how to rock an audience and is well known for his harmonica solos, his skill on the melodica and his live MCing & vocals. A skilled multi-instrumentalist and dedicated student of music, you never know what he will bring next to his show.
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Khan
Using his love of music to inspire and feed the flames of consciousness in the dance community, Khan is on a constant journey of growth and discovery, doing his small part to help as many souls as possible on their journey to higher realms. Inspired by progressive music pioneers John Digweed and James Holden, he has been exploring a range of musical flavors over the past 7 years, ranging from progressive to hard trance and progressive house. His sets take dancers on a journey through mythic landscapes, richly textured with deep, dark grooves , tribal rhythms, and lush, beautiful progressive tracks. Hailing from the beautiful city of vancouver on Canada’s westcoast, a veteran of the outdoor festival and rave scene, Khan’s infectious spirit is sure to give rise to some serious magic on the dance floor and beyond.
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Beatfarmer
Deep in the woods of a rugged little island beatfarmer plays the music that drives him to dance. His love for dance carries him through many different styles of music and his passion is mixing organic world music sounds with beats that will move your body to dance and your spirit to soar. Whether it’s a world fusion set, a deep trance journey, or sacred downtempo… beatfarmer plays for dancers.
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Dancing Wolf
Bringing delightfully danceable music to the people has been a passion for local poet, artist, and producer Dancing Wolf for many years. Creator of Dance of the One Heart, Victoria’s longest running family friendly world fusion dance now entering it’s 14th season and, the since ended, Planet Folk one of Victoria’s very first world/roots radio shows on CFUV 101.9 F.M. back in the 90’s, DW has long held the vision that music and dance are two of the common denominators in a healthy community. Known in the biz as a Selector he has his ever growing ears tuned to the contemporary dance music of the world yet doesn’t have a particular style. He is not a DJ with the monster mixes per say rather a Sonic Archiver admittedly more drawn to acoustic/electric beats than electronic ones yet able to offer a high energy blend of both that has 7 and 70 year olds dancing together to their heart’s content. That always brings a smile to his face as that was his original intention over 150 community dances ago, to bring dancers of all ages together in a good way. His love for the natural world attracts many a dancer to the projections of his photography and visual art as well as to the Altars he creates with his dancing friends. Having said that, you will often here him say “Dance is the human Being art”
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Dub Gnostic
A play on the word agnostic, the music of dub gnostic aligns itself with the ethos of dub reggae production techniques, but applies this ethos to the genres of house and techno. Hence, he’s not entirely sure if its a dub. Resistant to sub-generic catagorizations, he has been said to play any and all manner of house and techno: progressive, deep, minimal, electro-house, tech-house, dubstep and machinefunk.
Dub Gnostic has been active as DJ, producer, promoter and journalist since 1992. He has released on Mosaic Records UK, and performed throughout North America and the UK with names such as Richie Hawtin, Cobblestone Jazz, DJ Heather, Dub Tribe, Underground Resistance, Deee-Lite, Terry Mullan and Evil Eddie Richards to name a few. His foremost contribution to Victoria’s electronic music scene was through
his work as Promotions Director at Neptune Soundbar (2000), which forged the careers of artists like Adham Shaikh and Cobblestone Jazz through conceptual residencies. He is most known for his genre-spanning “concept mixes” of which there are over 48 hours of on his website “www.dubgnostic.com”.
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