Contact 2019: A Snapshot

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By Ryan Hayes

In its eighth year Contact Winter Music Festival continued to evolve along with it's core demographic of die hard dance music fans. As Vancouver's only true EDM festival, Contact's success is integral to the strength of our cities electronic scene. Offering a little something for everyone, Contact endeavoured to find a balance between mainstream sounds and niche acts. Rather thank picking a traditional top five—because everyone has different musical tastes—I decided to focus on a slew of unique highlights that made 2019 stand out.

More clearly than in previous years Contact presented a thoughtfully curated lineup of acts and stages. On night one Said The Sky elevated the main stage with his unique blend of silky smooth vocal laden melodies, and sweeping emotional bass lines. His set was genuinely warm and welcoming and the absolute perfect sonic bridge for San Holo's signature sound. Extending Said The Sky's energy and building on the night's momentum San Holo effortlessly introduced his bouncy and uplifting original productions in to the pantheon of the night. His set melted away leaving the packed stadium feeling empowered and triumphant. It didn't matter if you knew all of the words to his countless hits—his quest for vibrant energy was genuine...and it was heard.

After Solo, Kaskade took the stage acting as the night's catalyst for change, by transitioning the energy towards Major Lazer's party centric atmosphere. Regardless of having just played Sunset Festival in August Kaskade's set was an undeniable pleasure. As one of the industries premiere veterans he knows exactly how to keep a crowd at attention. With an assist from some of his more redux slanted tracks Kaskade flawlessly edged the night away from melodic bass and towards a true bombastic spectacle—all while managing to feel fresh from his previous headlining slot.

On day two Destructo's signature g-house style brought swagger to main stage creating a stadium wide club atmosphere that expertly set up Fisher to take the reigns. Bringing his now iconic blend of house and tech to the largest dance music stage in Western Canada; Fisher's set transcended the standard categorical relevancy of a top of the fest list, and marked the first time Vancouvrites unanimously devoured house music as if it were big room circa 2011. It was just as important to behold, as it was enjoyable to experience.

Taking a detour to the FVDED stage—where bass ruled the weekend—a curated presence was just as responsible for the lineups success. Shout out to Nostalgix for bringing real talent, and fantastic Night Bass vibes, to her opening day one set; proving it pays to show up early and support local talent. On both nights the FVDED stage headliners catered to a more niche, and fervent, audience; showcasing just as much talent as the festivals main stage headlining acts. The biggest surprise of the festival was G Jones raw unbridled energy and authenticity. At this point it's rare for me to walk in to a set with limited knowledge of an artist and genuinely be blown away. His set was heavy, chaotic—at times relentless—but always artistically sound. Cutting through the breakneck BPMs and torrents of bass was an abstract...yet tangible...sense of groove, and musicality, that is rare within the modern landscape blinding bass. G Jones is not to be missed.

On day two Feed Me took the headlining FVDED slot presenting fans with the weekends biggest conflict by going head-to-head with Rezz. For the past decade Feed Me has proven to be a master of his craft. Defying genres—whether it be drum & bass, electro house, or dubstep; Feed Me's productions are always immaculate, and his set did not disappoint. While Feed Me was slaying the FVDED stage Rezz was laying waste to the main stage. As a Vancouver favourite I always fear that she runs the risk of over-saturating audiences with familiar sets, but that could not be further from the truth. Rezz hit Contact with a thunderous assault of slow moving bass. It was her heaviest set to date, it ended with a 2011 Skrillex throwback—and it was exactly what the now packed football stadium needed. The reactions she elicited from the audience were everything.

Any Contact recap would me amiss without mentioning the main stage mastery of Tiesto. Marking his first Blueprint billing in Vancouver the king of dance music took his rightful place atop the cities largest dance music stage and skilfully captured the attention of the stadiums roughly 17,000 festival-goers. At this point in time I think its fair to declare Tiesto the last remaining bastion of true main stage, big room, festival EDM. Tackling an hour and a half set—the rest of the day had standard sixty minute festival slots—Tiesto's closing performance seamlessly melted away. Not only were first-timers blown away; the crowd skewed noticeably older on day two as vintage Tiesto merch dotted the arena. There is something undefinable about a Tiesto set, a craft honed with decades of experience; and they have become a gold standard that cannot be measured against the competition. Honestly when Blueprint first announced Contact back in 2012 I thought Tiesto was a lock as the first iterations headliner and it was nice to finally see him take on BC Place eight years later.

Schoolboy Q Brought Some West Coast Heat To Quebec City

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Photos by Simon Audette

By Dominic Wren (Photos by Simon Audette)

With about a foot of snow falling onto Quebec City, Toboggan Fest and Schoolboy Q showed their worth by pulling off one of the most beautiful concerts we’ve seen in a long time. The third evening of the festival saw Schoolboy Q perform an incredible show full of energy, intensity, and lyrical art. He opened the night with the track Gang Gang, which was fun to see, as it is the first song off his latest album Crash Talk. Q really delivered something special last night with the crowd responding and enjoying every minute of his set.

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Il y a du avoir au moins un pied de neige qui a tombé hier soir au concert de Schoolboy Q mais, les résidents de la ville de Québec, le Festival Toboggan et l’artiste ont démontré une des plus belles soirées de musique qu’on a vu depuis très longtemps. La troisième soirée du festival était un évènement plein d’énergie, d’intensité et d’art lyrique. Il a ouvert la soirée avec le morceau « Gang Gang », qui était intéressant à voir, car c'est la première chanson de son dernier album « Crash Talk ». Q a vraiment démontré quelque chose de spécial hier soir en plus d’avoir une foule qui a répondu avec encore plus d’excitation et d’appréciation pour lui et son concert. 

Photos by Simon Audette

DVBBS Destroys Quebec City @ Toboggan Fest Night 2

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Photos: Simon Audette

By Dominic Wren (Photos by Simon Audette)

Night 2 at Toboggan Festival brought out a show like none other. The city, the vibe, the energy, and the artists made last night feel so unique. The Canadian duo brought an energy with them that could only be matched by the crowd who were right there with them. The crowd was literally playing in the snow with none stop mosh pits, a heavy wall of death, and arguably one of the best rave sit downs of the year. Playing their classic beats, such as Tsunami, Pyramids, and Gold Skies, DVBBS took an unexpected turn to some house music for a short while playing a variety of Fisher, Dom Dolla, and a bit of Don Diablo to name few. Over all, it was a solid night with incredible scenery and lots of energy.

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La semaine denier, la ville de Québec a vu un spectacle qui n’était comme aucune autre. La ville, l’énergie et les artistes on donner une sensation unique durant la soirée. Le duo canadien a emporté une énergie avec eux qui pouvait seulement se faire égaliser par la foule québécoise. Tout le monde se gardait au chaud en formant des gros « mosh pits », un « wall of death » et un moment où toute la foule s’est assit. Pendant tout ça, DVBBS on trouver une façon d’amener leur spectacle dans un aire du passé en jouant leurs anciennes chansons dont Tsunami, Pyramids et Gold Skies. Le duo a par la suite joué de la music style House pour donner une petite pause d’intensité mais pas pour longtemps. En tous, la soirée était vraiment superbe et l’organisation du Festival Toboggan ne cesse de nous impressionner.